From Eric Dondero:

Congressman Walt Minnick of Idaho is a true anamoly. I have long maintained that 97 to 98% of all Democrats are Socialists. Walt Minnick is certainly in that 2 to 3% who are not. And no surprise, he is a former Republican, after all.

Libertarian Republican heartily congratules Democrat Congressman Walt Minnick for winning "Taxpayer Hero" status for 2009 from Citizens Against Government Waste.

From Leagle.com, Aug. 15:

Aug. 15--BOISE -- Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick is the first Democrat since 2006 to be named a "Taxpayer Hero" by the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, a group that decries "pork-barrel spending" and tracks congressional votes on "wasteful programs."

The group's president, Tom Schatz, said, "Rep. Minnick is the first Democratic Taxpayer Hero since 2006 and deserves special recognition for this achievement. His vote rating shows that it is not impossible for Democrats to vote to cut wasteful spending, reduce the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers, and it stands in stark contrast to the average of 4 percent for his House (Democratic) colleagues."

Minnick's voting record garnered him an 83 percent rating from the group; anyone over 80 percent is deemed a "Taxpayer Hero," which, for 2009, included 89 of the 435 House members.

Honestly, this is going to make campaigning against Minnick much harder for Tea Party Republican Raul Labrador.

One Democrat running for Congress in West Virginia, and virtually assured of his election, has stated for the record he does not plan to vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker.

If Republicans come up one or two votes shy from winning the House, could Walt Minnick, compromise Speaker of the House be a possibility?

There is precedence for Republicans voting unanimously for a maverick Democrat for Speaker, having recently occured in the New York State Senate. So, it's not such a far-fetched possibility. It would be high drama come mid-November, indeed.

Editor's Note - this website fully backs Republican Raul Labrador for Congress over our friend Walt Minnick. But hopes the Republican Party can recruit Minnick back to the GOP for some future role.