Notes From the Floor

Shooting Guns

We get invited to a lot of events with different organizations working on creative ways to get us to show up after a long day in the statehouse so they can share their ideas on issues we face. Some events are participatory but most are not, unless you count the eating. Legislators do a lot of eating at evening events.

Some involve long power point presentations. This one was by far the best in a long time. It is a sunny afternoon in the Boise Foothills and after some safety instruction, officer’s from the Fraternal Order of Police let us shoot their hand guns at the Fort Boise range. K9 and bomb squad units demonstrate skills, tools, weapons and training. Above: Rep. Phil Hart fires.

Rep. Raul Labrador decked out for SWAT

Mom’s insistence that I learn how to shoot a gun at a young age comes in handy. Odd feeling but somehow I shoot a whole round into the head of my target.

Rep. Branden Durst uses his expert verbal and shooting skills in a lethal force simulation. He credits the shooting skills to video games.

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Earlier, Rep. Mack Shirley, Rep. Russ Mathiews and a group of House pages and I stood in a big circle in the annex out side the tiny page room where pages spend parts of the day waiting for directions and requests for assistance. We talked about guns and the second amendment
    On such a polarizing issue I’ve found that pacing oneself, taking deep breaths or using humor is helpful. We talked about how much control a student gun owner has over their guns, especially on campus. Humor was not going to be helpful. And as Mack pointed out, with the obligation of administrators to protect all students, how can they do that if they can not ensure guns are under lock and key?    
    Pages views were mixed and thoughtful. This is our second round of pages for the year. I imagine that watching all the debate in committee, especially now that its so heated, some must at times just wish they could jump in. I remember years past interns testifying at hearings, very powerfully in fact. Pages though, I wonder if it is part of the rules for them to be silent.

Places to Talk

In the absence of offices and because even a whisper can be heard from anywhere on the house floor, places to talk strategy or call home are hard to come by. Some spots include: the benches in the stairways. The echo is fantastic but the lobbyists are becoming experts in acoustics. Ah privacy. Note the mural and interpretive sign placed here in cooperation with Idaho’s tribes.

The Supply Closet. Too symbolic. But my favorite.

The Elevator. Drawback is the door which pops open on its own.

One of the many rest rooms which now force the house and senate to mix. Lots of small restrooms mean many places where we meet on close quarters. This one is one of the roomiest. Note the nice stone walls. Some feature hot water in the bowl. There actually is an antique phone booth on the ground level, four stories below my desk on the floor. It has an antique phone in it and one of those beautiful old sliding doors.

Cursed by Gingrich

I have a beef with Newt Gingrich. He’s a very smart guy. I’m not sure exactly what he said to some of my favorite Republican colleagues, but if one more member of leadership smiles at me and says, reassuringly, the words "cheerful persistence" I’m going to have to borrow bigger teeth, grow pig tails or start wearing pink.
    How do I convey this? I think Newt can hear the morris code in my heels clicking and the bounce in my step on the stairs of the Statehouse Annex now as I run one more time to the Senate to find that last vote I need for that bill. Cheerful Persistence. I’m pretty sure he feels the Braile in my smile as I look up from my computer getting one more email of frustration or anger from a person far off in some corner of the state to whom government is far away and abstract and for whom the idea of "wait" could mean a meal or even prison vs a warm bed and a space in a detox facility. Cheerful Persistence. I hope Mr. Gingrich hears my keys tapping to the far recesses of our state, sending smiley face thanks and encouragement to friends in Challis, pen pals in Lewiston and fellow non-profit organizers in Idaho Falls. Cheerful Persistence. Perhaps he can turn on his transistor radio and tune in to my thoughts as I run the frozen foothills ridge trails contemplating better debate strategies, rehearsing conversations with committee chairs and planning to set up meetings with cosponsors to keep things moving forward if not legislatively then at least in terms of people’s understanding of the issues for next year. Cheerful Persistence. That’s me. Newt Gingrich’s biggest fan.
    My Question is this: if we are the cheerful sort and we do persist, does that mean this all works out in the end?
    I’m afraid it was Gingrich who also started this kinder, fuzzier, new conservative "Yes if" thing which is meant to make us feel as if something we want is attainable when in reality our committee chair just sat through this Gingrich pep session and was instructed to use a nicer set of words to say "No."
    Don’t tell them "No," tell them "Yes, if…"
    Maybe this was the month for unfortunate advice from out of town. The National Federation for Independent Business (well known for their less than upstanding representation of their own survey statistics) had a lunch speaker from somewhere who went on for quite some time about unintended consequences. I missed the end of the talk (they lost me when sprawl turned out to be the fault of well intentioned environmentalists.) And so I’m not quite sure what direction they were going with the consequences but ever since this lunch talk, when Pete Neilsen or Russ Mathews don’t like a bill in committee they use phrases like "I can see this will have unintended consequences." Or "I’m very afraid of the unintended consequences of this bill." It is usually said with some gravity as if we will all know what dreaded outcome will befall the state for this particular bill should pass or even be printed in committee.
    So if anyone has the Gingrich speech or the book by this consequences guy, I’d like some help decoding this stuff. And if I’m lucky, other phrases which are haunting my daily life in the statehouse will turn out to also be in code and I’ll be fully enlightened.

