Gubernatorial hopeful admits his ideas may marginalize him
Dan Adamson understands that voters might not take seriously a candidate for governor who gives away T-shirts and iPods, wants to export state inmates overseas and hopes to lure Hispanic supporters with free tacos.
The Chubbuck businessman, who owns a chain of nursing homes, acknowledged Tuesday that there’s a chance his deliberately outrageous views may be marginalized as he challenges Republican U.S. Rep. C.L. “Butch” Otter to be the state’s next governor.
“Innovative ideas have never been popular,” said Adamson, 54, who visited Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday to secure support. “When is an idea an idea that’s not marginalized by someone?”
Adamson, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the 1980s, said Idaho needs new vision to enliven the political process and propel the state forward.
“Idaho politics is absolutely barren of excitement,” he said.
Adamson and Otter are seeking the Republican nomination for governor in the May primary. Jerry Brady, a former eastern Idaho newspaper publisher, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.
Adamson, a Twin Falls native, has launched a Web site – www.myidahorocks.com – that uses music, games and prizes to attract support. “All ye who enter, abandon boredom,” the site’s introduction advises, against a musical backdrop of the song “Simply Irresistible.”
The site includes a $1 million fund-raising project that divides a map of Idaho into a million virtual pieces, then invites backers to buy a piece of “CyberIdaho” for $1 a pop. By Tuesday, the site reported 881 pieces had been sold, leaving 999,169 to go. Adamson said another 3,000 supporters had not yet been logged on the site.
It includes a tour of Adamson’s seven primary positions on subjects ranging from public education and abortion to economic development and voter turnout.
Among Adamson’s more unusual ideas is a plan to export Idaho prisoners overseas and then rent the state’s penitentiary to the federal government. He also would like to mandate the teaching of comparative religion in public schools, create tax-exempt business zones throughout the state and establish an “Unborn Citizens’ Rights Think Tank” to allow Idaho to lead the nation in reducing abortions.
Adamson also proposes what he calls the “Idaho Taco Initiative,” a plan to reward people who prove they voted in the primary election with free tacos. The move would be aimed at generating greater voter turnout, but it would also “lure the Idaho Latino vote,” the Web site contends.
“What party in Idaho’s history has ever had room or made room for Idaho descendants of Mexican or other Latino geographic locations?” it reads.