Agitated Sen. Foreman curses 'liberal nuttard' at fair

Idaho state Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, says he won't be attending the Latah County Fair next year unless he receives a personal apology from fair management for how he and other Republicans were treated during the four-day event in September.

The Daily News obtained a body cam video from the Latah County Sheriff's Department dated Sept. 14 - the first day of the fair - showing a confrontation between Foreman, who was elected in November to represent the 5th District in the Legislature, and an unseen male.

In the video, at 5:52 p.m. a sheriff's deputy approaches an obviously agitated Foreman, who tells the deputy, "This guy says I'm not doing my job, and he's lecturing me on the Constitution."

The deputy asks both men to move along. Before Foreman walks off, he calls the man a "liberal nuttard" and tells him, "Go ahead, don't vote for me, because you didn't."

Foreman then leaves the scene, but can be heard saying, "Go straight to hell, you son of a bitch."

Foreman told the Daily News on Monday that prior to the incident he was leaving the fair after a less than enjoyable day when a man "sought him out" and confronted him. Foreman said the man accused him of abusing his power as a senator and had told him he was not representing his district.

"He attacked me personally and was unnecessarily rude," Foreman said.

Foreman said Moscow is the only town in Benewah and Latah counties where he feels less than welcome at times. He said during the fair the Republican Party booth was subjected to far more criticism, hateful speech and rude gestures - by fairgoers and fair management - than the Democrat's booth.

"I would like to know why the Republicans get treated differently than the Democrats by the county fair - I want a personal apology for how we were treated," Foreman said.

Foreman said he stands by every word he said to the man and that if constituents approach him kindly he is willing to have a civil conversation with them about their disagreements.

Foreman said the man in the video is just "an example of the nuttiness of the loony left" that is all too common in Moscow.

"Loony left-wing people think if they disagree with you they have the right to yell," he said.

By the time deputies arrived, only Foreman could be heard yelling.

Since taking office in January, Foreman has gained attention for some of his proposals, most notably a bill that would have allowed women undergoing abortions and the doctors performing the procedures to be charged with first-degree murder. The bill was not passed.

Katie Short can be reached at (208) 883-4633, or by email to kshort@dnews.com.