Edit: ‘Doofus’ Solon Rides Again

In an editorial today, the Twin Falls Times News takes state Rep. Pete Nielsen to task for being clueless — the word “doofus” popped up, too — re: the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Program:

Rep. Pete Nielsen, the Republican from Mountain Home, is widely known for his originalism interpretation of the Constitution and his fierce opposition to the federal government. Less known, perhaps, is that he has a reputation among his peers in the Statehouse for being something of a doofus, sometimes drawing eye rolls from his fellow lawmakers and jokes at his expense on the House floor. So it comes as no surprise to us that Nielsen is now speaking out against the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Program. Or that his public comments on the program have absolutely no basis in fact. Nielsen spoke Tuesday at a meeting of the Committee to End the CSI Refugee Center, an anti-refugee group formed earlier this summer. “I’ve read an awful lot of literature on this,” Nielsen said of the Refugee Center. And he spoke last week with CSI President Jeff Fox about the program. After all that research, Nielsen told the group, his big question is: Why this year are they doing the “Muslim thing? That’s the mystery to me”/ Twin Falls Times-News . More here .

Question: Sounds as though Nielsen would fit perfectly in the Kootenai County legislative delegation. Thoughts?