With what he calls a joking political announcement, Larry Grant has gotten ample attention.
I also think Grant managed to get his points across β about the Idaho Republican Party and about 1st District Rep. Walt Minnick.
[...]
For some critics, the health care reform "public option" is a visceral issue, a representation of a government intrusion into personal health decisions.
The nuts-and-bolts debate is unfolding in a different realm, where health care reform hinges on a colder calculus. How much will it "cost" to extend coverage to uninsured [...]
At the website for The Common Interest, a nonpartisan good-government group headed by newly announced Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred, a page is devoted to testimonials from Idaho politicos.
Guess who's first on the list?
[...]At the website for The Common Interest, a nonpartisan good-government group headed by newly announced Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred, a page is devoted to testimonials from Idaho politicos.
Guess who's first on the list?
[...]In one of the shortest-lived mysteries in Idaho political history, Democrats appear to have their "secret" candidate for governor.
And he's an interesting pick: Keith Allred, a former public policy professor at Harvard who returned to his native Idaho to head up the respected (and nonpartisan) good-government group The Common Interest.
For sale (perhaps): Barely used residential real estate with great views in a convenient Downtown Boise location.
The state is facing up to some fiscal facts and basic logistics β Idaho has a governor's mansion it doesn't seem to need. Wisely, a state panel wants to spend the next two months' [...]
Former U.S. Rep. Bill Sali has been keeping quiet about whether he wants to run for his old job, but the rumor mill is wide awake.
Conservative activist and former congressional candidate Dennis Mansfield predicts that Sali will join β and ultimately defeat β Vaughn Ward and state Rep. Raul [...]
Here's the headline from a Rep. Mike Simpson news release Thursday: "Simpson votes against permanent death tax."
And the headline from Rep. Walt Minnick's press office: "Minnick votes to protect Idaho farm families."
The two were talking about the same vote, of course β except Minnick, D-Idaho, voted yes, and Simpson, R-Idaho, [...]
I had an interesting discussion the other day with staffers from the Arbiter, Boise State University's campus paper. We spent about an hour talking about topics that might (or might not) merit an editorial.
We had our strongest debate about Tiger Woods and what can now be described as his "transgressions."' [...]
President Obama can still pull off a well-crafted speech. On Tuesday night, he managed to work in some passive aggressiveness on Iraq, revisit America's history in Vietnam, conjure the memories of 9/11 and attempt, at least, to refocus attention on Afghanistan.
Clever rhetoric doesn't ensure success in Afghanistan. Nothing does β [...]
... Just in case that 18-month review of Idaho's highway funding dilemma wasn't enough of a tipoff.
The 2010 Legislature will not look at any major fee or tax hikes for highways, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee says. He made this not-exactly-bold prediction in this morning's Idaho Press-Tribune.
"We'" [...]
Because it comes from a national newspaper β and because Idaho has a considerable direct stake in the debate β this Los Angeles Times editorial deserves your attention.
Labeling nuclear power "a failed experiment of the past, not an answer for the future," the Times argues against providing loan guarantees [...]
When the Statesman's Erika Bolstad broke a rock-solid story about bonuses awarded by outgoing and embattled Sen. Larry Craig, the detractors were quick to chime in. Their message, loosely translated: "Hey Statesman, let the Craig story die already."
A funny item from Wednesday's mailbag.
Got a letter to the editor addressed to the Statesman, "Somewhere on Curtis, Boise, Idaho."
The proper address, BTW, is 1200 N. Curtis Road.
And yes, skeptics, your government is at work. This letter still managed to arrive at our office β just two days after it' [...]
At least this is the kind of thing the opposition party should do.
Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, floated a politically doomed idea the other day: Idaho should raise taxes temporarily in order to limit the budgetary damage to public schools, higher education and Medicaid.
Her proposal: Impose a 5 percent income tax [...]
Gov. Butch Otter has made pretty clear his approach to Idaho's continuing budget crisis.
