President Barack Obama will speak at Boise State University later today, certainly a newsworthy event for all Idahoans, regardless of political beliefs.
IdahoReporter.com, though, won’t be there. We think we have a pretty good reason for that.
Anytime a sitting president visits Idaho, it’s important. He’ll highlight important advancements at Boise State University and rehash some of the content of last night’s State of the Union address.
We think, though, the speech won’t matter as much as some of the happenings of the Idaho Legislature. While President Obama is discussing raising taxes on millions of Americans, a proposal surely to die a quick death in the Republican-controlled Congress, we’ll be covering the Idaho Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee, where legislators will actually consider a tax increase on Idahoans.
That matters for our readers, their lives and their pocketbooks.
President Obama will surely preach about his disdain for Washington, D.C., politics, I’m but guessing his speech will feature nothing but the worst of life inside the Beltway. He’ll surely jab congressional Republicans for not wanting huge tax increases for Idaho families. He’ll highlight his plans to redistribute wealth. And, like last night, he’ll completely ignore the inconvenient fact voters checked his agenda at the polls in November.
It’s political theater, pure and simple. It will likely have little effect on the way Idahoans live and do business.
On the other hand, the bills and rules coming from state lawmakers could affect Idaho families every single day. We choose to direct our attention there.
