Today’s campaigns are awash in money, consultants and negative TV ads, and candidates typically spend very little time actually meeting voters. In their book "Crashing the Gate," Kos founder Markos and Jerome Armstrong described a new kind of politics, where people have the power to change the way campaigns are run in our country.
That’s how I believe politics should be, too. I have never approached campaigns in Idaho in a traditional or laid back way. Idaho voters are independent minded and they will respond to candidates that show an openness to listen and learn. I didn’t win a seat in Congress as an Idaho Democrat by taking the easy road. I have never run like I was "sitting on a lead." That’s a certain formula for failure.
Two weeks ago I launched my "Working for Senate" campaign in Idaho. And for the next 16 months I will take jobs through Idaho and work side by side with voters and listen to their concerns about our state and country. The fact is, Idahoans are tired of being taken for granted by aloof politicians who have no idea what working families are encountering in their daily lives. I will take no voter for granted.
My first Working for Senate job was earlier this month in Orofino, Idaho, where I worked for a small business with 11 employees. The company was Simmons Sanitation. That’s right, I was a garbage man for a day. Here’s a story the local TV station, KLEW, did about my work.
I showed up for my shift at 6 a.m. Soon after, I was riding on the back of the truck with the company owner, Robert, picking up garbage and recyclables. The driver, Luke, taught me how to operate the levers and keep my fingers out of the way of hydraulic compactors. Of course, there was the constant picking up and dumping of trash barrels.
Robert is president of the local chamber of commerce and involved in countless community activities. The day was spent working, listening and learning about the challenges of a small firm in a regulated environment while absorbing numerous facts about the local economy and the challenges of a state in transition. Here’s part of a story that Dean Ferguson wrote for the Lewiston Tribune:
Simmons of Kamiah who owns the company with his parents, Don and Barbara Simmons of Kamiah, schooled LaRocco on issues facing the sanitation industry. And, as president of the Kamiah Chamber of Commerce, Simmons was happy to have the politician's ear.
"It comes down to one thing in Idaho and north central Idaho in particular - the economy," Simmons said. "We need jobs and we need to boost the economy."
Simmons, who is married and has a high school-aged son, said his family usually votes Republican. But he doesn't see party loyalty as a virtue.
"One thing that is disconcerting at the national and local level is party-line voting," Simmons said.
Simmons praised LaRocco for mingling with workers instead of expecting voters to meet him at political rallies.
"They need to have a competition between all the politicians," Simmons said.
"We'll throw 'em on the garbage truck and whoever survives gets the vote."
On that day, I not only survived but I had a blast of déjà vu because in 1982 I hauled garbage in the same town in my campaign for Congress. That year I had 22 jobs over an 8 month period and came extremely close to defeating the incumbent, Congressman Larry Craig, even though I didn’t have financial support from the DCCC.
There were no netroots in 1982 and I was on my own even though I had pulled even in the polls. Today, thanks to you, that situation would not happen.
You recognize opportunities at the speed of light and can supercharge a candidate in a matter of hours by flushing the necessary resources into a state or CD.
I am starting early to tell you about Idaho – a state in transition – and my energetic and unique campaign to increase the Democratic majority in the US Senate.
Right now I have two jobs. Job #1 is to tell you that conventional wisdom about Idaho is wrong: We can win here with adequate resources. I know because I have been part of the team to take us from purple to blue. Job #2 is to work in a nursing home in Pocatello, Idaho, this Friday to continue my campaign to work side by side with Idahoans who are struggling to make ends meet and want a new direction in Washington, D.C.
In just a few days this quarter’s FEC reporting period will end. I ask for your support in these closing days to show a broad range of support. Please contribute to my campaign at Act Blue if you can. We would like to add $7,200 to my total at Act Blue between now and Saturday. If just a few hundred netizens kick in $20 or $25, we can put Idaho on the map as one of the states where Democrats can build a bigger majority in the U.S. Senate.
I welcome your questions and I look forward to our exchange of views in this, my second live blogging session on DailyKos, and my fourth live blog session since I announced on April 11.
I hope you will join me in turning Idaho blue. Please tell your friends and family about my campaign and ask them to do what they can to help.Together we can make a difference and take our country in a new direction.
Larry