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Powerless

The non-partisan technical firm, Knowlegis, has released their 2008 Congressional power rankings and it's not pretty for Idaho.  Not only does Idaho rank behind every state in the Union, we also rank behind the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Guam, all of which only have a one-member, non-voting delegation. 

That's right folks, our state ranks 53 out of 55 and we're losing to places that don't even vote.  We just edged out American Samoa and Puerto Rico which also only have a one-member, non-voting delegation.  One word—pathetic.

Idaho's all Republican, four-member delegation is being dragged down by Senator Larry Craig who tapped his way from a 61 ranking last year to just 98 this year.  Yep, Sen. Larry "I-can-still-be-effective" Craig ranks just 98 out of 99 senators (Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, appointed in Dec. to replace Sen. Trent Lott, was not included).  He barely edged out Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a Republican with just eight months of seniority (he was appointed in June after Sen. Craig Thomas passed away). 

The other anchor to the delegation is Rep. Bill Sali who ranks just 423 out of 435, the same ranking he held last year.  Of the 200 Republicans in the House, Sali ranks just 189.

That's called representin' for Idaho.

Update 03.04.08 22:43:  The Idaho Statesman's Kevin Richert begins his post on the subject with the understatement of the day.  "It's gonna be hard to celebrate this one," he says.  Read his take here.

Update 03.05.08 14:12:  Sali spokesman Wayne Hoffman reacts to his boss's low ranking by stating the obvious, "Sali is a first-term congressman, and a conservative Republican in a liberal, Democrat-controlled [sic] Congress," glossing over the fact that even considering just the 57 freshman, Sali still ranks in the bottom ten at number 49.  Of the 16 freshman Republicans, Sali still only pulls in at number 8.  Not really something to be proud of, is it?

March 04, 2008 at 09:51 PM in Sali |

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Comments

Tara Rowe

Geez, and a majority of Idahoans sit idly by and continue to support the goon squad we send to D.C.

Posted by: Tara Rowe | March 04, 2008 at 09:55 PM

Wolke

I don't think you need to have a Power Ranking to figure out what is going on with our delegation.

The delegation brought back to Idaho 62 million dollars out of a 147 billion budget.

Idaho sends in around 7 to 10 billion to the IRS every year.

We do not get a return of 10 percent.

Hopefully this news will have our Voters sit down and do the math.

However, Idaho does not rank very high nationally in math.

Posted by: Wolke | March 05, 2008 at 05:09 AM

Mark

Funny thing about all of that is many Idahoan GOP'ers will look at that as a badge of honor. Last in power rankings? Great! That belief is what sends people like Bill Sali to congress. How to change the mindset that the federal "govmint" is BAD? How do you break the stranglehold that the GOP has on the average I-de-hoan?

Posted by: Mark | March 05, 2008 at 07:06 AM

IdahoRocks

Yesterday a Republican stopped by a local, Democrat-owned business, and asked if he had any Obama stickes. Of course he did, and send in your friends for more. The stranglehold is loosening.

Posted by: IdahoRocks | March 05, 2008 at 09:03 AM

Jil

Matt Salisbury is the Right choice for Idaho Congressional District One.

He upholds common sense conservative values, is a 4th generation Idahoan.

Matt Salisbury is a Republican that Idaho can and will be proud of!

Masters Degree in International Diplomacy, Army Ranger Veteran, family man, Idahoan.

Please visit his campaign website: www.salisburyforcongress.org

Vote Salisbury for Idaho!

Posted by: Jil | March 07, 2008 at 06:49 AM

Brian Marshall

The most confusing aspect of the fact that Sali has any support at all at this point is that regardless of how you might feel about someone's personal beliefs, political ideologies, etc. it all becomes irrelevant if they can't get anything done because they've been completely marginalized...

Posted by: Brian Marshall | May 29, 2008 at 06:26 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

MountainGoat
MountainGoat

Quotes For 2010

  • "The main thing is to keep everybody going down that road as we try to find the answers and solutions to all these problems. It'll be fun! We'll get it done." — Majority Leader Mike Moyle (R-Star) when asked in an Idaho Reports broadcast how the State House will handle making tough budget decisions this year, 1.29.10.

Quotes For 2009

  • "[Some politicians] wouldn't recognize the Constitution if it fell in their laps and called them Daddy." — Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett (R-Challis) at a tea party tax protest.
  • "Just, you know, putting beans on the table." — former Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) when asked by Nate Shelman (670 KBOI) what he's doing these days.
  • "I said yesterday we hope and pray things will get better before they get worse. It's obvious to me some of you need to do a better job of praying." — Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert), Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee co-chair on the grim economic forecast facing the committee.
  • “We’ve been called a lot of things but we’ve never been called sneaks before.” — Rep. Maxine Bell (R-Jerome) in a budget dispute with the governor's staff over legislators' computer funding.
  • "I’m not wearing rose-tinted glasses. But I am a glass-half-full kind of guy." — Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter attempting to remain optimistic while delivering tough economic news in his State of the State/Budget message.

