May 15

Today will not be a day that lives in infamy.  Today will be a day of the Republic that marks the will of the people that show up to vote.  Will it be a day won by expenditures or by diligence and prudence?  Will today’s conclusion be just a sigh in resolve that things never change or a quickening pulse of hope that the voice of the people is and must be the power and energy of our Republic?

 Time will soon tell.  I will be picking up signs today and for the next couple of days.  I hope to see you as I do that.  What an honor it has been to serve you.  What an honor it has been to meet one of the sailors, from Homedale, that helped hoist a space capsule on board out of the sea; what an honor to meet the Army supply sergeant, from Garden Valley, that supervised the mounted Cavalry that patrolled the Oregon coast; or the railroad man from Glenns Ferry.  What an honor it has been to meet the gentle ladies and the gentle men that are the foundations of our existence.  What an honor to meet all the young people and children that will build upon the foundation we leave behind and make a remarkable and unimaginable future.

 What a glorious experience to live in this country and this state with you.  Vote well – make today count for something.

It has been said that you can tell the caliber of a person by the company he keeps.  It then may also be true that one can tell the genuineness of a person by taking notice of who chooses to be his enemies.

Political flyers can use innuendo and half truths with impunity.  In reality there is no such thing as a half truth because one can never tell which half is true, and it is like being half wet.  Neither the truth nor lies can be proportional.

I am not absolutely certain, but I believe many people in the district have thus far received at least twenty from my opponents with more coming nearly every day; today there were five.

How many are necessary to change the minds of the undecided?  How much does it take to buy the outcome of an election?  If it really worked that an individual or group can indeed buy their preferred result in an election, what does that say about the electorate?  Perhaps even worse; what encouragement does that give to those with the money to buy their preferences?  What legislator would dare stand up to a special interest group or person and say no?  A Democratic Republic demands more courage, not less and more independent thinkers, not fewer.

I have made many mistakes in the last eight years working for you.  I have spoken too little when I should have said more and far too much when I should have said less.  I have scolded when I had no right to and should have spoken more softly.  I have cast some aye votes that should have been nay and nay votes that should have been aye.  I have demonstrated arrogance instead of humility.  The list could go on.  I do apologize for the mistakes I have made even though I know I will make more.

I promise you that you will at times disagree with me and I am proud of you for that.  I am proud that I have always listened to my constituents and have done my best to vote for you and no one else.  I am proud that no one can say I have voted in my own self-interest.  I am proud that I have kept eight years of newsletters so that you know how and why I have voted on difficult issues and you can know my heart as well as my mind.  I am proud that no one has waited more than a few hours for a response from me – ever.  I am proud that you have my phone number and that many of you are very comfortable in calling to let me know when I am off base.

I only know one right way to do this job for you.  Go where you are and listen to you and learn from you.  Go to the businesses and schools and senior centers and the dairies and farms; to the downtown and to the libraries and everywhere you go.  Then, when I believe I understand, I proudly vote for you and stand by those votes and I tell you why.

You can’t tell much about me from the flyers but you can from www.senatortimcorder.com .   However, you can tell because of those flyers who is most important to me and who I listen to – it is not them.  Twenty fliers at $5500 each is $110,000 and counting.  Going once, going twice – not for sale at any price!

Some college finals are this week.  This is also the final week before the election on May 15^th.  The weekly papers will be printing the last of the political ads this week, the last of the signs will go out and the radio stations will start airing the air wave ads.  The telephone pollsters and robo-callers will kick in to make sure everyone feels the pain of finals week.  More flyers will likely be recycled to the garbage through the US Mail as well.  Maybe we will even see some television ads?

 Isn’t democracy painfully grand?  Other places in the world no such finals week exists and women and men are dying for the right to endure such exquisite pain.  Many American lives have been sacrificed to secure the simple right to vote, at home and around the world. However; many people here will simply ignore that right on the 15^th.

 Even here in Idaho we have restricted the right to vote in the caucus and the primary.  The caucus turnout is now a part of history but the Primary election is certainly not.  This is the final week to prepare for test day – May 15.

 I ran into an old friend at Cinco de Mayo.  I have known Juan Rios since I came to Mountain Home in 1977.  Juan has always worked hard and minded his own business and has raised his family to do the same.  He received a green card to work in America in 1954 and has done so legally since that time.  He has paid his taxes and depended on himself and friends and family to survive.  I have never seen him without a smile on his face or heard him utter anything but warm and pleasant words about his life.

 May 15 is a remarkable day for Juan.  He has finished his naturalization process and on May 15 he will be voting for the first time.  He will not take the day for granted.  He is prepared, he will pass the test and for him the very essence of all the human sacrifices, to make that day a reality, will come into focus with the simple mark of a pencil on a ballot in a private booth.

