It isn’t every day that a Dem congressional candidate in blood-red Idaho asks for support from a man who spoke at the 2008 GOP national convention on behalf of presidential candidate John McCain. And gets it. But Jimmy Farris is special to former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. Farris, who lasted eight years with five teams in the tough NFL after playing high school football at Lewiston, contacted his old coach when he decided to run for Republican congressman Raul Labrador’s 1st District seat. Farris told Huckleberries Thursday that he talked with Gibbs’ secretary, Cindy Mangum, when he couldn’t reach his old mentor. Later, Gibbs left a phone message in which he asked Farris whether he was running as a Republican or a Democrat. Chuckling, Gibbs said that Farris would get his vote if he ran as a Republican, and he’d get secretary Cindy’s vote if he ran as a Democrat. Then, turning serious, Farris said, the coach assured him that he would support his former player/DFO, Sunday SR Huckleberries. Full column here.

Question: Can a Democrat win the 1st Congressional District seat?

HucksOnline is interviewing Democratic congressional candidate Jimmy Farris (a former professional football player who played in the NFL for 8 years with San Francisco, New England, Atlanta, Washington & Jacksonville. He's wearing a huge Super Bowl ring earned during his time with New England). You can see Farris' Web site here:

Question: Is it harder to play in the NFL than it is to run for Congress as an Idaho Democrat?

Jimmy Farris: There are a lot of parallels. I was a long shot in both situations. I was definitely an underdog to make it to the NFL out of Lewiston, Idaho. I'm average size — 6 foot, 200 pounds. But so many things that I used to achieve that goal of playing in the NFL are the exact things I'm using now to run a campaign as a Democrat in a state where I'm a long shot.

• Question: Such as what?
• Jimmy Farris: The fundamentals. Hard work. Commitment. Dedication. Passion. And a desire to strive for something that's really important to me.
• Question: Has any of your former coaches or colleagues contacted you about this race?
• Jimmy Farris: I've been in regular contact with (former Washington Redskins) Coach Joe Gibbs. I've sought his advice. We talked about what he felt was important to people, characteristics and qualities that are missing from Congress. He talked about the need for people who want to do what's right and fix problems.
• More below

Boise Police arrested Cynthia Clinkingbeard (pictured), 58, Boise, on Friday after she reportedly walked into a store at Eagle Road and Chinden Boulevard and threatened employees with a gun. The website of the Idaho Secretary of State lists Clinkingbeard as a Democratic candidate in the May 15 primary race for the First District congressional seat. Clinkingbeard was a doctor specializing in edocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, until the State of Idaho Board of Medicine revoked her license in 2005. On Friday, police were called at 9:15 p.m. by employees of the store who told dispatchers a woman, later identified as Clinkingbeard, had walked into the store, made strange, threatening remarks to three employees before pulling out a handgun. The caller told dispatchers Clinkingbeard then left the store, continuing to make threats, and drove off in a car/Idaho Statesman. More here. (Photo courtesy Ada County Sheriff's Office/Idaho Statesman)

Question: Who said Democrats supported gun control?

“Washington has not changed me,” Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador declared today as he launched his bid for a second term in Congress. Here's evidence: The freshman congressman hasn't found himself a home to rent in Washington, D.C. while he's there - he's sleeping on his office couch instead, and returning to Idaho and his family each weekend. “I commute every week,” Labrador said. Asked how that's going, he said, “Planes are not my favorite thing - that's really the only tough part”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Have you been pleased/displeased with Congressman Raul Labrador's first 14 months in office?

Raul Labrador is a nice guy. I first met him at a Roundup in the summer of 2008. He is affable and smart. Thus, I'm not sure that the Congressman from Idaho's first Congressional district actually believes the things he says to get elected. Labrador works hard to keep rich people rich at the expense of the rest of us. Here is a breakdown of three main reasons he should not be re-elected: (1) He wants to privatize social security. … (2) The congressman wants void the affordable healthcare act. … (3) He wants to end subsidies for renewable energy sources but still favors tax breaks for big oil. … (4) On top of all of that he still wants to repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution/Michael Strickland, Yahoo Contributor Network. More here.

Question: Has Congressman Raul Labrador done enough in his first year to win your vote for re-election?

A misdemeanor driving without privileges charge will be dropped against newly minted Democratic 1st District congressional candidate Jimmy Farris after Georgia officials corrected the record and confirmed Farris has a valid drivers license. Farris said he will pay an $85 speeding ticket he received on U.S. 95 just north of Lewiston as he returned from the Sept. 24 Idaho Vandal game in Moscow. Clearing the matter was important for Farris, who didn't need a misdemeanor to begin his long-shot race against 1st-term GOP Rep. Raul Labrador. Farris, a Lewiston native, moved to Meridian in August from Atlanta, where he played for the NFL Atlanta Falcons/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: When did you last get a speeding ticket? How fast were you going and what was the posted speed limit?

