Lewiston Tribune, Idaho, William L. Spence column

March 31--One of the more memorable scenes in all of literature took place on a dry, windswept plateau in central Spain.

That was where the ingenious gentleman, Don Quixote de la Mancha, made his reputation.

As described by author Miguel de Cervantes, Quixote and his squire were riding across the Campo de Montiel one morning when he caught sight of 30 or 40 windmills.

"Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we could have wished; for you see there before you, friend Sancho Panza, some 30 or more lawless giants with whom I mean to do battle," Quixote said.

"What giants?" said Sancho Panza.

In politics, as in knight errantry, giants are somewhat in the eye of the beholder. So when reviewing the 2016 Idaho legislative session, it's left to each of us to decide if lawmakers battled real enemies or wasted their time on imaginary foes.

As a party, Idaho Democrats offered the clearest vision of the giants they hoped to fight. Back in January they unveiled their "Creating Opportunity" plan, which focused on issues such as investing in education, improving family incomes and providing access to health care.

Certainly we can disagree with their vision and, as with Quixote, we can question the means they used to tackle these issues. Nevertheless, Democrats were admirably consistent in saying these were the problems the Legislature should address -- they were the giants lawmakers were elected to deal with.

Idaho Republicans, by contrast, were less cohesive in their vision.

Some felt federal land management and public land ownership was the biggest ogre in the room, the critical problem that's keeping the state's economy from advancing.

Others focused on social issues, such as abortion or Bibles in schools.

In debating one of these measures, however, Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, suggested they don't really qualify as the kind of monster policy problem lawmakers are best suited to address.

"It strikes me that our differences on these issues often spring from different religious views," he said. "I view bills like this as proselytizing to our citizens. I don't think that's appropriate. I don't think government is the place to look for moral and religious guidance. We aren't moral or religious teachers; we're politicians."

While there were a number of bills that qualified as proselytizing this session, I don't have as much heartburn with that as Burgoyne. I think we need a few preachers in the Legislature to agitate on moral issues and challenge the status quo.

But we need giant killers as well -- and when it came to addressing the health care needs of Idaho's Medicaid gap this session, the majority party showed its heart of wax.

There was near-unanimous agreement that the Medicaid gap -- made up of 78,000 people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little for subsidized health insurance -- presents a major problem for Idaho citizens. Yet Democrats were the only ones eager to work on solutions. Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, introduced two bills to address the situation. When they didn't advance, he quit the indigent care board and gave up his own, state-funded health insurance to try and keep attention focused on this issue. Democrats also tried to call one of Schmidt's bills out of committee for a vote on the Senate floor.

Some Republicans, by contrast, argued that publicly funded health care is a monster of a different hue, one that will suck the nation down the road to socialism.

"I agree this is a heart-wrenching situation," said Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, debating one late-session proposal. "Yes, I feel bad for the 78,000, but (publicly funded health care) still crosses a line I don't think we have a right to cross ... Grover Cleveland said, 'Though the people support the government, the government should not support the people.' How we have changed."

For Nielsen and other Republicans, the session can legitimately be called a victory: They saw government health care as a monster to be shunned, and worked to defeat it.

What's interesting, though, is party leaders didn't share that view.

"You have a firm commitment from the House that we want to do something on this issue," House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, said during Monday's post-session press conference.

"This is a problem and it's a problem we're going to continue to struggle with," said Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter. "If it were easy, we would have accomplished this a long time ago."

Those aren't the words of giant killers, of a party that just protected its constituents from the evils of wealth redistribution.

Instead, they sound like officials who know they backed away from a fight, who know they didn't do enough, and who are now trying to convince themselves -- and voters -- that it was a prudent move, rather than mere cowardice or political expediency.

House leadership initially waited until after the campaign filing deadline to propose anything. The solution they came up with was simply to study the issue for another year. The Senate wanted to move a little faster, but still gave itself an option to back away next session. Ultimately, the House voted to do nothing -- and even now, with Bedke's promise to "do something," it's questionable whether that commitment survives a Republican presidential victory in November.

There were caucus members Friday morning who said they had the votes to support the Senate proposal. Even if they didn't, there were certainly a number who wanted to do more.

Yet when it came time for the vote, party unity counted for more than the needs of 78,000 working adults. Instead of tilting at windmills, they held hands and agreed not to do anything unless they did it together.

"Look, your Grace, those are not giants but windmills," said Sancho Panza.

"It is plain to be seen," said Don Quixote, "that you have little experience in this matter of adventures." Saying this, he gave spur to his steed Rocinante ... and bore down upon them at full gallop.

That's how giant killers do it.

Spence covers politics for the Tribune. He may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

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