(Congressman Labrador at CPAC, photo from CPAC)

By MARIN COGAN
Politico
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011
This time last year, Kristi Noem was home on her South Dakota ranch mulling a run for Congress. Raul Labrador was a little-known state legislator waging a long-shot bid for the House that even his own party wasn’t enthused about.
Now, though, the two Republican House freshmen are basking in the national conservative limelight. They are two of the brightest stars at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, typically a playground for presidential hopefuls and the foot soldiers who love them.

And Noem and Labrador aren’t the only GOP House rookies being celebrated at the annual conservative gathering. The roster of CPAC speakers and panelists included eight members of the mammoth 87-member House freshmen class and four newly-elected senators. Only one freshman—five-year Senator and former Congressman Jim DeMint—from either chamber spoke at last year’s event.
The rise of the rookies represents a reversal of a traditional D.C. order that places first-term legislators at the bottom of the D.C. food chain, a dramatic expression of the place the newcomers occupy in the conservative constellation.
“The new members have much more credibility on a lot of these issues than the people who were there when they were poorly handled in the last Republican majority,” said Phil Kerpen, vice president for policy for Americans for Prosperity. “That’s true both of the activists here and the American public. These guys are the ones expected to right the ship—and that’s why they’re getting opportunities that maybe freshmen wouldn’t have had in the past at events like this.”
That’s why Noem and Labrador were among the speakers to open the conference and another freshman star, Allen West, will close the conference on Saturday. First-term lawmakers also served as the policy experts for a number of panels—South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney spoke on the budget, and Illinois Reps. Randy Hultgren and Joe Walsh were scheduled to discuss education and health care, respectively.
Even a presidential prospect, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, was introduced Friday by a freshman—Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy.
The freshman presence has been ubiquitous at CPAC: aside from their speaking roles, they’ve been a visible presence in the hallways and ballrooms. At one event, they mingled among attendees sipping mimosas and boasted of their big win in pushing GOP leaders to back more than a $100 billion in spending cuts.
“It’s great to be around [the attendees]. Those folks are so excited. It was energizing to see that turnout and enthusiasm for the new members,” said Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, one of the new members who met with the mimosa-sipping set Friday morning.
“I think people are excited about the new blood that came to Washington, D.C.,” said Labrador after his Thursday speech. “It’s palpable; you can feel it in the air. And these are people who came here for the right reasons and with the right values and they’re willing to lose if necessary so they’re going to make the right decisions no matter what.”
For many of the activists, the new members serve as an inspiration, hard evidence of the impact the conservative grassroots had on the midterm elections. A common thread running through the conference was the view that the freshmen served as the vanguard of the grassroots, charged with holding Washington’s dissembling establishment to account.
The newcomers understand that.
“I will be challenging conservatives to reaffirm their commitments to the fundamental principles of what we believe,” West will say in his speech, according to a preview provided to POLITICO.
“There’s new blood, new energy, new message. It’s absolutely what we need,” said Alex Cortes, chairman of Restore the Dream, before telling a POLITICO reporter to keep an eye on presidential prospect Herman Cain, who was scheduled to address the conference late Friday .
For his part, Cain said that the freshmen elected to the 112th Congress made a victory by a political neophyte in 2012 plausible.
“That suggests many of the voters out there are not just tied to who has run before, who has held office before and who has run and run and run,” Cain said. “They’re simply looking for leadership they can trust. Problem solvers that fix stuff, and not just make stuff worse.”
The newcomers, in turn, have reveled in their roles as congressional gate-crashers.
“A lot of us freshmen don’t really have a lot of knowledge about the ways of Washington. And frankly, we don’t really care,” Noem told the audience, in a line that drew her the most applause. Mulvaney elicited cheers when he said a third of the Class of 2010 has no prior political experience.
Conference attendees were abuzz with the stories of long-shot House candidates who made good, as they eyed the favorite long-shot presidential candidates in their midst.
Labrador, who has had a lesser profile than some of his House colleagues, spoke with a sense of awe at his own evolution from dark horse candidate to budding conservative hero.
“Yes, I am the guy who was not supposed to win his primary and was then counted out in the general election,” he said. “I’m now speaking to the largest gathering of conservatives in the nation. As vice president Biden would say, this is a big freaking deal.”

