Full of hot air

Mark and Sisyphus remarked on yesterday's water cooler about the spectacle of Butch Otter, Larry Craig, and Mike Crapo draped across the front of today's Idaho Statesman, bellyaching about how federal government policies helped send a southern Idaho wildfire out of control. Their comments pretty much say it all, but I can't let this pass without my two or three cents.

Shame on the Statesman for its bloated coverage of grandstanding politicians who offered no specifics to back up their claims. Shame on Republicans who - after seven years with George W. Bush in command - continue to blame Bill Clinton anytime they want to score points with Idaho voters. And shame on politicians who put the needs of cattle ahead of people.  (The plight of residents on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation didn't even merit a mention from Larry, Curly, or Moe.) Where are their priorities?

Update Wednesday 8/1/07: The Statesman editorial board today castigated the Republicans for playing politics with fire, writing, "Firefighting doesn't lend itself to soundbite solutions. However, fire season does lend itself to the distracting politics of assessing blame." Good on 'em. Now if only they'd have given the lawmakers a little less space to air their pointless gripes, instead of plastering their mugs and a huge story all over Page 1 ...

Comments

[sharon fisher]

I thought the article said in several points that the politicians gave no specifics about their complaints.

[Julie in Boise]

It did indeed, which is why the Statesman was flat out silly to waste so much space on the story. It took up about a third of page 1 in the print edition.

Credit where it's due, though; Butch has another Page 1 appearance today, vowing to help state employees telecommute a few days a week as a way of getting traffic off the roads.

[Sisyphus]

I found it ironic that other tribes, many impoverished, are struggling to provide aid for the poor folks in Duck Valley, many of whom lost all their food for lack of refrigeration. http://www.idahostatesman.com/531/story/121107.html I'm sorry but I cannot describe the lack of concern over our neighbors on the Res without using the term racism.

To his credit, Jon Hanian, Otter's spokesperson, attempted to focus the media on the plight of our fellow citizens and the lack of federal response but the media took a pass instead focusing on the Senators' dog and pony show.

Our Senators should be ashamed that instead of using their bully pulpit to focus on suffering people they drew attention to the cows. And its time to revisit this quote from a former Governor about Katrina victims:
"Here in Idaho, we couldn't understand how people could sit around on the kerbs waiting for the federal government to come and do something. We had a dam break in 1976, but we didn't whine about it. We got out our backhoes and we rebuilt the roads and replanted the fields and got on with our lives. That's the culture here. Not waiting for the federal government to bring you drinking water. In Idaho there would have been entrepreneurs selling the drinking water."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1789613,00.html

Last I checked he owned lots of cows.

[Sisyphus]

Also MG has a post with a great comment on how ludicrous the Senators' points are: http://mountaingoatreport.typepad.com/the_mountaingoat_report/2007/07/gee-folks-if-we.html#comments

[GOPTRUTH]

Actually, Julie, the tribe's Chairman Kyle Prior SPECIFICALLY went out of his way to thank Larry, Butch and Mike for all the help they provided the tribe during their crisis. The three were warmly welcomed and thanked numerous times when they visited the reservation on Monday morning - BEFORE they met with any ranchers (besides the ranchers/tribe members at the meeting in Duck Valley. Yes, a lot of Native Americans are ranchers -oops) Duck Valley was clearly the first priority.

You should know by now, you can fill volumes with what you don't read in the newspapers/what reporters specifically leave out of their stories.

[Julie in Boise]

Thanks, GOPTRUTH. That's good to know - and as a former journalist, yes, I also know that stories often get cut after they're written.