Idaho Ethics

Today the Idaho Statesman has an editorial about Closing holes in Idaho's ethic laws. Using the example of Popkey's report on a recent case of bribery by a lobbyist for the Idaho Association of Realtors, the editorial suggests that firming up the ethic laws in our state is definitely necessary. The Statesman then mentions how Eagle Republican Rep. Raul Labrador is "working on a bill that would make it a felony offense to offer financial benefits in exchange for a public action." Then the article adds, "The idea deserves bipartisan support, albeit belatedly."

Wow, that was gutsy. And it ignores the fact that the Democrats already had included ethics legislation in their caucus agenda of bills. Indeed, Senator Kate Kelly has been working on ethics reform since 2005! But now the Statesman is interested in ethics because a Republican has come forward? Where has the Statesman been for the past four years? Why are they allowing the Republicans to co-opt an issue that the Democrats have been pursuing for years? And what do they mean to insinuate by the phrase "the idea deserves bipartisan support, albeit belatedly," that it's about time the Republicans began to pay attention to ethics, or is the writer suggesting that the Democrats have been ignoring this problem as well? It's bad enough that the Republicans like to co-opt Democrat issues when it suits them, but why doesn't the Statesman at least provide some fair and accurate reporting?

Another Statesman blunder: they correctly reported that the Republicans rejected their own pay raises, but they FORGOT to mention that the Democrats did the same LAST DECEMBER in a caucus press release. Wow, it seems to me that perhaps the Statesman should have a review session on its own sense of ethics....

Living In Obamaland

Ah, Inaugural Eve, and all is quiet in this house....although D.C. seems to be rocking. As a Democrat in VERY Republican north Idaho, I just luxuriate in telling my Republican neighbors about how happy I am to be living in Obamaland. I can't help myself: the Republicans here are SOOO irritated, depressed and resigned to the overall world's end doom of this country. I pity them their ignorance and their blinded view. But I find it difficult to arouse any sympathy in myself.

Perhaps it's because at least one local county commissioner has boasted that he and the other incumbent commissioner, who had Democrats challenge them during the election, now have the "lists" of those who contributed to the Democrats' campaigns. I asked the person who told me this if the boast came because they planned revenge and the response was not what I expected, but should have, "Hell ya!" That's how it is up here. In politically divided families, spouses make the decision to not talk about politics at all, which, I must admit, is very foreign to me. However, if I want to make a difference as a Democrat, I guess I'd better try to understand these rigid, unyielding, and blindly biased ideologies. Wow, is that possible???

What really gets me is that Democrats are the supporters of the underdog, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised. So why don't why my Republican neighbors see this? Hmm, maybe I just answered my own question. Maybe they don't see themselves as the underdogs, maybe that's reserved for, and more equated to, people like the disabled, or immigrants, or "other races." And downtrodden? perhaps that's for the homeless, or immigrants, or welfare recipients of another "color." And disenfranchised, well, the Republican party disenfranchises no one who will support their wedge-issue, fundamentalist-in-word-but-not-deed, and anti-environmentalist, pro-union, abolish the right-to-work laws, and keep-moms-at-home ideologies. Wow, we Idaho Democrats certainly have our work cut out for us. I hope that the 50-State-Strategy doesn't end any time soon.....

So, on this pre-Obamaland eve, it is quiet in my house while we ponder how we can make change and what kinds of change an Obama administration might bring. I can promise this: I'll be keeping a close on the the Idaho Legislature and what kinds of frivolities they entertain as serious legislation.....

United We Stand....

I read an interesting article in the Seattle Times this morning by David Sirota about the progressive victories that have occurred at the grassroots level around our nation. I did not know that 17 states won a Democratic trifecta, taking the governorship, state house and state senate. Wow! That makes me even happier to be living in Obamaland....

But this wasn't just a Democratic victory. In some states, like New York, these victories occurred because of the extensive, grassroots organizing of a new third party: the Working Families Party. This recent (1998) organization began in New York and has worked very hard to ensure that the voice of working families is heard by politicians, and what they want is "good jobs, fair taxes, good schools, reliable public transportation, affordable housing, and universal healthcare." This is known as a "progressive agenda." I guess there must be lots of progressives in the state of Idaho, as well as the rest of the nation, because those seem to the be goals that most Americans want. The Working Families Party secures these goals through electoral fusion.

