OPINION: Cheers and Jeers: The ‘boss’ roars during town hall meetings

CHEERS ... to freshman U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash.

Against the advice of his party, Baumgartner exposed himself to the lion’s den at two town hall meetings — in Ritzville and Spokane — this week.

“These town halls are an opportunity to hear directly from you, my ‘bosses,’ about what matters most. I intend to continue hosting town halls in all forms as your congressman,” Baumgartner said. “Whether you voted for me or not, I work for you, and I am grateful for the chance to serve all of eastern Washington.”

That’s far more than you’ve seen from Baumgartner’s Republican colleagues on the Idaho side of the border — Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, as well as Congressmen Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson. To fill the void, two former Idaho Democratic members of Congress — Larry LaRocco, of the 1st Congressional District, and Richard Stallings, of the 2nd District — are holding town hall meetings across the state, including Lewiston and Moscow on Saturday.

Baumgartner encountered protests from constituents who are enraged at the Trump administration and the Republican congressional majority’s unwillingness to cross the White House. At one point, the congressman called them “rude” and disruptive — suggesting the audience in Spokane was 99% predisposed against him. Now he’s posing the possibility of filtering public opinion through telephone town hall sessions.

Having met with angry constituents, the question before Baumgartner is this: Does he convey to his fellow congressional Republicans that what they’re doing in Washington, D.C., is not popular with his “bosses” back home?

JEERS ... to state Sens. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, and Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins.

When it came to handing out $453 million in tax cuts that disproportionately benefited Idaho’s wealthy, they couldn’t wait to vote yes.

So where did Foreman and Carlson vote to hold the line?

Spending another $222,900 to help foster care children on the verge of aging out of the system. The bill — which ultimately passed despite the opposition of Foreman, Carlson and a dozen others — would extend some foster care up to the age of 23 if the individuals are enrolled in secondary or post-secondary school, workforce training or are working at least 80 hours a month.

For all the right reasons, the state intervenes in the lives of these children. So in spite of Twin Falls Republican Sen. Josh Kohl’s assertion that spending $222,900 on foster children is an expansion of the “nanny state,” Idaho has a genuine obligation to do the right thing.

It’s also in the state’s best interests. Almost half of foster children experience homelessness before they reach their 20th birthday.

As Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, noted, this kind of investment can decrease the odds of foster children being food insecure by 21%, the odds of being homeless by 19% and the odds of being arrested by 28%.

To oppose this requires equal measures of foolishness and heartlessness.

JEERS ... to the sponsors of Idaho’s school voucher bill — Reps. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, and Jason Monk, R-Meridian, as well as Sens. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, and C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle.

The ink isn’t dry on their plan to drain $50 million from the budget that supports Idaho’s underfunded public schools and already the predictions of escalating costs are coming true.

The sponsors started out predicting the Idaho State Tax Commission could administer this tax credit with only $125,000 in one-time funds.

Then their estimate was expanded by $70,800 to hire one new full-time tax commission staffer and another $60,000 to hire five additional seasonal employees.

Now with the measure signed into law, it turns out the state will need seven new full-time employees to handle the work — at a cost of $550,000. So, as Idaho Education News’ Ryan Suppe added it up, the administrative costs have escalated from $125,000 to $675,000.

As elsewhere in the U.S., out-of-state special interests pushing vouchers won’t stop with a $50 million Idaho program. They’ll push for a universal entitlement, which could drive the costs past $300 million at the expense of the vast bulk of Idaho children still attending public schools.

A five-fold increase in administrative costs is just the initial down payment.

CHEERS ... to Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls.

Idaho is being swamped by what House Democratic Leader Ilana Rubel, of Boise, calls the “out-of-state bill mills.” So at the very least, voters ought to know when their lawmakers are being wined and dined by these outfits.

Enter Mickelsen, who is behind a bill that would require lawmakers to disclose when their travel is paid by someone who is “reasonably related to a legislative or governmental purpose or to an issue of state, national, or international public policy.”

Her measure cleared the House 47-22 on March 13. Among those voting no was Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston.

“In this body, we scream and yell about having transparency by every government agency,” Mickelsen said. “If we ourselves are unwilling to be transparent about what we are doing, how can we expect anyone else to do anything less than that?”

Good for her. — M.T.