Idaho Republicans Engage in Brutal Cage Match

A prominent Republican told me he agrees with much of the policy from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, but he doesn’t support candidates the outfit promotes.  With the State Republican Convention underway, the IFF is attempting to seat its preferred candidates as party officers.  This, after a similar slate of candidates was crushed during last month’s state legislative primary.  Only eight of 28 Foundation-endorsed candidates survived.

Can't We Just Get Along?

So, where’s the divide?  The guy who told me he agreed on many points finds the IFF and its allies obnoxious.  Yet, the organization’s affiliates seeking statewide party offices keep using the word unity as a buzzword.  You don’t bring people together with a cudgel.  Top-down approaches don’t work well with a party that promotes individual liberty, which is a synonym for choice.

Do you recall Daniel Day-Lewis in a film about Abraham Lincoln?  Tommy Lee Jones portrays the radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens, who wants Lincoln to move almost by fiat to eradicate slavery.  Lincoln is trying to accomplish the same without alienating a large swathe of the country.  Stevens explains that they need to be the compass and move people.  Lincoln replies by talking about his experience working as a surveyor.  While a compass points to true north, there are often swamps and forests in between.

Pay Attention to the People Who Pay the Bills

People say they want smaller government and a reduced tax burden.  They also want a lot of the programs government provides.  It doesn’t mean they’re bad, stupid, or misguided.  Calling them names isn’t a recipe for electoral success.  Like a compass, it just points in the direction of the real jackasses.