Campaign ‘96

Political correctness snuffs one out

Nothing like the power of suggestion hitting North Idaho: first the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces it’s going to regulate nicotine. Now this from Coeur d’Alene Band Stand - a local blues group called “Charlie Butts and the Filter Tips” is changing its name to the “DeSotos.” Even if there’s no connection, it feels like another good blues band name has been extinguished.

Er, Ah, I meant to say hello

It’s easy to see why Donna Weaver, who is pushing Idaho Proposition 4, is successful. The Hayden Lake businesswoman and nearly singular force behind the term limits initiative, is personable and articulate. And she never misses the opportunity for a sales pitch. Occasionally, she catches herself a little too steeped in her cause. Like the time she answered the telephone with the greeting “Term-limit them!” The caller? Mike Crapo, Idaho’s conservative congressman from southern Idaho.

Disarmed by your own camp

Bus-touring wannabe U.S. Sen. Walt Minnick brought everything on his campaign tour of the state, which started in North Idaho last Monday, including his 3-year-old son, Dixon. Dad made campaign pitches and jokes about his Army days - “I was a first lieutenant, they wouldn’t promote me to captain.” Dixon made equally wry observations, interrupting the luncheon in Kellogg to ask “What’s going on here?” Believe us Dixon, the Republicans want to know.

Talk about your personal firepower

Minnick also brought his wife, A.K., on the campaign road trip, something we expect to hear more about from conspiracy theorists (which outnumber Democrats 3-to-1) After all, there’s lots of guys in North Idaho with AK’s (AK-47’s, the military rifle, to be more exact.) Only problem is, they don’t vote Democrat.

Try giving away bingo passes

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago pulled just as many grandstanding stars out into the lights as the Republican Sham-vention in California. But it beat the Republican self-love fest in optimism exuded. Take the interview with Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bill Mauk, who told the Associated Press that re-establishing the Democratic party in Idaho will take some promoting. There’s one vote for life after death in a state that has a singular Democrat holding statewide office.

Hello casting, bring me extras

The Kootenai County Democrats, meanwhile, held their own convention-sized party - the Art Manley Huckleberry Social. The group advertises it as its “largest gathering of the year.” The Republicans, you might notice, save that largest gathering for election day and hold it at the polls. They call it “Success.”

Web site of the week

Conservative readers looking for an antidote to last week’s Democratic National Convention can scroll through the Conservative Internet Forum. It lists hundreds of home pages alphabetically - the standard GOP and think tank locations as well as such sites as Barefoot Bob’s Freedom and Survival Page and the Welfare State Cartoon Gallery. … It can be found at http:www.soltec.net/ (tilde)cknite/cif/. And those hoping for a link we promised to find paraphernalia to from the Democratic National Convention will have to be patient. The Democrats took their home page off-line to move it out of Chicago. We’ll keep checking.

, DataTimes MEMO: Campaign ‘96 is published during the campaign season and is compiled by reporter Ken Olsen from staff reports. To submit information on a political event or a question you want the candidates to answer, write us c/o The Idaho Spokesman-Review, 608 Northwest Boulevard, Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814. Or call Cityline at (208) 765-8811 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9893 to leave a message.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Ken Olsen from staff reports