Year: 2023

By Mark Sauter – Happy New Year and I hope all is well with you and your families. As one of your District #1 representatives, it’s an honor to go back to Boise to ensure our voice is heard for state governance. The number one priority and duty of the Legislature is to establish and pass a balanced state budget.

By Rob and Clarice McKenney ~ We have been shocked to learn something from listening to former US prosecutors and other well-versed legal professionals It appears that if Donald Trump is convicted of the crimes of which he is charged and even in jail, there is nothing in our legal system preventing him from running for election and, if he should win, from holding office from jail.

By Dorothy Moon – As Chairwoman, I am so proud of what the Idaho GOP has accomplished this year. Republican legislators, elected officials, members of the State Central Committee, staff, and volunteers all pulled together to make this year a resounding success.

By Raul Labrador – This last week has seen troubling news coming from states across the country. Left-leaning courts and bureaucrats have taken it upon themselves to remove former President Trump from state presidential ballots. These are desperate attempts to prevent his election and suppress the voice of citizens to vote for their candidate of choice.

By Mary Ollie – Senator Herndon’s comments on his Institute for Legislative Analysis (ILA) rankings omit a few things. However, careful readers will figure this out as nowhere in his article are the criteria for the ILA rankings mentioned and political party rather than constituents is the focus. Senator Herndon’s duties and responsibilities are to his District 1 constituents yet much of his speech is about Republicans v Democrats rather than dealing with real issues of interest to those who live in District 1.

By Scott Herndon – Is the Idaho Senate actually conservative? Idaho  is a “red” state. We are dominated by Republicans. In the Idaho legislature – senate and house – we have a supermajority of Republicans. 85-percent of Idaho’s state legislators identify as Republican. In the Idaho senate, 28 of the 35 senators are Republican, which is 80-percent. But do these senators vote like Republicans?

By Steve Berch – I didn’t plan on sending this, but … the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) attacked me on the day after Christmas. They gave me a very low score on their index and accused me of being in “opposition to conservative education policy, limited government, and fiscal restraint.” To be clear: I welcome being ranked on the opposite end of a scale that exalts ultra-extremists as the paragons of legislative virtue.

By Dorothy Moon – As the year 2023 draws to a close, our nation faces uncertain times. Our place in the world is precarious as our allies are under attack and our enemies are emboldened. The economy is fragile, with prices for food, energy, and housing still rising, forcing tough decisions on millions of families. Finally, the once and perhaps future President of the United States, the leader of the opposition to the Biden regime, has been indicted and removed from ballots.

Statement by the Idaho Republican Party – Yet again, leftists in the government are directly interfering with the electoral process to obstruct the people’s will. It’s not hard to imagine that this is just the beginning. An unprecedented and alarming scenario in our nation.

By Mike Weland: You hear it over and over in these days of political turmoil, and it’s yet another hollow cry by the radical right to negate any chance at logical, productive discourse. I’m talking about their propensity to invoke a once sacred tenet of journalism, the fairness doctrine, done away with in 1987 during the tenure of Ronald Reagan and the rise of cable.

By Jim Jones – Dorothy Moon’s branch of the Republican Party is so entwined with the inaptly named Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) that it is hard to know who is calling the shots. Both are extremely far to the right. Both have sought to divide Idahoans by stoking fear and outrage over fake culture war issues.

By Clarice M. McKenney – This Christmas season is a great opportunity for parents to help their college students register to vote and request absentee ballots for their college addresses. Registration and the ballot requests can be made by taking proof of student residence to the County Clerk’s office at the Courthouse downtown week days between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Then, if your student wants to help get the Open Primaries Initiative on the ’24 ballot, contact a local volunteer whom you know is collecting registered voters’ signatures.

By Jim Jones – When Raul Labrador was running for Attorney General last year, he promised to be a different kind of AG and boy has he delivered on that promise. He has done things that nobody could ever have expected an Idaho AG to do. Labrador certainly made a media splash in June when he hauled off, without warning, and brought suit against his own client, the State Board of Education.

By Dorothy Moon – Did you hear the news? Most of the people moving to Idaho are conservative Republicans. Thousands of families have watched left wing policies destroy beautiful states like California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado and have come here to escape encroaching socialism and totalitarianism. No matter if you moved here in the last few years, if your family came here before statehood, or if your ancestors have roots that go back centuries, you know that Idaho is a special place.

By Mike Weland – Since 2015, we’ve watched the Republican Party freely give, not sell, its soul to one Donald J. Trump. Along with it, it appears Trump also took the good sense and dignity of its highest ranking members, including every Republican serving today in the U.S. House of Representatives, who voted Wednesday to open an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden without specifying a crime. And that after more than a year of highly publicized hearings have produced nothing but what should be abject embarrassment.

By Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane – This is a perilous moment of global instability. The very ideals of constitutional democracy that define America are at risk in every corner of the world. Amid such darkness, the United States is a beacon of hope for those who struggle under dictators and autocrats and yearn for peace, freedom, and self-determination. For democracy. As Republican state election officials, we believe in the power of citizens to choose their leaders freely and fairly, and we have faith in the integrity of the election systems currently in place to carry out the voters’ will.

By Mary Souza – During my eight years serving in the Idaho Senate, I was incredibly impressed with the respectful nature of the Senate’s legislative process. Decades of tradition insured thoughtful decorum so ideas could be debated, often vigorously, but without personal attacks. After coming from the “blood sport” politics of North Idaho back then, I was relieved to find such rational behavior among my peers in the Senate and appreciated it throughout my time representing CdA.

By Mike Weland – On Saturday, Idaho First District State Senator Scott Herndon, in another of his bombastic campaign emails, berated Governor Brad Little for now taking credit for House Bill 292, which saved Herndon $379.16 on his property tax bill. Herndon now promises, without providing much detail, to begin working toward eliminating property taxes all together. Based on what he does share, it’s a flawed concept with little to no chance of accomplishing much of anything except impress those of his constituents who consider his rating as the “most conservative” Senator in Idaho as a good thing.

By Thom Bruce (Boise) Marine Corps veteran, et al – The Constitution of the United States makes it clear that all government power is based on the will of “We the People.” The right of citizens to vote for governing officials is spelled out in several amendments to that revered document. The Constitution does not grant any rights to political parties because the Founding Fathers had witnessed the havoc they had wrought in Europe and thought they’d do likewise in America.

By Don Jordan – The Open Primaries Initiative, if enacted, would create unrestricted primaries where, regardless of your political viewpoint, any registered voter could vote for any candidate on the ballot. Republican, Democrat, Independent or Libertarian – all on the same ballot! We get to do that in the general elections in November! We should be able to do it in the primaries!

By Steve Tanner – I would like to express my appreciation to the Director Kelly Collett, the production team and the cast of the Bonners Ferry High School play, the Sound of Music and Heidi. Thank you for a great and delightful production. The talent was great, the hard work and effort evident, which will be long remembered.

By Dorothy Moon – They tell us it’s not happening in Idaho. They also tell us it’s a good thing that it is. Earlier this week, the City of Pocatello honored a drag queen story time group with their “Human and Civil Rights” award. They specifically lauded the group for “providing educational spaces for children.” It’s clear that this award was given in response to recent protests by concerned parents against exposing children to drag events and the gender confusion they promote.