Idaho, the State of confusion or contusion?

Butch Otter is one tough hombre. He's often sort-of reminded me of Liberty Valance...or maybe the cowpoke Tanner, from back to the Future III.

From the early 1970's to now, Idaho knew what Butch had to offer, and for the most part they bought it. His shoot-it-up style got the headlines...and the votes.

More a Libertarian, in his younger days, he seems to have just lost interest in labels, nowadays. Was he a conservative in DC during his 6 years? Heck yes. Has he slowly moved away from the arch right-wing position(s) that he held while representing the 1st CD in DC? Yeah, on that one, too.

So what's happening to him now that he's in a such a non-compromising CONFUSING position with his own Legislative Republicans on "roads"? Are you kidding me?

My call is that Butch may have been snubbed (this year) by key leadership within the GOP Senators/Representatives, due to (among many  other personal things) his failure to choose any of them for the formerly-vacant Lt. Governor spot.

And they are testing the waters to see just how strong Butch is...for 2010.

No kidding. It's a fist fight now...and the contusions are everywhere.

I think this whole roads/transportation dust-up/bare knuckle brawl is a cover-up for sitting-Legislators who are beginning to see/sense Butch as a "lame duck in training"...shot out of the air by a far better marksman, somewhere within their "Hole-in-the-head-Gang".

And the truth is, they may be right...sort of.

I'm thinking that Governor Otter hoped for a whole heck of a better "gig" than the one he got in 2006. It's like watching a photocopy of a photocopy of former Gov. Kempthorne's last couple of years in office...only earlier, isn't it? Ahh, the anguish....

Let it be known that I'm startin' to think that Butch positioned his old friend Brad Little as Lt. Gov, with a keen eye on a possible self-exit strategy  for 2010...and the waters around him are being "chummed".

C'mon, if you were Butch Otter and had served as long as he has in the Idaho Legislature (as a Rep and then as the Lt. Governor) not to mention as our 1st CD Congressman...and you got stuck with these past two sessions, wouldn't you start looking at an alley get -away ? 

One tough hombre knows when to hold 'em, knows when to fold 'em, he knows when to walk away...and he knows when to run...

My call is that he'll serve out this 1st term and follow Phil Batt, one of our most fiscally-conservative governors....and he'll bow out with one term, as well. Then there'd be two tough hombres... 

But trust me, there will ALSO be a whole lot of dead cowpokes along his alley exit-path...

Den

Comments

[Dennis Mansfield]

Thanks for visiting the blog.

Your question is a little too vague...help me. Do you mean when he was a legislator, or Lt. Gov...or as a US Congressman?

[Sylvia Ellis]

What are the issues Otter has voted on and how did he vote?