How the Flying Monkeys Conquered Idaho Politics

Even some of Mike Moyle’s political allies tell me they find him exasperating at times.  I’ve had a few interactions with Idaho’s Speaker of the House of Representatives.  He’s a strong personality.  I suspect it takes a Type A to ride herd over that circus.  I’ve also found that he’s a man willing to listen.  I’m not sure I would back him if I lived in his district, but a large majority keep sending him back to the Capitol.  The Speaker is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if memory serves me right.  So it must have been strange when a young legislator walked into his office and demanded that Moyle repent.

Is it Government or a Tent Revival?

The younger man was a fellow Republican, freshman Legislator Clint Hostetler.  Clint is a member of the small caucus known as the Gang of Eight.  They take their marching orders from an unelected official (she does hold an office in the state GOP, and horns in on her husband’s work at Idaho Freedom Foundation).  These people have been unsuccessfully attempting a putsch.  As voters struggle with the costs of housing, fuel, and groceries, they offer chemtrails conspiracies and claim to be virtuous.  Increasingly, they look like they’re grifting.

This is Why Nothing Works

Their defenders are looking for simple explanations and villains.  And for all the Christian preening, you should see the comments on my social media and through email and texts.  The thing is, I believe most of us know that government isn’t a church.  One’s a creation of man, the other of the Almighty.  I’m just not sure this gang is up to the challenge of interpreting His will.