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So, this fight isn’t really over the gas tax, it is a fight about the future of the Republican Party in 
Idaho. Will the far right conservatives fully subsume the Republican Party? Will they eventually oust Butch Otter as being too “moderate”? Will they impose some far right litmus test for belonging to the Republican Party (labeling everyone else RINO’s – Republican In Name Only)? Will they close their primary elections forcing people to register for their party to vote in their primary – all at public expense? FYI - a decision on a lawsuit - brought by the far right - to force the closing their party primary election is currently pending in front of Judge Winmill. All of these pressures are forcing Republican legislators to move inexorably further to the right/Sen. Elliott Werk (pictured), Working For Idaho. More here. H/T: Unequivocal Notion.
Question: Do you think Sen. Werk’s conclusion is correct — that the standoff over gas taxes really is about the attempt by ultraconservative Repubs who control the House to gain greater control of the Idaho GOP?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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spokelooneh on May 05 at 9:58 a.m.
Who cares what that Canadian-Californian carpet-bagger Werk has to say. He’s a tree-hugger.
Digger on May 05 at 10:28 a.m.
This isn’t about taxes anymore. This is about who’s belt buckle is bigger - Butch or Moyle. One can only hope that the more moderate Republicans team up with hopefully more elected Democrats come the next organizational session (Dec 2010) and vote these idiots out of leadership.
misc on May 05 at 11:11 a.m.
It would be good for democrats if Werk is correct.
redman on May 05 at 11:12 a.m.
Sounds as though Werk is performing an unprofessional “hatchet” job here.
Sisyphus on May 05 at 11:51 a.m.
“Sounds as though Werk is performing an unprofessional ‘hatchet’ job here.”—how do you mean? I’ve had this post dancing through my head for weeks now and I’m glad finally someone penned it. His analysis seems dead on to me. Recognizing that we come from different perspectives, RedMan, where did he mess up?
spokelooneh on May 05 at 12:20 p.m.
As the far right continues to lose support from the majority of the population, you can expect them to do some dumb things in a futile attempt to hang on to their power.
Charles_Dixon on May 05 at 12:25 p.m.
Trying to look at this rationally, I don’t see how a dispute over a tax that impacts Idahoans to the effect of maybe thirty to fifty cents every time they fill up with gas is really about the impact of that tax itself. Personally, a three cent increase in the gas tax will cost me about $30 per year. I can spare $30 a year to help fix the road system in this state, and so can the vast majority of Idahoans. This tax isn’t going to break the budget of the average Idahoan, and those who will pay a lot more are using the roads a lot more, so it’s only fair. So to me the House isn’t digging in their heels just to save Idahoans a few bucks a month.
And if it’s not about saving a few bucks, then Werk’s assessment makes as much sense to me as anything else I’ve heard.
redman on May 05 at 1:55 p.m.
Sisyphus, he didn’t mess up on that post, in reality I think Werk did a pretty good job explaining things. Werk however did a political number on a friend of mine who truely had the publics interest at heart. On April 15 in the Resource Committee Werk used those very words (unprofessional and Hatchet) I just wanted to remind the good senator that those quotes are not going to be forgotten any time soon.