The Rough Riding Men of Idaho Politics (boys of a feather flock together)

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/


The men of Idaho politics are a colorful lot.

How fitting that Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, the man who will select a replacement for disgraced Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) should he resign, won a 1992 "tight jeans" contest at the Rockin' Rodeo bar in Boise.

If only Gov. Tight Jeans would choose Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), then he could say he truly is putting a fresh face in the Senate! Simpson got a facelift in Hawaii around Christmastime two and a-half years ago and recuperated by his plastic surgeon's private swimming pool.

-snip-

As for Otter, his skin tight Wranglers were a trademark when he was a member of the House. In fact, one day in 2005, Otter was spotted sneaking on the House floor in his painted-on Wranglers, wearing no tie or jacket (a sartorial No-No in the House) to vote quickly before heading off to campaign for governor of Idaho.

-snip-

And we would be remiss if we didn't mention that ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) - this was before the House page sex scandal erupted - happened to be standing nearby and noticed Otter gallop by in his tight jeans and cowboy boots.

"He's clearly headed home," Foley observed. "He's obviously had it with these stuffed shirts and Washington lobbyists." In a deep, husky voice, Foley joked, "He's a wrangler."
-snip-
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It's hard to pull off a manly strut when you're painfully chafed.

Geez, it's so hard to keep things straight with all these Republicans around.

and witnessed Butch gallop to vote?

in the circles in which I used to ride, showing up at formal business occasions in "sartorial splendor" was acceptable...if you were so good at what you do that such idiosyncrasies were forgiven, even idolized, when it is a total package of sheer genius.

As is so often the case, however, if one is only an "also ran" or "as good as," then such attire and unique character only makes one a squirrel, an oddball to be tolerated, at best.

Showing up, ala cheney, in unsuitable attire is ungracious and marks one as a bore and maybe to be fed in the kitchen, away from the guests. Sure, it's all bullshit, but the gears of social tolerance and interaction work poorly at best and throwing sand in them is not a good idea. Look at shrubby.

Boy, am I getting wordy--must be the drugs kicking in. Sorry...