Friday and the Stones

It is Friday. Just Democrats left in the upper house. I’ve got my head phones on rocking out to a mix of Stones, Catie Curtis, Traffic, Amee Mann and Warren Zevon. Don’t ask. I’ve discovered this as a good way to transport my self in time and place, get work done and cheer myself up now that bills are falling, stumbling by the side of the marble race track, falling out of windows and finding themselves buried deep in storage closets. The budget is constricting like a corset just as we start setting state employee pay. My desk is struggling to stay orderly under a weight of notes passed in committee, secrets told behind hands and echoes falling through cracks in closed door meetings. Mid wives stop me in the hall. People streaming in this morning to speak so eloquently about our bill on Divestment from the Sudan. The place feels simultaneously like a benevolent father and a ticking bomb.

Not At Ease

When the Speaker banged the gavel and boomed "The House will be at ease," today the pages stormed out of the nooks and crannies and hung the "Back Benchers" banner on the wall behind the Speaker’s desk. They did the traditional end-of-page-term skit about their time in the legislature. A new crop will be arriving soon. I’ll miss some of these. There are some good genes in the Moyle and Lake families.
    Funny though this year for the what feels like the first time, not a single Democrat appeared in the skit. It is kind of like what is happening with our legislation this year. If it is at all substantial and has a Democrat’s name on it, it seems to be vanishing, typically for "technical" reasons. I’ve not checked with all my colleagues to see if this is universally true, but normally good bi-partisan efforts have a chance. I think the looming election year is taking its toll on the legislative process. I hope I’m wrong. That is the ugliest of partisanship — important policy being killed simply because the legislator belongs to the wrong party.

    Today while we were at ease we also had the Marriage Ambassador award which recognizes a married couple who exemplify traditional marriage. It went to Rep. Donna Boe and her husband Roger for their amazing work locally and internationally and for their fifty year plus marriage. Roger came from Pocatello to be here with Donna and accept the award. 
    It is Valentines day, and someone in the award presentation used the words "those who choose marriage." I have watched this award presented every year for the past four years. This year was the first year I got teary. Something about the words "choose marriage" really got me. It seemed cruel even if it was not intended to be so.
    It is Valentines day and I send love to my partner Carol as a legislative spouse, for all she endures in long hours, stress and putting up with my months of pre-occupation with policy and strategy and the daily drama of the legislature. To Carol who doesn’t get to attend the legis-ladies meetings and outings or have the camaraderie of others who live so close to the periphery of this often all-consuming place. 
    It is valentines day and I wish for all couples who, like Carol and I, can’t get married — I wish for you all a more compassionate world, a more compassionate state and a day when all our families will be as respected and valued as others.

Home Working

I know I am not the only legislator home working late on this Sunday night. In little apartments in basements and condos, in high rises and simple hotels we work or sleep tonight. Outside it is dark and in my neighborhood the air smells of wood smoke. Like me, some legislators labor now over bills, researching, gathering co-sponsors, pulling in agencies and opposition to create consensus or compromise. Some come ready with years of experience debating legislation, they vote, work gently on their own strategies and issues and go home after the receptions and dinners at night to sleep. Look at the bills we sponsor and you can tell a great deal about us. As Democrats our bills may have other ambitions than just passage. We may have to use them to educate for a year or two, but already in my two terms I’ve seen several good ideas that were politically unpopular work their way to passage.
    Tonight as the ground warms and thaws and the capitol stands like a broken shell across the street from our temporary quarters, the wheels of the process are turning faster, starting to grind in doing the real work. This is the week the debates begin.

Suspended

We have suspended debate and have an ambulance here for Rev & Tax committee chair Dennis Lake who collapsed in the heat of debate. He is conscious and fine, but headed to the hospital. There has been a collective intake of breath and a somber nodding of heads as we pass in the hallway. Dennis is the fearless leader of the committee which once was run by Rep. Delores Crow of Nampa. Lake has made his mark on the place with his fair hearings, level head and the half smile he slides into sharp debate.

Torturing Freshmen

The Idaho legislature has a very mild form of hazing. No wedgies, no dunking anyone in anything. We keep a good distance in fact and, from the comfort of our seats on the floor, just vote a Freshman legislator’s first bill down. Of course we wait until the speaker says "Does anyone whish to change their vote?" and we do change our votes. You might call it a charming rite of passage. Even after the years and long ranks of new law makers, it seems to make us laugh every time. Today, to set up Rep. Thomas from Emmett, there was some debate about what the meaning of "is" is in the bill she presented. If you watch on IPTV live at 11ish each day you’ll see our antics. We are typically as lively as slime mold but on occasion get moving. This is the time of year where we are actually beginning to debate issues so it might be worthwhile.

