I'm not optimistic that the Kootenai County GOP Central Committee will put qualifications for the job ahead of ideology when it picks its (up to 3) nominees for County Clerk tonight. The Tea Party/Ron Paul wing that dominates the local Central Committee surely sees the vacancy in the office, created by the unexpected death of by-the-book County Clerk Cliff Hayes, as a golden opportunity to put one of its own in a key county office. The Tea Party/Ron Paul wing has been unsuccessful in winning a courthouse seat through the elective process. By picking names of three ideologues to send to commissioners, uberconservaties would guarantee that one of their own would hold the office for the next year -- and possibly become a frontrunner in the GOPrimary in May. And that could be allright. Consider the former Coeur d'Alene School Board. Via election and three appointments, it was entirely controlled by conservative hardliners who created one controversy after another in their year to 18 months of control. As a result, Coeur d'Alene residents had had their fill of ideologues by the time the School Board election rolled around last May. They replaced the three appointed seats with moderate individuals by solid margins. The backlash was felt again in the Coeur d'Alene mayoral and City Council elections when 4 middle-of-the-road candidates easily beat conservative hardliners. The world won't end if the Central Committee opts for political picks for the vacancy in the clerk's office. In fact, it may set the stage for another backlash/DFO.