Can we make “Ada Great Again”? Maybe…
What most of the people of Idaho don’t get including the Republicans involved in the “Make Ada Great Again” movement is that the problem is not with the democrats but with our RINO republican legislators who no longer vote conservatively.
When you have 4 senators who vote conservative between 49 and 61% of the time and 5 house members voting conservative only 70% of the time, republicans have a serious problem and the voters of Ada County have recognized that fact. This is one of the reasons that the democrats have been able to win more and more important political positions. Apathy from voters is a death knell in politics and is always a turning point in the political arena.
While other factors have been playing a part in this shift including more liberal transplants moving in, republican legislators’ voting records in Ada County have certainly not helped the problem. Just look at the voting records for the past year put out by the Idaho Freedom Foundation Freedom Index to see they are absolutely horrid. The only real conservatives as far as voting goes are Mike Moyle, Steven Harris, and Regina Bayer.
| House | House | Senate | |
| Dist 14 | Mike Moyle (R) 81% | Gayann DeMordaunt (R) 77% | C. Scott Grow (R) 53% |
| Dist 15 | N/A | N/A | Fred Martin (R) 51% |
| Dist 20 | James Holtzclaw (R) 72% | Joe Palmer (R) 72% | Chuck Winder (R) 49% |
| Dist 21 | Steven Harris (R) 88% | Megan Kiska (R) 69% | Regina Bayer (R) 85% |
| Dist 22 | Jason Monks (R) 75% | John Vander Woude (R) 74% | Lori Den Hartog (R) 61% |
Districts 16 thru 19 are all Democrats as are the two house members in District 15.
I have to tell you folks that I have been involved in Idaho politics since my days as a director of the Boise Tea Party and I understand better than most why republicans are not getting donations or winning elections. I ran for Precinct committeeman back in 2014 in district 14 against Eva Gay Yost a lady who knew just about everyone in the Republican Party and was a close friend of Governor Otter. I spent 3 weeks going door to door in my district talking to the people including democrats and won that election handily. This was in spite of Governor Otter and Lt. Governor Little coming out to my district and campaigning for my opponent with a TV crew in tow. I also won the next 2 elections without any opposition. I diligently attended the Ada County meetings for about a year. The problem with the meetings is seldom was anything of any importance discussed aside from how much was in the treasury and who was going to run the silent auction.
If you want to win back Ada County, you need to turn the monthly meetings into strategy sessions instead of meet-and-greets. You should be talking about what legislation is coming up and how you can influence it one way or the other and how representatives are voting on specific bills. You should be asking about who is voting conservatively on bills and who is not and let them know just how the group feels about their voting habits. You should be proactive in your communities when it comes to elections setting up open houses and meeting with local officials to get endorsements for your candidates. I don’t ever remember in my 5 years as a committeeman hearing any of these things discussed. The only consistent topic for discussion was how we can raise more money for the party.
I will tell you this you are not going to change the minds of the people until you change the voting habits of our representatives and if that means changing those representatives so be it. I worked to help many of our representatives get elected and all of them swore they were conservatives to the bone when they first ran. The problem is that the longer they hold office and become comfortable that they will be reelected without competition the less conservative they vote. Many do not understand that it’s the people who do the voting not the lobbyists who pass out campaign money like candy each election year. If you don’t do what the people want you shouldn’t expect them to support you financially or otherwise. When you forget about the electorate they will inevitably forget about you and unfortunately, that is where the Republican Party is currently.
The party has been infiltrated by the RINOs and cronies who do the bidding of the powerful lobbyists instead of the people they represent. Corruption has prevailed for the past 15 years as lobbyists have gained control of enough seats to get just about any bill passed or killed. I know this to be true because I have spent enough time on campaigns for and against bills testifying before committees at the capital to know when the fix is in for a bill to pass and when it will not. After a while you know instinctively how a vote is going to go just by seeing who is spending time with the lobbyists in the hallways and the restaurants.
