'Kootenai Rants' rips the ridiculous

Dan Gookin says the role of a politician often comes with a paradox that isn’t easily solved.

“One of the problems with elected officials across the spectrum,” the Coeur d’Alene city councilman and precinct committeeman for the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee told The Press, “is that, either they’re not going to tell you something, or they’re going to tell you what you want to hear. The problem isn’t that I’m agreeing one way or disagreeing another way. Honestly, one of the biggest critiques I’ve heard is that I actually have an opinion at all.”

Those critiques — and cheers of support, for that matter — stem from Gookin’s YouTube channel, “Kootenai Rants.” Less than a month old, his channel (not to be confused with his eponymous “Dan Gookin” channel, where he usually delivers tips and tricks to help people navigate the technical terrain of otherwise user-friendly computer programs) has become an outlet for the popular local conservative to vent about what he perceives as hypocrisy, bad optics and comical buffoonery in Kootenai County’s political landscape.

“When I disagree with you, I’m going to disagree, whether I tell you or not," he said. "But no one else seems willing to give you the courtesy of an honest answer. That’s what I’m doing here — giving an honest answer.”

So far, those answers have sent signals to his fellow Republicans in the KCRCC, local religious leaders and his constituents. When he identifies what he perceives as nonsense and hypocrisy, no one is off-limits.

“The people on the (Republican) central committee, who think they’re far more important than they really are, have decided to endorse in the (North Idaho College) trustee and in the upcoming city council and highway elections,” he said in a Sept. 18 video.

Gookin ripped the committee for funding a vetting process for candidates in non-partisan elections, then compared the KCRCC to a cult and an echo chamber, complete with a mocking image of the Soviet central committee and Cyrillic lettering.

“I opposed this,” Gookin went on in the video. “Several members of the committee actually did oppose this, but the majority of the group-thinkers, the amen corner, the hallelujah chorus, the cult members, they thought it was all a good idea. It’s a terrible idea. It’s going to make the party look bad, but if there’s one thing the Republican Central Committee of Kootenai County does is make itself look bad.”

That video was far from the only instance Gookin took someone to task. His first video — released Aug. 26 — tackled a thorny subject about citizens demanding city action against the armed resistance that took to the streets in early June.

“We get some letters,” Gookin acknowledged in the inaugural video with a satisfied smile soaked in sarcasm. “Recently, our inboxes have been full of letters from people absolutely terrified about those racists walking around town carrying guns. Aren’t we the a-holes.”

“These videos, they’re generally reactive,” Gookin explained to The Press. “But it also depends on my schedule. There are times when I simply can’t record because I have to work.”

He estimated his "Kootenai Rants" videos take anywhere from two to three hours to record and edit, all for no more than seven usable minutes. His most recent piece, a four-and-a-half minute clip, voiced his disappointment in Paul Van Noy, pastor of Candlelight Christian Fellowship off U.S. 95, after the local religious leader posted a critique of Ruth Bader Ginsburg that condemned the late Supreme Court justice as “wicked.”

“You have these people who inject politics and religion together, and it drives me nuts,” Gookin lamented on the video. “You wonder why church attendance is down in this country. It’s because, when you go there to hear about God and religion and morals, you hear politics. There are no morals in politics, so stop trying to stick them there. It’s not going to work. But there should be morals in Christianity.”

“This isn’t like she’s Jeffrey Dahmer,” Gookin later explained to The Press. “This is not that kind of evil. This is not Charles Manson. She was a public servant who passed away. Even if it’s someone you disagree with, you pay her your respects.”

Gookin added that "Kootenai Rants" isn’t founded on inciting for inciting’s sake, a tendency he said he recognizes in today’s news industry.

“Twenty-four-hour cable media needs something to talk about for 24 hours,” he said. “So the media ceased becoming a non-profit and became a for-profit industry. CBS News used to pride itself on being independent of CBS … That changed with the dawn of cable news. We discovered we can make money off of the news, so it now becomes infotainment.”

Instead, Gookin is going with a different model, he said: One without a weekly broadcast or a scheduled deadline, a platform where he will release a video only when he feels passionate about something that has touched the local landscape, or when he feels compelled to voice his opinion on an upcoming event, such as the election preview video he posted Sept. 8.

“Kootenai Rants,” regardless of whether or not it avoids the infotainment pitfall, has caught the attention of locals and more than one eye. Its inaugural video drew nearly 1,000 views, and social media commentary has created a narrative of either support …

“Best thing on Facebook today,” one local commenter posted. “Thoroughly enjoying the new channel.”

… or disapproval, enough to build momentum on Gookin’s very own hashtag: #FUGookin

“I’m not doing this to be Mr. Popular or get votes,” he said. “I’m doing this to point out hypocrisy and some of the nonsense that’s affecting the voters of Kootenai County.”