Limit the damage to public schools, even if that means taking money from state savings accounts. Continue to make cuts elsewhere β including Medicaid and higher education. Hold the line on tax increases that could fund education' [...]
Bryan Fischer's old Idaho Values Alliance is silent (as a check of his old URL stomping ground demonstrates).
But Fischer, now a Mississippi-based radio talker, is doing what radio talkers do well. He is demagoguing a tragedy β the Fort Hood shooting massacre β by doing a little bit of' [...]
As former chief of staff to Gov. Cecil Andrus, Marc Johnson knows a thing or two about how Democratic candidates can win in Idaho.
And that makes his take on Rep. Walt Minnick worth your time. He posted it at his blog earlier in the week. Give it a read.
The [...]
Want to learn more about slow-cooked BBQ? Which Mad (Wo)Man you are? Or what city should play Shelbyville to Boise's Springfield?
Come to the Egyptian Theater tonight at 7 p.m.
It's Ignite Boise 3 night, which promises a full and eclectic evening of fun presentations. The rules: each talk runs five [...]
A leftover from last week:
Former Sen. Larry Craig joined a diverse, bipartisan group of co-signers on a petition calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison β and for the prosecution of terrorism suspects in federal courts.
The petition caught the notice of Wall Street Journal blogger Jess Bravin. [...]
I don't think the 1st Congressional District race will really take shape until the end of November β or whenever Bill Sali decides whether he plans to seek his old job.
The Republican lineup changed considerably Tuesday, when state Rep. Ken Roberts of Donnelly left the race and state Rep. Raul' [...]
Rep. Walt Minnick may well have alienated some of his Democratic allies by opposing the health care reform bill that passed the House Saturday.
Yet the 1st District congressman still drew heat from Republicans Saturday night. Minnick opposed an amendment that would restrict federal funding of abortions.
Passed largely with the [...]
The scorecard from Tuesday's city elections: Statesman-endorsed candidates won seven of 12 races across the Valley.
The Statesman editorial board endorsed victorious candidates Vern Bisterfeldt, Maryanne Jordan and TJ Thomson for Boise City Council; Tom Dale for Nampa mayor; Pam White, Nampa City Council; Keith Bird, Meridian City Council; and Richard' [...]
Updated, 7:05 p.m., to add a quote from Nathaniel Hoffman.
The Center for Media and Democracy defines a "push poll" as follows: "Using the guise of opinion polling, disinformation about a candidate or issue is planted in the minds of those being 'surveyed'. Push-polls are designed to shape, rather than" [...]
I'm not sure 17.6 percent of the voters can deliver a mandate.
This sliver of the Boise electorate resoundingly re-elected City Council incumbents Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan and gave TJ Thomson a comfortable win in an open council race. And I suppose the 82.4 percent who stayed home offered a' [...]
11:46 p.m. Two years ago, Gary Smith lost a Star City Council election by one vote. Now, it appears he has narrowly won a council seat.
Smith received 514 votes, a 51 percent majority, to incumbent Dustin Christopherson's 493 votes.
11:29 p.m. Cliffhanger of the night: Challenger Bob Henry has passed Nampa' [...]
No blog this morning, but I'll be back here tonight to blog about the election results.
I'll also post Twitter updates @KevinRichert.
For more election talk and analysis, join Nate Shelman at 670 KBOI from 9 to 11 p.m. I'll be in the studio talking over the results.
Thinking one year out to the 2010 elections, Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick has made an unenviable Top 10 list.
The first-term lawmaker has made the list of the 10 most vulnerable House incumbents, as compiled by Beltway reading staple Roll Call.
Ranking aside, how much is Minnick at risk?
[...]Just in case you missed it, Dave Litster doesn't like the streetcar.
He considers it Mayor Dave Bieter's "trolley folly."
And in a slick campaign flier that made its way into mailboxes this week, the Boise City Council candidate mentions the trolley eight, count 'em, eight times. Four times on each side.' [...]
I want to be proven wrong β honest.
But I'm going to predict that come Tuesday, we'll see the lowest turnout this decade for a general election in Boise.
