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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Kicking Idahoans Is Smart Politics

In Idaho, a politician who takes the right - even popular - step for his state and constituents flirts with disaster. The politically safe play is to kick the very people who elected you. Shutting down the federal government and threatening default on the national debt hurt Idaho.Because it is a poor state, Idaho gets $1.28 back from the federal government for every $1 in taxes it sends back to Washington, D.C. The Gem State has a disproportionately large number of people who work for federal contractors - such as the Idaho National Laboratory at Idaho Falls and Mountain Home Air Force Base.Tourism, agriculture, forestry and construction depend on the battalion of federal employees working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and the Small Business Administration/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: More evidence that the only one of the Idaho congressional delegation who voted correctly re: government shutdown/debt ceiling deal was U.S. Rep. Simpson?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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