As a lifelong Republican, I want to see the party finally put their proverbial foot down on “chaotic political theater”. The Idaho GOP took what looked like a bold stance on extremism that is dividing the Idaho Republican Party. The same party most multi-generational Idahoans have known their whole lives, yet hardly recognize anymore. Now that we’ve all seen the Idaho GOP call out anti-law enforcement activity, perhaps it would be worthwhile to take a deeper look into Ammon Bundy’s supporters and enablers. Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights Organization In the spring of 2020, Bundy launched a natio ..read more

We all recognize that rioting, destruction of private and public property, and looting are unacceptable and unlawful forms of protesting. Watching a business owner lose everything as their business burns to the ground in a fire set by “peaceful protesters” is gut-wrenching. Seeing news of police officers being set ablaze and shot by violent activists is infuriating. These acts of politically motivated violence deserve to be called out by Idaho’s political groups and the media. Support for law and order is under fire right now and many of us want to see our law enforcement community get the sup ..read more

Recently, I entered a twitter discussion with Luke Mayville, Director of Reclaim Idaho over their Idaho Education Initiative. At first blush to an Idaho voter, this might seem like a great idea. Tax those ultra-wealthy people because they don’t pay their fair share. Lost in this conversation was the understanding that a good share of businesses in this state gets taxed under the individual, not corporate tax rates. Any individual making over $250,000 per year gets to pay 9.925% with an adjusted increase based on the consumer price index (CPI) each year. If we averaged the CPI based on what it ..read more

Idaho Conservatives has for years been ringing the alarm bell about the dangers posed by the far-right in Idaho. That danger will emerge in full force on June 23rd. In violation of Idaho law and the Idaho Constitution, far-right Legislators plan to hold an illegal special session. Most Senators and Representatives won’t be there but many of those linked to the Freedom Foundation and the rest of the Far-Right Political Machine will. The idea has been promoted by the comically named Freedom Man PAC. (Will they be handing out capes at their illegal session?) The supposed justification for the ill ..read more

Idaho has a complicated history with hate. In the 1990’s North Idaho was the headquarters for Aryan Nations head Richard Butler. His devoted followers remained in Idaho long after his compound was bulldozed. Shortly before his death, Butler emphasized that while they may have taken him down, the seeds of hate he planted would live long after him. Sadly, he was right. First, a little Idaho history refresher. In the early 2000s, a North Idaho preacher started a church called the “Ark” not long after the Aryan Nations compound was destroyed. Butler’s followers needed a new place to worship and th ..read more

Greg Pruett, president of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, represents himself as a champion of gun rights. His history, record, and far-right connections tell a different story. Greg Pruett’s true talents lie not in his understanding of the Constitution or gun rights, but in his ability to manipulate social media. Taking lessons from a group of now-infamous anti-conservative grifters, he practices the art of creating the false appearance that he is merely one prominent member of a large group of grassroots activists. But the grass is fake, and Greg Pruett is Idaho’s king of astroturfing. C ..read more

Reading news stories about how your personal information was compromised and shared online is gut-wrenching. We all value our privacy. Weaponizing personal information is one of those things that make most people cringe. This is a story of how those that tell you that they are the only “true conservatives” use private information to enforce their ideology. No Respect for Privacy During the Republican Primary election season of 2018, Mike Duff headed a PAC called “Idahoans Fighting Corruption”. This PAC’s aim was to help then-candidate Janice McGeachin defeat former Idaho State GOP Party chair ..read more

What do a California canned tomato king, a North Carolina gold hawker and a group of Libertarian college kids from Virginia have in common? They may be trying to buy our Idaho Republican primary. Idaho voters who requested a mail-in ballot may have recently received a nasty piece of mail attacking a good Republicans like Donovan Harrington or Jerald Raymond. Most of these mailers aren’t sent out by candidates since that would mean taking credit for negative campaigning. They’re sent out as “independent expenditures” or “electioneering communications” by third party groups. The biggest of the i ..read more

Idaho Freedom Foundation President Wayne Hoffman responded to allegations that his organization was a far-right “club” with a cult-like following in an interview with East Idaho News reporter Nate Eaton. Hoffman posted a Facebook live video later in response to articles leveled at his organization from the Idaho Statesman and the Post Register. Let’s go through his answers and shed a little more sunlight on Hoffman’s claims. Idaho Freedom Foundation does not endorse candidates. Hoffman claims that the Freedom Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt charitable education organization. This is true ..read more

Former Health Freedom Idaho community organizer and anti-vaccine activist Sara Walton Brady would be right at home on the Far Left, which she proved by staging her own arrest this week. The City of Meridian closed playgrounds to children and taped them off to keep the coronavirus from spreading. Sara Walton Brady ‘s allies tore down the tape as a part of their planned protest. When police arrived to enforce city law, it appears the far-right network already had its anti Law Enforcement plan in place. After arguing with a Police Officer carrying out his duties, who gave her every chance to walk ..read more