Vote of confidence

You might consider a couple things in the recent lashing by elephant trunk - no, we're not talking about Ganesha again - of two distinguished North Idaho legislators.

The vote of "no confidence" from Region One of the Republican Central Committee against fellow Republican senators Shawn Keough and Joyce Broadsword actually constitutes a vote of "confidence" from all but the most exceedingly conservative citizens of North Idaho. That's one.

And the other is this: To understand who these censuring GOP committee people are, glance back at the group's minutes from a meeting Feb. 5. The meeting minutes, acquired by The Press, clearly show which side of the political fence this fistful of folks stands on.

Under the heading "Unfinished Business," the first item is "Letter to [House] Speaker Denney in support of Phil Hart."

The item goes on to say, "Chairman Cross said he wrote a letter and sent it to Speaker Denney. After much discussion of the way the Ethics Committee handled the situation with Representative Hart: Pam Kaynor pointed out the fact that the Ethics Committee did not follow their rules. Dennis Englehardt suggested someone appear before the Ethics Committee and read them their own rules. Cornel Rasor presented the true facts about Representative Hart."

We won't rehash all the "true facts" about Rep. Hart, a Constitution-wielding tax dodger and timber pilferer of some renown, but we will note that the same committee which censures two solid legislators jumps to the defense of one who flaunts the laws of the land.

The egregious political sin committed by senators Keough and Broadsword comprises little more than submitting, as is their legal right, proposals for redistricting in North Idaho. In its letter of rebuke, Region One committee members castigated the senators for "failure to adhere to Republican principles" and "purposely attempting to cause electoral run-offs between Idaho conservative legislators in order to further your progressive agendas."

Progressive agendas? Last we looked, Broadsword and Keough couldn't be mistaken for Feinstein and Pelosi, but that's the point, isn't it? If the public has lost confidence in anybody, it's those jerking the reins of the Republican Central Committee.