There was a time not so long ago that Dave Oliveria, the Spokesman-Review's columnist/blogger for northern Idaho, was clearly sympathetic with the area's ascendant Republican politicians. He's a self-described himself conservative, as in one interview where he recalled, "In 2004, we had the presidential election and I was probably one of the few in the newsroom who supported Bush. I wanted an outlet. I wanted to provide a conservative voice online to counter some of the liberal voices."
I mention this by way of setting up the bonafides when Oliveria, as he has done increasingly in recent years, takes on the local Republicans.
He started a post today noting that the Kootenai County treasurer, who had planned to resign, withdrew the resignation after becoming concerned that the county's Republican central committee, which selects nominees for replacing him, would not choose someone qualified for the job.
Oliveria: "The GOP Central Committee no longer can be trusted to act in the best interests of the public. Rather, it has become a vehicle for Constitutionalists, Libertarians, Ron Paulers, and various other elements of the local Tea Party to push their extreme agendas under the name of the Republican Party. For the past year, we have watched as “Republican†activists have created turmoil on the Coeur d'Alene City Council and Coeur d'Alene School Board. Councilman Steve Adams, a former North Idaho Patriot for Ron Paul, won office as a “Republican†and now has Coeur d'Alene facing an economic disaster as a result of his flipflop stand against wastewater treatment expansion. The Coeur d'Alene School Board, including three appointees, all of whom have Republican Party backing, has bounced from one self-inflicted controversy to another in the last 9 months."