Column: Elections 2008

Dramatic Idaho House Race May Reflect a Changing West

By Jill Kuraitis, 10-31-08

In this historic year when Americans will probably elect the first mixed-race president, voters seem to have rejected the far-right wing of the Republican Party, hate-filled fear politics, and the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Idaho, which will likely give McCain his biggest win, is an exception - but one race may be the beginning of a shift already felt in other Western states.

It’s the run for Idaho’s First Congressional District between incumbent Republican Bill Sali and Democratic challenger Walt Minnick. Will this one hold the red line and keep a far-right fear-politics ideologue in office, or defy Idaho’s history to elect a Democrat – albeit a conservative one?

Not since 1992 has there been a Democrat from Idaho in Congress (current U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco), but if ever there was a time it’s realistically possible, it’s on Tuesday.

Minnick might be the best possible Idahoan the Democrats could have chosen.  It’s not easy to find a magna-cum-laude Harvard JD/MBA and successful CEO with Minnick’s intellectual gifts, executive temperament, seriousness of purpose and conservative-to-moderate politics who isn’t a Republican.

The Sali campaign hasn’t been able to use Minnick’s education against him – an arcane tactic often used in this anti-intellectual state – because Republican Senator Mike Crapo also has a Harvard law degree. But Sali has tried nearly everything else to keep his seat.

Sali, who has a J.D. from the University of Idaho, practiced law before being elected in 2006.  He is often in the news for extreme statements and gaffes. When Sali was in the Idaho legislature, speaker Bruce Newcomb famously said, “That idiot is an absolute idiot. He doesn’t have one ounce of compassion in his whole frickin’ body – and you can put that in the paper.” The previous Speaker, now-Congressman Mike Simpson, once threatened to throw Sali out the window. And, as Josh Kraushaar of Politico wrote, “Bill Sali’s embarrassments have single-handedly given Democrat Walt Minnick an even chance to unseat him in an Idaho district that is one of the most Republican in the country.”

Just a month ago, Sali made the national news for heckling Minnick’s spokesman, literally in a public square, during a TV interview. He is repeatedly accused of using his federally-paid staff to work on his campaign, openly listing them on a campaign website. He says things like, “I am not ashamed that we use a lot of energy in this country. It has made us the most prosperous Nation on the face of the planet. ... Using energy makes us prosperous” during debate on an energy bill that, among other things, invested in alternative and renewable energy sources and repealed tax subsidies for large oil companies.

Sali’s campaign contributions list shows donations from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobile, and Marathon Oil. Minnick has no oil companies listed on his FEC report.

A lot of Sali’s appeal to Idaho voters is his continued insistence that something is rotten in Washington.  Many have campaigned on the concept, but Sali, who isn’t afraid to be audacious, didn’t stop saying it once he was elected – it’s one of his mantras (another being “we pay too much in taxes”).  He cites wasted time and confusing legislation, which is right in line with how things look to a large majority of Americans - Congress’ approval rating has been as low as 9% this year. In June, Sali said there were only “around 130 people that are very good folks” in Congress, a statement which caused an outcry from many lawmakers, including some in his own party, but which can sound astute to anti-government Idahoans.

Walt Minnick agrees that something is rotten in Washington, but challenges Sali to prove he’s sincere based on his campaign PAC contributions.

Sali is in favor of privatizing Social Security, but Minnick warns, “Not everybody makes good financial choices, but everybody gets old. Anyone who has looked at their IRA or 401K statements in the past few weeks will see why we shouldn’t privatize Social Security.”

The two candidates have recently sparred over how many guns each owns – Minnick has seven; Sali five – a typical campaign issue in the land of elk and deer and pickups full of guys in forest camo.  Minnick has been endorsed by the American Hunters and Shooters Association; Sali got the nod from the National Rifle Association.

Army veteran Minnick has pushed Sali, who has no military service, hard to prove his support of veterans.  Minnick is the recipient of an independent expenditure ad showcasing his support from veterans group VoteVets, the nation’s largest organization of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

The Sali campaign responded to the ad with this statement:  “A far-left group called ‘Patriot Majority West’ has launched a misleading and dishonest attack ad against Idaho Congressman Bill Sali. Patriot Majority West is attempting to deceive Idaho’s veterans and their families by blaming Sali for voting against flawed legislation.” The campaign formed a group called Veterans for Sali but Idaho Navy veteran and blogger Joel Kennedy, who appears in Minnick’s ad, found the group disingenuous. 

Two recent polls show Minnick ahead of Sali by more than the margin of error. Four out of six polls taken during the race show Minnick ahead; one of the two showing Sali ahead was done by Sali’s pollster, Greg Smith. Some of Minnick’s support comes from an unlikely source:  Republicans for Minnick which includes some prominent Idaho business and opinion leaders.

Sali’s website doesn’t list any official endorsements, but has a list of awards, some of which are “Hero of the Taxpayer” from Americans for Tax Reform; “Taxpayer’s Friend Award” from the National Taxpayers Union; “Guardian of Seniors’ Rights” award for protecting Social Security and the “Benjamin Franklin Award” for supporting repeal of the estate/death tax from the 60 Plus Association.

In these final days before the election, Sali is the recipient of a TV ad paid for by a Republican group, an ad which says Minnick is a “Washington liberal” – two words that, in Idaho, might as well be “hell’s devil.”

But the last time Minnick worked in Washington, he was a Republican in the Nixon White House, organizing a new agency which became the DEA. It was the Watergate era; he left the employ of the federal government and eventually, as he has said, “the Republican Party left me.”

“I’m a social moderate and a fiscal conservative,” said Minnick at a recent forum at Boise’s City Club. “And I think we ought to be very careful in our dealings with foreign governments.”

In July, the Wall Street Journal wrote about the race, with a memorable statement from well-known and respected Idaho Republican Bruce Newcomb, former state speaker: “It’s difficult for any Democrat to win in Idaho. But Mr. Minnick is ‘a formidable foe,’ he said, who could capitalize on Mr. Sali’s reputation for ‘poking his finger in people’s eyes.’”

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