IPTV Live aprox 11 AM, Mon-Fri House and Senate. The schedule will vary more and provide for longer debate as the session progresses. http://www.idahoptv.org/leglive/

Levity

Crystal White, Stacy Falkner my Interns with Democratic Staff Member, Cathy Downs in the Snow

Les Bock Watches as Our Chairman Gets Gaveled by His Co-Chair

Lenore Watches the Mayors Sing

Kassie, Carol and Barack Obama Speechless

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When it is tense, how do we survive?

•     Carol makes me laugh when things are the most difficult. She knows how to make me stop banging my head against the wall and how to help me see the humor in really anything, including having a bill die.
•     I have two hard working college interns who are researching fiscal impacts, making phone calls, keeping the e-mail from over taking my computer and reminding me to stay focused so I don’t unravel in
  an unsightly way when I have way too many balls of legislative yarn in the air.
•      My upper house colleagues sense of humor keeps it all from
  spiraling down with the paper and binder clips and anything which might
  fall off the balcony. Someone in the back row passed around a 1955
  pamphlet on keeping women in their place and called it the report from
  Steve Thayne’s Family Task Force.
•    It is nice to be just a fan for awhile. Barack Obama coming to Boise Saturday morning fuels me to remember how big things are out there and how hopeful this state looks for Democrats this year. Maybe there will be more balance and more than 19 of us in the House in 2009. If we work hard enough, at this time next year we could have a Democrat as president, real health care reform in the making, smarter energy policy, strong, intelligent, articulate leadership to make us respected again as a nation.
•     Even Lt. Governor Risch whispered a joke about how, before Governor Otter’s hip surgery, he had offered to administer Butch’s anesthesia. He said was told that wouldn’t really fly.
•     Chairman Clark has a wicked sense of humor but had two bills up today. He treats even defeat like a game and laughed when his Vice Chair Leon Smith gaveled him during the presentation of his highly technical supreme court retirement fund stabilization bill.
•     At one of the million receptions, lunches and functions today, two Mayors sang and even I found myself singing the star spangled banner, probably the most risky thing I could do to my re-election since I absolutely can not carry a tune.

Against Us

For two years, we, the members of the House of Representatives have given the morning invocation ourselves. We have had an occasional guest chaplain, but on most mornings we could look forward to seeing the world through the eyes of a different legislative colleague. We have Buddhists, members of the LDS Church, Christians of all kinds and some whose invocations reflected a mix of respect for different faiths, including respect for the right for members to live without religion.
    This year Speaker Denny chose to return to the practice of having the same House Chaplain give our invocation in the form of a Christian prayer each morning. Our house chaplain began prayer today with this quote from Romans: "If God is for us who can be against us?"

Because sadly there are days that that quote sums us up all too well, I would ask: Since we have at least some Legislators who are not Christian, will we misjudge which God is with us? What about the definition of "us," who do we include? Who do we exclude? And which god or gods would take sides where all mean well and have good moral intent? And what if gods differ in their assessment? What if we have asked the wrong question and believe in our hearts we are righteous when we are not? What if we are divided, who is God with then? Who is God against? Is it not possible that both sides believe God is with them? If so, does this lead to greater understanding or to greater conflict?

Night Time

The Doors to the Floor of the House

Entry to the Balcony or "Upper House" as we call it

Inside The Forbidden House Lounge. Once the only place off limits to all but legislators.
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Night time. Four hard working Democratic women left on the empty House floor as the clock ticks toward 8:30 PM. Snow is falling heavy outside and I wander down to graze at the snack table. Pretzels. Two white shirted security guards smile and say hi. I say good night to them almost every night when the windows are dark and the halls are quiet.
    The stairs are good exercise. In the day I run up and down trying to find Senator McKenzie (who is busy with his law practice right now) or my cosponsors for other bills, going to committee, collecting my mail (which appears in growing stacks all day every day.) I open letters from prisoners, answer e-mail notes on everything from dog fighting and the grocery tax to the human rights act and a bill that’s trying to make it even harder for recent immigrants to hold a drivers license and car insurance.
    Each night my calendar in my auxiliary brain (pda) shows a mass of overlapping events. Receptions with the Hispanic Affairs Commission (which I serve on), dinner with water users,  disability community advocates, stem cell researchers and more. I’m back here on the floor though after just one event most nights, because I still have so much work to do finalizing drafts of legislation and getting really ready for that time soon when I will be juggling several bills at once.
    Off into the night now. Snow inches thick since I returned from enchiladas and dancers in colored dresses, statistics on Hispanics still uninsured, and warm hugs from old friends from years back or hundreds of miles away.

Missing Sali

View of the Speaker from the "Upper House" where 20 lawmakers sit

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So if you are looking for an update on Congressman Sali’s visit to the Idaho legislature today. I wasn’t here. I spoke to the Telephone Pioneers over lunch and this cool retired group of telephone company workers mostly seemed to feel I had made a good choice. I talked to them about taxes. No one fell asleep in their tasty potatoes and gravy (that I could see.)