Huckleberries Online

ID GOP Fires Off Error-Prone Missive

Posted by DFO

Sept. 2, 2010 10:28 a.m. • 8 comments

At the Idaho Statesman, Opinion Editor Kevin Richert pokes the Idaho GOP for firing off a broadside against Democrat Keith Allred that was laden with fact and spelling errors. Take it away, Kevin: ” … this press release is a doozy.

“First, the House speaker’s name, and it’s the bane of Statehouse reporters and pundits, is Lawerence Denney. The Republicans manage to spell his first and last names wrong. There is something to be said for consistency.
“Second, the release quotes Senate President Pro Tem Robert Geddes as follows: “I am very sure the 2006 tax reduction Mr. Allred speaks of was a legislative action that Governor Otter signed into law.” (You sure about that? Otter was in Congress in 2006. Dirk Kempthorne was governor.)
Also: Otter, Allred camps pick up fight over property tax bill/Kevin Richert; and: Allred proud of property tax relief role/Keith Allred campaign

Question: What do you make of this slipshod work on a press release for a high-profile organization like the Idaho Republican Party?

Eight comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Hereford on September 02 at 10:50 a.m.
Ironically, Richert himself needs to do a little fact checking when he says the legislation raised the upper limit of the homeowner’s exemption to $750,000. It was actually increased to $75,000. I do however agree with his conclusion that the Republican party has got some pretty scarily incompetent people at the helm these days.
Smacky on September 02 at 11:51 a.m.
Incompetence and failure to adopt new technology – along with their assumption that no one else has adopted the technology either.
DFO on September 02 at 12:13 p.m.
For the record, state Sen. John Goedde contacted me via e-mail to provide this following observation: “I believe you will remember that Jim Risch was governor in 2006 when he called the special session to take M&O funded off the backs of property taxpayers and use a 1 penny sales tax increase in its place. Neither Governors Kempthorne nor Otter signed that bill.”
MikeK on September 02 at 12:20 p.m.
Nice catch by Sen. Goedde!
DFO on September 02 at 12:36 p.m.
Under the heading “Goedde is almost right,” Shea Andersen of Keith Allred’s campaign, e-mails: “Risch signed a diff bill. We’re talking about the Kempthorne signing of the property tax relief bill as driven by Keith Allred and The Common Interest. Goedde is talking about a different session. (The special wasn’t the ‘06 session under Kempthorne.)

Gotta get John and Shea to sign up to interact here in the comments section of the blog …
KevinRichert on September 02 at 12:39 p.m.
Hereford is right. The figure is $75,000, and I’ve corrected it. Good catch.
shawn_keough on September 02 at 12:51 p.m.
As co-chair of the Interim Committee on Property Taxes with Rep. Lake, I can tell you that “the property tax relief bill as driven by Keith Allred and The Common Interest. ” is a very long stretch as it implies if not for Keith, nothing would have happened. That is very inaccurate. I’ll give Keith credit for doing legwork in the arena, but to take the credit his campaign is trying to take is simply wrong.

Several key legislators, as well as numerous citizens, several lobbyists -including Keith, worked on the bill and its passage and subsequent signing by the Governor into law.

The change would have occured without Keith.
fortboise on September 02 at 2:55 p.m.
Thanks for visiting, Shawn. No need to criticize an inference, you can read what Allred said directly, at
http://allredforidaho.com/newsroom/NewsItem/10-09-02/Allred_Proud_of_property_tax_relief.aspx

They quote Dan Popkey, and Sen. Hal Bunderson, who was the chairman of the Senate Local Government and Tax Committee at the time.

I thought that statement was also quite gracious about the multiple gaffes in the first try at the “blistering” attack from the GOP. They were also kind enough not to point out the hypocrisy (as Richert did) of Denney and Geddes now wanting to claim their own credit for the bill WHEN THEY VOTED AGAINST IT.

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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.