Crossposted on 43rdStateBlues
" ... when I go into some rural counties, I hear people say they just hate Congress, yet they'll still vote for [his opponent]," writes Richard Stallings.
I fist met Richard Stallings during a dinner/talk at the Unitarian Fellowship in Pocatello, Idaho about 10 years ago. I have positive memories of his warm style and profound grasp of the issues that matter.
Former U.S. Representative Stallings has devoted much of his career to public service and to improving the lives and prosperity of Idaho families. He served in Congress from 1984 to 1992.
Stallings is a candidate for the 2014 election. to again represent Idaho's Idaho's 2nd congressional district. Stallings also served in several other state and local political offices over the course of his 22-years of public service. To make a contribution please see this link.
When asked by Boise Weekly what he learned about his opponent from this latest GOP primary, Stallings said:
He's a coward. Even his supporters say he's a better legislator than what his voting record reflects. He's just afraid. He was terrified of [Bryan] Smith and, as a result, he was forced into some very bad decisions.
His refusal to deal with the minimum wage. That refusal keeps 100,000 Idahoans living in poverty. And it's costing the government more money because we end up providing more food stamps. It's an outrageous indignity, for no other reason than some political nastiness. It's the most inhumane thing I've ever seen done to the most vulnerable people in our society. Even Mitt Romney calls for an increase.
By not standing up to the Tea Party wing of his own party, he's become a lousy, lousy legislator. Another of his vulnerabilities is a lack of immigration reform. About 13 percent of Idaho's population is Hispanic, most of them documented. But they have undocumented friends and family that are hiding in the shadows, yet they're exploited by employers. I agree with Jeb Bush when he said many people had come to the United States illegally as an act of love. But his own party beat the tar out of him.
Your contribution will have an immediate impact on Richard Stallings's campaign.
Here is a useful discussion from his campaign website:
During the time I spent representing the Second District of Idaho in the U.S. Congress, the issue of a pay raise for members of Congress came up for a vote before the house. I had committed to Idaho that I would not take a pay raise for myself and voted against this bill. It passed without my vote. Then it became necessary to make a decision on what to do with said pay raise. A few members (none from Idaho) returned the money to the treasury but, after much contemplation, my wife and I made the decision to try to help people in Idaho.
At that time, many people were hurting financially. Farmers, students and families were struggling. We made the decision to provide scholarship money to non-traditional students. These were people who had been victims of the economy and were struggling for new opportunities in life. It seemed to us that there were lots of funding sources for 18 year-old students but were extremely scarce for older people facing the same life changing experiences. In retrospect, we are grateful we had this opportunity. I wanted to share a letter we received from a young woman at that time. Her full name has not been included because we have not been able to contact her to obtain her permission to do so. She should be extremely proud of her accomplishment, hence reprinting this letter:
Dear Mr. Stallings,
It is very hard for me to put into words how I am feeling at this time. This morning I got up, fed my four children, hurried them off to school and then hurried off to school myself. In my religion class, I received the message that the scholarship office wanted to see me as soon as possible. When I sat in that office, my prayers were answered. I still cannot believe that I was chosen to receive this scholarship.
Read the full discussion at http://democracy.com/...