The letters to the editor of the Bonner County Bee reveals that the Bonner County Republican Central Committee continues to be tone deaf to the controversy it has stirred with its stand against the county fair’s “fiesta” theme this year. As you know, Bonner County Republicans want to use the word “celebrate” instead of “fiesta” to register their support for new immigration laws in Arizona. Also, they have asked the Arizona governor for an Arizona license plate to post at their booth. Their stand against the word “fiesta” triggered national indignation, including a column by Bee Publisher David Keyes. In responding to Keyes in a letter to the editor, BCRCC rep Chalon Harris of Hope writes: “I explained the Bonner County Republican Central Committee is not racist, and we did not criticize the Fair Board. We merely approved the use of the word “celebrate” on our fair booth. The Fair Board has never disallowed using synonyms in booth decorations.” You can read the rest here. You can see the “offensive” fair “fiesta” poster here.

Reaction?

At 43rd State Blues, photoshopper Serephin provides this “poster” for a Bonner County Republican version of the county fair. Here’s his wording: Idaho, where our motto is ‘Making Alabama Look More Appealing All The Time,’ finds a new way to embarrass itself thanks to the Bonner County Republicans. NOTE: All vendors must substitute Mexican food with cuisine from either Belgium or Denmark. Pølsevogn on a stick or herring tacos is fine/Serenphin, 43rd State Blues.

Question: A bit over the top?

Some depressing county fair in Idaho decided its theme this year would be “Fiesta at the Fair,” as that seems exotic and fun (depressing). So of course the county GOP decided that this was an evil Messican idea. “Bonner County fair board Chairman Tim Cary said the fair was just looking for a theme that’s fun to decorate with, and the choice had nothing to do with official language or immigration disputes.” NICE TRY. The Bonner County GOP’s booth will say “celebrate” instead of “fiesta” and they have “asked Arizona officials for some license plates to put in the booth.” This gets more dumb and depressing, as you can imagine/Wonkette (a Washington, D.C., gossip blog). More here.

Question: I certainly don’t agree with Wonkette’s depiction of the Bonner County Fair as “depressing.” But the D.C. gossip blog is one of the big ones. How have the Bonner County Republicans hurt the image of North Idaho by their stand against ‘fiesta’?

Arpie: I think they (Bonner County Republicans) don’t know what battering is. When the satellite trucks and the Daily Show correspondent show up in August they may start getting a clue of how goofy they are. They simply need to put on a sombrero and apologize to the good people of the fair board and the people of Bonner county for their inflammatory and insensitive idea of boycotting the word “Fiesta.” Will it happen?

Question: How do you think “The Daily Show” would handle the controversy created by the Bonner County Republicans opposition to the county fair’s “fiesta” theme?

In a letter to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Bonner County Republican Central Committee Chairman Cornel Rasor - who also is a county commissioner - wrote, “The Republicans at (Bonner County Republican Central Committee) want to make it very clear that English is our primary language, and call our booth ‘Celebrate!’ and display some Arizona license places if you have some to spare.”So the Sandpoint-area Republicans are assembling a circular firing squad. Bad enough they insult 10 percent of the state’s population.Even worse that their message of intolerance emerges from a corner of the state with an unfortunate history and precious little margin for error. But as a practical matter, will somebody please explain how you can strip Spanish from the American culture?/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Some have complained that the mainstream media has gone over the top in their battering of the Bonner County Republicans over the ‘fiesta’ issue. What do you think?

The chairman of the beleaguered Bonner County Republicans wrote the following to Adam Graham/Adam’s Blog: We have a Yahoo forum for all of the members of the central committee and we had a spirited exchange about the theme. I encouraged everyone to slow down. Now fast forward to our June 22nd monthly meeting where the committee decided to send the letter. The anti-Fiesta bias crept in and the committee approved the short letter. I signed it and sent it at the behest of the committee. I never thought twice about the Fiesta  ”stuff” as it was a non-issue to me. Little did I know what a storm it would create. There is not one member of our committee that is racist or bigoted in any way. Maybe a little more animated about the Fair theme than was necessary but the 5 or 6 who didn’t like the theme said that now was not the time to use other than patriotic themes. Anyway, I have been called a racist in the local paper and I have even gotten hate mail! All we wanted to do was support Arizona. More here.

Question: How could Bonner County Republicans have handled their support of Arizona’s tough new laws against illegal immigration better?

There are two cardinal sins in what the Bonner County GOP did. First, even though the idea of sporting Arizona license plates at the fair booth is provocative and politically incorrect, the GOP turning the fiesta theme into some political attempt to subvert America smacks of the killjoy political incorrectness of the left which has a problem with folks saying “Merry Christmas,” the opposition to school games that are fun but considered too rough such as dodge ball, or screaming that the Tomahawk Chop is racist. Worrying about a “fiesta at the fair” is just as inane. It portrays a picture of folks who are so deep into politics, they’ve lost touch with common sense, and all sense of proportionality/Adam Graham, Give Me Liberty. More here

Question: At this point, do you think Bonner County Republicans will follow through with their “celebration” booth at the Bonner County Fair?

Above all else, avoid insulting 10 percent of your political constituency. That’s our advice to the Bonner County Republican Central Committee — now in full control of the reactionaries who dominated this summer’s Idaho Republican Convention inIdaho Falls — who don’t like the north Idaho county calling this summer’s county fair a “fiesta,” according to the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. Too Latino. Too Mexican, you see. So the resident wingnuts up Sandpoint way are planning to decorate their fair booth with Arizona license plates and use “celebrate” as its theme instead/Twin Falls Times-News Editorial Board. More here.

Any questions?

Dan of the County: I’m just kind of curious about how many other names people can think of that use the word “fiesta” in it and if they will need to be changed as well … I can think of the Ford Fiesta, a certain kind of neat old dishes in various colors that I think were called Fiestaware, and I think some kind of corn chips. So I guess that would translate to a Ford Celebrate, Celebrateware, and Celebrate chips.

DFO: Doesn’t Taco Bell now call the old Mexi-Nuggets “fiesta potatoes”?

Question: How many other “fiestas” are part of our culture?

On her Eye On Boise blog, Betsy Russell has published the letter sent by the Bonner County Republicans to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer: “At the June meeting of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee of Bonner County, Idaho, the membership voted to affirm your new law on illegal immigration and to make a statement at the Bonner County Fair by displaying evidence of our support. The theme of this year’s fair is the Spanish word for celebration: “fiesta”. The Republicans at BCRCC want to make it very clear that English is our primary language, and call our booths “Celebrate!” We’d like to display some Arizona license plates if you have some to spare. Please let us know where we might obtain a couple. Our fair happens the last week of August. Thank you.” See more of Eye on Boise post here. (AP file photo of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer)

Quotable Quote: “Never had anybody go to such extremes as this — my God, they must have something better to do with their money and time. I guess whatever turns their crank” — Bonner County Fair Board Chairman Tim Cary.