Communication Director?

Chuck Oxley has an opinion published in the Statesman . Oxley doesn't like Otter's proposed tax on non-motorized watercraft. At least, I think that's the point he was trying to make.

Unfortunately, Oxley got carried away with trying to tell a story and write something amusing, and he buried his thesis way down in the piece. Noting that motorized boats are taxed, but non-motorized boats are not, Oxley writes

Seems to be a bit of a disparity, doesn't there? Not to worry, though. Gov. Butch Otter and his Republican Legislature are on the job. The problem, they say, is that they're not taxing enough watercraft. They have left out an entire class of boats - those without motors.

Mr. Oxley's argument comes across very weakly. He uses a lot of sarcasm, and the extended riff on Biff wanders all over the place. He complains about a problem but proposes no solution. He seems to criticize Otter's proposal yet ends up saying "I agree the system is out of balance."

Is he saying, don't tax non-motorized boats? Is he arguing for a tax based on market value, or something like what's in place for automobiles?

Oxley's argument also falls flat because he compares the tax on a boat and trailer with the tax on a large boat. You can sleep on the large boat, he implies, so it's okay to include trailer tax in the comparison. That doesn't make much sense to me.

Oxley is the communication director for the Idaho Democratic party. I hope he makes future arguments more aptly than this one.