The Republican Party is a victim of their own success and with success comes power and with power comes corruption and that is where we are at the moment. We have stopped representing the people and thrown them to the wolves who devour more of our tax money each year. Republicans don’t understand that they have lost the people’s trust because of the bad legislation they pass for the benefit of lobbyists. If you truly want to change things you have to be willing to clean your own house. The question is are you ready willing and able to do that?
You can use President Trump’s battle cry of “Make Ada Great Again,” but if you’re not willing to fix the problems within your own organization, you are not going to get the solution you are looking to attain. If you don’t fix this problem soon, the “Reddest of the Red States” will turn purple in a few years. Just look at Ada County… it will not be long before it is blue.
Check the IFF’s Freedom Index to understand why conservative republicans are in jeopardy of becoming extinct. See for yourself here: IdahoFreedom.org/freedom-index
We have calculated from the index the percent of time republican legislators are voting conservatively and the number of representatives or senators voting that way. It is not a good record. Our senators might just as well be voting with the democrats.
| House | Senate |
| 90% — 8 | 90% — 0 |
| 80% — 10 | 80% — 2 |
| 70% — 15 | 70% — 1 |
| 60% — 8 | 60% — 8 |
| 50% — 15 | 50% — 12 |
| 40% — 0 | 40% — 5 |
This is why the voters are fed up with supporting the Republican Party. If you want support, clean your house and start voting conservatively and things might change. You may actually wind up with the public paying for your campaigns instead of the lobbyists.
9 replies on “The Awful Truth about Republican Legislators”
I feel the pain. I served for 4 years as a republican precinct committeeman, the last 2 years along side Bob. I agree with his assessment of the Republican party in Ada County and in fact the State. After 4 years serving I became thoroughly disgusted with the republican party. So many republicans trying to “out democrat the democrats”. That cause me to stop donating money to the republican party. With the exception of Donald Trump, the only reason that I continue to vote republican is because I see the republican candidate as the lesser of two evils. However, the lesser of two evils is evil none the less. I do not understand why republicans try to duplicate democrats. That is a loosing strategy. If people want a democrat they will vote for the real thing and not just a cheap imitation. Republicans should work to ensure that there is a stark contrast between republicans and democrats. That is how Trump won.
Excellent article Bob !
I think we can all agree that Representative Government has been replaced by the best local & state governments that the Cartel of $pecial Interest lobbyists can buy several decades ago. Sadly, the fault of our corrupt public servants lies squarely in the hands of Citizens. As you stated in your article, “Apathy” has replaced our Civic & Constitutional Obligation to manage & fire public servants who’s voting-records & actions validate that they have abused & violated their Oath Employment Contracts.
Representative Government could rapidly be restored,, if we citizens simply honored our civic & constitutional obligation to fire replace public servants who’s records & actions validate corruption & conflict of interest violations. Participation could prove to be more entertaining & enjoyable than playing any sport or video game.
You may recall back in the Tea Party days when I was ardently encouraging that leadership of all civic Tea Party & conservative groups to unite behind Oath of Office Enforcement instead of just complaining about these abuses.
During that period the groups stated that confronting the public servants with evidence that validated that they were molesting us was above their comfort level,, & instead purchased large quantities of arms, ammo & food in preparation to hide in the back country instead of confronting & firing our political bandits..
You all may also recall just prior to Gov. Otter’s re-election he severed citizens access to the Legislature’s public records. This slap in the face to Idahoan’s should ignited the fire of a spontaneous lawful reform movement… Perhaps it’s time we become the citizen patriots that first made America Great by purging our political swamp ?
Chuck Thomas
Former Editor of voteforabetteridaho.org . This website was terminated after 10 years of investigation & operation when Gov. Otter severed citizen’s access to wrong-doings by our Legislators. The website provided direct legislative links to document massive political & lobbyist corruption & conflict of interest that continues today.
