Former Idaho Congressman Bill Sali, famous for introducing legislation in the U.S. House to suspend the law of gravity in a bid to highlight his opposition to the minimum wage, will pitch for tax-protesting Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, at a $25-a-head fundraiser in Coeur d'Alene this week, as Hart heads into a hard-fought four-way GOP primary next Tuesday in his bid for a fifth term in the Idaho House. The fundraiser, according to an ad placed on the Coeur d'Alene Press website by Hart's campaign and shown here, also will benefit GOP House candidate Ron Mendive of Coeur d'Alene, who faces fellow Republican Jeff Tyler of Post Falls on Tuesday for the open House seat formerly held by Bob Nonini.

Tyler is a founder of the Reagan Republicans and Pachyderm Club GOP groups, while Mendive is allied with the United Conservatives of North Idaho group, in an increasingly testy divide in Kootenai County's Republican party. That split has become so nasty that one side is attempting to hijack the other's name, Reagan Republicans, by filing legal documents, a move the RR's dubbed “identity theft.” There's more info on that here and here.

Sali is no stranger to intra-party controversy himself. In 2006, then-GOP House Speaker Bruce Newcomb called Sali an “absolute idiot,” and earlier, when now-Congressman Mike Simpson was speaker of the House and Sali was a member, Simpson threatened to throw Sali out of his 3rd-floor speaker's office window; Sali reported the threat to the House sergeant-at-arms. Sali served 16 years in the Idaho House and one term in the U.S. House before losing to a Democrat, Walt Minnick. This year, he hinted he might run for the state House again, but never filed.

Former Idaho Congressman Bill Sali, who popped up at the Statehouse today proposing a specialty license plate bill to raise funds for his new nonprofit organization, the “American Heritage Foundation,” says he's considering running for the state Legislature again. “I am looking at this open seat out here,” Sali told Eye on Boise. “We have not made a final decision yet, but I'm looking at it.”

Sali served 16 years in the Idaho House before serving one term in Congress; he lost to Democrat Walt Minnick in 2008. Since then, he said he's been “doing some consulting work dealing with kind of land development, economic development, and spending a little more time with family, those kinds of things, kind of keeping a low profile. I found that I had time to work on some things that were of interest to me. I have a couple of old classic Honda motorcycles, I have finally had the time to start working on those, that's been a great delight.” Sali, 57, is an attorney but went on inactive status when he went to Congress in 2006; he said he's just filed his paperwork to return to active status as a lawyer.

Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how former Idaho Congressman Bill Sali persuaded an Idaho House committee today to introduce a bill to fund his new nonprofit organization, the “American Heritage Foundation,” through a new specialty license plate that would bear the motto “In God We Trust.” The foundation, which Sali and his wife Terry formed on Jan. 25, will work to educate the public about “foundational principles and history of the United States,” the bill says. He said it'll do things like give away copies of the Constitution.

Under the bill, the additional fees for the plate of $35 initially and then $25 per year for renewals would go to the Idaho foundation, except for $13 from each that would go to the state highway account.
  

Former Idaho Rep. Bill Sali penned a “dear friend” letter that was distributed to all attendees at last night’s Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting, defending Rep. Phil Hart and pinpointing what he says is the real reason for Hart’s tax and legal troubles: Me. “Why has Phil gotten so much media attention?” Sali asks in the letter. “In the Legislature Phil has been an effective voice for freedom, less government and lower taxes. Apparently Betsy Russell can’t stand that and she wants to silence his voice. She wins if you decide not to support Phil.” You can read the letter here.

Former Congressman Bill Sali said he does have something to file with the Secretary of State’s office today, but it’s not a candidacy filing, it’s formation papers for a new nonprofit. Sali said it will be called “Preserving America’s Legacy,” and will distribute books, CDs and DVDs about the founding fathers to “anybody who wants to learn about the legacy of this country.” He said his wife likely will take a major role in running the group; he’s just getting it started and getting a board together.

While strolling across downtown Boise in the crisp fall sunshine a few minutes ago, I ran into none other than former Idaho Congressman Bill Sali. Of course, I had to ask him: Is he running again for his old seat in Idaho’s 1st District? “Stay tuned,” Sali responded. Asked how long I should stay tuned, Sali was non-committal, saying until he decides one way or another. As he tried to get in his car and drive away, I asked him why, if he’s still considering running, he raised no campaign funds in the last quarter. “If I don’t run, I don’t want to have to give it back to people and go through all that mess,” Sali responded. “When I’m running, I should raise money, and when I am not, I shouldn’t. That’s the honorable thing.” When I asked him what he plans to do about his remaining campaign debt, which is over $100,000, Sali responded again, “Stay tuned.”

Here’s a link to an interesting piece in CQ that leads with this slightly odd news: Club for Growth, the anti-tax group that was the major funder of former GOP Rep. Bill Sali’s initial campaign for Congress in 2006, has given a perfect score to Sali’s replacement, Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick, on its latest rating, the “RePork Card” rating House members’ efforts to rein in public spending. While most Democrats fared poorly in the group’s eyes, Minnick joined 21 Republicans in earning a perfect, 100 percent score for voting for all 68 amendments the group tallied that were aimed at stripping out earmarks from spending bills. The reason Minnick’s in Congress now and not Sali: Minnick defeated Sali in the last election, denying him a second term.

Here’s a news item from AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The Federal Election Commission concluded its own staff failed to adequately assist then-U.S. Rep. Bill Sali file a 2008 campaign finance report. In a May 1 memo, FEC staff members wrote the “repeated failure on the part of Commission staff to promptly follow-up…and help them with their software problem” led to the Republican House member’s tardy July 2008 quarterly filing. At the time, Sali’s staff cited data file woes to explain troubles posting to the FEC Web site before a federally mandated deadline. A phone call to Sali, who lost to Democrat Walt Minnick in November, wasn’t returned Tuesday. In an e-mail to supporters, however, he blasted media and Minnick for “innuendo” suggesting reporting improprieties. Sali said, “They bear the real blame” for negative publicity. Sali also wrote he’s making an “earnest examination” of a possible 2010 GOP primary run.