Shirley Ringo is Running for Congress
He pants too much?
He's not housetrained?
He barks a lot but can't really bite?
What kind of flaws has Shirley Ringo pointed out about this Labrador?
Commenters have expressed that those type of thoughts are what have popped into the heads of some readers -- upon first glance at my headlines -- about The Lab.
Here is some clarification:
Labrador’s Democratic challenger, state Rep. Shirley Ringo of Moscow, doesn’t think Labrador’s record amounts to much, especially considering his background as an immigration lawyer who made immigration reform a top issue when he ran for office.
“One would think he could provide all kinds of leadership, but he’s been there for four years,” she said. “I don’t believe that he has much to show for it.”
The lame Tea Party dog is in for a real fight:
Ringo, a former longtime high school math teacher who holds a key seat on the Idaho Legislature’s joint budget committee, said, “We all know that Congress doesn’t have a very positive approval rating at this time, with their inability to compromise and get things done. And I have the sense that Congressman Labrador is part of the problem.”
In his two terms in the House, Idaho congressman Raul Labrador says he’s been pushing big ideas like immigration and sentencing reform and has become the “go-to” person on immigration issues among House Republicans.
Nothing Labrador has sponsored has become law, but a couple of his measures on other issues – extending grazing leases, easing regulations on geothermal test wells and authorizing community forest management projects on federal land – have passed the House once or even twice. Among the 291 bills he has co-sponsored, the largest number by far were to repeal all or part of the national health care reform law.
Labrador has said that his main goal is to "change the way the Republican Party sees itself and how people see the Republican Party."
The far right media darling added that “we spend so much time talking about businesses instead of individuals. … So that’s really my goal, is to have the American people and specifically the middle class, and people that maybe feel estranged from the Republican Party, come back to the Republican Party and realize that we can actually better express their values and their dreams.”
Ringo, who has made easing the economic burden on the nation’s middle class a central point of her campaign, takes sharp issue with that. She cites Labrador’s support for the government shutdown, which she called “pretty much a temper tantrum against the Affordable Care Act,” his opposition to spending bills – even when they affect programs on which Idahoans depend – and his opposition to raising the minimum wage.
“Sometimes pragmatism has to kick in and you have to know people back home need this,” she said. “I have been particularly frustrated with the dysfunctional behavior of our Congress over the last couple of years, and I feel strongly that our Congressman Labrador is part of the problem.”
Vote for Rep. Shirley Ringo and get someone in there who will make a plan with the interests of Idaho at heart … and stick to it.