Leading Isn't That Hard
The Boulder-White Clouds bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jim Risch. Now he says he just did that as a favor to Rep. Mike Simpson. It's time for leadership, not gridlock.
At the Boulder-White Cloud hearing last month, Sen. Jim Risch said the bill needed more work even though he'd been a sponsor of the 10-years-in-the-making package. He also supported it as governor. Needs more work?
What's that mean? Get the motorized leaders attacking the bill to support it? They've said they will not.
To me this means make commonsense tweaks to the bill that would also address concerns raised by Gov. Butch Otter and move on with the legislative process. Be a leader.
There is always room for some measure of substantive discussion, but to be honest, there isn't much: After 10 years, the big compromises have been made.
Where there isn't room for compromise is over ideology. The Governor says he opposes wilderness, so not much can be done with that. We don't know where Sen. Risch is on that issue.
Does Risch want to help move the bill forward? Then let's address the substance. Does he want to kill it? Then we're talking ideology. My strong belief is that Sen. Risch cares about getting things done most of all, so there is room to move forward.
Castle Peak in the White Clouds has long been an Idaho icon, a symbol of conservation and Idaho's future. As a symbol, it will stand long into the future, and the legacy of a few Idaho leaders are increasingly tied to it. And that legacy lasts. Just ask Cecil Andrus.
the difficulties of leadership