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Labrador tours most beautiful district |
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September 5, 2016 |
By U.S. Representative Raul Labrador
On Friday, I completed my summer tour of all 19
counties in Idaho’s First District – the most
beautiful in America. Spanning from Canada to
Nevada, the nation’s 18th largest district
covers almost 40,000 square miles; 99.4 percent
of that land is rural.
The district is blessed with huge glacial lakes,
fast-running streams, bountiful forests and wide
open desert. The scenery is spectacular across
the district, offering world-class driving at
every turn. As one of about 600 citizens I met
on the trip said, “Idaho is what America was.”
We stopped at amazing venues, including the
Cherry Bend Boat Park on the St. Joe River in
St. Maries, McKuen Park on Lake Coeur d’Alene in
downtown Coeur d’Alene and the flag-bedecked
Council Senior Center in Adams County. Along the
way, I met many friends, old and new.
Idahoans love their state and they love their
country. They cherish Idaho’s quality of life
and the traditional values of hard work, fiscal
responsibility and individual initiative. But
they are troubled by a national government that
seems to have abandoned all propriety and common
sense.
The federal government’s refusal to tackle our
$19 trillion national debt weighs heavily.
Idahoans balance their household budgets. They
know economic calamity will follow if the
national government won’t do the same.
Their hearts ache for the brave servicemen and
women who complete multiple deployments but
return home to a find a Veterans Administration
unable to meet their needs.
They lament Obamacare’s broken promises, which
saddles millions of Americans with high premiums
and inadequate care.
They worry about the Administration’s insistence
on admitting refugees from areas where the FBI
acknowledges it lacks the intelligence
capability to properly screen potential
terrorists.
They grieve over the tragic mismanagement of our
federal lands, which ruined our timber industry
and leaves our forests to burn.
But they haven’t given up. Far from it.
My travels affirmed something that has
distinguished our people since 1776. Americans
love liberty and are determined to fight to
sustain our great republic.
In planning my tour, we chose small venues and
scheduled meetings during the business day.
Consequently, we expected lighter turnouts than
our traditional evening town halls. Instead we
often had standing-room-only crowds, as pictured
below at HeBrews Coffee in Emmett, with citizens
passionately voicing their concerns. Idahoans
are engaged and hungry for change. They are
ready to sacrifice to revive our economy and
reclaim our values.
For those who’ve grown pessimistic because of
what seems a broken government in Washington,
D.C., I have a reminder. The American Revolution
didn’t begin with the signers of the Declaration
of Independence. Rather, it was ordinary
Americans who pushed the political class to take
action against tyranny.
From Bonners Ferry on the Kootenai River to
Homedale on the Snake, I found patriots
determined to hold elected officials accountable
and return our country to full strength. I am
grateful to the people of the First District for
their trust, and continue to join them in the
fight to restore our great country. May God
bless America and may God bless Idaho. |
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