UPDATE: So much for speaking hypothetically. Conservative Republican Rex Rammell, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2008, has jumped into the gubernatorial race. He made the announcement today.
If Christopher Pentico prevailed in a Boise courtroom Monday, then Idaho Gov. Butch Otter also lost.
Pentico's light sentence on a trespassing charge — 30 days' probation — is a rallying point for Republicans who championed the cause of the GOP activist. It also reflects poorly on Otter, since state troopers arrested Pentico in April 2008 after he defied an ISP order to stay out of Otter's office.
Pentico may have been a mere nuisance to Otter a year ago — when he repeatedly showed up at his office during business hours. Now, Pentico is potentially a much bigger problem for Otter.
Pentico puts a human face to conservatives' frustration with Otter. The Pentico case resonates with many of the same critics who believe Otter has abandoned his conservative principles, by pushing for gas tax and vehicle registration fees during a recession. Where a younger Otter was brash and stubbornly libertarian, the gubernatorial Otter now labels Pentico as "disruptive."
Disruptive? Perhaps a little more than Otter imagined.
No offense to Boise's Twitter nation and Downtown coffee aficionados, but I think the Pentico issue has some staying power. Otter probably won't get an election-year opponent from Boise's social media community or from the Buy Idaho crowd. But if Otter seeks re-election next year, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets an opponent in the GOP primary — from the wing of the party that has embraced Pentico's case.
Pentico's supporters paint this as a matter of principle. How can a citizen activist be arrested and handcuffed for expressing his opinion in a public place during business hours? But let's not be naïve to the politics. This is also a handy wedge to drive between the "establishment" GOP and dissatisfied Republicans.
Otter would be a heavy favorite in a GOP primary. I'm not sure conservatives could recruit a name opponent willing to invest political capital in a primary challenge. But a primary would be, to use that word again, disruptive.
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Candidate Against Otter
The Tea Party will come up with a sacrificial candidate, perhaps Mr Trees or even Pentico. Before anyone accepts the role of Otter's opponent, watching a grape crushing is recommended.
(No subject)
Pentico for Gov!
Absolutely brilliant. For democrats, that is.
The next Idaho GOP convention should be interesting...
.
Why?
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Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony. Rush Limbaugh is profoundly hard of hearing.
Millions of people like Beethoven.
Interesting
that you treat this as a side issue when it occupies center stage in Idaho politics and has for years.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he gets an opponent in the GOP primary"--doesn't he now have one after Rammell repaints his bus? Didn't Rammell jump races precisely because Otter rendered himself vulnerable by losing a political battle to the very forces that support Pentico?
That's odd
Betsy reported your update on Monday.
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2009/may/11/rammell-switch-races-cranes-not-running-congress/
Um, no ...
Betsy and I reported the same thing on Monday: That Rammell was pulling out a race for the 2nd Congressional District, in favor of a different race.
Here's what she wrote Monday: "Rammell says he’s pulling out of the 2nd District congressional race 'in order to run for governor or the U.S. Senate in 2010.' He’s scheduled an announcement for Wednesday."
Kevin Richert
editorial page editor
My apologies
Kevin. I did miss that while blogging at the speed of light. I reckon my subconscious rejected any possible reason he'd try and take on Crapo who is arguably more conservative than Simpson and both are certainly less vulnerable than Otter.
Like it's classified stuff anyway.
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Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony. Rush Limbaugh is profoundly hard of hearing.
Millions of people like Beethoven.
Maybe RR's run will keep out others,
thus helping BO. But, if the R's right wishes to keep voting in D's like WM in place of folk such as BS, then they keep up their work and there will be more D's in ID.
Drink some MTN DEW to get over the shortage of alphabet soup
ELO, what's his ETA for REM? A-OK! ROGER!
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Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony. Rush Limbaugh is profoundly hard of hearing.
Millions of people like Beethoven.
Idaho is a funny state
Next GOP convention interesting? Why covered that.
Waste $30K a day, mussle stickers which will never stop mussles, & robbing millions from one to cover another so we to go home to farm. Might want to rethink who we elect, part time farmers or people with their priorities in the right place.
Didn't Idaho have downwinders? Wonder why representatives, Otter, Risch, & Idaho don't care about rotten milk in the highly subsidized dairy industry? Amazing or just forgot, why a state with downwinders would set itself up as Idaho does.
Gov. suggesting he doesn't want fed government raising our taxes while he does all he can to raise taxes. Smells alike a dead cow in a rented semi trailer @ $1,200 a month, years on end when you could have bought for a one time cost of $5k. Better yet a dairy which buys truck tags in Oregon. Tax breaks must be lucrative to buy stupid? Did Idaho get more tax $ from the guy who rented those trailers to the dairy or did he hire accountants heavy into tax knowledge too?
Those corporations that hire accountants heavy into tax knowledge can't be bullied while individuals absorb taxes evaded through campaign finance & representtaives feed you rotten milk in the highly subsidized dairy industry?
Madoff was the second greatest Ponzi scheme America has ever seen! Our representation, this two party joke, & campaign finance make Madoff look like a innocent little girl. America ha sbeen taken in the greatest scam the world has ever seen, right under your nose, told about it, & even the media doesn't catch on?
Were the SEC, treasury, FED. politicians, & all the rest of our representatives in on the crime? No, just slow like the media & people dying from food poisoning this time, not nuke fall out. Half century, world flat, still not walking upright slow! Grandkids will read about it from a paper found in a garbage can while dinning out. Gee grandpa, is this why we live in poverty?
What the hell is poverty? They can't afford to put ya in a hole?
Platinum shovels...what a concept.
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Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony. Rush Limbaugh is profoundly hard of hearing.
Millions of people like Beethoven.
Hades is of our own making.
When poets think reading is too much & people who name themself after legendary kings, stroking oneself into believing they are trapped but won't do anything to be free, you get what you deserve. Too bad the rest of US are stuck with the hell they fear to do anything about it.
Oh yeah, Rex hopes to be the next Walt Minnick.
I know nothing and he's no meal ticket.
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Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony. Rush Limbaugh is profoundly hard of hearing.
Millions of people like Beethoven.