John McGee

Idaho GOPer, Once Charged With Grand Theft Auto, Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal

Jillian Rayfield | February 23, 2012, 10:47AM

An Idaho state Senator, previously seen failing a breathalyzer test and getting arrested for a DUI, has announced his resignation amid allegations that he sexually harassed a female Senate attache.

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Topics: DUI, Idaho, John McGee, Sexual harassment

Idaho

Idaho Approves Bill To Cut Collective Bargaining For Teacher's Unions

Jon Terbush | March 9, 2011, 8:46AM

Wisconsin's legislature may still be deadlocked over a proposal to restrict collective bargaining rights for public employee unions, but on Tuesday in Idaho, the state legislature approved a bill to do just that for the state's unionized teachers.

The law, which cleared the House by a 48-22 vote, would permit teachers to bargain solely for pay and benefits, but not for other aspects of their jobs, such as class size. The state Senate had approved the bill in February, and it now only needs to be signed by Gov. Butch Otter (R) -- who helped craft the bill -- to become law.

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Topics: Collective Bargaining, Idaho, Teachers, Unions

Nullification

Health Care Nullification Bill Moving Through Idaho Legislature

Eric Kleefeld | February 4, 2011, 3:36PM

Another battle over attempts by Republican state legislators to nullify the federal health care reform law is bubbling up in deep-red Idaho, where legislation was introduced last week.

As the Spokane Spokesman-Review (located just on the other side of the Washington state border) reports, legislators in a key Idaho state House committee voted to advance the bill on a party-line vote, 15 Republicans for four Democrats. However, some GOP legislators said at the same time that they had reservations about the bill, and were voting for the bill in committee in order to allow for further debate.

The bill's main sponsor, state Rep. Vito Barbieri (R) said: "The question becomes, is the Legislature going to become a rubber stamp of everything that the government decides to do, or is the Legislature going to be able to interpose between onerous laws that the federal government decides to implement and its citizens? That's the question before us."

However, this move is also being strongly opposed by the few Democrats in Idaho's state legislature -- and the office of the state attorney general, a Republican.

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Topics: Health Care, Health Care Reform, Idaho, Lawrence Wasden, Nullification, Vito Barbieri

Rex Rammell

Idaho GOP Gov Hopeful: I'm OK With Militias Showing 'A Little Force' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | April 2, 2010, 11:18AM

Via Suzy Khimm at Mother Jones: A longshot Republican gubernatorial candidate in Idaho says in a new interview that he has no problem with militias showing "a little force behind the scenes."

ABC's Nightline caught up with Rex Rammell at a training session of the North Idaho Lightfoot Militia. Rammell, who last made national headlines in August when he joked about buying tags to hunt President Obama, is seen in the ABC segment firing a large scoped semi-automatic rifle.

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Topics: Idaho, Militia Movement, Militias, Republicans, Rex Rammell