Rep. Bill Sali of Idaho has been chosen by this year's incoming Republican House freshmen to be their class president.
The class was unusually small... 13 members... but let's just say the admissions board (300 million strong) was a little more selective this year than it has been in the past.
Featuring such culture warriors and Club For Growthers as Tim Walberg (MI), Michele Bachmann (MN), and Adrian Smith (NE), and new reps from reliably conservative regions like northeast Tennessee, Bakersfield California, and northwestern Ohio, it's not a shock that they chose someone as distinctly and proudly Republican as Bill Sali to represent them to Congress and America.
Here's a link to the story.
Some prize quotes about the Republican leader:
"That idiot (Sali) is just an absolute idiot. He doesn’t have one ounce of empathy in his whole fricking body. And you can put that in the paper."--Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb ®
"If you want to debate this, I’ll put the House at ease and we can go back into my office and I’ll throw you out the window." --Future U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson ®. Some members of the legislature recommended a higher floor.
"He was incompetent in the Legislature. In the campaign he proved himself dishonest and deceitful, and he’d be an embarrassment to Idaho." --Sheila Sorenson ®
"I would not and do not and cannot endorse a liar for Congress." --Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez ®
"Much of the time in the Legislature, critical-thinking skills are not necessarily needed." --Rep. Bill Sali ®, chosen leader of the 110th House of Representatives Republican Freshmen Class
Update:
These are the freshmen Republicans of 2006. CFG = Club for Growth, which seems to have staged a small coup in this class by taking all of their special positions.
Kevin McCarthy, CA-22 (CFG)
Doug Lamborn, CO-5 (CFG)
Gus Bilirakis, FL-9
Vern Buchanan*, FL-13
Bill Sali, ID-1 (CFG)
Peter Roskam, IL-6
Tim Walberg, MI-7 (CFG)
Michele Bachmann, MN-6
Adrian Smith, NE-3 (CFG)
Dean Heller, NV-2
Jim Jordan, OH-4 (CFG)
Mary Fallin, OK-5
David Davis, TN-1