U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, visited Idaho Saturday, and one of the attendees at a reception Paul spoke at was Idaho Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick. IdahoReporter has video of both Paul and Minnick discussing future action from Congress.
Paul said said he wants Congress to work on the federal deficit, but thinks lawmakers may be stymied.
Paul added that new federal immigration policy remains possible this year.
Minnick told IdahoReporter.com he expects jobs to be the a priority.
Paul also talked about why he enjoys coming to Idaho. When Paul ran in the Republican presidential primaries in 2008, he received his highest share of the vote, 24 percent, in Idaho. He also gave his advice for grassroots conservatives.
During his speech in Boise Saturday, Paul joked that he considered moving to Idaho if he lost the primary election for his Congressional seat earlier this year.
Paul said it isn't up to him whether Minnick will win his re-election, and gave his take on the Tea Party movement.
Minnick said he's focused on working in Congress right now, and will worry about the election in the coming months. He told IdahoReporter.com that he didn't support new federal health care laws because of the cost, though there are some good parts to the plan.
Minnick also explained his connection to Paul and Idaho libertarian Ralph Smeed. Minnick and Paul attended a reception for Smeed held by the Conservative Student Coalition. Smeed also received a lifetime achievement award from the Idaho Freedom Foundation Saturday. Minnick said he and Smeed don't always see eye-to-eye.
Minnick and Paul vote together 62 percent of the time in Congress, according to OpenCongress. The average for Democratic and Republican representatives to vote similarly is 44 percent. Minnick sides with the Democratic Party on 71 percent of votes, while Paul votes with Republicans on 77 percent of votes.
Watch IdahoReporter.com's first set of videos on Ron Paul here.
Note: Paul's visit to Idaho and Smeed's award were sponsored by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. IdahoReporter.com is a product of the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
