Asked about some of his past problems with his fellow partisans, Sali told me that he is "not spending a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror." He added that he and Rep. Simpson--his would-be defenestrator--"have a good relationship at this point." And he blames the media for his controversial image. "I'm trying to remember if there was a single incident where the media came to me and asked me what I thought," he said. "You know, they were always printing one side without coming to hear what the response was. I can't say it happened every single time, but it seemed to happen way more often than not."
On the phone, Sali doesn't quite live up to his controversial reputation. He speaks calmly and rationally about an array of topics. Asked about Iraq, for example, he goes into a wide ranging discussion about "what Islamic jihadists are up to," tracing what he considers the "three revolutions in Islam that kind of explain where we are today": from the rise of Wahhabism to the ascension of Ayatollah Khomeini to the founding of al Qaeda.
Recently Sali was elected president of the 13-member GOP freshman class, the smallest such class in over a decade. He had been urged to run for the position by freshman Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado. Lamborn said that he urged Sali to run because he admired "his strong conservative values," his "willingness to take a stand," and his "leadership ability." Asked whether Sali's reputation gave him any pause,
Lamborn said he was "skeptical about local media," and added that he understands that tough things get said in contentious races, since he ran in a crowded primary too.
As freshman president, Sali has adopted an agenda that shows his pragmatic side. Besides bringing in speakers to help the new Republican members learn their way around the Capitol, Sali wants to "arrange social events with the Democrat freshmen" because "these are people who we're going to have to work with in the majority to move legislation." Instead of burning bridges, Sali seems to want to build them.
But how long before he lights a torch? While Sali is reasonable and collected over the phone, his contentious past always looms in the background. Was the controversy he generated in Idaho the result of media bias and thin skins? Or is Sali exactly what he is portrayed to be, a dogmatic ideologue unable to get along with members of his own party, much less the opposition? Will he be the right's version of Cynthia McKinney, or the "compassionate, hard working, thinking kind of guy" he claims he is?
Jamie Weinstein is a reporter in Washington.
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