In an editorial entitled “For Idaho GOP, integrity means going along,” Marty Trillhaase (pictured) of the Lewiston Tribune writes: “You know Idaho's dominant political party is having a bad day when its platform reads like it was written by people who spend too much time with their cats, watching Fox News and not getting enough fresh air. Now these several hundred political shut-ins want to set policy for the rest of us. Even worse, a lot of Republicans are too timid to stand up to them.” (BTW, I really like that line about cats.) Marty then goes on to break down the foolishness embedded in the Idaho Republican Party platform. Full editorial here.

Question: Have you ever studied the Idaho Republican Party platform to see whether you agree with it?

JEERS … to U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson, both R-Idaho. The Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 may be just sloppily drafted. Or the measure - which all three Republicans joined in passing Tuesday by a 274-146 vote — might deliberately expose the nation's wilderness lands to all-terrain vehicles, off-road traffic, motor boats and aircraft, as well as road-building, logging and mining. Ostensibly, it's about preserving the rights of hunters, anglers and recreationists - and putting endangered Democrats, such as Montana Sen. Jon Tester, on the wrong side of a National Rifle Association priority. The Wilderness Society is worried the bill seems to elevate rights of motorized recreationists, loggers and miners ahead of the wilderness values. If it were just the environmentalists saying so, you might dismiss it/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. Full Cheers & Jeers column here.

Question: Do you think the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 compromised our national wilderness?

If the pundits are right, Obamacare is finished. Three days of watching the conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court has them convinced the justices will strike down as unconstitutional the law's central feature - mandating people to buy health insurance - and potentially the entire health care reform package. Let the celebrations in Boise begin. Led by Gov. C. L. (Butch) Otter, the state's GOP leadership jumped aboard challenging health care reform in the courts. Then they rode the issue to a landslide re-election in 2010. Next they flirted with nullifying the act and violating the U.S. Constitution. They even refused $20 million in federal funds to launch state-based health insurance exchanges under the act, leaving individuals, businesses and health care providers subject to the whims of a federally operated exchange. No collection of state politicians was more determined to slay this federal dragon With them on the verge of prevailing, now seems a good time to ask: What's Plan B?/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: What do you think is Butch Otter's Plan B?

In an editorial in the Lewiston Tribune this morning, opinionator Marty Trillhaase writes that individuals opposed to Superintendent Tom Luna's education reforms already have won the first round. Whether or not referendums against those reforms pass this November, Trillhaase writes that the 2012 Idaho Legislature gave opponents most of what they wanted. “Instead of raiding the teacher salary account to advance LunaTech's aims, lawmakers agreed to steer any additional money they receive each year toward those programs. All of which is fine if the state is in clover. But the guaranteed future flow of state funds into online instruction has been stripped away. When Idaho hits another rough patch, how will lawmakers find money to continue LunaTech? Do they cut something else? Ignore demands from rising Medicaid or prison case loads? Raise taxes? Raid the teacher salary account once again?” More here.

Question: Did Luna “reforms” die quietly while we weren't watching?

On the same day state Sen. Monty Pearce (pictured), R-New Plymouth, defended himself against charges of lining his pockets in office, the state got a near-failing score on a national measure of corruption. Think there's a connection? Pearce, a 14-year legislative veteran, is at the vortex of efforts to open Idaho to oil and natural gas development. As chairman of the Senate Resources and Conservation Committee, Pearce oversaw Senate passage of bills that updated the state's oil and gas regulatory framework - without which the fledgling industry in Pearce's backyard would be stalled. The panel also refused to impose more stringent controls on fracking and endorsed stripping counties and cities of their ability to stop or influence oil and gas development in their jurisdictions. All that time, Pearce was sitting on a secret: On Nov. 4, he signed a lease with Snake River Oil and Gas, making him a partner with one of the big players behind the legislation/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Does Idaho deserve a D-minus for government corruption risk?

Idaho's primary is two months away. The general election is eight months off. Yet the just-closed candidate filing all but completes the Idaho Republican Party's purge of its moderates in the state Senate. Conservative excess once restrained by pragmatism will find its fullest expression yet in the 2013 Idaho Legislature. The only question now is who — if anyone — will rise to check it. For some time, the Idaho House has been a hotbed of right-wing radicalism, irresponsibly passing bills it knew — or counted on — the Senate would reject. If the U.S. Constitution could not discipline the House against attempts to defy the federal health reform act, the Senate could. If House members insisted upon enabling college students to carry concealed pistols into classrooms, dormitories and sporting events, the Senate would play the grown-up and say no. … Little by little, however, the moderate majority in the Senate eroded. It may have no more than a two — or even one — vote margin/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Trillhaase asks a good question: Who — if anyone — will rise to check the right-wing radicalism that has taken over the Idaho Republican Party?

