We've hardly had a chance to miss him.
Republican former congressman Bill Sali is preparing for a rematch against Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick in 2010.
Sali filed a statement of candidacy Monday with the Federal Election Commission, taking on the same "Sali for Congress" name he used in his 2006 and 2008 campaigns.
Sali did not return phone calls Thursday to his home in Kuna. His former campaign spokesman declined comment.
Minnick spokesman John Foster said, “Walt’s solely focused on doing the best possible job he can for the 1st Congressional District. If he does a good job, the election will take care of itself.”
Whether Sali is serious about getting his job back or is trying to raise money to retire debt he's been carrying since 2006 (even after the national GOP and the Club for Growth bankrolled him), he's in. He didn't take the hint from the Idaho Republican establishment who sacrified him in hopes of getting some sane candidate to run in 2010, and take back what they see as their seat. Sali hasn't been a favorite with party regulars since he helped engineer a coup, along with a bunch of Ron Paul supporters, to oust the long-standing party chair. So already other, non-crazy Republicans are lining up to take on Minnick. There are just so many Republicans and so few big jobs in Idaho. This has all the potential of shaping up to another humdinger of a Republican primary in Idaho.
Just few reminders of why it's so much fun to have Sali to kick around: his inability to play well with others; his boasting about having "brain fade" as a result of an accident (and his bumbling efforts to swindle an insurance company after that accident); his less-than-inclusive religious attitudes; that whole abortion causes breast cancer thing that he just won't stop spouting; and of course there's the 40 gallons of oil in a tree business; his utter inability to master FEC reports; his blatant disregard of Congressional rules and FEC regulations on congressional versus campaign staff; his very public and on-video displays of childish humor; the whole suspension of gravity legislative initiative.... You know, this could go on all day. And that's not even getting into his voting record.
Suffice it so say, our Idaho blogging cups runneth over, if we get both Dirk and Bill. This will be just too much fun.