Quotes For 2008

  • "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." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) 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. (H.R.6899)
  • "If [Oversight Committee Chairman] Henry Waxman was interested in doing more than just showboat, we'd be there in a heartbeat. It's political grandstanding." — spokesman Wayne Hoffman explaining why Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) was absent from congressional oversight hearings into the financial crisis where, among other things, it was learned that AIG executives indulged in a lavish retreat a week after the bailout.
  • "You know what, campaigns are fast and furious, I accept responsibility that we don't have the right citation there, but the facts I stand by - we are correct about that." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) reacting to a campaign commercial fact-checking report.
  • "There are people out there without health care, and we need to address that, but it's not as big of a problem as some people would make it out to be" — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) in a Lewiston, ID debate
  • "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." — President Bill Clinton in a speech at the 2008 DNC
  • "To my supporters, to my champions, to my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." — Senator Hillary Clinton in a speech at the 2008 DNC
  • "The America that we know, that the founding fathers envisioned, will cease to exist." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) speaking at the state GOP convention about the possibility of a Democratically controlled White House and Congress.
  • "Sometimes the problems have to get larger before you can solve them. We can still drive around the potholes, so they must not be big enough." — House Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale), explaining that lawmakers still need to be convinced about the extent of road maintenance problems before they'll agree to tax or fee increases.
  • "Those people that believe in shooting animals through the fences . . . ought to turn the rifle the other way." — Former Governor Cecil Andrus, at sportsmen's rally, decked out in full camouflage, urging opposition to "shooter bull" operations on domestic elk farms.
  • "GARVEE is like swallowing a raw egg - it seems to be one of those things that's really hard to stop in the middle of." — Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian), in comments on a package of transportation bills introduced by House GOP leaders at an emergency committee meeting.
  • "I'm a professional dairyman. I have milked and milked everything I can possibly milk." — State Police Maj. Ralph Powell, arguing that the state crime lab's bare-bones operation has reached its limit and now costs the state money as testing is sent to private labs.
  • "Idaho is ranked last in the nation in protecting the safety of children in day care centers." — Sen. Kate Kelly (D-Boise), in support of an unsuccessful move by Senate Democrats to force a daycare standards bill out of committee.
  • "This [anti-discrimination bill] is something we will propose every year until it passes." — Rep. Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise), responding to the latest BSU Public Policy survey in which 63 percent of Idahoans think it ought to be illegal to fire someone for being gay or seeming to be gay.
  • "I assumed it would be a bunch of radical college students, so to fit the part, I grew a goatee, got a revolutionary T-shirt and put on some ratty jeans." — Rep. Curtis Bowers (R-Caldwell) in an Idaho Press-Tribune opinion explaining how he disguised himself to uncover alleged communist plots.

Quotes For 2007

  • "Divorce is just terrible. It's one of Satan's best tools to kill America." — Rep. Dick Harwood (R-St. Maries) describing the work of the Idaho Legislature's Family Task Force.
  • "I am not gay; I never have been gay." Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in a statement responding to news of his arrest and subsequent guilty plea to disorderly conduct after an incident in an airport men's room.
  • “Most of the hospitals in this country have Christian names. If you think Hindu prayer is great, where are the Hindu hospitals in this country? Go down the list. Where are the atheist hospitals in this country? They’re not equal.” — Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID-01) to the Idaho Press-Tribune editorial board in response to criticism of his views regarding Hindu prayer in the Senate.
  • "We are all Nintendo warriors today. Remember that game, that electronic game, a few years ago, push buttons zim, zam, boom and it was all over with? That is not the way you fight war, although we as a society have grown to believe that." — Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) during debate on an amendment to a bill providing for defense authorization.
  • "While we are Democrats and Republicans, in our hearts we are all Idahoans." — Sen. Clint Stennett (D-Ketchum), reaching out to Republicans while outlining the Democratic agenda for the 2007 legislative session.
  • "One of the hardest things we've had to do here is taking off our party hats." — Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian) on a proposal to restrict Idaho's primary elections.
  • "This is outrageous. The people of Idaho are entitled to have their representatives base their votes on the merits of a bill, not on who backed the loser in a speaker's contest." — Former GOP Gov. Phil Batt responding to accusations of political retribution taken by House Speaker Denney (R-Midvale) on other members.
  • “There was one of those six projects that was removed altogether. Why? Because the senator and the representatives from that district were from the wrong political party. We need to take a step back" — Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert) to the Senate when debating the GARVEE bill.
  • "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself." — Gov. Butch Otter, speaking to a hunters' rally at the Statehouse.
  • "To get a kick out of smoking industrial hemp, it would take a cigar the size of a telephone pole." — Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow), downplaying the relation between hemp and its cousin marijuana
  • "I guess I would just make a plea saying we need the money. You know we need the money on roads." — Rep. JoAn Wood (R-Rigby), on proposed bill to collect gas tax from sales on Indian reservations.
  • "No one wants to carry the canoe bill." — Rep. Eric Anderson (R-Priest River), agreeing with Gov. Otter that non-motorized boats should also pay registration fees, but noting any such proposal will be a tough sell.
  • "I don't think we should let the threat of a lawsuit force us to implement something that's not well thought out." — Abbie Mace, Fremont County Clerk, testifying against a "modified-closed primary" bill being pushed by GOP leaders.
  • "There's a lot of things that I pointed out in my State of the State (address) that haven't passed. Unfortunately, I can't think of one that has." — Gov. Butch Otter, addressing reporters on the legislative session so far.
  • "I say let's have a hearing and take our clothes off and go after it." — Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, trying to get lawmakers to print his bill.
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