Foot-In-Mouth Disease Vector

We never thought we’d long for the days when Ron Rankin was no more than a crackpot trying to destroy Idaho’s tax system. But we do, now that he’s playing the race card with Johnnie Cochran efficiency.

For the second time in two months, the Kootenai County commissioner is trying to rabble-rouse with a racially charged nonissue.

First, he stirred up his constituents and gave his county a black eye by pushing through a toothless resolution that made English the county’s official language. Now, Rankin’s after “ethnics” and the minority hiring practices of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

This time, he’s bold enough to admit that his unholy crusade is fueled by vengeance. He’s angry that Forest Supervisor David Wright and Deputy Pat Aguilar had the audacity to criticize his “English-only” resolution in a letter to commissioners. Pouted Rankin: “They started it.”

We urge Kootenai County residents not to be bamboozled into riding Rankin’s bandwagon - again.

Rankin, a master of sound bites and half-truths, isn’t telling the whole story when he accuses U.S. Forest Service officials of giving away local jobs to “green card holders.” In fact, he’s blurring the distinction between two kinds of temporary workers - the college and high school students (American citizens all) who work summers in the forests and the USFS nursery help who harvest and pack trees for a few weeks each year.

The USFS is required by law to advertise nationally for the seasonal forest openings. It seeks young adults with woods experience or an interest in pursuing a forestry career. Locals are hired - as are a few minority people - only 30 in a temporary work force of 306 last year, mostly recruited from Southern Idaho.

Frankly, it’s not easy to get a nonwhite to come to North Idaho. Ask Joe Encinas, Hispanic employment manager for the Panhandle National Forests. Said Encinas: “They’ve all heard North Idaho is a dangerous place to go.”

Encinas tells interested students that the region’s image is exaggerated - but not entirely undeserved. In the past, some minority summer workers have endured racial harassment in Coeur d’Alene. Most, however, have had good experiences in North Idaho and returned home to tell their family and friends that the region isn’t as bad as everyone says. Such word-of-mouth publicity is valuable for an area that has struggled with its image.

Rankin, of course, doesn’t care what outsiders think of Kootenai County. Or of North Idaho. Or of himself, for that matter. He’s fought so many losing battles that he’s immune to criticism or the hurt his actions cause his community and others.

Unfortunately, now that he’s in office, his demagoguery can’t be ignored as easily as it once was.

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