This week, Idaho received a special visit from the strange world of Blue America. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York seem to be pretty popular on the left, despite promoting a tired, discredited ideology with rhetoric lifted straight from the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They parachuted into Nampa to deliver a sermon against \u201coligarchy\u201d, a word that doesn’t mean what they think it means. They want you to believe they\u2019re standing up for the common man against evil special interests, but in reality, they\u2019re opposing the democratic outcome of the 2024 election in which the American people truly spoke truth to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was quite the spectacle: Bernie railing against billionaires after flying on private jets, and AOC calling for economic equity while sporting designer fashion. If hypocrisy were a commodity, their event could\u2019ve funded itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s give credit where it\u2019s due. They\u2019re at least consistent in their desire to grow government, restrict freedom, and redistribute wealth in ways that have never worked anywhere. The real irony is that they chose to bring this message to Canyon County, one of the most conservative regions in the most conservative state in the West. Idahoans didn\u2019t need a lecture on \u201cequity\u201d from self-described socialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, back in Boise, Mayor Lauren McLean continues her own progressive crusade, this time by refusing to take down a so-called \u201cpride\u201d flag flying in front of Boise City Hall. Under House Bill 96, which was passed and signed into law a few weeks ago, government buildings are prohibited from flying political or ideological flags. The law is clear. Yet the mayor seems to believe that she is above it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the same mayor who has presided over a homelessness crisis, exploding city budgets, and rising crime. Apparently making a statement with a rainbow flag matters more than upholding the rule of law or respecting the diverse views of her constituents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What ties these events together is a pattern we\u2019ve seen too often: national progressives trying to plant ideological flags in Idaho soil, while local officials too eager to please them forget who they\u2019re actually supposed to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idaho is not Brooklyn. It\u2019s not San Francisco. And it\u2019s certainly not Washington, D.C. We are proud of our conservative values of faith, family, and freedom. That\u2019s not extremism. That\u2019s Idaho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So to our visiting dignitaries: thanks for stopping by, and I hope you tried some finger steaks. But next time, maybe read the room before lecturing us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And to Mayor McLean: Idaho\u2019s laws apply to everyone, even radical left-wing mayors. It\u2019s time to take the flag down and start focusing on your actual job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idahoans deserve leaders who put the Constitution above tired old slogans and the law above failed leftist politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week, Idaho received a special visit from the strange world of Blue America. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York seem to be pretty popular on the left, despite promoting a tired, discredited ideology with rhetoric lifted straight from the 1960s. They parachuted into Nampa to deliver a sermon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":18468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[946,511,926],"class_list":["post-18467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions-op-eds","tag-aoc","tag-bernie-sanders","tag-lauren-mclean"],"yoast_head":"\n