Newly minted teachers: Bring your degree to Idaho's classrooms. Spend a couple of years here. Gain some experience. Then leave. Look for a state that values you and your profession.Or find something else to do. If you don't know this already, pay attention to the Legislature's public school blueprint. It increases the minimum salary for starting teachers by $500 to $30,500. Actually, that's just making up for lost ground. Before the Great Recession kicked in, Idaho insisted on paying all new recruits $31,750. It got as low as $29,655 in the 2010-2011 school year. That had better be enough, for awhile.Under Idaho's pay grid, it may be eight years before you're entitled to more. In fact, 31 percent of Idaho's teachers are in the same fix - caught in a compensation package twilight zone/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Has Idaho become a training ground for teachers, who will jump to other states for better pay?

Jeers … to Idaho state Treasurer Ron Crane. Crane spends lavishly. He's above the rules. He's entitled to live better than the taxpayers who cover his $93,756 salary. If he hasn't crossed ethical boundaries, he's getting awfully close. Yet voters trust this man to fly to New York City and handle hundreds of million of dollars? Here's what a legislative audit of Crane's affairs reports: Crane expects the taxpayer to buy his gas when he commutes between his Nampa home and Boise. No problem, says Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor. After auditors referred the case to Taylor, he concluded state travel policies - which bar state employees from charging taxpayers for commuting costs — don't apply to elected officials. That's only an interpretation. Even if Crane's behavior is legal, fleecing the taxpayers at the gas pump isn't right, nor is it common/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. Complete Cheers & Jeers column here.

Question: Will recent controversies involving state Treasurer Ron Crane cause you to support another candidate when/if he runs for re-election?

Despite a faltering economy and a steady expansion in the ranks of uninsured Idahoans unable to pay their medical bills, the program that covers those costs stabilized. Credit good management.  But you can't ignore how much of this accomplishment is tied to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. You know. Obamacare/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Would most Republican Idaho legislators admit that Obamacare is working, even if they knew for sure that it was?

You'd think Idaho politicians would be gagging on pledges already. There's a pledge to loyally support the Republican Party platform.  A pledge never to raise taxes. A pledge never to cross the gun lobby on one side or the anti-abortion rights league on another. But as pledges go, Scott Andrus of Twin Falls has matched the gold standard for being ludicrous. As the Idaho Statesman's Dan Popkey reported, Andrus, who pleaded guilty in a drunken driving-related case, put out the call for temperance: “I humbly ask that you pledge that no beverage alcohol will pass your lips during the 2012 legislative session. Please remain sober as you conduct the affairs of state.” What's next? No more dirty jokes? Decaffinated coffee, anyone? And don't forget your hand sanitizer/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Are you a teetotaler?

Shocked to find a group of Idaho legislators taking a taxpayer-funded limousine ride - replete with mini-bar, mood lighting and television - along the streets of Manhattan at five times the cost of a taxi? Stunned to discover that some of these lawmakers take their spouses along on a junket to New York City? Amazed that Treasurer Ron Crane has been squiring these politicians to the Big Apple in splendor for some time? Dumbstruck that it takes nearly a dozen legislators to tell Wall Street its business? Incredulous that until The Associated Press exposed the practice, nobody seemed to notice? Then you've not been paying attention. Make certain you're registered to vote. The state's political machinery is counting on your support/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: At this point, are you still surprised by the shenanigans pulled by some top elected Idaho Republican officials (Hart, McGee, Chigbrow, Loertscher, etc.) and tacitly allowed by others?

Anytime a politician approaches an ethical border, the first thing out of his mouth is: “It's legal.” And the next thing is: “Everybody else does it.” So it goes with freshman Congressman Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, who waited all of five months in office before putting his wife Becca on the payroll. As the Spokesman-Review's Betsy Russell reported, Labrador hired his wife as his campaign accountant. Hired in May, she's paid $2,050 a month and is the campaign's sole employee. Nepotism laws apply only to federal offices. Becca Labrador can't draw a salary from her husband's congressional staff - where he earns $174,000. And Labrador can't spend campaign contributions on himself. Even after he retires from office, the law prohibits him converting whatever cash remains in that account to personal use. But hiring his wife for the campaign accomplishes the same result/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Do you consider this to be the first serious ethical slip by Congressman Labrador? Or do you even consider it to be a slip?

If Rex Rammell's tale were strictly a political one, his 15 minutes of fame would be up. He lost last year's GOP gubernatorial primary to Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter by more than a 2-to-1 margin. He carried only two counties - Benewah and Idaho - which explains his move to the Grangeville area. Two years earlier, he did no better than 5 percent against U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho. In 2004, he got only 35.7 percent of the vote against state Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg. In 2002, he ran fourth in a five-way Republican primary for a seat in the Idaho House. He self-financed his campaigns while declaring bankruptcy/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Are you fascinated by the train wreck that has become Rex Rammell?