Is Chenoweth Liberal In Disguise? North Idaho’s Arch-Republican Only Toed Party Line 91% Of The Time

Helen Chenoweth is about the most liberal member of Congress from Idaho and Eastern Washington, if voting records mean anything.

Idaho’s freshman representative, often portrayed as a poster child for the extreme right, defied the Republican Party and the conservative coalition more often than any Republican congressman in the area except Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington.

The Congressional Quarterly counted the number of times congressmen voted yes on 111 bills the conservative coalition sponsored and 635 measures the Republicans sponsored. Chenoweth voted with the party and the coalition 91 percent of the time.

The rest of Idaho’s delegation was more faithful to the party and the conservative coalition. Washington’s delegation was similarly more in tune with the Republicans and the political right.

Washington Rep. Doc Hastings scored a perfect 100 percent voting record with the conservative coalition and a 99 percent rating when it comes to toeing the Republican Party line. Washington Rep. George Nethercutt scored 96 percent in both cases.

When asked whether her score indicates she is more liberal, more conservative or more libertarian than the rest of Idaho’s delegation, Chenoweth replied, “all of the above.”

In part, it says “I am mainstream 1st District Idaho,” Chenoweth said.

She cites four key votes that dropped her conservative score. She opposed a measure giving the president line-item veto power because she believes it is unconstitutional, she said.

Chenoweth also opposed a bill allowing law enforcement to use evidence obtained without a search warrant if the evidence was obtained in good faith.

“Seldom do we see a case so onerous that you can’t get a search warrant,” Chenoweth said. “You can never put the good of the state above the protection of the individual to the degree we violate the constitutional rights of the individual.”

Idaho’s other Republican Congressman, Mike Crapo, also voted against expanding search and seizure powers.

Chenoweth broke ranks to oppose cutting funding for public broadcasting in one year. She wants Sesame Street and other programs to air without public funding, but believes the system deserves three years to get out on the free market, she said.

Her defiance is costly. House Speaker Newt Gingrich snubbed Chenoweth at a Boise fund-raising event earlier this month. The New York Times reported Gingrich stood up Chenoweth in part because she has become an embarrassment for the Republican Party by pandering to the militia and taking other extreme views.

Chenoweth said she was being punished for not following the party line. Gingrich was upset that Chenoweth and 14 other members of the House voted against a bill to send federal employees back to work.

She didn’t like the bill because, while it covered the salaries of federal workers, it provided operating money for only a few agencies. That meant government employees couldn’t do anything once they arrived at work, Chenoweth argued.

It was the right decision, she argues, because it demonstrates, “I vote my conscience.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Toeing the line