Rex Rammell, Idaho GOPer, Jokes About Hunting Obama

UPDATE 8/28: Idaho gubernatorial hopeful Rex Rammell has refused to apologize Friday for his joke about hunting Obama, saying in a statement, "Anyone who understands the law, knows I was just joking, because Idaho has no jurisdiction to issue hunting tags in Washington, D.C."

His comments were universally condemned by fellow Idaho Republicans. "Rex Rammell's comments are in very poor taste and should not have been said," said Sen. Mike Crapo. "I disgree often with the President and his policies. But the comment was totally unacceptable and should not have been made," said Sen. Mike Risch. Rep. Mike Simpson and former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt also offered harsh rebukes.

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BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho Republican gubernatorial hopeful insists he was only joking when he said he'd buy a license to hunt President Barack Obama.

Rex Rammell, a long-shot candidate slated to run against incumbent C.L. "Butch" Otter in the May 2010 GOP primary, made the comment at a Republican rally Tuesday in Twin Falls where talk turned to the state's planned wolf hunt, for which hunters must purchase an $11.50 wolf tag. The hunt is due to begin on Tuesday.

When an audience member shouted a question about "Obama tags," Rammell responded, "The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those."

Rammell told The Associated Press Thursday he sees no reason to apologize for the comment because it was just a joke.

"What I would say to all my Democrat Idahoans: Take a deep breath and relax," he said. "We're not going to go out and hunt Obama."

He also told the Times-News newspaper, "I would never support him being assassinated."

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After Rammell's comment was published in the Times-News, he said one person sent him an e-mail indicating he would ask the FBI for an investigation.

Threatening the president can be a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"I'm probably safe," Rammell said. "I'm not the one that started the whole thing."

Debbie Dujanovic Bertram, an FBI spokeswoman in Salt Lake City, said the agency couldn't comment on whether it was investigating or if it had received a complaint.

Democratic Party Chairman Keith Roark said Rammell comes from the far right of the GOP, but that's no excuse for his comment.

"Rex Rammell is pretty shrill, and I don't think he represents the mainstream of the Republican Party by any means," Roark said. "But I think the Republican Party in this state and elsewhere would be well served by making it clear those types of comments are very inappropriate."

Officials with the Idaho Republican Party in Boise didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Rammell, a former elk rancher and unsuccessful 2008 U.S. Senate candidate, gained exposure in 2006 when the state ordered domestic elk be shot after they escaped from his ranch near Rexburg.

Rammell isn't the first Rexburg resident who has drawn attention for making an anti-Obama comment. In November 2008, second- and third-grade students on a school bus there chanted "Assassinate Obama" after his election, prompting the mayor of this eastern Idaho town to publicly apologize.

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Comments

[ObamAtomic]

A joke?
We can joke ,contacting the pertinent authorities about his comments.
We are not joking!

[Neal Retke]

Yes. Because you can't issue the hunting permit, the joke is not in poor taste.
Hilarious, mr. Blame somebody else !
Absolutely hilarious !

[GSMRaleigh]

Isn't there something illegal about his statement? Isn't that making a threat against the president?

[RanMan07]

Rammell isn't the first Rexburg resident who has drawn attention for making an anti-Obama comment. In November 2008, "second- and third-grade students" on a school bus there chanted "Assassinate Obama" after his election, prompting the mayor of this eastern Idaho town to publicly apologize.

This is a reflection of the parents. Awful

[MelanieMatthias]

Here is address for SS. This tiny Rammell man needs to be turned in. I refuse to allow anyone to speak about my President in this way!
He should be investigated and made to say an apology. Geesh, with the history of this country, no one should be allowed to even breath these words.

http://www.secretservice.gov/contact_usss.shtml

[Brian Sawyer]

where you this upset when john kerry joked about killing bush?

[huffy2001]

No. Hell, no.

[tman418]

Do you mind pointing out this quote to us?

[CZ111]

The Republicans knows they still have free reign to taunt, bully and/or make whatever (presidential) ‘assassination jokes’ they damn well please because the Democrats will simply tolerate all of their BS. I’m so proud to be a Democrat.

[gingerlilyose]

No one is laughing at your sick joke Rex.

