Red State Rebels

Public campaign financing bill on tap

Roger Sherman of United Vision for Idaho sends word that the Idaho Legislature will have its first-ever hearing on a bill to provide public financing for elections. It's set for 8 a.m. next Friday, February 2, at the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Roger writes: "The Idaho Fair Elections Act (S1037) is modeled after successful election reform in Maine and Arizona. I encourage you to check out the video at the link below. It is 14 minutes long and really tells the story of why Fair and Clean elections are so important.

http://www.publicampaign.org/video

"Let me know if you are interested in testifying. This year, almost $5 million dollars was spent in Idaho on the Governor's race. Isn't enough enough?"

I just watched the video (narrated by Bill Moyers), and it is excellent. You can contact Roger here if you'd like to help. I'll be out of town next Friday, but I will be there in spirit.

Roger, if you're out there, let us know how else we can help; who's behind this bill (is there bipartisan support?); and what the chances are of it passing.

Idaho GOP stiffs firefighters

From the Spokesman-Review:

The Northern Lakes Fire Protection District has been trying since November to get reimbursed by the Idaho Republican Party for costs associated with Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to Coeur d’Alene.

But the Republican Party has not responded to the district’s written request and numerous follow-up phone calls, Deputy Chief Ralph Kramer said.

“We’ve tried and we’ve tried and we’ve tried,” Kramer said Wednesday.

The fire district is seeking reimbursement of $2,087.79 for overtime costs and ambulances and fire trucks that had to remain on standby during the visit. ... (State GOP executive director Jayson Ronk) didn’t return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the state party headquarters said they weren’t yet aware of the request and referred all questions to Ronk.

Read more here.

Ada County disses its employees

Former Ada County commish Sharon Ullman has a good op-ed in the Statesman today about why the commissioners were wrong to institute a new terminate-at-will personnel policy. Check it out.

Divine Strake meeting details set

The promised public meeting on the proposed Divine Strake bomb test will happen this Sunday, January 28, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at the Grove Hotel in Boise. Read more here. Opposition to the test has been fierce in Utah and Nevada.

Comments on the environmental assessment and impacts of the test can be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to: NNSA/NSO, Divine Strake EA Comments, P.O. Box 98518, Las Vegas, NV 89193-8518. Or, fax comments to: (702) 295-0625. Comments must be received by February 7.

In related news, the Emmett-based Idaho Downwinders will hold a memorial vigil and conference Saturday. Participants will discuss recent studies of Utah and Nevada downwinders and expanding compensation to Idaho victims of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing in Nevada in the 1950s. The event starts at 11 a.m. at the Idaho Historical Museum in Boise - a fitting site, since Idahoans' exposure to the tests and resulting high rates of cancer are an unfortunate and neglected part of our history.

Update January 26: Here's a diary, complete with a chilling graphic, from Daily Kos on why people across America ought to be concerned about Divine Strake.

The Ida-DOH! delegation

The 110th Congress has only been in session for a few weeks, but Idaho's hapless delegation is not taking well to life in the minority. Sure, Bill Sali has been elected president of the teeny freshman GOP class, and he was one of a few Republican frosh to get the spotlight this month. Too bad he used it to put forth his goofy anti-gravity bill.

For those of you outside Boise, or those who don't read The Idaho Statesman, its letters-to-the-editor column has been packed with letters about how Sali is making us look stooopid. Here's the latest crop, from Wednesday's paper. Idaho Democratic Party chairman Richard Stallings got some jabs in, too. And even Larry Grant - who came within 5% of beating Sali last fall in a district that runs close to 70% GOP - was back in the news today, criticizing Sali for the congressman's failure to co-sponsor an extension of Craig-Wyden funds for rural communities. Grant is mulling another run for the job - which may seem quixotic, given the 1st District's history - except Sali is already considered one of the most endangered GOP congressmen.

And then there's Larry Craig and his bizarre crusade against Al Gore. Hat tip to Alex, who sent me some of the following information: Craig's top contributor for 2006 was the PAC for FPL Group, a Florida energy company. On Monday morning, Craig flew to Boise to spout off about Gore ... and that very same day, FPL Group put out a press release stating, in part:

A diverse group of U.S.-based businesses, including FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL), and leading environmental organizations today called on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to achieve significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.  The group said any delay in action to control emissions increases the risk of unavoidable consequences that could necessitate even steeper reductions in the future.

Doh! As Alex wrote in his email, didn't Craig get the memo? Does he want to stop taking contributions from FPL? And why is he so dead-set against acknowledging the overwhelming scientific evidence for global warming, when even George W. Bush has finally gotten a clue? Could it be that FPL is only one player in an electrical utilities sector that's given Craig more than $167,000 in the current cycle - his top industry group?

Thank you, John Kerry

It's nothing personal, but I am thrilled that John Kerry has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination in 2008. Kerry announced today he will seek another Senate term next year and focus his energies on getting the U.S. out of Iraq. In an email, he wrote:

35 years ago, I got into public life to end a war that was wrong. I believe now as strongly as I did then that it is wrong to ask more young Americans to die for anyone's mistakes. And I believe that a Congress that shares responsibility for getting us into this war must bear responsibility for getting us out.

