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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Three-Monkeys Act Won’t Suffice

When Vernon Baker became the first black World War II veteran to receive the Medal of Honor, Idaho Republicans, the state’s ruling party, went ga ga.

Most of Idaho’s congressional delegation traveled to rural Benewah County, where Baker lives, to honor him at the annual Lincoln Day celebration this year.

“You gave every ounce that a human can give in the protection of freedom,” U.S. Sen. Larry Craig said. “Your example needs to be bestowed upon all of us.”

U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth agreed: “I believe that God gave us Vernon Baker as an example.”

Yet, when the opportunity surfaces to walk the talk, to stand against Idaho’s growing racism problem, state leaders are missing in action - except for Gov. Phil Batt, who has stood by Idaho’s Indian tribes and Hispanics, and traveled to Sandpoint to denounce white supremacism.

Last week, Sen. Craig deflected a question from The Idaho Spokesman-Review about Kootenai County’s English-only controversy by commenting that his office doesn’t field many complaints about racism. Nor, he said, does he feel compelled to take a lead in combating racism.

Does a race problem exist? You bet.

In a five-page letter, Executive Director Bill Wassmuth of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment offered 21 examples of supremacist activity now taking place in the Inland Northwest - most in North Idaho. These include:

The move into the area of several high-profile racists, including Aryan Nations ambassador-at-large Louis Beam, a Colorado skinhead who has joined with other young racists in Spokane and a Coeur d’Alene man who travels the country denying the reality of the Holocaust.

A Survivalist Expo at the Spokane Convention Center that brought together racist speakers and vendors, including keynote speaker Pete Peters, an advocate for violence against nonwhites and the execution of gays and lesbians.

A North Idaho militia that trains with live ammunition and is committed to revolutionary overthrow of the government.

A tabloid that prints anti-Semitic material and features columns by a former Ku Klux Klan leader and by one of the suspects in the Spokane bank robberies.

Aryan Nations. America’s Promise Ministries. Idaho Citizens Awareness Network. Militia of Montana. Randy Weaver. Kevin Harris. Bo Gritz. Richard Masker. English only. And on and on, ad nauseam.

If Sen. Craig and other Inland Northwest leaders don’t see a problem here, they’re not looking very hard. If they’re not looking, they’re not being vigilant.

If they’re not being vigilant, they’re not following the example that made Vernon Baker a hero.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board