Lewiston native Jimmy Farris overcame long odds to carve out an NFL career that spanned parts of seven seasons - and he appears to be facing a similar challenge in his latest venture. Farris announced his candidacy for Idaho's 1st Congressional District seat, which will be on the ballot in November 2012. The 33-year-old political novice will run as a Democrat. Farris, who settled in Atlanta during his playing career, moved back to Idaho in the summer and is living in Meridian. He said he came back to his native state “with the intention to get heavily involved politically”/Matt Baney, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: How hard will Congressman Raul Labrador be to beat in 2012?

Idaho elected its first Hispanic to represent the state in Congress on Tuesday, as Raul Labrador upset freshman Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick with a decisive 51 percent to 41.3 percent victory. Labrador, a conservative Republican state lawmaker and immigration attorney, said he thought the “first” was significant because it sent a message to the nation about Idahoans. “People have such a bad connotation of what Idaho represents,” Labrador said, “a bad place, a racist place. I can’t think of a better message for Idaho to send than to send a young man who was born in Puerto Rico, was raised in Las Vegas and was adopted by this state”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.  (AP/Idaho Press-Tribune Photo: Labrador with his wife Rebecca inside the Republican election night headquarters in Boise Tuesday.)

• Labrador: GOP Congress needs to go positive/Brad Iverson-Long, IReporter
  

Question: Will the election of Puerto Rican Raul Labrador as a congressman help change the nation’s view of Idaho?

Republican Raul Labrador, left, Democratic incumbent Walt Minnick, center, and independent Dave Olson, attend a debate Thursday at the Idaho House Senate auditorium in Boise. Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise, reports on the debate here. And: Kevin Richert/Statesman breaks down the debate here. (Idaho Statesman/AP photo: Katherine Jones)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Thursday’s Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
  
• Cold front brings breezes, highs in 50s/Mike Prager, SR
• Hero Baker’s family to spend Halloween at White House/Brian Walker, Press
• Wallace street makes Great Places In America/America Planning Association
  
• USC’s Haden unveils divisions in new Pac-12/Spokesman-Review
• Washington No. 5, Idaho No. 12 in Forbes best states for biz/Forbes
  
• Hospitals back initiative to incur debt w/o public vote/Maureen Dolan, Press
• Victims say they were touched, shown porn/David Cole, CdA Press
• Bank robbery suspect hits patrol car with bike/KREM, Spokane police
• Boyfriend accused of beating galpal’s baby due in court/KHQ
• Man arrested for waving meat cleaver at Murray supporters/SR
  

GOP congressional hopeful Raul Labrador released his own poll today showing Minnick leading him 37 percent to 31 percent, with 6 percent each for independent Dave Olson and Libertarian Mike Washburn and 21 percent undecided or favoring none of the candidates. The poll was conducted by Moore Information, which also did Labrador’s July 15 poll that showed Minnick leading Labrador by 10 points, 37-28 percent, with 26 percent undecided. “The momentum is with us,” said Labrador, who said he was “delighted” with his latest poll results; you can read more about it here/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise.

Question: Do you think these numbers are legit, that Labrador has closed to within 6 points?

The ‘Fire Pelosi’ bus tour will be in Caldwell this Saturday, September 9, 2010 in support of Raul Labrador’s campaign to take the First District Congressional seat from Walt Minnick.  The national GOP tour bus is meant to boost GOP congressional candidates by focusing on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Labrador will attend the Caldwell event that will run from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon at the Canyon County GOP Headquarters at 117 South 9th Street in Caldwell/Stan McKee, Ada County Elections 2010 examiner. More here.

• Cutline: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele talks with supporters during a rally in Stockton, Calif., Wednesday. Steele visited California’s Central Valley as part of the RNC’s national ” Fire  Pelosi”  bus  tour. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Question: How much do you think the ‘Fire Pelosi’ bus tour will help Raul Labrador?

Facts are stubborn things. We may wish they are not true. We may find them distasteful. We may even be told that the facts themselves are not as they seem. But facts they are, and no amount of political spin or media misreporting can change the facts. Such is the case with Raul Labrador. Advertisements about my opponent in the Nov. 2 election have stirred up some controversy, including on these editorial pages (Opinion, “Get back to the message, please,” Sept. 24). Some in the media and liberal blogs don’t like the straightforward, tough look at Raul’s own record and background, the two things he specifically points to as his main qualifications for office/Congressman Walt Minnick, Moscow-Pullman Daily News op-ed article. More here.

Question: Do you think Raul Labrador is trying to have it both ways, as Minnick contends?

GOP congressional hopeful Raul Labrador has issued a blistering press release in response to incumbent Rep. Walt Minnick’s decision to back out of a scheduled debate against him on KTVB-TV; in it, Labrador recalled Minnick’s comments in 2008 about the value of debates, when he challenged then-Rep. Bill Sali to a series of 10 debates across the district. “What a difference two years makes; it was all the time it took for Walt Minnick to become a fat cat Washington insider who shows nothing but contempt for the voters of Idaho and for his own previously held values,” Labrador declared/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

DFO: I agree with Labrador that it’s B.S. to back out of a debate — whether you’re Walt Minnick or Butch Otter. I don’t buy the ‘Washington insider’ nonsense that Labrador’s trying to sell. But I’m disgusted that incumbents can get away with this stuff.

Question: How about you?