Opinion: Idaho Government Sleepwalks Though Crisis

Law enforcement isn’t pleased.  While on some post-show errands Friday I stopped to speak with a local member of the law enforcement community.  Like me, he was doing some shopping.  “People can’t live like this,” he shared as we talked about the orders from Governors that have changed our lives and left as much of a quarter of the workforce jobless.

For the most part, the men and women in uniform in Idaho have used a light hand when it comes to members of the public defying Governor Little’s diktat. 

This weekend I was reading some criticism of Idaho State Police working for the alcohol/beverage division.  They’ve been visiting taverns defying the Governor by opening doors to business.  First, the guys with badges are responding to a complaint.  Usually filed by some neighbor angry because somebody somewhere may be having a good time.  Or in this case, making a living.

No liquor licenses have yet been pulled.  Or to the best of my knowledge.  State Police are simply explaining the regulations.  Including the possibility of license suspension.  Then the team moves on.  A video posted to Facebook gives me the impression they’re not enjoying the duty.

A few comments suggest police, troopers and deputies, unhappy with what borders on martial law, should resign or refuse.  Either way, then we’ll have more unemployed.

I would rather hear more from our legislators.  Some have been vocal.  Some of the more powerful have been vocal and, yet.  Few, to my knowledge, have stood outside businesses owned by constituents and offered public support and defiance.  Let’s drop the theorizing and see some bold action.  I don’t expect much from my local delegation.  They’ve distinguished themselves the last few years with this motto:  “We’re pro-life.  Sometimes.”  They wouldn’t be described as charismatics.  When they speak it’s the verbal equivalent of watching grass grow.

I’m not impressed.

A few weeks ago a Boise area legislator publicly denounced the Governor.  The next day, the Senator was praising Little.  I guess someone was told he wouldn’t get any support in a tightly contested district if he kept speaking on behalf of his suffering neighbors.  It’s not quite the equivalent of Winston Smith having his face gnawed by rats but Winston, at least for a time, displayed some courage.  Courage and politics appear oxymoronic.

This somnambulant crowd just goes through the motions.

And one more rant before I close.  Mail in primaries and elections are ripe for ballot harvesting.  When I dropped my ballot request in the mail I realized I had weeks until the counting will conclude.  Primary Day is a little more than a week away.  You’ve have until June of 2026 to complete your ballot!  O.K., I exaggerate.  You have until early next month.

So, if a candidate wins by competing against the establishment, the well-organized machine can go hunting for more ballots after May 19^th.  The machine has a belief the constitutional Republicans win by witchcraft.  Golly, it couldn’t be the public is becoming more and more fed up with business as usual?  And if what we’ve experienced since late March is the new usual, then it’s time some people in government joined the ranks of the jobless.