KTRV - "ID GOP Senate Candidates Skeptical of Federal Government" Five Republican candidates running for retiring U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's seat expressed skepticism of the federal government Wednesday and said in a taped television debate that Idaho should be run by Idahoans. When it comes to issues of education, public lands and energy, the five GOP members participating in the forum said the states can deal with issues better than the nation as a whole. Most of the candidates said President Bush's strategy in Iraq needs changing. And all of them said the private sector, and not the federal government, is the answer to the country's health care crisis. The debate was conducted at Northwest Nazarene University's Brandt Center and sponsored by KTVB-TV, the Idaho Press-Tribune and other statewide partners. Three other Republican Senate candidates, Fred Adams, Brian Hefner and Hal James Styles, did not participate in the debate because they did not meet KTVB's criteria, which relied on factors such as independent polling data, campaign financing and votes received in prior elections. All five candidates criticized the idea of a nationwide gas tax holiday, saying the idea is strictly a political move. And most said they did not like the income tax stimulus package approved by Congress and meant to jump-start the economy. The way to stimulate the nation's sagging economy would be to make permanent the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch said. Dick Phenneger of Coeur d'Alene said people would just spend their stimulus checks on products made in China. "You just can't pull money out of the air and give it away and hope it's going to fuel stuff," said Neal Thompson of McCall. Only Bill Hunter of Rexburg said he supported the stimulus plan. "We need to keep our economy going, and that was the intent of this package," Hunter said. Scott Syme of Wilder, an Iraq war veteran, said the cost of the war is bringing down the nation's economy. "You've got bombs or butter," Syme said in response to a question about rising food costs. "When you're spending so much money on the war in Iraq, you don't have the money to spend on the people at home." But other candidates blamed the federal government's subsidy of ethanol for higher food prices. Risch said he would not support a single-payer, federal government-run health care system. "I am very troubled by proposals I hear at the federal level that want to throw out the free market system," Risch said. He said the federal government would "make a mess" of the health care system. Thompson agreed. "We have to keep the private system going," Thompson said. "You let the federal government get in there and they will botch it up." Risch said he was outraged by high gas prices. Most of the other candidates, including Phenneger, said Congress has to let the country access the oil it already has to bring down gas prices. "Why we are where we are today is a direct result of paralysis in Washington," Phenneger said.

South Idaho Press - "Senate Hopeful Talks About Solutions" Scott Syme, a native of Weiser, has announced he is running for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Sen. Larry Craig when his term ends January 2009. Syme stumped his way through Mini-Cassia this week, drumming up support in an area he says stands to benefit from his policies. The U.S. Army Reserve colonel stressed a common-sense approach to problems he says he gained, in part, during his 2004 tour of duty in the Middle East. He said it is important to recognize the country's stances on immigration, agriculture and energy are tied to national security. He said the proliferation of ethanol has been good for Idaho's farmers, because it has raised demand not only for corn, but also for other crops like wheat and barley, which compete with corn for field space. Syme said he sees farmers in Idaho and the rest of the nation as crucial to national security. * "We have to have a viable food source in this country," he said. "We just can't lose the ability to feed ourselves." Syme said ethanol is just one step toward freeing the country from dependence on foreign oil. He said he would like to see other alternative fuels explored, but would not support government subsidies to fund research. He said he would rather give tax breaks to companies who develop alternative fuel sources. "I'm just not really big on government programs," he said. "What government can do is just stay out of the way and enhance that by not overregulating it." If elected, Syme said he will get to the bottom of why development of alternative fuels like hydrogen has taken so long to become a mainstream reality. On immigration, Syme said he favors working out a solution that secures the country's borders. He said undocumented immigrants need to return to their countries of origin and reenter the U.S. through the country's immigration process. "We need to develop some kind of common sense solution to sending them back without crippling the industries they work in," he said. "I'm not for amnesty. I'm not for granting them citizenship. What I'm for is, let's figure out a way to make a transition." Syme said he supports the country's war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, knowing what he knows now, would still support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "We had to take a new perspective at that time," he said. "We no longer could take the sit-back-and-watch-what-happens approach." But Syme said his years in the military have taught him the human cost of war. He said any decision to authorize the use of military force must be the result of careful study and consideration. Syme joins a field of candidates that includes fellow Republicans Rex Rammell, Fred Adams, Richard Phenneger, James Risch, Brian Hefner, Kent Marmon and Alan Shealy. Democrat Larry LaRocco and Independent Jerry Dean Carter have also announced candidacies.

Issue Position: Immigration I believe we must first and foremost secure our border, not only for the immigration issue but also for the drug and national security issues. We must enable employers to better be able to identify who is illegal rather than tie their hands with fear that they will be sued for invasion of privacy. Punishing employers who hire people who deceive them without giving the employer the tools to screen the employee is anti-business and not good for the economy. Deporting 20 million people would be so costly that we need to develop a common sense approach to those people that are here illegally. We must fix the guest worker programs so those industries that cannot find local labor will continue to have a viable labor pool. At the same time we need to identify those that are here illegally and give them a deadline for leaving and reapplying to come back legally.