>> By a 309 to 118 vote, the House voted to repeal a provision of the law allowing officials to execute search warrants secretly and to delay notifying the target. The repeal of that provision was sponsored by a conservative Republican, Representative C. L. Otter of Idaho. Lawmakers have also proposed other measures aimed at chipping away at the law, and some Democrats say they want to scale it back even further when crucial parts come up for renewal in 2005.
And as a former constituent of “Butch” Otter (seriously, that’s his name back in Idunno. Sounds like a tough gay sea-critter, doesn’t it?), let me just say I was astounded. This is the first decent thing I can recall Otter ever doing in office. Before this, the only thing I could remember about Otter is that he was once arrested for drunk driving while returning from a cowboy bar, where he had won $500 in a tight-fittin’ jeans contest.
No, wait, I remember the other great piece of legislation Otter presided over. He was the lieutenant governor of Idunno, and Democrat Cecil Andrus was governor (and used to be Carter’s Secretary of Interior). The year was 1989, the month was January, and a bill was before the Idaho legislature to raise Idaho’s drinking age from 19 to 21, following the lead of a national push to raise teenage drinking ages to 21. The bill had a clause that grandfathered in the rights of existing 19-year-olds to continue drinking alcohol and going to bars.
The problem was that I was eighteen, awaiting my nineteenth birthday on January 31st. Plus, I was a year younger than all my high school friends, owing to me starting first grade a year early. They were already going to bars and meeting drunk eager teenage girls and listening to great bands. I was a lonely kid who could play bass and was looking for drunk eager teenage girls and a great band to play in. The drinking age was going to change just two weeks before my birthday, condemning me to another two years of cruising non-alcoholic clubs and being the buzzkill of my friends’ plans (“Hey let’s go to Whiskey River! Aw, we can’t, Russ can’t get in…”)
The bill made it through the legislature unimpeded and was on its way to Governor Andrus’ desk for a sure signature – Andrus supported the measure. But then, a miracle occurred! Andrus was out of town for some Governor’s conference, making Otter the Governor for the day, the very day the bill made it to the governor’s desk. And, for unknown reasons, Otter vetoed it! (Maybe he also appreciates the drunk eager teenage girls.)
The bill came around again, but not until April did it make it through the red tape and on to Andrus’ desk. By then, I was nineteen, in a great band, and enjoying drunk eager teenage girls. In a sense, Butch Otter had a huge impact on my life.
“Radical” Russ — geez, a Repugnican who helped me drink as a teenager and voted to repeal one of the worst parts of one of the worst laws ever?… he may just be my favorite Repugnican of all time…
