Primary Colors

Today is Election Day in Idaho.

It's not always clear who to vote for in a primary. There are no frothing protesters waving "Can Helen, Not Salmon" signs. Lines in the sand are more suggestion than form. And just how pro-gun can someone be?

On the ballot for the First Congressional District: a handful of men, mostly office-holders, and one woman, a former state senator, none of them willing to withdraw from the crowded race in an effort to ensure the strongest Republican candidate possible wins.

This leaves friends who share gossip and sesame chicken at Lincoln Day dinners as short-lived enemies and the average voter in a quandary.

So I suggest that if we cannot agree on who to vote for let us agree on who to vote against: posers.

Give me a starry-eyed, bleeding heart idealist over a politician who runs for office under whichever banner elicits the most votes in that state.

Words mean things. Party platforms were written to help voters distinguish between serious candidates. If you cannot assent to the majority of a party's platform, find another stage.

Sheila Sorenson is not a conservative but she is running as one. She is a Republican only in the broadest sense, which makes her an ideal candidate in New York. This is not mud-slinging. Review her voting record in the Legislature. You won't be fooled.

If you want a Democrat in the 1st CD, vote for Larry Grant in November. But don't waste your vote today.