The magic number is 30 percent. That was the turnout in 2007, when Mayor Dave Bieter and City Council incumbents Elaine Clegg, David [...]
TJ Thomson has outraised the other seven candidates for Boise City Council.
Combined.
According to some eye-popping numbers at the city of Boise's website, Thomson has raised $48,921.27 in his bid to succeed Jim Tibbs on the council.
The other candidates have raised a total of $33,867.
Aside from the numbers, not' [...]
Endorsing in city races is a great way to get a pulse of a municipality.
Including an idiosyncratic city such as Kuna.
What an odd state of affairs is unfolding in the tropical climes of Ada County. A full slate of 10 candidates (the top two vote-getters win). Some odd β and [...]
While writing our Eagle City Council endorsements (which will appear in Wednesday's paper), I couldn't help but notice a typo on the cover page of the city's 2009-10 budget report.
According to the report, the council approved the report on Sept. 8, 2098.
Now that's working ahead.
[...]I am struck by the juxtaposition of two good editorials in Idaho newspapers Sunday.
The Lewiston Tribune offered a damning critique on the health of Idaho universities β which are struggling with budget cuts because, in the apt words of opinion editor Marty Trillhaase, "Higher education remains the Idaho Legislatureβs target" [...]
If you read enough left-wing blogs or watch enough Comedy Central, you might conclude that Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch condone rape.
The accusation is out of line. The so-called "Franken amendment" is far more complex than the critics would have you think. In our information age, innuendo and [...]
TJ Thomson has the backing of some big-name Boiseans, including Mayor Dave Bieter and four sitting City Council members.
That's one of Thomson's selling points β and to Thomson's critics, that is also one of his biggest flaws. Critics suggest that Thomson would fall in line with Bieter and a left-leaning' [...]
It is odd that two Boise City Council incumbents would have to run on their voting record on health care reform.
But that's the situation facing Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan, thanks (using the word advisedly) to a non-binding health care reform resolution passed Sept. 15.
' [...]Media outlets across America are wrestling with social media: how to establish a presence, and how much should reporters say on social media sites.
The Statesman has trusted individual reporters to use their own best judgment β and choose to participate, or not participate, as they see fit.
It is disappointing β and comical β to listen to Canyon County commissioners balk and squawk and try to wangle their way out of setting up vehicle emissions testing.
And every bit as refreshing to hear a number of Nampa city candidates take a level-headed and solutions-based approach to the same [...]
... And yes, that is becoming a recurring headline.
Today, the State Board of Education will consider a plan that would take a little promise out of Idaho's Promise Scholarship program.
Faced with declining state funding, the board could cut the scholarships to $400 a year for eligible first- and second-year Idaho' [...]
Local governments and public transit advocates have had enough trouble trying to convince lawmakers to give them local-option taxing authority.
I can't imagine that the brouhaha over the Boise Downtown streetcar will make things any better. More likely, it could make matters even worse.
The streetcar campaign personifies the boogieman the local-option' [...]
With an endorsement from retiring City Council member Jim Tibbs, David Litster, has further established himself as the anti-establishment candidate in what is becoming Boise's most interesting council race.
A longtime police officer who briefly served as police chief, Tibbs has been something of a contrarian voice during' [...]
Boise City Hall has bungled the streetcar issue so badly that it has handed a nice fat opening to an anti-establishment candidate.
David Litster, an opponent of the $65 million streetcar project, wants to launch a petition drive to put the question on the Nov. 3 city ballot.
He says the [...]
As part of my legwork for Friday's editorial on Boise City Hall's streetcar public outreach contract, I posed a list of questions to Adam Park, Mayor Dave Bieter's spokesman.
Because Park's answers are pretty detailed β and because of the controversy surrounding the streetcar contract β I thought it would [...]
Everyone knows there's no "I" in "team."
There is, however, an "I" in "egocentric."