Electoral Fusion is the process in which more than one party endorses a single candidate. When this happens, both parties are recognized on a ballot, each endorsing the same candidate. It is a process that is legal in only seven states, including Idaho. In effect, it brings together seemingly disparate people, albeit with similar wants and needs, in the effort to elect the candidate who is not just a Republican or Democrat but one who represents what working families want. This has produced numerous successes in New York and the party has branched out into other states, including Connecticut, South Carolina and Oregon.

It seems to me that Idaho has need of a working families party, or at least similar efforts to promote what most Idahoans want, like "good jobs, fair taxes, good schools, reliable public transportation, affordable housing and universal healthcare." Wait, Idaho has such a party, and it's the Idaho Democratic Party. I guess the major task in Idaho is convincing Republicans and Independents to participate in some "working families fusion" and vote for candidates who put people's needs before big business and personal values agendas.

As Patrick Henry stated in his last public speech, "United we stand. Divided we fall."

Someone Stole My Obama Yard Sign Last Night

Can you believe it?

I was a poll watcher for 6 hrs. beginning at 8am. Then I had to drive 50 min. to Sandpoint to teach an evening class. That ended early so I rushed home to celebrate at my Vice-Chair, Fred's home, arriving just in time for Obama's speech. We all watched with great happiness, clapped our approval, and cried tears of joy. I guess about 40 people were there. Then, I finally headed home around 10:30, only to discover that my Obama/Biden sign had disappeared from my yard.

The missing sign was a portent of the next several hours as I mulled and mulled over the Idaho Secretary of State's election night results, along with the Boundary County Clerk's election results, and then cried my heart out for Idaho candidates. Wow! So many 24-28% losses. I can't believe that our local candidates did so badly. It all seemed so bright. But it soured so much.

As a poll watcher I saw all our local wingnuts arrive at the polls, but not alone. They brought their newly registered spouses, their first-time-voting children, and their friends. I haven't reviewed the statistics, but I think that Sarah did a good job of bringing out the religious right. I still had hope, however, for the votes received from the youth and from new arrivals to our community. Unfortunately those hopes were shattered in the night.

We lost two county commissioner seats in Bonner County. Our local candidates for county commissioner lost to Republican incumbents. Our two representative races were lost to Republicans. The Secretary of State offices, who mistakenly put Lew Langness on the ballot, marked him as a withdrawal rather than excluding him after the primary as they should have. Shawn Keough has certainly taken that to the bank....

So, I would like to put out a call to Blaine County - perhaps some of your Democrats would consider moving to north Idaho??? Our land is cheaper, we have less people, and our local Democratic Central Committee is strong. Any takers? I'm sure that Bonner County, also ID District 1, would love to have you as well. We're not the "Crown Jewel of the North" for nothing.... And hey, I'm a sous-chef at a local restaurant, Papa Byrd's Bistro, and our food has received raves from customers from around the world. So, think about it, that's all I ask....

In the meantime, we're making arrangments for evaluation and planning, I've already volunteered to work for a local possible candidate in the 2010 campaign, Minnick will be in congress, and our Idaho candidates ran some damn good campaigns.

So thank you, everyone, all volunteers, all candidates, and our very own IDP. We have taken steps forward on the successful undertaking of making Idaho blue.

Racism in This Campaign? You betcha!

It started after the Obama campaign began in Idaho. Our local newspaper, the Bonners Ferry Herald, along with the Idaho Statesman, printed an LTE that called Obama a Muslim who tooks his oath of office by swearing on the Iran (sic) and all sorts of other misinformation, racial slurs, and outright lies. Then, about a month ago, the Spokesman Review, decided to print the Michael Ramirez political cartoon, Lipstick on a Pig, a very racist caricature of Barack Obama. The actual cartoon can still be found at radical right websites, although it was taken off Ramirez's usual website post, Investor's Business Daily, about five hours after it was originally posted.

And now it turns out that one of our only large Obama signs in Bonners Ferry has been defaced by someone who spray-painted a large, black "N" over the "O" in Obama.


