I love to hear conservatives in Idaho claim that Bill Sali (Republican candidate for ID-1st, running against Netroots candidate Larry Grant) is getting railed by the Liberal Idaho Media.
To understand the irony, you'd have to know that all the major news outlets in North Idaho are owned by a Republican, as well as those in Eastern Idaho and now Southern Idaho are Republican supporter owned.
So those major media outlets that exist where no one lives are the producers of liberal news in the Gem State...
So while the Liberal Idaho Press is not asking Candidate Bill Sali several questions, one behavior I find particularly disturbing (I had to pick just one to write about) is this...
Go look at the last question on this candidate
questionnaire (.pdf) from one of the groups supporting Candidate Sali, "Government is not God."
This question asks "Would you accept PAC money from those who are fundamentally opposed to your views?"
So let's return to Washington D.C. where earlier in the 2005-20006 legislative session no Republican Congressman voted against the so-called "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005." (See footnote 3, no one in the Republican House caucus voted against this law.
Now, which PAC has Candidate Sali taken $10,000 from? The American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA). You can see it here: http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00414078/244182/sa/ALL.
Here is the entry if you don't want to load and search the page for ATLA:
ASSOCIATION OF TRIAL LAWYERS OF AMERICA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ATLA PAC)
1050 31st Street N.W.
Washington DC 20007
Contributions this reporting period (ending October): $5,000.00
Aggregate: $10,000.00
If you didn't know, The American Trial Lawyers Association lobbied against the Class Action Fairness Act of 20005, the bill no Republican voted against. I have not read a position paper by Candidate Sali's office on Tort Reform (gee, one wonders why such a document isn't publicly available) but I doubt it follows the ATLA agenda, and probably follows the Government is Not God point of view fairly closely (which, oddly enough, Candidate Sali's website does not provide his answers to their questionnaire... Maybe he did answer "Yes" to that question about taking opposing PAC money?)
Candidate Sali, realizing he may want to actually get along with Republican members of Congress in D.C. has said he'll vote with the Republican Party Leadership while he is in Congress. (follow the previous link to the second to the last paragraph. One figures Candidate Sali has to go to D.C. to get along with conservatives because he couldn't get along with his fellow conservatives in Idaho...)
And what is the liberal Idaho Press asking about when it comes to Bill Sali? His drum playing...
So I have to wonder, does Candidate Sali support ATLA's positions on Republican tort "reform"? Is this another example of the Republican party telling Christian Fundamentalists they are in agreement, while the Party takes money from opposing causes, i.e. Jack Abrahamoff and Gambling.
People act so shocked, shocked that we have liars and crooks in Congress. Must be the liars and crooks fault.