BOISE - On a recent Sunday afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett stood atop Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, nearly 10,000 feet high.

The Ketchum Democrat, who just 12 days earlier had successful brain surgery, decided that going against doctor's orders might not be such a great idea.

"I started thinking, 'Planes fly this high - I wonder if I should be up here," he said last week. "Then I skied down and decided to call it a day."

Stennett has discovered skiing isn't the only comfort zone. As Stennett continues his recovery from brain surgery on Jan. 29, and begins a bout against brain cancer, his public support stems from across the aisle, including the former Republican House Speaker.

Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, who retired in 2006 after 19 years in the Legislature, has agreed to "coach" Stennett. The two speak daily, and Newcomb shares his knowledge, encourages Stennett to do research on his condition and urges him to remain positive.

"He's an awfully good friend of mine. I've known him for years," Stennett said. "He totally believes that as a cancer survivor he is responsible for helping other cancer patients survive."

In 1993, Newcomb was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He remained in the Legislature and, as a sign of solidarity, a group of state lawmakers shaved their heads.

Shortly after Stennett told Newcomb of his condition, Newcomb talked with some friends who, coincidentally, knew someone with the same type of brain cancer.

"I kind of feel like there's karma, a divine intervention here," Newcomb said. He eventually gave Stennett 59 pages of cancer information from a friend.

Newcomb helped Stennett search for doctors. Stennett settled on physicians at the University of California-San Francisco. He will travel there this week to begin his chemotherapy and radiation, which will last six weeks.

"I'm gonna beat this thing," Stennett said.

The political shades have been blurred for some time now. The first lawmaker to visit Stennett in the hospital was Senate Pro Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs. And during an interview in his Senate office, Stennett lifted up a stuffed briefcase.

"That's full of letters - cards, flowers, you name it. It's been a real sign of support, which really gives me strength," he said. "It's hard to believe, but when it comes down to it, the Senate's a big, happy family."

The bipartisan support for Stennett, including his current relationship with Newcomb, is not surprising in Idaho, said Jasper LiCalzi, a professor of political economy at the College of Idaho. He said Idaho lacks the divisive partisanship that is found elsewhere, including Washington, D.C.

"To me, looking at the Idaho Legislature is kind of what Congress used to be in the '50s," he said. "Once it's 5 o'clock, once the session's over, you go out for dinner together, you go out for drinks together. Things aren't personal."

Newcomb said that as you get older you become more appreciative of what you have, and he is simply paying forward the help he received when he had the cancer.

"I'm not trying to tell him what to do, I'm just trying to get him the information that helps him make a decision that helps him, and he is one of my best friends and it's just what friends do," Newcomb said. "I'm a Republican. He's a Democrat. But he was raised four miles away from me in Declo."

Stennett, who later lived in Hazelton and attended Valley High School, intends to run for re-election later this year.