Idaho legislators should condemn brownface stunt, not enable it | Opinion
Idaho legislators made a mockery of the legislative process and demeaned their own work when they let a serial agitator testify in brownface and a costume before the House Business Committee.
The committee was hearing a bill on unauthorized workers and requiring businesses to use an E-verify system for verifying the legal status of its employees.
Rep. Josh Wheeler, R-Ammon, the committee’s vice chair, was the acting chair of the meeting, as the committee’s usual chairman, Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur dAlene, was presenting the bill.
Among those called to testify was David Pettinger, who was wearing a costume with wig, sunglasses, mustache and beard, had handcuffs on a wrist and appeared to have brown makeup on his face. When called to testify, he began speaking Spanish.
Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise, called for a point of order, saying the hearing was not “performance theater” and Pettinger’s was not appropriate testimony for the committee.
Wheeler smirked as he instructed Pettinger to give “straight testimony.”
Pettinger continued in Spanish, at which point Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, asked to put the committee at ease.
Apparently, during the break, they were able to talk Pettinger into speaking in English, and Pettinger was allowed to continue his nonsensical testimony, railing against refugees and immigrants.
Perhaps even more outrageous is that when Nikson Mathews testified after Pettinger and said he would use the final 18 seconds of his testimony to call out Pettinger’s actions and admonished the committee for allowing him to speak, Wheeler cut Mathews off and told him to take his seat.
Committee chairmen have latitude in limiting testimony. In fact, they have a history of doing so. Rep. Bruce Skaug initially barred anyone under 18 from testifying in his committee, then limited testimony from minors to only with parental permission.
Sen. Patti Anne Lodge tried to cut off testimony after 45 minutes on a bill making it harder to get a citizen initiative on the ballot, saying that “everyone else who signed up is against the bill.”
Other chairmen have cut off testimony after a certain amount of time.
The Idaho Legislature has extensive rules about decorum, and the House speaker often instructs legislators and the gallery alike about appropriate behavior and not violating those rules of decorum.
Committee chairmen also have discretion when it comes to disruptive behavior among the public, such as the time then-Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Nampa, who was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, shut down the committee hearing and ordered Ammon Bundy removed and arrested for sitting at the media table in the Lincoln Auditorium.
Wheeler could have and should have simply skipped right over Pettinger’s name and continued with other, legitimate testimony. If there ever was a time to use that discretion to shut down testimony, wasn’t this the most obvious instance?
Pettinger has a history of racist, misogynist and morally repugnant performances like these antics.
He once dressed up as a prom queen with a sash that displayed the name of a woman who was raped by a Republican legislator. He showed up at last year’s State of the State address dressed, ostensibly, as an Indian man to make a point about H-1B visas. He has been arrested at the Idaho Capitol and for protesting outside officials’ homes.
Pettinger’s infantile behavior stood in stark contrast to the others who came to debate the bill, in good faith and in all seriousness.
Pettinger’s childish testimony made a mockery of the serious, reasonable people who came to testify — and made a mockery of the work of the committee members who are called to make decisions on important matters.
The ACLU of Idaho rightly called out the behavior, not just of Pettinger, but of the legislators who enabled him.
“No matter your politics, this is racist and absolutely unacceptable behavior from our elected officials,” the ACLU of Idaho wrote in a statement. “Our elected officials should be leading public forums with civility and respect, not hate.”
Pettinger is free to stand out on the street corner and spew his racist garbage.
But his behavior has no place in the Legislature.
Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way.