Kerry is asking people to sign on as co-sponsors for legislation to set a deadline to bring U.S. troops home. Click here.

Federal Way upholds 'Truth'

The school board in Federal Way, Washington, last night lifted its temporary ban on the film An Inconvenient Truth. Dean Nielsen from Progressive Majority Washington writes:

Thank you for being one of nearly 3,500 Americans to tell the Federal Way School Board to base its decisions on fact and not to be held hostage by an extremist minority. With the help of your action and others, we generated over 18,000 emails to the school board members in just over 24 hours. Your email made a difference in the education of the 22,000 children in this district.

Nielsen adds:

We applaud last night's decision by the Federal Way School Board to lift the temporary ban. They deserve our thanks, but the fact remains that this school board is completely composed of conservatives, while their district is not. Three of the five board positions are up for re-election this fall and Progressive Majority will be doing everything that we can to turn the Federal Way School Board from entirely conservative to a progressive majority.

Once again proving: Local elections and grassroots action matter.

A SOTU report from our 'surrogate'

A.K. at The Sniff Test calls U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon our "surrogate congressman," and I couldn't agree more. With our Idaho congressional delegation constantly making asses of themselves (more on that tomorrow ...), it's good to know that just one state away, we have a friend who will call 'em as he sees 'em and work on our behalf. Have a gander at his take on the State of the Union address at MyDD:

"And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure," the President said. Well, actually those who voted for the war did vote for failure, the failed Bush policies and its reckless execution.  I look at the people who supported their policies, and I know at least that they didn't think they were voting for ineptitude.  How it must sicken them in light of the developments that continue even this week in Iraq.

Read it all here.

State of the Union 2007: Open thread

Don't forget: Tuesday night at 7 Mountain/6 Pacific, George W.Bush will attempt to placate a deeply doubting nation with his State of the Union. I'll have an open thread here, ready for your observations and comments.

Update 6:57 p.m. Here it is. I'm going to watch the speech and the Dem response, then I'll be back with some thoughts afterward. Meanwhile, feel free to post your reaction.

Update 8:04 p.m. My verdict ... this was an interesting speech in three distinct acts, with far more of a laundry-list feel than I expected. Act I: a strong focus on domestic initiatives. Act II: The defining struggle of our time. Act III: A salute to the heroism, entrepreneurial spirit, and resilience of America. Breaking it down some more:

Act I ... Bush scored points on two issues: the target of reducing gasoline use by 20 percent over 10 years, and the drive to come up with a comprehensive immigration solution. I was impressed that Bush uttered the words climate change, but Cheney seemed amused by that and by the gasoline target - even smirking at times. But Bush is with the majority of Americans on this.

Beyond that, his domestic agenda seemed muddled at best. He offered no details on how we can curb entitlement spending nor the budget deficit (especially with the cost of the Iraq war still off the books). His health care plan seems to pander to private insurers, and it may well harm the few people in America who still have good coverage at a reasonable cost.

Act II: Bush turned up the rhetoric for his continued push on why we cannot relent in the nebulous war on terror. By the end of this section, he almost seemed to be pleading.

(More soon ... Webb is on with the Dem response ...)

8:25 p.m. I'm back. Bush said, " We went into this united ... whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure." But the majority of Americans know that we will fail indeed if we continue to pour our people and resources into a civil war that, as Sen. Jim Webb just said, is now holding our nation hostage to predicted - and predictable - disarray.

I liked Act III and its salute to heroes ranging from subway savior Wesley Autrey to "Baby Einstein" founder Julie Aigner-Clark. Even - maybe especially - at this very troubled time in our nation's history, we need to hold up people from many walks of life who are doing extraordinary things.

Webb's response was great. He noted that yes, the economy is strong, but it isn't lifting all boats by any means - not when CEOs now earn more in a day than their average employee earns all year. On Iraq, he criticized Bush's reckless behavior and cited Dwight Eisenhower as a Republican president who was able to conclude America's involvement in Korea with dignity. Webb invited Bush to work with Congress to wind down the war and start narrowing the divide between America's haves and the  have-much-less. "If he does, we will join him," Webb said. "If he does not, we will show him the way."

Gore coverage roundup

NOTE NEW ACTION ALERT ITEM BELOW.

I posted a version of my report from last night at Daily Kos, and it's generated more than 200 comments since last night. Check it out.

New West writer Jennifer Gelband got some crowd reaction, and there's an open thread for your comments there, too.

The MountainGoat Report has a rundown of the snarkiest moments. Dennis Mansfield writes as a Republican and Christian who came, listened, and left impressed.

Too bad the same can't be said of the folks at FreeRepublic. (Nice pictures there, though ...)

Finally, An Inconvenient Truth was nominated for two Oscars this morning, in the best documentary feature caetgory and for best original song (Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up").

Have I overlooked anything? Please note it in the comments below!

Update: Melinda Henneberger has a very well-written piece at Huffington Post (thanks, Tim ... I found a direct link).

Update #2: The Federal Way, Washington, school board reportedly will vote tonight on whether to continue or cancel a ban on An Inconvenient Truth, which one fundamentalist parent forced on this district serving 22,000 students. Click here to send an email to the Federal Way board courtesy Progressive Majority Washington.