Politics: LaRocco on Idaho
New Congress Sworn in Sans BiblesToday, January 4, 2007, almost 435 men and women were sworn in as representatives, delegates and a resident commissioner of the U.S. House of Representatives as required by Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution. 110th Congress has commenced work.
The swearing-in ceremony is a moving and family event. The House gallery was packed with friends and relatives. Kids were seen crawling on the floor of the chamber, with some held in the arms of the Members. For the new Members this moment caps off many months and years of toil in the political vineyard. I had tears when I was sworn in, and I wasn’t the only one.
The Speaker stood at the podium and the Members raised their right hands en masse to say:
"I, (name of Member), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
No hands were laid on any Bibles at this ceremony. It was covered on C-Span but most Americans will not view it firsthand. In fact, most Americans have never witnessed this event or know the protocol. After the ceremony in the House chamber it is not uncommon for some Members to stage a re-enactment for photos, and lay a hand on a Bible, another religious book or no book at all. I never did the photo opp. The real thing was good enough for me.
However, Keith Ellison, a Muslim and newly minted Member of Congress from Minnesota, said he will use a Koran for the simulated ceremony after he is sworn in. At the moment of the re-enactment he will already have been officially sworn into office.
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CHRISTENSEN DOCUMENTARY FEATURED ON PBS'S 'NOW'
Idaho’s White Clouds Wilderness Debate Airing on PBS
The controversy in Idaho over how to manage hundreds of thousands of acres of public land in the White Cloud and Boulder Mountains represents, in many ways, a commentary about the status of the modern wilderness movement in America. This week, journalist Jon Christensen makes his debut as a television field correspondent when he profiles the White Clouds debate on the PBS program NOW scheduled to air Friday night on public TV channels across the country. Read about Christensen's documentary and the New West interview with him. [more]
A Decent Man
From the Left: Honoring Gerald FordPresident Gerald Ford’s funeral today made me break down in tears as I remembered my own father, a member of the same great generation, admonishing me to respect and be grateful for Ford’s sudden promotion to the presidency.
Dad had spent years berating Richard Nixon and the culture which supported him, opposing the Vietnam War, especially as my older brother grew ever closer to drawing a draft number, and generally loathing Nixon. Watergate was the final straw for Dad and Mom, whose disgust was the real beginning of my political awareness and a shocking wake-up call that there was reason, after all, to mistrust the government.
We were the least suspicious family I ever knew, but Nixon changed all that.
The day Spiro Agnew resigned, I was a senior in high school and visiting a boyfriend on the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California. Someone hung a sheet out a dorm window which said “Agnew Quit!” and we were disbelieving – presidents and vice-presidents didn’t QUIT.
But when Nixon finally succumbed to his crimes and resigned in August 1974, we were not stunned – we were overjoyed. We watched Gerald Ford sworn in as president, and sat quietly, thinking. Dad said, “A decent man. Finally, a decent man.”
I couldn’t remember the last time Dad had said anything nice about a Republican, so this was a red-letter day in the Taylor family. I said something in reply which wasn’t very nice.
Never one to rise to anger, my Dad taught by example. Very seriously, he said, “He needs our support right now. And right now we need a decent man.”
So when Ford said, “Our long national nightmare is over,” I believed him, respected him, and was grateful to him.
Though his presidency wasn’t historically memorable - with the exception of his pardon of Nixon – he brought honor back to the office and a realization that character DOES count. It showed what an ordinary man with a pure heart, common sense, good judgement and humility can do for the most important job in the land.
I’m still grateful.
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Politics: LaRocco on Idaho
In Idaho, It’s Trendy to be AntiGovernor-elect Butch Otter took the oath of office in a very private ceremony without press or the public. Historians debated whether it's the first time in Idaho history. What's going on here? That's easy. It's trendy to be "anti." Feel a song coming on?
Remember the anti-Clinton moves by George W. Bush? It was very Texas and very anti-DC: Bush nailed double points for trips to Camp David and Crawford, Texas in the same week. Dullsville at the White House. Lights out at 10:00 sharp and no pillow fights. There were style and policy anti-actions: CEO-style management was de rigueur; meetings started on time; no sloth and late night pizza parties. On policy we had non-engagement with Israelis and Palestinians, and we didn't believe in surgical strikes against Bin Laden. That was tooooooo Clinton. Full-on war is very neo-con and anti-Clinton.
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Should We Care About Otter’s Closed Ceremony?
Otter’s Oath Miffs Idaho Media
Boise-area newspapers and television news editors and reporters are revealing their displeasure in stories saying that Governor-elect C.L. “Butch” Otter was officially sworn in yesterday, Thursday, December 29, 2006.
Otter officially becomes governor on January 1, 2007. His public inauguration will be January 5 on the Statehouse steps.
Some stories imply that there is something almost sinister about Otter’s “secrecy,” including the (Nampa) Idaho Press-Tribune. In an Associated Press story posted online late Wednesday night, Managing Editor Vickie Holbrook said, “We endorsed Butch Otter because we believed he was a man for open government. We believe this secret ceremony is inappropriate and legally questionable.”
In the same story, reporter Jesse Harlan Alderman wrote that “…Otter snubbed a request from the Associated Press to allow a representative from the Idaho media to attend the swearing-in as a public witness.”
