Seal the borders, anti-abortion, tax cuts, gun rights, he's there. He also makes it clear, by referring to his and his son's LDS missions, that he's right with the dominant religion in the Southern end of the state. The guy has a BA, a masters degree, and a doctorate. His wife is a respected educator. He's got an attractive family; one of his daughters was Miss Idaho, like Gov Otter's wife.
If he can get his story out, and can shed the image of an out of control anti state government nut, he might draw some votes. I don't think he'll win, since Risch has been anointed like Gov Otter was, but Rammell seems to have the bona fides to put up a fight. This will cause Risch to spend money he doesn't want to, and it may cause him to stake out some positions earlier than he'd perhaps like to.
If Rammell is smart, or maybe you'd call it canny, or possibly something worse, he'll cozy up to the Club For Growth. He's already taken the Taxpayer Protection Pledge from the Americans for Tax Reform, and has an image of it on his site. The money the CFG could send could cause serious problems for Risch. That would be fun to watch.
Update: If I'm going to write about a guy, I ought to at least spell his name right, so I added the other l to Rammell's last name.
7 comments:
The guy's even weirder than Bill Sali. My feeling is the really weird types won't get more than about 40% of the vote in a Republican primary, so in a two man race he still falls short even if he gets all of the black helicopter enthusiasts.
I agree about the 40%, and the wierdness. Drawing 40% would still force Risch to spend has campaign cash in a primary, and not save it for the general, or not donate it to other Rs.
I hope you're not assuming that all Mormons are going to vote lockstep for Rammell, any more than we all support Mitt Romney (who's much less crazy then Rammell.) We recognize that we can also have whackjobs in our midst, and don't feel some need to vote for whatever Mormon happens to get enough signatures to get on the ballot just because he or she belongs to the same Church as us.
Plus, we only make up about 15-20% of the electorate in Idaho (although we do seem to vote in higher numbers than people of some other faiths, at least in my precinct).
No, I don't assume that. I just think it is a plus for Rammell. Certain folks in any given group identify so strongly with the group that being a member of the group is the key factor. Applies pretty much to any group.
I suspect you're not too familiar with George Hansen, another Mormon from E. Idaho. He was re-elected after being convicted of, if I recall correctly, tax evasion. Just like with Sali, being a whack job doesn't necessarily DQ a guy.
I've heard of him, but didn't know he was Mormon. I think he actually lost that race, but only by a couple hundred votes. (I was stationed at what was then INEL and living in Pocatello right after that election in 1984, so I saw stuff about it on the local news.)
Rammell is good on 2nd amendment, immigration and tax issues. I repeated criticized Larry Craig for his pro illegal alien positions. It was time for him to go on that issue alone. Risch has already come out in support of lefty gun grabber Juan McAmnesty. He is also a professional politician...likely one who owes favors all over.
Mr. Rammell's not being well liked in Madison County has nothing to do with religion or political party, it's his personality on the campaign trail. I met him when he was running in a previous election. When I expressed that I had a differing opinion he was caustic, easily upset and not professional. Being the victim and crying foul about things not being fair and that the people who should like him do not are not things I value in a Senate candidate. In short, a U.S. Senator should represent the people on a non-bias professional way & Mr. Rammell has demonstrated that he does not.
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