Idaho GOP Loves the Grass Roots

In 1854, Americans from all walks of life gathered in churches, schoolhouses, and community centers to build what would become the Republican Party. Our party has always worked best when authority and legitimacy come from the ground up rather than the top down. My election as Chair at the 2022 State Convention in Twin Falls was a return to grassroots bottom-up leadership after many years of political elites and power brokers calling the shots.

As you can expect, those elites were not happy with losing power, and they’ve been trying to claw it back ever since. After spending years preaching unity and demanding that the grassroots fall in line, they revealed themselves as complete hypocrites by immediately attacking me, my staff, and the entire State Central Committee before we had even left the auditorium in Twin Falls.

Our staff, Executive Board, and State Central Committee have done a fantastic job of returning political power to the people these past two years in spite of constantly being stabbed in the back by fellow Republicans. In addition to renewed outreach, the Idaho GOP instituted new rules to bring more accountability and transparency to the voters and the Precinct Committeemen who represent them.

PCs now have the ability to hold elected lawmakers accountable for not voting according to the principles of the Idaho Republican Platform. Voters will still make the ultimate choice. Now they will know if their representatives truly stand for Republican values. The former leadership doesn’t like this at all. Would they prefer the old way of men in smoke filled rooms deciding who to support or oppose?

The former leadership will tell you that we silenced the voices of women and young people. Not so! For many years, the Presidents of three private clubs automatically had seats on the State Executive Board, comparable to the Chairman, Vice-chairmen, and other officers. These Presidents were often elected by only a few people, and membership in these clubs was in some cases not even restricted to Idaho Republicans.

The State Central Committee decided that they, along with the appointed Finance Chair, should remain on the board but not vote on decisions. The former leadership would have you believe we kicked women and young people out of the party! Can you imagine?

Now, those same former leaders are bankrolling a statewide effort to buy enough PC races to return to power. They recruited candidates throughout the state and supplied them with prefabricated talking points and marketing materials from their Boise headquarters.

Any registered Republican can put his or her name in the hat for Precinct Committeeman. This is an unquestionable right. I think voters will be able to tell the difference between a true grassroots representative of the people and a stand-in for elite power brokers. The roots of the Republican Party are the people, not the political elites, and together we will fulfill that promise again.