Well of course she loves that flag
North Idaho Republican Heather Scott is one of your super-conservative Idaho legislators. The kind who worries that the state's compliance with federal child support guidelines is the first step toward sharia law taking over, for instance. She carries a gun at all times, because you never know when a shootout might break out at the Capitol building. And now she's had all her committee assignments taken away just because she spoke her mind about women in the Idaho legislature, saying at a December organizational session that women only get leadership positions if they "spread their legs."
It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say to Rep. Judy Boyle, a fellow Republican who'd just been appointed chair of the House Agriculture Committee.
Rep. Scott is not always what you'd call the coolest head in the Idaho lege. Rep. Christy Perry, of Nampa, and also a Republican (it's Idaho), submitted a letter to Speaker Scott Bedke Wednesday complaining of Scott's "paranoid and aggressive behavior," which included an incident in which Scott damaged a fire sensor in a House caucus room. Scott thought it was a listening device installed to spy on legislators, so she busted it, as one does.
“She has displayed aggressive and anti-social behavior by sneering and glaring at members during meetings and passing in the halls,” Perry wrote. “She has even gone so far as to make false allegations regarding members of the caucus to others within the caucus and in the public realm. These allegations include accusing the female members of the caucus of sleeping with members of leadership in order to secure chairman and vice chairmanship positions.”
Perry also told reporters other women in the legislature are worried by Scott's comments to Boyle and other behavior. “They don’t feel very safe. Rep. Scott carries a gun.”
Not that there's anything wrong with that -- Perry owns a gun store and carries a gun herself, but you get the impression she's a bit concerned about Scott having a weapon. Scott has made opposition to state Republican leadership a big part of her campaigns, and regularly complains top Republicans in the state aren't conservative enough. She's called, unsuccessfully, for a special session of the legislature to address the state's imaginary "refugee crisis." She carried a Confederate flag in a 2015 parade, and she and another Republican legislator, Sage Dixon, made a point of traveling to Oregon last year to offer their support and congratulations to the Bundy Patriot Freedompalooza occupiers of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.Scott and Rep. Ron Nate of Rexburg have been agitating to get real conservatives in control of the Idaho legislature, as opposed to the merely conservative conservatives currently running the place. To that end, they traveled around the state during the fall complaining that true conservatives don't get an even break. Scott spoke out against the two parties in Idaho: not Republicans and Democrats, but "the gravy train party and the party working for the people." (To be clear, she's calling other Republicans the "gravy train" party there. Democrats barely have a trolley car in this state.) Reps. Scott and Nate have also set up a website, "Growing Freedom for Idaho,” which rails against Big Government in Idaho, complains that the tax code now recognizes same-sex marriage in "a direct violation of our Idaho State Constitution," and generally promises to help Idaho remain a "sovereign state." The site's homepage declares, in boldface, "State legislators are supposed to work for the citizens, not special interests, federal agencies or the United Nations." Glad she got the UN in there, otherwise she might have been accused of being soft on doctrine.
The Idaho Statesman notes that losing her committee assignments will significantly reduce Scott's influence as a legislator:
In the Idaho Legislature, virtually all bills that get introduced pass through hearings in at least one committee. Committee service is where much of the legislative work gets done. It’s where lawmakers stay abreast of bills moving through the Capitol, advocate for their causes or constituents, hone their expertise on legislative subjects or work to defeat measures they oppose.Scott had served on the Commerce, Environment and State Affairs committees. With no committee assignments, she now can vote on legislation only once it makes it onto the House floor.
For her part, Scott ignored reporters and went straight to Facebook with a post entitled "GOOD TRY MEDIA & ESTABLISHMENT TO PIT CONSERVATIVES AGAINST CONSERVATIVES TO TRY TO HIDE THE GROWING FREEDOM FOR IDAHO LIBERTY AGENDA." She sort of apologized for her comments to Rep. Boyle, saying
Too much has been hidden from the citizens and they deserve to know what is going on in their government. The words I used to express a legitimate concern may have been too harsh, and I apologize for that as I never intended to offend anyone.
The rest of the post hints darkly at evil forces being massed to oppose her and her "freedom agenda," suggesting that she's merely been made a "scapegoat" for the powers that be, and even hinting her punishment was a direct result of her daring to put up her dumb website:
It is probably no coincidence that the latest “stir” from within the catacombs of “leadership” comes on the heels of the recently published freedom website helping citizens to keep better tabs on legislation and legislators called www.growingfreedomforidaho.com.The irony of yesterday’s news article attacking our freedom movement is that it is just another attempt to hide a shenanigan. They choose to “leak” the misinformation one month after the event on the same day that all 105 legislators were given 3 hours of ethics training.
So, yeah, she's a true patriot hero being silenced by the powerful special interests because she dares to speak out about the ugly realities, also her freedom agenda. She even closes with a fake George Orwell quote -- "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it," which Orwell never said, -- so you know she's a True Tea Party Conservative.
Rock on, Rep. Scott. It takes a special kind of nutty to be too nutty for the Idaho Legislature.
[Idaho Statesman / Spokane Spokesman-Review / Boise Weekly / Heather Scott on Facebook]