Commissioner Sara Baker shut down Wednesday's Ada County Highway District meeting by throwing a tantrum worthy of a second-tier reality show. Baker's problem: Her name doesn't appear on a plaque at the new East ParkCenter Bridge, opened in [...]
Sure, I could try to predict next month's city elections. But it's time to take a quick hiatus from politics, however briefly:
I reserve the right to change my league championship series and World Series picks, if and when my division series picks get blown up:
American League Division Series
[...]On Thursday's Statesman Opinion page, Cecil Andrus touted Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge Mine project. The mine would preserve more than 700 jobs near Soda Springs, provide phosphate ore for Monsanto's Roundup herbicide β and, in Andrus' words, "establish an innovative, forward-looking level of stewardship that sets the environmental bar higher" [...]
Journalism and politics are itinerant worlds β particularly in Idaho. Paths cross over and over. Titles change. People don't change much.
Chuck Oxley was always smart and opinionated, good-natured and sharp-witted. It didn't matter whether he was a fellow newspaper editor, a candidate for state Legislature or a spokesman for the [...]
In two recent editorials, I have written that public schools sustained a 7.7 percent budget cut in 2009-10.
And that's true of Idaho general fund dollars β which are traditionally the coin of the realm when politicos talk about state budget trends. The 2009-10 general fund appropriation for K-12 was just' [...]
A leftover city elections endorsement from Friday: Conservation Voters for Idaho has endorsed Boise City Council incumbents Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan and newcomer TJ Thomson.
No surprises here. A fairly predictable endorsement of the current city administration on environmental and public transportation issues.
[...]UPDATED, 11:13 a.m., to reflect news on the state's budget holdbacks.
If you want to get into the University of Illinois, it might help to know a now-defrocked governor or a convicted political player.
The school has reportedly passed over ordinary aspiring students in favor of politically connected applicants β among the' [...]
TJ Thomson picked up one more high-profile endorsement this morning: Boise's police union is backing the City Council candidate.
In an otherwise quiet campaign, Thomson has already received endorsements from Mayor Dave Bieter, four current City Council members and a long list of prominent Democrats.
' [...]An odd but potentially productive legislative coalition wants to ban texting while driving.
Boise Democratic state Sen. Les Bock is taking another run at the texting ban; a similar bill stalled earlier this year. He has some key allies: Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell; and House Transportation Chairwoman [...]
Idahoans are looking for work and struggling to find health insurance. Our homes are losing some of their value. And we're less well educated than most other states.
But at least our state government isn't sugar-coating the facts. Instead, government is actually performing a service by helping to inform the debate [...]
These are worth a read. They come from two colleagues and former co-workers I respect: Corey Taule, opinion editor at the Post Register in Idaho Falls, and Marty Trillhaase, editorial page editor at the Lewiston Tribune.
Normally, I might insert these in our Saturday WestViews lineup, but we're going to focus' [...]
The Obama administration's salmon recovery plan has kept Snake River dam breaching on the table β but has moved it to about the farthest corner imaginable.
You'd think that this plan would be enough to satisfy the most ardent breaching opponents and dam status quo apologists. Apparently not.
Consider the overwrought [...]
Rep. Walt Minnick makes a good point about Rep. Joe "You Lie" Wilson, and has a good explanation for voting to reprimand the South Carolina Republican.
Through spokesman John Foster, Minnick commended Wilson for apologizing to President Obama for his outburst last week. However, Minnick said Wilson owed his House colleagues [...]
Idaho's two House members disagreed on a resolution rebuking Rep. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who shouted "You lie!" during President Obama's address last week on health care reform.
Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick voted yes. Said Minnick spokesman John Foster: "Walt commends Rep. Wilson for apologizing to the president, but" [...]
Here, tucked amidst the inescapable bureaucratic jargon, is an interesting little tidbit from The Times-News in Twin Falls.
The City Council Monday voted to amend a land swap agreement with a local developer β a new deal that could give the city ownership of the Evel Knievel jump site.
Back when Idaho politicians were railing about β and voting against β the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, they suggested the staggering sum of taxpayer money would wind up in a black hole.
