The two candidates for Idaho superintendent of schools debated some hot topics during their live debate tonight on Idaho Public Television. Among the highlights: Republican Tom Luna called for separate charter elementary schools for children who are struggling to learn English. “In my district in…
Republican candidate for governor Butch Otter won’t release his own campaign polls, but he says they differ from Democratic opponent Jerry Brady’s newly released poll showing Brady taking the lead in the race. “The numbers are different, and we feel very confident that on Election…
Bill Sali came out fighting at tonight’s live League of Women Voters-Idaho Press Club debate on Idaho Public TV, ignoring repeated admonishments from the moderator and ripping into opponent Larry Grant. The initial question to Sali from AP reporter John Miller was about one of…
Having checked the FEC independent expenditure reports daily for the past week, I was darn surprised to see a new anti-Larry Grant TV ad yesterday – this one sponsored by the Club for Growth PAC. That group hadn’t reported any spending against Grant. But on…
Forty-one attorneys from throughout the state have signed a statement opposing HJR 2, the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships in Idaho. Among the concerns cited are that the measure, as written, could hamper legal protections for some battered women…
Interesting story in the LA Times today suggests that Idaho’s a glaring example of national political swings that are making this a fast-changing and very interesting election season. “America does not get much more Republican than Idaho,” wrote Times reporter Janet Hook. “President Bush pulled…
Today, the Idaho Statesman newspaper endorsed Larry LaRocco for lieutenant governor, saying it liked the plan LaRocco outlined to use the lieutenant governor’s office to lead a fight against methamphetamine use and its effects throughout the state. Republican Jim Risch, the newspaper said, lists his…
In researching my article in today’s paper on HJR 2, the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment that’s on the November ballot, I ran across some startling history. Here it is: The Idaho Constitution prohibited people of Asian ancestry from voting, serving as jurors or holding office…
Here’s an odd note: GOP congressional candidate Bill Sali’s biggest contributions on his latest campaign finance report were from two PACs: The Association of Trial Lawyers of America PAC (Sali is a lawyer, as is Democratic opponent Larry Grant), and the Washington, D.C.-based Freedom Project,…
Automated phone calls have gone out across the 1st Congressional District, and folks whose dinners are interrupted, when they first pick up the phone, are getting the impression the pesky, aggressive calls are coming from Larry Grant’s campaign. But they’re not – they’re from the…
Idaho Gov. Jim Risch has collected nearly $130,000 in campaign contributions for his run for lieutenant governor this year but has spent little of it campaigning, so he has $119,953 in campaign cash – and a $360,000 campaign debt to himself that he's carried over…
A deputy Idaho attorney general, Stephanie Altig, has been reprimanded by the Idaho State Bar in a case stretching clear back to 1997, for reading privileged letters between Idaho prison inmates and their attorneys – who at the time were suing the state over retaliating…
A political ad on the radio statewide that claims the “Centennial Baptist Church” may be bulldozed for a shopping center – but doesn’t explain that the church in question is in Oklahoma – has upset parishioners at the Centennial Baptist Church in Caldwell, Idaho. “I…
The fact that the Washington Farm Bureau is a main sponsor of that state’s regulatory takings initiative has sparked rumors that the Idaho Farm Bureau has something to do with Idaho’s Proposition 2 – but the farm bureau says the rumors are false.“That rumor’s been…
Butch Otter was still undecided on Proposition 2 on Monday, at which time he said in a debate, “I’ve listened time and time again to both sides, and quite frankly I’m still confused because I don’t know exactly what it says.”On Tuesday morning, when I…
OK, it makes a little more sense now that Butch Otter’s campaign says he’s hit the $2 million mark since the close of the last campaign finance filing period on Sept. 30. It’s not that Otter has made up the entire half-million-dollar difference between the…
Little gems among the campaign finance reports just filed today in the governor’s race include a $2,000 contribution to Butch Otter from none other than Jim Risch, the current governor. Risch had been widely expected to run against Otter in last spring’s GOP primary, but…
Jim Gimpel, a professor of government at the University of Maryland in College Park, provided lots of interesting insights about the immigration issue and how to analyze the views of our candidates for Congress in the 1st District on the issue, as part of my…
At today’s City Club of Boise debate between Republican candidate for governor Butch Otter and Democratic opponent Jerry Brady, both candidates were asked their position on Proposition 2, the “regulatory takings” initiative. Brady said he opposed it, while Otter said he’s still undecided. Here are…
Idaho Gov. Jim Risch is the keynote speaker for a fundraiser for RPAC, the Idaho Realtors PAC, this Thursday morning in Nampa. The $25-a-head event runs from 8-10 a.m. at the Nampa Civic Center, and is being billed as a “Breakfast with the Governor.” The…
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman flew into Boise yesterday to boost GOP congressional candidate Bill Sali at a rally at state GOP headquarters, but the timing wasn’t the greatest. When Mehlman met with reporters, much of the questioning was about the national scandal involving…
Things are getting hot between Idaho’s Democratic and Republican leaders, with dueling press releases out regarding a GOP congressman from Florida and his pedophilia scandal, who knew what when, who should or shouldn’t apologize, who’s politicizing what, and a bit of name-calling.First, Idaho Democratic Chairman…
It’s hard to imagine anyone ever topping that great comment from former state Rep. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint, back in 1999, when he said, “I don’t always make the brightest statements in the Legislature, but I feel I’m representative of my district.”But each year, people try.…
If the state’s interpretation of the Idaho Supreme Court’s latest decisions on the long-running school lawsuit is correct, then Idaho is facing a “constitutional crisis,” 4th District Judge Deborah Bail said today.But Judge Bail laid out a different theory – she doesn’t think the Supreme…
It’s a video extravaganza! Perhaps inspired by those hilarious political satires from the JibJab.com guys, people from all edges of Idaho’s political spectrum have been turning to online video humor to get their political points across, complete with snappy music and lots of attitude, and…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
| Dec. 2006 | Nov. 2006 | Oct. 2006 | Sept. 2006 |
| Aug. 2006 | July 2006 | June 2006 | May 2006 |
| April 2006 | March 2006 | Feb. 2006 | Jan. 2006 |