 Ideology is not the goal – liberty is the goal.  Liberty is sustained by government being limited and is lost when “government” is used to simply limit the expression of those who disagree.  There is only one definition of liberty and it has been secured for each of us by the sacrifices of all those who have gone before us.  Government intervention, no matter the cause, is still intervention.  I am learning that my favorite pursuit, for liberty’s sake, may require someone else to surrender their own liberty and that when government is asked to decide between the two of us it should do so blindly but never ignorantly.

 I am looking forward to the end of finals week and May 15.  On May 15 I want to feel just like Juan Rios.  Fight for your right to vote; go early to the court house or to your polling place on May 15, designate a party affiliation, designate a party ballot, then vote.  Don’t surrender your rights!

The nature of a campaign – I have endured four and working on five but I don’t think I can define it.  It would be good if everyone in America had to run for an office – just once.  Running a hard race reminds candidates that not everyone thinks alike; if the candidate will listen.  Talking to people helps sharpen arguments on some topics and puts others in a more appropriate perspective. 

 We all may like to think we are indispensable but we are not.  However, there are things in life we would prefer not to miss.  The smiles, antics, and laughter of children are on my list of things not to miss; and yet I do during this campaign, and I miss them terribly.  The absence is made more terrible by the realization that missed smiles cannot be recovered.

 The children are the reason for all of us to want responsible government with people in office unafraid to stand by their convictions and willing to serve the common good rather than ideology.  I don’t really trust anyone but me to be the guardian for my children and grandchildren.

 I have been termed a “moderate wildcard”, whatever that means.  Political flyers pollute your mail boxes representing, among other things, that Tim Corder is dangerous to the elderly and the unborn.  These are all tactics that represent the worst of politics.  The organized groups that have put out these flyers prey on your fear and depend on ignorance. 

 I believe in the sanctity of life beginning at conception and will always support that position.  I believe that end of life directives are the right of individuals and should be carried out between those individuals and their families in consultation with their physician and their faith.  The state simply and clearly has no right to inject itself between you and your family or physician. 

 I do listen to you and not one of you has told me there have been problems with physicians terminating life prematurely by withholding care or not honoring end of life directives.  Not one of you has reported overzealous physicians with respect to the beginning or the end of life.  So why change law that is working?

 I choose not to be your conscience, though I might like to be.  I choose not to frighten you with what might happen.  I choose to think for myself and for you and avoid the group think where someone else has judged their conscience and faith superior or more ecclesiastical to mine.

 I choose to serve you and depend upon your trust and the grace of my God.  Government is not the solution to problems.  Don’t believe the hype.  Don’t allow the sanctimonious, the self-serving, or the tired political clichés to purchase this election with fear and innuendo.  Your voice is important and it should be treasured and lifted up for the entire world to hear – you can think and speak, I believe that.

 Applying labels to people seems to make some folks more comfortable.  I believe “moderate wildcard” is a label that means I listen to you rather than the politicos, I trust you, I work for you, and most importantly – I SPEAK for you fearlessly without hesitation.  Will you speak for me on May15?

Your voting location should have stayed the same but if you are not certain, check with your county: Elmore, 587-2130 ext.206, http://www.elmorecounty.org/; Owyhee, 495-2421, http://www.owyheecounty.net/index1.php?home; Twin Falls, 736-4004, http://twinfallscounty.org/dir/clerk/election.htm.   Or go to Idaho Votes at http://www.idahovotes.gov/ . 

 Go to the court house anytime between now and May 11 or to the polls on May 15 with photo identification and be prepared to designate your party affiliation, if you have not already done so.  Because the Republican Party restricts their primary participation; only individuals registered as Republicans are eligible to vote the Republican ballot.

• Only registered Republican voters will be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary
• Members of the Democratic, Republican, Constitution or Libertarian Parties and those who do not affiliate with any party will be permitted to vote the Democratic Ballot if they so choose
• Those not registered with a party may do so on election day.

 While many people consider themselves independent, that choice does not officially exist as a party alternative. Individuals are free to change party affiliation after the election.

 I understand many are upset by this process but it is the process we have until the people change it.  You can begin the process of responsible change by going to vote on May15 but go informed and committed.  Committed to affiliating with a party and informed about the person you intend to vote for. 

 My record is clear and it is fully open to everyone at www.senatortimcorder.com.  I have defended our schools and voted against increasing class size.  I have voted to prevent tax shifts.  I have voted in support of business and jobs that grow from the ground up.  I have voted to prevent government from choosing winners and losers.  I have voted against government manipulation of tax policy that interferes with the free market system. I have voted to protect agriculture and main street businesses.  I have voted to keep government out of our lives, our bedrooms, and women’s bodies.

 I believe in small empowered government of the people and I have voted consistently to prove that.  I don’t just say it – I vote it. 

 I need your help on May 15.  I have an unimpeachable record of communication with the people in my district.  I have an undeniable record of voting for you.  I need you to register and vote on May 15 and I need you to see that others are there as well.  You have been able to depend on me every time.  I am depending on you.