Turns out that a disproportionate chunk is heading right here.
Idaho ranks No. 5 per capita in stimulus fund [...]
When Idaho's peregrine falcon quarter was released β to widespread and unfair criticism β many Idahoans wanted a coin that celebrated Idaho's wild and rugged scenery.
They'll get their wish. In 2019.
The U.S Mint will release 56 "America the Beautiful" quarters, commemorating one park, national forest or national historic site' [...]
For three years, some Idaho Republicans have been pushing to close their primary elections.
And yet, in a way, we might be better off forgetting everything we think we know about this issue.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill wants the GOP to basically go back to square one, and demonstrate how [...]
The 2009 city elections are two months away (the filing deadline was Friday, and in case you missed it last weekend, here's the rundown of who's running.)
So the focus on this blog will turn to municipal races. I'll try to post news as it comes in, and insights from' [...]
Idaho get $173 million worth of bad budget news today.
Tax collections are now expected to come in $173 million below initial projections for 2009-10, wiping out a state surplus and leaving a $151.4 million shortfall.
Gov. Butch Otter isn't ruling out options β including budget cuts and raids on the state's [...]
A group of Idahoans showed up at Sen. Jim Risch's Washington, D.C., office to demand health-care reform.
Risch asked the group why they wanted reform. They told him reform would bring down health care costs. Pointing to his desk, and one of the health care reform bills now before the House,' [...]
You win some, you lose some.
On Wednesday β one day after two wolves were killed at the start of Idaho's wolf hunting season β the Times' editorial board dropped in to criticize the hunt. Part of their editorial focused on biology. Part of it is rooted in patronizing pop [...]
It's hard to tell which of these two comments was more surprising.
Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick admitted Monday that he canceled some recent meetings at the University of Idaho to work in some fund-raising calls and keep pace on dialing for donors. Minnick raised more than $2.6 million for his 2008' [...]
Gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell has scheduled news conferences Tuesday to discuss what he calls "the 'Obama Tags' controversy."
That would be, of course, his unabashed and tasteless jokes last week about selling hunting tags targeting a president. That stuff tends to be controversial β and in this case, Rammell has [...]
Just eight months ago, the College of Western Idaho was looking at enrollment well short of initial projections.
The grim forecasts led one local blogger β government watchdog Dave Frazier β to declare the as yet-unopened community college a "faltering venture."
Times have changed quickly. With 3,400 students, CWI's enrollment' [...]
Whoa, Nellie. Who saw it coming?
Perhaps the first (but sadly, unlikely the last) snarky little blog lumping Idahoans in the kooky camp with Rex "Obama tags" Rammell. (Hat tip: Thanh Tan, Idaho Public TV.)
Seattlepi.com blogger Scott Sunde had great fun regaling his readers and riling his commenters with the [...]
UPDATED, 1:00 p.m., to reflect new statements criticizing Rammell.
In case you're wondering, the Rex Rammell story isn't going away. Or at least Rammell isn't.
And a growing roster of Republicans are criticizing Rammell for continuing to make what he calls sarcastic comments about "Obama tags," hunting permits targeting the president.
On Monday, freshmen began classes at the University of Idaho.
If statistics are any predictor of the future, 79 percent of these freshmen will return for their sophomore year. But that means over one-fifth of these new students won't be back.
U of I officials are trying to do the right thing,' [...]
A Thursday reading roundup:
β’ Our Rocky Barker has an interesting saga about a group called Citizens for a Clean Idaho. Grass-roots group or a front organization? Read and decide. And, by the way, this story proves why every good reporter should spend some time on Twitter and Facebook.
UPDATED, 3 p.m., to more accurately reflect timing of Leon Smith's comments
Yes, the Idaho Transportation Department's Pam Lowe problem will get worse before it gets better.
For evidence, check out this morning's blockbuster read
from Jared S. Hopkins at The Times-News in Twin Falls.
Who doesn't enjoy a little game of chance?
