Idaho is Broke and Dorothy Moon Predicted the Billion Dollar Hole

Of all my on-air guests, Dorothy Moon probably takes the most fire, and from all directions.

A couple of months ago, Idaho’s Republican Party Chairwoman told me the state could be staring at an upcoming billion-dollar budget shortfall. I posted Dorothy Moon’s comments online, and didn’t see much reaction. A few days later, I mentioned it on-air to Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel. Expecting her never to brush aside a possible route of attack on the majority Republicans, I waited for a pithy answer. She warned of a deficit, but seemed to downplay the one billion dollar figure.

I’ve been on vacation for a couple of weeks. While I was away, this story appeared in the Idaho Capital Sun. While one billion may not happen, it could, according to people reviewing the figures. For those who claim some Republicans are squishes, it looks like they’ve found a method for greatly reducing government. Because 2026 is a major election year, nobody in the GOP is going to raise your taxes to balance the books!

I’m not writing this to forecast where the cuts will take place. Old media will be sharing sob stories for the next several months to paint Republicans as Simon Legree. Democrats will be portrayed as an outnumbered army of saints. Rinse and repeat.

What I do want to mention is that Dorothy Moon was prescient. The 2024 Idaho Republican Party Presidential Caucus is long in the rearview mirror, but remember that was her effort. Granted, it included many dedicated volunteers (one locally even named Grant) and was a Herculean task, but Dorothy was the CEO of that effort. Take a moment to consider the scope and her budget predictions, and you’ll find she has the skills that corporate America needs.

Under Fire from All Directions

The media and its fellow travelers despise her because she’s not a socialist. When I see stories reminding readers about her involvement in the John Birch Society, the goal is to paint her as a dangerous extremist. You’re led to believe that JBS was the equivalent of the Klan. Even the commies at the Southern Poverty Law Center rate Birchers as benign patriots, but in modern newsrooms, the goal is to plant seeds for the left-wing narrative.

 She’s also under constant attack from the Gang of Nate. Members who believe the party should have its thumb on the scales to benefit their candidates. The same quality found in Moon’s predecessors, the gang whined about, and rightly so. If it was wrong then, why would it be right today? Dorothy called the gang out when they were insinuating that some good, newly elected Republican legislators weren’t sufficiently Christian. By the gang's definition of Christian. “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention,” comes to mind. As one member of the outfit has said, people knew what they were getting when they voted. She wouldn’t be the first to misinterpret a vote for change as a mandate from heaven.

That’s the sad part, because by misreading the outcome of ’24, they may have overplayed their hand, and we’ll see a return of the establishment in ’26. If their followers are reduced to making that argument above all others, I would say there could be trouble ahead.

Don’t Overplay Your Hand

That struck me when I saw a first responder label the gang in an online post as the “hateful eight”. The opposition will come up with all manner of twists to parody their armor-wearing avatars. Defining the opposition is built on repetition, and with a touch of humor, it can be devastating. Some of the people I’ve been criticizing were once friends, but lack self-awareness. If a hundred people repeatedly fawn over you, it’s easy to get the impression you’ve hit the sweet spot, but what if the 100 are in a minority? I’ve been a broadcaster for most of the last 40 years, and the people who don’t like me generally leave me alone. Aside from a vocal few.

When I’m shopping, people who approach me are generally friendly. Come to think of it, over the past 20 years, I’ve only had one person tell me he didn’t like the content, and he was polite. I offered him some other options on the dial, and he said he would give them a listen. The thing is, the overwhelming number of people I pass in the grocery store or when leaving church don’t stop to talk.

 Which gets me back to Dorothy. She has worked diligently to provide a fair platform for Republican candidates. Her reward has been vilification by the old guard because it doesn’t favor their lobbyist/government complex. Old allies froth at the mouth because she won’t tilt the machine, yet none of them can approach her organizational skills, her outreach to remote party committees, and her willingness to be publicly available.

Here’s an idea for legislators of all stripes. Solve a billion-dollar puzzle. Don’t waste our time bellyaching about someone else’s campaign in a far-away district. Be focused on doing a good job and on your own constituents. This isn’t brain surgery. It’s politics.

A similar version of this essay appeared on Substack.