Politics as usual

Idaho's entire congressional delegation is united, again, against President Obama. This time they're against his cap and trade plan to reduce emissions and raise money to help pay for the national health insurance plan.

Walt says that it's not good timing to raise taxes in the midst of a recession, which is what the cap and trade plan does, admittedly. To that I'd say, your congressional BFFs will say there no good time to raise taxes, recession or not. Also, the taxes raised will help pay for the health care plan that Obama is counting on to lower medical costs thereby helping the entire economy.

Leon Russell sang, "I'm up on a tightwire, one side's ice and one is fire." Walt Minnick is trying to keep republicans happy so enough will vote for him that he can get re-elected. But he also has to keep democrats happy, or they will stay home on election day.

Well, so far, it seems that Walt is still on the tightwire, but he's listing awfully far right. Voting to allow loaded guns in national parks is one thing. Failing to support cornerstone policies, like energy or health care, is quite another.

Here's the break down. Two groups, die hards, will not be swayed by anything Walt does. Some will vote R, regardless, and some will vote D, regardless. Which leaves the leaners, and the true independents (a very small group). I'd guess that there are more R leaners. Say Walt spilts that group 50/50. He still will have to get pretty much every D leaner. Unfortunately for Walt, leaners tend to pay more attention to politics, and if they are, they're seeing Walt break right again and again.

So my quandary is, is having any D in the 1st District House seat better that any R? Possibly. Barely. But I'm not very motivated by that calculus to do much to help Walt get re-elected.