Is this an act of hatred and racism? An adolescent prank? A politically motivated activity? Well the Boundary County Democrats are providing a reward for information that will lead to the arrest of this person or persons. Why? Because not only is this a rash and egregious political act, but with its undertones of racism, if not blatant hatred, it is a message that most Idahoans do not want to send. Republicans and Democrats alike have worked very hard to fight the presence of Aryan Nation types, to promote Human Rights, and to make our state too great for hate. Such defacement of a political sign is not good for the election, for the county, for the state or for the nation.

Fair And Balanced...

I originally saw this on OpenLeft this morning. It's a photo taken by loojie at DC's national airport. It's tagged with the headline "Fair and Balanced." The Republicans seem to have a real knack for tipping the truth scales. The network coverage of this presidential campaign should be interesting, and hopefully not downright irritating. I'm curious about where those T-shirts came from....

Of course the biggest headline these days, running neck in neck with Gustav is that hero of the Christian Right, Senator Stevens, Big Oil, and foreign policy expert, Sarah Palin. I believe that this morning, Governor Palin has won the race with Gustav because of her announcement that her seventeen year old daughter is pregnant, that is without the benefit of marriage. You know, the information that her daughter is pregnant doesn't bother me, although I think that it is irresponsible. Given her parents Christian Right background, I do wonder if her only education on the topic was one of abstinence....a deplorable use of the term education when young adults should be taught about protection as well. This news brings up topics which should be discussed, although I think that the privacy of the daughter should be respected. On the other hand, Palin did accept a Veep position which means as much public exposure as the media can grab. And given how much of a surprise it was and is, I can't imagine that we're going to hear about much of anything else in the next two months.

Sisyphus at 43StateBlues has a great summary of who Sarah Palin is, while Red State Rebels chimes in twice about the chimera. IdaBlue thinks Palin will implode within two weeks, which I certainly hope for but the media has a way with toying with my sense of reason. Of course Morialekafa had his usual bit of fun with this nomination, should you need to find some humor in the selection. And then there are the Idaho extremists, including the Village Idiot and the wingnut.

The presidential race has certainly become interesting, but what will be even more interesting is how fair and balanced the media will actually be.

Go Democrats! Go Obama/Biden!

Oh To Be Part Of The Convention Confusion...

I just eat up the reports about the Democratic National Convention that are coming from our Idaho bloggers. The confusion, hard work, and long hours are summed up nicely by D2 at 43StateBlues, who describes a typical blogger's day at the Convention. And although she is not at the Convention, RedStateRebel's dedication to posting everything that's happening includes an excitement that reverberates in the blogosphere.

For the typical delegate's day, check out Megan Nagel's descriptions, who puts more activities in a day than I thought possible. From events to interviews to getting those daily credentials to travel time to enthusiasm and to catching up on eluded sleep, Megan describes it all.

Of course, being both blogger and mom, I keep turning to my son, Julian, page and youngest member of the Idaho delegation. He has done well with meeting people from Evan Bayh (they are in the same hotel) to Bill Richardson to John Oliver, and, while on the floor, ran into Howard Wolfson, with whom he briefly joked about his role in Hillary's campaign. Hey D2, maybe you can talk Julian into letting you get those pics out of his camera....

Those are some of the highlight moments in days that begin closer to 4:30 am, and which keep Jessica and Julian very busy from carrying signs to running credentials to making sure everyone is present for roll call to listening to both the mundane and the most exciting speeches. And Julian, like so many of us in Idaho, loved Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's speech, whose enthusiasm, wit, and passion is so inspirational.

Julian and the other delegates have also been featured in various news articles. Julian was lucky enough to be interviewed by AFP, which was picked up all over the internet. Richard Hill, a delegate from Moscow, was featured on NPR. Jerry Brady reports about the souvenir collecting at the Convention, which is interesting just in terms of what's being offered. Megan Nagel was picked up by the Norwegian Dagbladet, although they had trouble with their geography thinking that she came from Ohio. The National Journal Online couldn't resist asking Keith Roark about Idaho potatoes.... Albert Wilkerson was stopped on day one for his take on Obama. And there has to be more to come!

Go Democrats! Go Obama!