An occasional Powerball ticket, maybe, or the March Madness office pool?
But clean air shouldn't be left to luck. No matter what those merrymakers in the Canyon County Courthouse would have you think.
The county commissioners have come up with a remarkably tortured alternative to [...]
It took more than two months, but the Federal Election Commission has finally gone public with a letter dropping its case against former Idaho Rep. Bill Sali.
In the June 10 letter, released on Friday, the FEC said the Sali campaign had made "extensive efforts" to correct software problems that had [...]
I have no idea whether Pam Lowe is telling the truth.
I don't know if the ousted Idaho Transportation Department chief's litany of good ol' boy complaints will hold up in court. But her legal filing, reported by The Associated Press last week, is just the kind of a' [...]
Could be.
A Wall Street Journal writer uses Idaho's 1st District congressman as an illustration for that which ails the conservative wing of the Democratic caucus.
"(Minnick is) a supercharged example of the mess (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi has created for dozens of conservative and freshman Democrats with her liberal health-care'" [...]
I don't copy and paste every press release that hits the inbox, but I found this one to be particularly pointed.
This tongue-lashing comes from Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko, reflecting on President Obama's first 200 days in office.
I guess what I find pointed here (in response to a comment [...]
What if we spend millions of taxpayer dollars on vaccinations and it doesn't change consumer behavior?
What if parents still refuse to immunize their children, even if the shots are inexpensive and readily available?
That's possible β even though Gov. Butch Otter did the right thing, however belatedly, by dedicating $2.1 million [...]
In the late 1980s, when Betty Richardson served as Ada County Democratic Party chairwoman, her party made inroads in local legislative races β including a high-profile 1988 campaign, when a relatively unknown Mike Burkett ousted Jim Risch, the GOP's Senate president pro tem.
In 2002, the former U.S. attorney picked up' [...]
One declaration of disaster. One prediction of disaster. In one 30-minute talk show appearance.
Appearing this morning on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," Idaho Sen. Jim Risch maintained his opposition to the Obama administration's "cash for clunkers" program β and took a hard line on health care reform.
The freshman Republican criticized the philosophy [...]
UPDATED, 10:20 a.m., with details about cost and source of funding.
Gov. Butch Otter has listened to health care providers β and a bipartisan legislative task force.
He says the state will pay for childhood vaccines through January. But it is only a short-term fix.
The state will take $2.1 million from its [...]
I hate to admit it, but I am fascinated by the "birther" controversy.
Not because I think there's a shred of any concrete evidence at the heart of it. I am absolutely convinced that President Obama was born in Hawaii, and was convinced when this non-story surfaced during the campaign.
The facts' [...]
UPDATED, 5:15 p.m., with details on Simpson's vote.
The House of Representatives voted Friday to pump an additional $2 billion into the popular "cash for clunkers" car rebate program.
And this time around, 2nd District Rep. Mike Simpson voted for the plan.
UPDATED, 2:15 p.m., with more detail on Idaho State University enrollment figures.
Workers were scrambling this week to put down tile and complete classrooms at Idaho State University's Meridian campus β and for good reason. ISU staff is scheduled to move in next week, and classes on the 182,000-square-foot satellite campus' [...]
Quick math quiz.
Let's say you're an auto buyer and you have a case of "cash for clunkers" fever. You're eager to pocket a fat federal rebate for trading in the old family gas-guzzler for a new car.
You settle on a $20,000 car that gets good gas mileage β so good' [...]
Since we've had a good deal of arguing here the past couple days, I thought I should post a quick reminder about comments β and my approach to them on the blog.
β’ I really don't want to block any commenters, as has been suggested. I'd like to make sure everybody' [...]
Another new local blog, and one worth bookmarking.
This one comes from Marc Johnson β the host of Idaho Public Television's "Idaho Reports," turned aide to former Gov. Cecil Andrus, turned president of Gallatin Public Affairs in Boise.
In his inaugural post, Johnson offers a nice historical look at Supreme Court' [...]