PAKISTAN — Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador has gotten involved in the case of an American diplomat being held on murder charges in Pakistan.
“If we weren’t in the middle of this crisis in Egypt, I think this would be what people were talking about right now,” said Labrador.
Raymond Davis is accused of shooting and killing two Pakistani men, who U.S. officials say were attempting to rob him. But Labrador says some Pakistani officials are claiming that it was cold-blooded murder.
Just to clarify, Davis is not from Idaho that we know of. Labrador became involved in this issue because he said he found himself in Pakistan just a day or so after the shooting. The original goal of his delegation’s trip was to investigate use of government funds in the Middle East. But once Davis was jailed, Labrador said this case became a priority.
“It was a sad event,” he said. “(Davis) was just driving down the road in Pakistan, and two gunmen got off a motorcycle and one of them pointed a gun at him. He was carrying a gun, because he was part of the security detail out there, and he shot them both dead.”
A third Pakistani was crushed to death by a consulate car that went to the scene to aid Davis. Davis was arrested and on Thursday a court extended his detention for eight days while police investigated the shooting.
“There’s evidence that these gentlemen had just held up another car just down the street,” Labrador said. “Some of the Pakistani leaders… They’re trying to say that this was a cold-blooded murder, and there’s no evidence that it was a cold-blooded murder.”
Protesters have gathered outside the consulate chanting anti-U.S. slogans and waving posters reading ‘Hang Raymond.’
“That’s not why we went to Pakistan,” said Labrador. “But every time we met with a government official, our delegation was asking them to please release him, because he’s got diplomatic immunity.”
A Pakistani judge disagrees, saying the court will decide whether Davis receives diplomatic immunity. They will not hand him over to U.S. custody yet either.
“This could become a major international dispute between our two countries, which could then diminish the help that we give to Pakistan,” said Labrador. “That was the message I gave to all the people that I talked to. All the people in my district are not going to be very content that you guys are holding one of our diplomats, as we’re spending billions of dollars in your country. So, we’ll see what happens.”
The U.S. State Department has also asked for Davis’s release. Spokesman Philip Crowley said that Davis had every reason to believe that the armed men meant him bodily harm.

Justin Corr, KTVB-TV

BOISE — Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador got back Friday night from a trip to the Middle East, and he has questions about how your money is being spent in the area.
Labrador was a part of a bipartisan Congressional Delegation of six lawmakers who spent about a week in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. He was chosen partly because of his position on on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“Just to see the conditions that are there. It was sobering,” said Labrador.
The United States is spending billions of dollars in the Middle East to fund the U.S. military, but also to fund contractors who are helping build infrastructure. The delegation Labrador was a part of, led by Representative Darrell Issa from California, wanted to make sure that money was being spent efficiently. Their initial findings were that not all of it is.
“There’s a lot of money being spent in Afghanistan right now,” Labrador said. “It’s $120 billion a year.”
The first two-day stop for Labrador’s delegation was Afghanistan. Like they did everywhere, Labrador had detailed conversations with the U.S. government’s inspector generals in charge of spending.
“We have to make sure that the money that is being spent, is being spent correctly,” Labrador said.

Labrador’s next visit was Pakistan. He said the U.S. is trying to build up the Pakistan military to handle issues in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but the anti-American sentiment and the social unrest in surrounding countries isn’t helping.
“The problem is, there’s a lot of distrust,” Labrador said. “The Pakistani people don’t like the American people. It’s pretty precarious right now. They’re trying to show that they’re independent from the United States, and they’re not accepting some of the help that we’re offering. It’s kind of a dance that we’re going through right now.”
The delegation’s final stop was in Iraq, where Labrador met with President Jalal Talabani. Soldiers also talked about the improving conditions.
“Iraq was the best part of the trip, for a lot of reasons,” said Labrador. “But the number one reason is that I was able to meet with members of the 116th Brigade. I was so heartened by the work that they were doing.”
Labrador said overall, he was very impressed with our fighting men and women. But he still had serious concerns about many agencies, and how money was being spent.
“We had too much money that was handed out to the locals without any reports coming back,” said Labrador. “When we were asking some of the agencies how much money had been spent, they knew how much money had been spent. But when you asked them, ‘What did you get from that money?’, many of them couldn’t tell you. We’re going to have some hearings on the way money is being spent, and we’re going to be subpoenaing quite a few people. Hopefully, we don’t have to subpoena anybody, hopefully they come willingly.”
Labrador said we’ll see the first hearings in the next few months.
Labrador was also scheduled to make a stop in Egypt, but that was canceled, because of the unrest there.

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LABRADOR NAMES MORE CONGRESSIONAL STAFF

Boise – December 31, 2010 – Congressman-elect Raúl Labrador today added more permanent staff to both his Idaho and Washington, D.C. offices.

“This latest group of individuals brings unique talents and experience to our team,” said Labrador. “The people of the First Congressional District will benefit greatly by their efforts in providing constituent service.”

For his Lewiston office, Labrador has hired Scott Carlton as regional director.  Carlton, who attended the University of Idaho, served in a similar position for the late U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth.

In his Meridian office, Kitty Kunz has been appointed constituent services specialist.  Kunz, from Pocatello, has served on the Congressional staff of both Congressman Mike Simpson as well as former Congressman Bill Sali.  In addition, she was a previous director of the Idaho Women’s Commission.

Also added to the Meridian office are Lisa Anderson and Tori Shockey.  Lisa Anderson, an ISU graduate, will be constituent services manager.  Anderson first attended BYU where she worked on the campaign of longtime Republican Senator Bob Bennett.  She most recently worked as a legislative assistant in the Idaho Senate and was constituent services director for Congressman Walt Minnick.  Tori Shockey will be staff assistant and was most recently volunteer coordinator for the Labrador for Idaho campaign team.  She is a cum laude graduate of Boise State University with a degree in political science.

