In response to the fact that Idaho State Senator John McGee was arrested for Grand Theft, DUI, 43rd State Blues blogger Sisyphus wrote the following piece. It is loaded with very important observations:
The Idaho Statesman wrote an editorial pleading for the public to allow Senator McGee to have his say. Who is stopping him? He said nothing at his arraignment and has been very quiet ever since. So has most everyone else close to McGee or the story.
First let's acknowledge that there are two distinct venues for the airing of Senator McGee's side of the bizarre circumstances leading to his arrest and his donning of an orange jumpsuit. Citizen McGee must answer to society for his crimes in the tightly controlled courtroom setting subject to formal procedures designed for criminal justice. But in addition, Senator McGee must answer to the people of Idaho in the court of public opinion, a location Senator McGee voluntarily placed himself in ascending the ladder of a promising and ambitious political career. Traditional media plays a crucial role in the latter venue and while the venues overlap, the trad med shouldn't simply wait until Senator McGee chooses the time and place for providing an orchestrated defense.
There are many unanswered questions in which the public has an interest. Three memes suggest themselves immediately; 1) the logistics of the evening in question; 2) the Good Ol' Boy network obviously in play; and 3) the culture of alcohol that emanates from the Statehouse. Obviously there is overlap among the three but there's enough for stories on all three.
1. The Logistics.
Did someone look at a map? Because there's something very strange about the events of the evening. Kudos to the Idaho Press Tribune for the best description of the night's events.
McGee was found inside the stolen vehicle at the house of Joe Carleton. McGee told Carleton he had come from a golf tournament at Hillcrest Golf Course, located about six miles from the house.
“He was in a state of confusion. He was disoriented,” Carleton said. “It was almost like somebody slipped him something.”
Unconfirmed reports indicate McGee left a golf course on foot earlier in the evening. Though unconfirmed at this time, if McGee had indeed been at Hillcrest earlier in the evening, how he arrived at Carleton’s house after 2 a.m. is unknown.
If McGee had intended to walk to his parents’ house, it could explain the long gap between when he was last seen and when he was discovered.
Tom and Judy McGee live on S. Goshen Way, about 2,000 feet (less than half a mile) from the house where the senator crashed the vehicle, causing about $2,100 in damage.
Why he was going to his parents when he told others that he was going to Jackpot or "the Promised Land" is not explained. He was barefoot, cut, and bloody according to reports. That's a short nine mile drive on the freeway or a long and very visible 6 mile walk down Victory Road. In my experience drunk people tend to sober up when engaged in physical exertion. A drunk stumbling barefoot senator would be rather obvious to anyone driving that road, especially in the wee hours. Was he alone? Did he walk it? Or did someone drive and eject him?
Moreover, lets inquire about the reports on his consumption. It was said that McGee began drinking at ten p.m. after a golf tournament. That representation doesn't even pass the straight face test on an exclusive country club golf course, where the bar cart swings past your party on every hole. In addition, Hillcrest is not commonly known as a late night venue. It would be a surprise if McGee stayed drinking until midnight. Moreover Hillcrest is known for taking care of its members and their guests. And with numerous lawyers as members, Hillcrest has a healthy concern for its own dram shop liability. A visibly drunk senator would likely be given the opportunity for a cab before they'd let him stumble out to "walk". Unless, of course, he had a ride.
That raises another question regarding the quantity of consumption. McGee was booked at 4:27 a.m. The BAC was probably tested shortly before that and demonstrated his blood alcohol to be .15. To be generous, McGee left the drinking establishment around midnight. According to the reports, he was walking which presumably would increase the rate of metabolism for the alcohol he consumed. That's over four hours when he was presumed to have consumed no alcohol. Thus he was either excessively drunk when he bolted from Hillcrest, or he continued drinking after he left. Reports leave the impression he was alone after he left Hillcrest. That doesn't necessarily jive with these facts.
2. The Good Ol' Boy Network and the Cover Up
The initial report in the Statesman stated "McGee began drinking at a golf course at about 10 p.m. Saturday night." Reports further erroneously identified the location as southeast Boise. This is extraordinarily sloppy or an intentional effort to obfuscate identification.
Hillcrest is one of Idaho's most exclusive clubs with a five figure membership fee. Known for its rigid rules and strict enforcement, its a required membership for Boise power brokers. Mitt Romney held a 2007 fundraiser in Boise at Hillcrest sponsored by Melaleuca owner Frank Vandersloot. In the past, Hillcrest's exclusivity has made it the subject of inquiry over whether its membership committee might be making decisions based upon race, gender, or religious grounds. Hillcrest does not publish its membership list on it's website.
The traditional media made some initial inquiry but came up empty.
Reached at his Boise home Monday night, Mark McGee (his brother and Hillcrest member) also declined to comment. So did other tournament golfers reached by the Statesman on Monday.
To me that is a story in itself. Heat it up and publish the tournament list to let the public know who is circling their wagons around the embattled senator. This resembles an all too familiar story of power and privilege permeating the statehouse, with the
whitewash ethical proceedings of Phil Hart to the legislating for
personal gain of Tom Loertscher, and his
enabler, Speaker of the House Lawerence Denney. Failing to report on it makes the traditional media complicit in the cover up which is apparently already happening.
3. The Blind Eye to the Culture of Alcohol in the Statehouse
Marty Trillhaase touched on this in a recent editorial, that Idaho pols often survive a DUI. And I am the first to say "there but for the grace of God go I". But this is politics, and the press is obligated to keep the public informed of the judgment calls being made by their leaders. There's been an alarming number of DUIs in the Statehouse and Marty's piece missed most of them. He observed the repeat offender Josh Tewalt who was rewarded with a plum state job, but he missed former Otter campaign aid Jason Lehosit. While Marty mentions Otter's former chief of staff Jeff Malmen, he fails to mention that Malmen's arrest came on the heels of election night at Republican headquarters. Each individual circumstance should be judged and dealt with on case by case circumstance in the criminal context, but there's a story in the sheer volume which has occurred and the circumstances tying them to the political culture which is of direct consequence to participants in democracy.
This culture starts at the top with Idaho's governor, whose credo was summarized by his best friend's [and Department of Administration Director's] toast at his last wedding, "faster horses, younger women, older whiskey and more money". Governor Otter politically survived his own brush with a DUI. Moreover this issue is relevant on a national scale given that Idaho Republican Party leaders, Governor Otter and Senator Risch, are currently campaigning for Mitt Romney, in part, to shore up their own credentials among the dominant faith in SE Idaho, the LDS, who famously prohibit their members from imbibing. Indeed, McGee first must face his boss, Senate Majority Leader Brent Hill of Rexburg, in explaining himself and his actions.
Senator McGee has to answer in multiple forums. I strongly agree that McGee should have his say in every single one of them, but that isn't an excuse for the fourth estate to stop hunting down the confusing facts surrounding this incident to safeguard the public interest. To neglect that duty just creates the type of environment where the defense, legal or political, can be crafted to fit the perception, instead of the facts. The legal defense will not be impaired provided the fourth estate does a professional job. The court of public opinion can not be satisfied by merely awaiting the trial at which McGee's presentation will be carefully crafted and which involves only his defense to the criminal charge. Traditional media needs to do their jobs and hunt these facts down while the trail is hot, rather than await a self serving defense.
Link to original story: http://43rdstateblues.com/...
Reposted with permission