From The Hotline Latest Edition for Tuesday, May 6,2008

IDAHO

Hey, It Leaves More Time For The Other Seven

Tue. May 6, 2008


LG Jim Risch (R) "will forgo" a live ID Public TV debate "in favor of a taped commercial network debate" with the other 7 GOP candidates, "facing questions from a panel but not from each other." Risch will participate in the 5/14 at Northwest Nazarene Univ. in Nampa "organized by a coalition of news organizations, including TV stations KTVB in Boise, KTFT in Twin Falls and KPVI in Pocatello. Risch passed on a live debate" hosted by the ID Press Club, the League of Women Voters and ID Public TV 5/22.

Risch son/spokesperson Jason Risch said 5/5 that the taped debate is a better format for undecided voters. "In a letter to the league this month, Risch said live exchanges between candidates can deteriorate into negativity and aren't appreciated by voters." Jason Risch: "The campaign has received overwhelming comment from voters that the format used by KTVB was very helpful to them. The fluid format of the public television debate was less so. We prefer one format over the other."

Reps of the press club, league and public TV, which have staged political debates in ID for 4 decades, "issued a statement saying they were disappointed to be spurned by Risch again. Skipping the live debate undermines healthy political discourse, they said" (Miller, Idaho State Journal, 5/6).

Someone's Knockin' At The Door, Somebody's Ringin' The Bell

"Somebody kicked in the locked door" at ex-Rep. Larry LaRocco's (D) HQ 5/3 and did a "couple of hundred dollars" in damages, according to comm. dir. Dean Ferguson. Since the intruder didn't take anything of value -- like expensive computers and equipment, LaRocco manager Bob Stout says: "We will not know whether this was a politically motivated break-in or just a random act of senseless violence until the Boise police conclude their investigation."

Ferguson: "They didn't even take any LaRocco frisbees or tee-shirts. Makes us think it wasn't a supporter who did this. Honestly, we're scratching our heads. And we won't know if they accessed campaign files on the computers until the police tell us."

Ferguson later added that another door at the HQ has been found with signs of an attempt to break in. A sliding glass door has new pry marks, scratches and a bent frame. Ferguson said it was "signs of more shenanigans" (Kuraitis, New West, 5/5).