Alderman also reported that the Idaho Press Club’s attorney Allen Derr said the ceremony “might not fit exactly in the open meetings law,” but that it should be open to the public.
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Politics: LaRocco on Idaho
New at NewWest.net/Boise: Larry LaRocco
We introduce this new column at NewWest.net/Boise by former U.S. Congressman Larry LaRocco. He attended Stanford University Institute of Television and Radio in 1967, received his B.A. from the University of Portland the same year, attended Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1968-1969, and received his M.S. from Boston University in 1969. LaRocco was a U.S. Army Captain in military intelligence from 1969 to 1972. He was North Idaho field representative for United States Senator Frank Church, 1975-1981; Oregon primary coordinator for the Church presidential campaign in 1976; vice president of a brokerage firm, 1983-1990; candidate in 1982 for the 98th Congress; nominee in 1986 for the Idaho State senate; and elected as a Democrat to the 102nd and 103rd Congresses (1991-1995.)
After serving in Congress, LaRocco worked in public affairs and government relations as head of two affiliate trade associations for the American Bankers Association, Chairman of LaRocco & Associates, Inc., and president of Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations. He now sits on the board or is actively involved in three start-up business ventures. LaRocco served as President of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress from 2002 - 2004 and currently sits on that board. In 2006, he ran for Idaho Lt. Governor. -- publisher
by Larry LaRocco
The good folks at NewWest have asked me to pen a few words from time to time on Idaho politics. I’m flattered, and glad to be a part of the group of Western journalists and writers who make up the New West Network.
From the time I signed on as a volunteer on Senator Frank Church's 1974 campaign I've been hooked on politics in our great state. I trace that passion to my father, who always swooned about $1/year men who devoted their talents to public service. I still believe politics is a noble calling and don't quite understand those who sit on the sidelines.
My commentary will address state and national politics. I never served in the legislature or in a statewide office, although I ran for the state senate and lieutenant governor. However, I was fortunate enough to serve two terms in the U.S House of Representatives from Idaho's First Congressional District from 1990 – 94.
When newcomers to Idaho hear of my tenure in Congress they immediately assume I am a Republican. How could I be anything else? "Red state" Idaho would never elect a Democrat to Congress - but it happened. It happened before the Republican revolution and before gay marriage amendments were standard fare on the ballot. It happened before Idaho's own "What's the Matter with Kansas?" moment when voters decided to vote against their own economic interests to pursue social conservative ideology.
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All Creatures Great and Small: Feed 'Em
Stuck For the Right Gift? That’s for the Birds
There are only a few days left until Christmas, and you’re stumped. There’s that person – you know the one – who eschews remote-control cat bed warmers, stupid small appliances and things with flashlights attached - and it's you.
You want to give gifts to those you love, and you want them to be lasting and meaningful and possibly even inspiring. Noble of you. Really.
But face it, dude; you’d better get your act together Real Soon Now.
Wanna be the guy who grabs all the points for originality and thoughtfulness? And, coincidentally, get your shopping over and done? Fly over to your local pet, hardware or ginormous department chain store, swoop down on the backyard bird department, and stock up on bird feeders, seed, and bird-identification books.
I am not kidding. This works. It’s cute, it’s natural, and it’s a great thing to do for the birds, too.
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Great Holiday Music Recommendations
Tunes Yule Loveby A.K. Lienhart-Minnick
Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, I grab the CD case that is devoted exclusively to holiday music and listen to nothing else from that day until Christmas day. This year, the exception and the means of getting through all 437 songs is that my entire holiday music collection is loaded on my iPod. Since I was a small child, I wished we could live life with a soundtrack playing in the background and my iPod is granting that wish. It goes everywhere with me. I am listening to everything from the cynical to the sacred. I love jazz versions of themes from The Nutcracker and reggae versions of Drummer Boy along with the oh-so-exasperated alternative Blink 182 and their rage against the crushing commercialism of the season. It’s just blissful to get lost in 437 holiday songs and I’m already wondering if maybe I should own more.
For now, here are 20 of my favorites (not in any particular order, nor are they my all time 20 favorites of my collection because that changes from day to day.)
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Commentary
Speaker’s Power Play in Idaho House “Comparable to a Coup”
“I don’t know of any Speaker who would have done this,” said Ken Robison, a highly respected former state legislator and political reporter from Boise. “It’s the worst transgression I’ve ever heard of, and I’ve been watching the legislature since 1963.”
Robison is talking about the new Speaker of the House, Lawerence Denney, refusing to grant Democrats an additional seat on the all-important joint budget committee (JFAC) even though their caucus grew by six members and, by longstanding, unbroken tradition, they are entitled to it.
It happened last week in the 2007 legislature’s organizing session, and Robison said, “It’s comparable to a coup.”
Whatever you call it, it has never happened in the Idaho legislature - but however unjust, it’s perfectly legal. There are no written rules or laws about committee proportions in the Idaho House. But they’ve always been done proportionate to the party makeup of the chamber.
Always. Our research showed that not once in twenty-one years and almost certainly much longer has the minority party in the House or Senate ever held fewer seats on JFAC than the number to which they are entitled. Denney is the first to break that record of fairness.
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