1st Disclaimer: I am not a member of any political party. I personally agree and disagree with aspects of both Republican and Democrat platforms.
2nd Disclaimer: I took notes during and after this interview. Since the conversation was not recorded, I gave a site business card to the interviewee and offered them to contact me if they felt I misquoted or mischaracterized them.
I spoke to Representative Tom Loertscher briefly before Saturday’s general session began.
I asked the following question:
What’s the likelihood of a special session for the Idaho Legislature?
Tom said there was a good chance, but it depended on if the state senators could agree on a solution. I pointed out the costs of calling a special legislative session, and questioned the costs vs. benefits of a few months of property tax savings, and might it not be wiser to just wait until the next general legislative session.
Tom said the more important question is what are the costs of doing nothing. He said if they can pass something by September 1st, then it would apply retroactively to the entire year, which could mean significant savings for Idahoans.
I asked the following question:
Why is it Republicans are traditionally the fiscally conservative, yet nationally they have allowed our debt to balloon several times to record levels and in-state they spent the surplus on pet projects rather than grant a tax refund?
Tom replied that the Idaho legislature put the majority of the surplus into the state’s rainy day fund, which actually still needs more money. He said $70 million went into the rainy day fund, and admitted $35 million did go to pet projects.
I asked the following question:
News reports and polls indicate Republican leadership and policies are failing. Why would continued Republican dominance be better than the Democrats?
Tom said voters should look at overall Republican positions, that they are values-based, they are fiscally-conservative, that they believed in no new taxes, and that Republicans would curtail spending and use surpluses to prevent future tax increases. Tom said he hated to see the lines blurred between the political parties, and believed there should be a stark contrast between Republicans and Democrats.
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It WAS all he had to say about it!
:@:)
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Okay, I have to call hooey on his last response, the one about the Republican Party being “values-based”. It’s this kind of rhetoric that drives me crazy, on either side of the line. Bush ran under the banner of “values” in the 2004 election, and what did it get? We didn’t elect values, we elected a president. I don’t want someone to hide behind values when it comes to leaders … I want action, I want integrity, I want someone who will act despite criticism, even from his or her own party. Look, I don’t care if you have kids and love Disney movies, I care what you’re going to do when your integrity is tested. There’s a very big difference between “having values” and “having integrity”.
This “values” business is nothing but empty discourse, and I think we should let our votes show that we’re not going to be manipulated by this kind of thing any more.
Oh, and I resent his last comment about “blurring party lines”. Since when did we have to be on one side of the line or other? Shouoldn’t our leaders be more than party puppets? Do we elect a person or a platform? I’ll take a person, an individual.
Welcome, Jeremy.
So the big question being asked across Idaho newspapers and blogs the last week has been
What in the world did Tom Loertscher do with the vote by mail legislation?
From what I read, the legislation passed his committee by like 11-7, then on the house floor he took the unusual move of standing up and asking for it to be returned to his committee. He apparently claimed there was a technical/constitutional problem with it, and he expressed the legislation would soon return to the House chamber for it’s due vote.
Then…. nothing. The legislation never returned. A reporter asked Tom a couple months later about it, and apparently Tom said something to the effect of “you don’t expect me to remember this two months later do you?”
Hey Tom, we do expect you to remember, that is your job, dude!
So has Tom answered?
Does the legislature need to be called back for a special session to get that legislation it’s due vote on the House floor?
Does the legislature need to be called back for a special session to rebuke/censure Tom Loertsher for subverting the democratic process?
Who does this welfare farmer think he is?