Our View: The year of the rally: Who can protest? | Editorials | Idaho Statesman
There is, at least, one good thing about the contentious and difficult 2011 legislative session. On the issues that matter most, Idahoans are the most engaged.
On Saturday, about 1,000 Idahoans gathered at the Statehouse to protest cuts to Medicaid, one of 17 rallies held across the state.
On Presidents Day — a school holiday, but a working Monday for the Legislature — more than 1,000 people converged at the Capitol to protest state superintendent Tom Luna’s sweeping plan to overhaul public education. Again, similar events took place statewide.
Democracy should work this way. Issues of statewide importance, and generational significance, ought to be debated on a statewide stage.
The rallies do not change the harsh realities confronting the Legislature; the state’s projected 2011-12 shortfall seems to change plenty on its own. Based on the most recent estimates, legislative budget-writers are bracing for nearly $92 million in cuts. [...]
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