Dear Friends, This week, another issue with Idaho roots was added to the docket of the Supreme Court of the United States. SCOTUS will be hearing the case of City of Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson, which deals with local government’s ability to regulate public spaces relating to homeless camping. I led a coalition of […]
(BOISE) – The Idaho Office of Attorney General announces the appointment of Alan Hurst as the Solicitor General effective January 22, 2023. The reinstatement of the Solicitor General position by Attorney General Raúl Labrador has led to an active defense of consequential challenges to Idaho law. The Office of Solicitor General serves as the State’s […]
“I’m a lifetime Republican and I’m really worried I won’t be able to participate in the Presidential Caucus” said Jim, an 89-year-old combat veteran during a call with Idaho GOP Chairman Dorothy Moon. Jim called the state party headquarters after reading Sandy Patano’s “Opinion: Idaho GOP’s Presidential Caucus confusion,” an Op-ed full of misleading information, […]
During the COVID years, the State of Idaho accepted $22.9 billion of federal money, including billions of dollars of Federal American Rescue Plan money. The legislature outright admitted in the bill that “ARPA funds are borrowed from our grandchildren.” Idaho is now channeling these funds into substantial new government programs while offering very little tax […]
Like many of you, I watched Governor Brad Little’s State of the State address this afternoon hoping to hear him promote smaller government and fiscal responsibility, values that conservative Republicans hold dear. I regret to say that I was left mostly disappointed. Governor Little began his speech with how Idaho has become one of the […]
The Idaho Republican Party held its 2024 Winter Meeting last weekend at Harvest Church in Meridian. I am proud to say it was one of the best run meetings I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending. The Rules and Resolutions Committees worked hard into Friday night, and their work paid off when the State Central […]
In 2021, concern was raised about the Idaho K-12 Civics and U.S. History standards, adopted in 2016. “Lack of specificity is both cause and consequence of a more general lack of rigor” (whatever that means). However, “Enormously broad injunctions and thin, disjointed, thematically scattered content” does describe one defect of these standards. In December, 2023, […]
Dear Friends, I want to share some great news. Last Friday, I was informed the Supreme Court accepted our emergency application and stayed the erroneous ruling from the Ninth Circuit on Idaho’s criminal abortion law in Idaho v. United States of America. In addition, SCOTUS is also granting an uncommon writ of certiorari, taking the […]
The most powerful lobbying agency in Idaho is unknown to most Idaho voters. This organization wields enormous power and influence over every state elected official. How do we know this? None of them will openly criticize, or even talk about it. In 1974 the Idaho State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Idaho […]
U.S. Constitution – Article 1 Section 10: Powers Prohibited of States “No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation….” Treaty – “ratified agreement between two or more nations or sovereigns; a contract between two or more countries that is adhered to by the nations party to it; an international agreement between two or […]
Our country is in a rough place right now, perhaps the worst since the Civil War. Spending is out of control, our southern border is wide open, and Congress seems to be unable (or unwilling) to rein in the deep state swamp. What can we do to save this country we all love? Some look […]
This was a headline from a recently released report on legislative voting from the Institute for Legislative Analysis. While I’m not fond of the term RINO there are other descriptions that come to mind like imposter, cheat, and liar. I recall a time not to long ago when I sat in a central committee meeting […]