Meetings: I’m fairly new to ID, so are you talking about Republican party meetings? when and where are they? I will go, I will be consistent, I will work. But only if the meetings are rabidly strategic. Once the needed changes you describe are consistently demonstrated, I will also donate, but not until then. We are fools if we don’t get this right. Now. Excellent article; thank you.
Nothing in government will change as long as candidates need somebody else’s money to run. Once the candidate get elected, they have to do what the MONEY tells them to do, or they do not get any more money. A campaign system needs to be established that does not let a candidate spend ANY money. A debate system would be one way. The people who should be running, cannot afford to, because they will not AUCTION OFF THEIR VOTES, so they do not get the donations from the wealthy.
John Dickey, your comment was validated in District 8, 6 years ago when one of the most ineffective representatives ever, for District 8, was elected with the help of a corrupt P A C, called Prosperity for Idaho, supported by one of the biggest money men in the state. Always save the mailers you receive to compare performance to stated intentions.
Idaho needs to stop looking to southern Idaho for its next governor but to North Idaho where a real battle hardened conservative resides. Her name is Heather Scott and she has more than proven her red conservative roots don’t rust or turn blue when lobbyist or Little or any RINO comes calling. She is not polluted by Ada County cronyism. She is what Idaho needs to stem the blue tide and put Idaho on the road to real state sovereignty recovery..
I have always felt that liberal Republicans are nothing short of a white washed democrat. We apply white wash to a item to hide the imperfections. These so called servants of the Republican party are closet democrats and have sold out to big money in order to change Idaho to a California or Oregon type of tyrannical people controlling progressive government. It saddens me to see the change in the Idaho government sense we moved here in 1994 because of the shift in the Oregon government becoming a communist socialist state as so proven under Kate Brown. We have great freedoms here in Idaho but they are eroding like sandy soil on the shore line.
The article is correct in expressing the core problem. I spoke to Sen. Martin before and after Dist. 15 House seats went to liberal Democrat candidates. He didn’t care. Neither did Ada GOP. There remain only a few actual Constitutional conservatives in statewide office. The RINO Idaho GOP have completely sold out and what happened in Dist. 15 will continue to roll out across Ada county unabated.
Bob,
I agree with your “Awful Truth” article, May 16, 2020. Let put a further test on them!
Gov. Little has overstepped his authority and continues to usurp powers from the legislature. Brent Reagan and Cornel Rasor obtained passage of Resolutions at their respective republican county central committees, calling for the legislature to convene [in accordance with House Rules 4 and 18 and I.C. 67-422] in Boise on June 23, 2020 to assert their authority regarding the Gov.’s Orders, citing further that;
1) On March 25, 2020, Governor Little signed executive order invoking Idaho Code 46-601…, “there exists an extreme emergency within the State of Idaho;” and
2) Idaho Code 46-601 says, in part, that a state of extreme emergency includes…, an enemy attack or threatened attack;” and
3) Idaho Code 67-415 says that an “attack” means “any action. or series of actions by…, bacteriological means or other weapons or methods;” and
4) Idaho Code 67-422 says “In the event of an attack, the governor shall call the legislature into session as soon as practicable, and in any case within 90 days following the inception of the attack. If the governor fails to issue such call, the legislature shall, on the (90th) ninetieth day from the date of inception of the attack, automatically convene at the place where the governor then has his office;” and
BE IT RESOLVED by the respective County Republican Central Committees that we recognize the governor’s declaration of an extreme emergency invoked a call of the Legislature under Article III, Section 8, of the Idaho Constitution, and calls on the House of Representatives and Senate of the State of Idaho to meet in an extraordinary session beginning on June 23, 2020.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we find that the governor has exceeded in his executive authority, and where such authority is authorized by state law, the Legislature should revoke that power; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature, being vested with the authority for public monies under the state constitution, should appropriate the remaining money allocated to Idaho under the federal CARES Act or any other legislation that provides COVID-19 funding to the state; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be provided to the governor, lieutenant governor, and all state lawmakers whose constituents are represented by this body.
Dan Rose