[CZ111]

Because the Democrats refuse to prosecute the Republicans for something as serious as ‘admitted’ war crimes (waterboarding, etc…), the entire Republican Party now knows they still have free reign to taunt, bully and/or make whatever (presidential) ‘assassination jokes’ they damn well please because the Democrats are still a bunch of sissified wimps (look at the Town Hall Meetings) who seem to enjoy being mercilessly denigrated and manipulated by a mob of politically degenerate ideologues.

The Republicans are ‘right’… the Democrats are just a bunch of loosers. It’s so sad (for us Democrats), and I wish it was not true.

[verticallychallenged]

Didn't Caribou Barbie originally grow up in Idaho?

[Nancy84]

Wow, we've heard that before... way too much. The sad part is they don't even know their evil is showing through. You can tell a lot about a person by the jokes they tell.

[RhymeAndReason]

More and more I find myself thinking the the Pres shouldn't run for a second term. Why, when there are so many crazies out there. Why when he has such young duaghters. Why when even with a majority in both houses we can move a democratic agenda? Why?

[SamiSam]

I'm so tired of seeing stuff like this. But let them all come out and show their true selves.

[SamiSam]

I'm so tired of seeing $hit like this. But, let them all come out of the darkness and show their real faces.

[caseyvt]

He's not only informed by his politics, but by his religion - Rex Rammell is a Mormon, and they didn't let black men hold the priesthood in their church until 1978, and no black members could go through their temples till then. I suppose that, for people raised with that kind of racial hierarchy as a norm, seeing one of of the underclass sitting in the Presidential office would cause some cognitive dissonance.

It is a relief though, to know that finally some Republican politicians are calling out such types as reckless and irresponsible. The white supremacist group Aryan Nations is based in Sand Point, Idaho, so this man is clearly aware that there are violent people who hate Pres. Obama for having the gall to run for President of a country that they feel he should still be enslaved in.

[Eris23Skidoo]

Actually, the Aryan Nations were run out of Idaho. They had their annual march and every year, the local protesters outnumbered them 10 to 1. One day one of the guards on their compound opened fire on a mother and son who drove too close to their compound. The mother sued them for everything they own and they went bankrupt. They're gone from Idaho.

[Eris23Skidoo]

I'm actually a little proud of the Idaho GOP's reaction to this mess. I'm an Idaho Democrat, so there's my caveat. Here from the Idaho Statesman...

Former Gov. Phil Batt: called Rammell's comments "totally irresponsible, maybe criminal. You're not allowed to threaten the president, with good reason. We've had some tragic assassinations in our history, and we don't want to encourage them, even in a joking way."

Current Gov. Butch Otter: "Reckless and inflammatory statements like these gravely damage confidence in the political process and the good citizens who serve the public."

Sen. Jim Risch: "I disagree often with the president and his policies. But the comment was totally unacceptable and should not have been made. The comment does not accurately reflect the respect the people of Idaho have for the office of the president and our constitutional form of government."

Sen. Mike Crapo: "Remarks like these should not even be made jokingly. We are engaged in a critical national debate over many major issues facing our country today. Remarks like these are not only unhelpful in that debate, but they undermine it. He should apologize for those remarks and for the perception they may have created."

[take10]

Boycott Idaho! Don't visit or if you're already there, don't spend any more that necessary to survive your stay. Fewer dollars made a difference to Al-Craquer in the south, and its Idaho partners should feel the same pain! Research all products and foods made or grown in this idiots state and don't buy them...

[Eris23Skidoo]

Hey now. That guy ran for Senator and got only 5% of the vote. It's not like he's anything close to representing Idahoans in general. I'm from Idaho, and I was one of the first to comment on this story and to condemn Rex Rammell. We can't make a law disallowing someone to run for office. Don't blame Idaho, blame Rex Rammell. If he were to somehow unseat Butch Otter, go ahead and boycott my state because that would show that my neighbors buy into this idiot's rhetoric. If you punish my state over Rammell, you're punishing ME. I got nothing to do with him. His own (local) party is criticizing him. His comments are not making his life easier.

[allafatjoke]

Boycotting Idaho won't solve anything. I as an Idahoan will not be voting for this guy, nor will I be supporting any cause that he does. Rex Rammell does not represent the people of Idaho in any way, and he obviously never will.