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Idaho Blue Dog Minnick Attacks GOPer -- For Being An Immigration Lawyer (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 17, 2010, 12:35PM

Campaign ad from Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID), "Illegal immigration's good business for Raul Labrador"

Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID), a conservative Democrat who was elected in a deep-red district in 2008, has employed a new maneuver we don't normally see: A Democrat coming out with an ad attacking his Republican opponent, who is Latino, for working as an immigration lawyer.

"Illegal immigration's good business for Raul Labrador," the announcer says. "Over half of his work is helping illegal immigrants stay in the United States. He even ran RapidImmigration.com, with 'easy to understand' advice for illegal immigrants seeking amnesty.

"What does Raul think of our broken immigration system?" the announcer asks, followed by a quick sound-byte of Labrador speaking: "Now I like it because I make a good living because of it."

As the Idaho Statesman reports, the full context of Labrador's comment shows some clear sarcasm: "Our system is broken and this is where I work with the system all the time. I'm trying to get people to go through the legal immigration system. They have to pay me thousands of dollars just to bring somebody to the United States. That's ridiculous. Now I like it because I make a good living because of it."

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Establishment Choice And 'Worst Candidate Ever' Loses Idaho Primary

Rachel Slajda | May 26, 2010, 10:10AM

House Candidate Vaughn Ward (R-ID)

Vaughn Ward, dubbed the "worst candidate ever" by TPMDC, has lost the Republican contest to take on Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID) in the state's first Congressional district.

Ward was the Republican establishment's pick for the seat. The National Republican Congressional Committee had named Ward a "Young Gun," and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stumped for Ward at a rally last week.

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Vaughn Ward: Worst Candidate Ever?

Ben Frumin | May 25, 2010, 2:21PM

House Candidate Vaughn Ward (R-ID)

Meet Vaughn Ward. He's running in today's Republican primary in Idaho's 1st Congressional District. He's an Iraq War veteran. A former CIA operations officer. A fourth-generation Idaho native. Heck, Sarah Palin supports him.

And after this spring's disastrous, gaffe-filled primary campaign -- during which Ward declared that Puerto Rico was a country, apparently plagiarized fellow candidates and Barack Obama, campaigned on cutting federal spending while his wife's gig at Fannie Mae allowed Ward to go without an income, and re-released a six-month-old endorsement -- Ward may be able to add another title to his resume: Worst candidate ever.

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Idaho Tea Partier To Protest Taxes Health Care Sarah Palin!

Rachel Slajda | May 20, 2010, 6:17PM

Lucas Baumbach

Out in Idaho, one tea party Republican has had enough of Sarah Palin.

Lucas Baumbach, who's running for the state senate, is angry that Palin is butting in to the Republican race to unseat U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick (D). What's worse, she's endorsing the other guy.

"I think she should let Idahoans pick for themselves instead of shoving a candidate down our throats," he told TPMDC in an interview today.

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