How did Tom Delay, disgraced former Majority Leader in the U.S. House, earn the nickname "The Hammer?' It's been said it was for his ability to enforce party discipline and for taking political retribution on opponents. It's beginning to look like Idaho House Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) has been taking lessons from Delay. Perhaps we could make a case for calling Speaker Denney "The Idaho Hammer."
John Miller of the Associated Press investigated some of the lobbying occurring in Idaho this legislative session and his report can be found here with another version here. Let's look at some of his interesting findings. [emphasis added]
Three months after a prominent lawmaker's defeat in November, a California property developer hired her to lobby for a bill aimed at luring outdoor retailer Cabela's Inc. to north Idaho. The move came at the recommendation of new House Speaker Lawerence Denney, who said the developer should dump its existing lobbyist, who had supported Denney's rival.
Wow, right off the bat we get Denney taking political retribution plus recommending lobbyists to corporations. Shades of K-Street anyone?
Foursquare hired Ellsworth, who had served five terms in the Legislature, after Denney, R-Midvale, suggested she'd be better than Jerry Deckard.
Deckard had backed Rep. Bill Deal, R-Nampa, in his unsuccessful race in December against Denney to be House speaker. After he beat Deal, Denney told The Associated Press, he indicated to northern Idaho lawmakers who backed the Foursquare bill that it would fare more favorably with a new lobbyist.
So, you support Denney's rival and then find yourself out of a job.
Last year, Foursquare's bill - in which the developer would pay for a freeway interchange on U.S. Interstate 90 for shoppers, then recoup the cost from sales taxes generated by the stores - died in committee.
This year, under Ellsworth's guidance, a new version cleared the House 68-1 and Tuesday passed the Senate 24-10.
And by hiring the "right" lobbyist, the corporation gets their bill passed. Sounding a little "Hammer-like?" But wait there's more.
In the Idaho Statesman on Sunday, Shawna Gamache writes a story detailing how some moderate Republican legislators are feeling the pain from their opposition to Speaker Denney. [emphasis added]
Rep. Bob Ring is a retired physician who has spent the past five years bringing his passion for public health to the Legislature, banning smoking in Idaho restaurants and getting meth-making ingredients off store shelves.
But this year, Ring, R-Caldwell, said his efforts have been thwarted. Ring lost his seat on the House Health and Welfare Committee and can't get bills introduced. He said new House leaders are punishing him for his politics and for voting against new Speaker Lawerence Denney.
More political retribution? You bet.
[S]ome lawmakers say the new leaders are pressuring lawmakers to vote for or against certain bills.
Enforcing party discipline? Perhaps.
Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, said he hasn’t been able to get any bills through this year. “Anything my name is on has either been rerouted or pulled,” Smith said. “When I asked (Denney) why, he said “You didn’t support me.’ ”
Again, political retribution. Okay, maybe there's a pattern here. Let's look at one more.
In the House Education Committee, financial consultant Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, now in his second term, was named chairman over vice chairman and retired college Professor Mack Shirley, a three-term lawmaker from Rexburg who gave Deal’s nominating speech.
Okay, definitely a pattern. Lot's of political retribution. Now to be fair, some of the moderates have said they haven't felt any pressure to vote a certain way and some are trying to resolve their differences with the current leadership, but how much of that comes from a motivation for self-preservation and a desire to remain somewhat effective.
In any case, there appears to be some evidence that the nickname "The Idaho Hammer" may not be too far fetched for Speaker Lawerence Denney.
Update 03.22.07 09:58: Corrected Tom Delay's title.
Holy hell. How long did this take you to research and write? Honestly, I don't think the sheeple of Idaho will care about this.
Posted by: Jessica | March 22, 2007 at 03:08 PM
Well hey, the two reporters I mentioned in the post actually did the research; it was just a matter of pulling the appropriate content together.
And I didn't even include all of the times this session that Denney has wielded the Hammer. For instance, denying Democrats their seat on JFAC. Also calling the "emergency caucus" after the closed primary bill was defeated in committee the first time. Let's see, am I leaving anything out? Does anyone recall any others?
As far as the Idaho people caring about this, I have faith that many would care if they knew. That piece by John Miller should be front page in every Idaho paper; I didn't see it in any but the Statesman. (I could have missed it in some though.) Anyway the point being, given the knowledge and info, I think most Idahoans wouldn't tolerate shady ethics and heavy-handed leadership.
Posted by: MountainGoat | March 22, 2007 at 04:16 PM
I could not disagree more strongly Jessica. The folks who vote care about not only this but what right wing leadership is providing for representation in the legislature. They have blocked common sense solutions to embarrassing problems in this state for petty self serving reasons. And the comparison to DeLay is apt and striking. DeLay was corrupt and that's a harbinger of what Denney's leadership will bring us. The voters definitely care about the potential for corruption. Moreover there is much dissent and confrontation in the Republican Party in the very active battle between the moderate and right wing. The resulting splinters are very much of interest statewide. This article should be in every newspaper in the state. It takes an unpaid Goat to connect the dots and get the word out.
Posted by: Sisyphus | March 22, 2007 at 05:06 PM
Miller's article was in the Times-News, believe it or not... Idahoans may not have an immediate reaction but if they keep hearing about this crap, at some point, they might [emphasis MIGHT] start waking up...
Posted by: Diana Rowe Pauls | March 22, 2007 at 06:48 PM
It's great to hear that other papers are giving Miller's story some play. Gotta give Diana some credit for spreading the word too.
Posted by: MountainGoat | March 22, 2007 at 09:29 PM
It wasn't really me... it was sent to me w/ a request to help get the word out... I passed it on and YOU did a great job with following up!
Posted by: Diana Rowe Pauls | March 23, 2007 at 12:31 PM
Well, the idea for doing this story came to me when I first saw Miller's article but I just hadn't found the time. At the risk of turning this into a gooey "love fest"... it probably would have been put off for a day without seeing your note.
Posted by: MountainGoat | March 23, 2007 at 01:04 PM
I still think that many in Idaho won't see a problem with this. At least not enough to do anything about it.
Posted by: Jessica | March 23, 2007 at 03:32 PM