THE LIST: Idaho Republicans Refuse to Mourn Unborn Children

Liberals don’t like the idea of lowering flags to honor dead babies.  They claim it politicizes a flag born in the revolution!  What they really mean is that lowering the flag acknowledges abortion is about taking human life.  It says the baby in the womb is a human being.  With all rights granted by our Creator.  The naysayers may not believe in God, but the people who wrote both state and federal constitutions did.  Those documents remain the bedrock of the law.

Does It Go Far Enough?

The House resolution passed this week.  It’s similar to a bill that passed the Senate last week.  The language is similar to a bill introduced to ban abortion in Idaho.  The latter bill is stuck in a drawer and is not likely to get a hearing.  On this week’s episode of Pastors’ Round Table on Newsradio 96.1 FM and 1310 KLIX, our visiting pastors explained it’s hypocritical to ignore the second bill.  Especially if a legislator voted in support of HR 5 on Wednesday.  HR 5 is symbolic.  It lowers flags statewide.  It doesn’t end abolish abortion.  It’s a good gesture but also an escape clause for some legislators with a less than stellar record on life.

Local Republicans Shied Away from Support

Of the 70 members of the House, two were absent on HR 5.  I know their names and would count them as yes votes had they been in attendance.  There were 48 votes in favor of the gesture and 20 against.  Four of the 20 are Republicans from south-central Idaho.  They are named Linda Wright-Hartgen, Fred Wood, Clark Kauffman, and Laurie Lickley.

Wood and Kauffman are retiring and are not seeking additional terms.  Hartgen is attempting to move from the House to the Senate.  Lickley may do the same as she awaits changes in her district boundaries.  She could inherit a configuration heavily weighted by liberal voters in Blaine County.