Foreign
State Senator Sits In Slammer
June 19, 2011 
Senator John McGee---Inmate John McGee
His blood alcohol level was reported at .15 which is nearly double the legal limit.
We suspect he would like a MULLIGAN on the entire caper. The politico probably will never again have the international recognition he has garnered for himself, his family, and the state of Idaho. Here is the international coverage from LONDON.
He is to be arraigned Monday in 4th District court on the two charges which stem from driving off in a strange vehicle he found with keys in the ignition after leaving a golf course and jackkniffing the rig in the driveway of a SW Boise home with children watching at 3 a.m. Deputies found him asleep in the vehicle.
Will he try to explain away his “error” and claim he didn’t notice the 20 foot trailer hitched on the back of the Ford Excursion which didn’t belong to him? Will his lawyer argue the grand theft was just part of his DUI and should be dismissed? Will he tell his constituents he “intends” to resign in a bid for time? Will he pull a Weiner, fall on his sword and beg forgiveness?
The ensuing weeks of media coverage will be interesting.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Jun 19, 2011, 2:17 pm
I suspect he was too drunk to know whose vehicle it was and that charge will be dropped. Grand theft auto seems a bit excessive. Although if Joe Doakes doesn’t get that charge dropped, neither should he, but I bet it will. Prosecutors always overcharge, because they can.
He should have taken a page from Johnny Boy Edwards and had the picture taken with a smile on his face. That might be too much to ask however of someone whose drunk on his Debbie Wasserman Shultz!
Jun 19, 2011, 3:05 pm
Probably the owner of the vehicle and trailer will be charged with enticement for leaving the keys in
Jun 19, 2011, 3:17 pm
If he was a Democrat the holier than thou Republicans would be screaming for his resignation.
Jun 19, 2011, 6:47 pm
I don’t think there was a big outcry when Edgar Malapei, Democrat from Pocatello, got his DUI in Boise last year, primarily because the circumstances of it were rather garden variety. Moreover, there is not much to be gained in Idaho by demanding the resignation of a politician from a party that enjoys super-minority status. McGee is extremely high profile, for a state legislator, and the reported circumstances are rather exotic. He’s been charged with a felony and a misdemeanor. I, for one, don’t get real excited about misdemeanors, but felonies usually get my attention.
Jun 19, 2011, 8:17 pm
Happy Father’s Day John, you will have some serious explaining to do when you get home to the wife and kids.
The court of public opinion is more often than not willing to forgive and forget but you will have to step up to the plate and explain yourself and plead for forgiveness. All hell will rain down on your head if you try to weasel around on this deal. Keep in mind all the loser/weasels that didn’t tell the truth when found in awkward situations from Nixon to John Edwards. Look us in the eye and tell the truth and you may survive, anything less you do at your own peril.
Jun 19, 2011, 10:10 pm
Senator McGee sets a fine example for the students, faculty and alumnae of The College of Idaho, he is chairiman of the board of trustees at that fine Canyon County educational institution. Not to worry , his psychophantic Republican followers will insist on his reinstatement because it was really just a prank. The Republican owner of the vehicle will probably drop the charges and get special treatment from the good senator. This is Idaho, if you’re a 2c Republican, life is good.
Jun 20, 2011, 9:16 am
All them chemicals they use on golf courses wacked his brain out.
Maybe he even drank from the ball washer. One never knows.
Jun 20, 2011, 9:19 am
Republican, huh? I think it is required that you drive drunk if you aspire to higher office in Minnesota on that ticket. The most recent GOP entry for governor, Tom Emmer, had two DUI convictions and voted to reduce the fine for DUI when he was a legislator. He lost after being featured in a TV commercial highlighting his fallen past. His is not an isolated case among our Republican friends.
Jun 20, 2011, 4:04 pm
McGee campaign slogan 2012:
OFTEN INDICTED, SELDOM CONVICTED!
Jun 20, 2011, 8:32 pm
I am not inclined to believe that Sen. McGee has a “medical condition” as his lawyer told the court today. I hope this case isn’t buried until the proverbial cows come home and the public forgets by prosecutors who have yet to cite John Bujack, Royce Chigbrow, Phil Hart, etc. for obvious wrongdoing and breaches of the public trust. Conversely, all the “common” folks who played loose and fast with the public coffers were dealt with swiftly. Just another day in a state with no role models, integrity or ethics. Ho-Hum.
KTA
Jun 20, 2011, 10:25 pm
He has one chance with the public..step up to the mike and cameras and look us in the eye and be brutally honest with us. Anything less will be a ticket to the political dumpster.
Jun 20, 2011, 10:42 pm
Wonder what would happen if Sen. McGee was a Mexican American, Democrat, and openly gay ?
Jun 20, 2011, 10:49 pm
I couldn’t care less what elected officials, or those running for office, do. Whether it is Nixon, Kennedy, Edwards, Craig, Weiner, or Mcgee, they need to go for being stupid! If one can’t control the intake of alcohol and then drive drunk, they sure as hell don’t deserve the office they hold!McGee will probably just try to “lay low” and hope this blows over. Sadly, he will probably be successful in doing that.
Jun 21, 2011, 8:39 am
I guess I don’t really get the partisan part of this thing. The facts and allegations alone are bizzare enough to support a state of mass public titilation, without the need to resort to ad hominem-style scattershot. We can find plenty of politicos from both parties who have committed crimes and/or the bizzare. Let’s just drink in the weirdness of it without going down that bumpy, fruitless road.
Jun 21, 2011, 9:18 am
I wholeheartly agree with Cyclops and James Bond. Don’t be stupid and don’t be partisan.
James Bond- I will take mine shaken, not stirred.
Jun 21, 2011, 2:11 pm
Nobody has come forward with his missing shoes and where they were found
Jun 21, 2011, 3:16 pm
I think it is just fine to point out partisanship in this case. this state is probably the most partisan state in the union. If McGee’s crime is sanitized by the courts and the media, and it all blows over, I suppose those holier than thou folk will feel justified that justice has been served.
Do you really think some unemployed blue collar worker would get the same treatment as Republican Senator Wonder Boy in the Ada County courts for the identical crime?
Rep. Phil Hart is a prime example. Republican politician evading taxes and stealing state property seems to be OK so far.
Jun 21, 2011, 4:24 pm
Why would McGee be out at 4:00AM with no shoes and his feet and legs all beat up? Was he perhaps caught in a place he had no business and had to leave quickly and leave his shoes and socks behind in order to make a quick exit?
Did his wife call the cops to report him MIA and delinquent from the home?
I know my wife would be frantic if I went out for a round of golf and was not home or had called her to explain where I was and what I was doing.
This whole thing has a bad smell.
EDITOR NOTE–perhaps he was peddling papers or listening to gospel music while looking for new park land.
Jun 22, 2011, 6:42 am
I heard his second job was delivering newspapers for the Statesman. So his wife didn’t miss him.