Not Convinced Re: Harassment…

Dear Editor,
Re. “Democrats pull worker out of Bonner County, charge harassment by Idaho Rep. Heather Scott’s supporters”.
Really? An unnamed community organizer from an unnamed place is whisked away to an unnamed place because he claims being harassed day and night, in two counties, and we are supposed to believe this hinky story? Its vagueness certainly makes it difficult for law enforcement to investigate.
Enter Kate McAlister, who happens to be Rep. Heather Scott’s Democratic opponent and surfaces to jump on the bandwagon, claiming that her 90-year-old mother-in-law was also harassed in the Safeway parking lot (what is it about that parking lot?) because she had a “Kate” bumper sticker on her car. Her mother-in-law did not think it important enough to even mention for three days, and certainly not worth filing a police report. Nor did McAlister – until October, just weeks before the election. In her defense of this strange oversight, McAlister claims she complained to Safeway, as though Safeway handles harassment complaints (is she trying now also to implicate the Safeway store in some sort of negligence?).
One could ask a lot more questions such as how many 90-year-olds drive themselves to go shopping, shop alone and therefore do not have a witness when something happens? Her mother-in-law may well be a spunky lady who handles things well, clearly didn’t feel intimidated or felt the need to be whisked away to an unnamed location, trembling for his life, as the 21-year-old community organizer did.
Spokesman writer Betsy Z. Russell, the reporter of this story, seems miffed that Heather Scott would answer her questions only in writing and declined to address the unproven allegations. In Russell’s mind, this apparently amounts to a form of obstruction if not guilt, though it certainly seems a wise move on Scott’s part. Russell’s track record is that of a reporter with a left bent, and her stories about conservatives tend to run in that direction. Russell prefers, and solicits, verbal comments because if there is no written record, it’s so much easier to misrepresent facts.
I hope the law enforcement agencies involved do an in-depth investigation into this case to get to the bottom of it. If the results are as I surmise, McAlister and her minion should face false report charges.

John Weyant
Priest River