For his Washington, D.C. office, Congressman-elect Labrador has hired Alex Etchen and Kyle Smith.  Etchen will serve as legislative assistant/legislative correspondent while Smith will be staff assistant.  Etchen is a graduate of Penn State University and most recently served as a legislative assistant for the National Rifle Association. Smith graduated from BYU Idaho and served as an intern for both the Heritage Foundation and Idaho Senator Jim Risch.

Finally, Congressman-elect Labrador announces the hiring of Aaron Calkins as regional director for northern Idaho and Judith Morbeck as staff assistant, both to be based in Coeur d’Alene.  Aaron gained his undergraduate degree from Boise State University before moving to Washington, DC to work on the Hill.  His time there included a posting on the staff of Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio).  He returned to Idaho where he furthered his education by attending and graduating from the University of Idaho College of Law.  Judith is a graduate of the University of Idaho where she received a doctorate in education administration/special education.  A native Idahoan, she has lived in Hayden Lake for over 30 years and has also been very active in the community.

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LABRADOR APPOINTED TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

Boise – December 17, 2010 – First District Congressman-elect Raul Labrador will serve on the House Committee on Natural Resources and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the 112th Congress.

“I ran for Congress to serve Idaho and to restore the people’s faith in government. These two influential committee assignments position me perfectly to accomplish these goals,” said Labrador.

The Natural Resources Committee jurisdiction includes public lands, grazing, fisheries, wildlife, water and irrigation, energy resources, Native American affairs and mining interests.  It will be chaired by Representative Doc Hastings from the State of Washington.

“Rep.-elect Raul Labrador is a welcome addition to the Natural Resources Committee.  He brings valuable experience and understands the importance of public lands and natural resources to people, jobs and our economy.  I look forward to working with him on issue impacting Idaho and our entire nation,” said Natural Resources Committee Chairman-elect Doc Hastings.

“Serving on this committee will enable me to have direct influence over many vital issues affecting Idaho,” continued Labrador. “I will be a strong voice for Idahoans on land use, water rights, energy development, wildlife management, Native American affairs, mineral and mining interests and a range of other policy areas important to Idaho and the country.”

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The committee has broad jurisdiction over all federal government-wide activities and its overall authority makes it one of the most influential and powerful committees in the Congress.

Incoming Chairman Darrell Issa of California praised Representative-Elect Labrador’s appointment to the Committee saying, “Representative-elect Labrador will be a key partner in our effort to live up to the mandate of the American people to reform a federal bureaucracy that is overrun with waste, fraud, and mismanagement.  Working with Raul, we can reform a broken and wasteful government so that it better serves Idahoans and all Americans.”

Congressman-elect Labrador added, “While in the Idaho Legislature I fought for less government spending and to ensure the proper role of government.  During my campaign, I emphasized the need to restrain an out of control federal government.  With my appointment to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I will fight to turn my words into action.  We need to root out government waste, fix so much of what is broken in Washington and advance investigations that address the fraud and waste that has resulted in a government in which the American people no longer have confidence.”

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is widely treasured as the one holiday that all Americans share equally, regardless of their background or religious beliefs. It is a holiday that unifies and binds us as a people because it defines us in so many positive ways.

The spirit of generosity, of sharing—simply understanding that without the help of others we wouldn’t be here today—is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. For my family it is no different. We just love Thanksgiving; a time when we take stock of our lives and reflect on the blessings we enjoy.

Becca and I have been blessed to have made new friendships with so many folks in Idaho. We treasure this and it is something this year for which we are particularly thankful.

My family hopes that you and those dear to you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We do have so much to be thankful for in this nation and we must take time out to be grateful for our blessings.

Best wishes,

Raul & Becca

What a tremendous victory we achieved last night; thanks to YOU!

Becca and I always believed we could win, because of YOU!

YOUR faith in our campaign was a daily boost for us and we are so grateful to all of you for your never ending support.

The strength of our victory meant only one thing—the majority of voters clearly understood what our country needed—Republican leadership and Idahoan values.

To everyone who helped us make the 200,000 phone calls, who volunteered to knock on thousands of doors, who wrote countless letters to the editor, who put up yard signs, and who held spectacular events for us, who donated to us, who BELIEVED in us, thank you so much.

It is time for us to take our message to Washington. There is so much work to do and our victory is only the first, smallest step in helping to restore sanity to our federal government.

Our children and grandchildren are counting on us.

I will need your continued support in the days, weeks and months to come.

I will need you to stay in touch with our offices. Let us know what you think, always.

Your thoughts, opinions and views are important to me.

But so are your prayers. Please keep the work we must do in Congress in your thoughts and prayers in the days to come.

Words cannot express how grateful we are for your support. For the faith you have in me.

I will not let you down.

Raul

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Supports Raul Labrador