The State of Conservatism in Idaho

Republican Idaho

The State of Conservatism in Idaho

By Bob Shillingstad

“Democrats inspire their base to get what they want, while Republicans conspire against their base to get what they want.  Nevertheless, the culture continues to cascade toward the leftist tipping point. 

Government continues to dangerously grow. Critical thinking on college campuses is increasingly imperiled.  The courts are clearly out of control. The Constitution has effectively become a dead letter. 

Dude, we don’t even know what bathroom to use.”  ~Truth Bombs: Confronting the Lies Conservatives Believe, Steve Deace.

Steve Deace’s book is a must read for conservatives to understand where we’ve been and maybe what lies ahead.  We look at California which was a reliable GOP state fifty years ago and had places like Orange County that were stalwarts for conservative thought but look at it today.  Colorado at one time was one of several Rocky Mountain States that stood for conservative values and again the change is unbelievable.

Today we live in the “Redoubt” as some refer it. This “Redoubt” includes Montana, Wyoming, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and Idaho.  We see the influx of people escaping their previous habitations to come to a more conservative environment.  Will we stay conservative?

In the 2020 election, Idaho went for Trump with 63.8% of the vote, compared to 23.3% for Biden.  Libertarians picked up 2% as well as other 3rd party candidates.  There are 44 counties in Idaho, many of them with a strong conservative base and you see that in the statewide vote. Trump in Kootenai County for example had nearly 63,000 votes compared to Biden’s 24,000. 

Now let us look at three counties that are reliably Democrat/left leaning – any guesses who they are?  Latah County, dominated by the University of Idaho in Moscow, gave Biden the majority along with Teton and Blaine counties. 

Latah is not surprising considering this is the center of left wing indoctrination in Idaho.  Blaine is dominated by left wing transplants living in the Sun Valley/Hailey area and Teton County is on the border of Teton County in Wyoming and similar to Sun Valley, is dominated by the same crowd in Jackson Hole.  This can be a warning of what can happen in similar areas, especially in the Panhandle. 

The two fastest growing counties the last ten years, according the census, were Kootenai and Ada counties and that includes the Boise area.  In the 2020 election where Trump triumphed in the Panhandle, he did win in Ada county but by just over 3%.  A warning signal? 

We have seen a radical mayor and city government elected in Boise recently. However, Coeur d’Alene has also been dominated by liberals and corporatists in the city government as well.  There appears to be some bright spots in this area where Dr. Ryan Cole was just appointed to the local health district board with the support of the Ada County Commissioners. 

There are other positive developments and some of them have ripped the mask off the establishment Republicans and their supporters.  Certainly the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency did this on a national basis. 

The Idaho Freedom Foundation has done yeoman’s work on trying to reduce government control and retain freedom. Brent Regan and the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee have put the “deep state” in Idaho on notice also.  They offered a resolution to the state GOP to ally itself with the goals of the John Birch Society and recognize their place as an ally. 

The state GOP rejected this resolution and also refused to kick Jim Jones, former Supreme Court Justice, out of the party for his attacks on IFF and others.  Jones’ attack on Dr. Cole recently was so egregious it should be hard to for any conservative to recognize him as part of the party.

This is where we are in Idaho and the Redoubt politically.  I believe we are at a tipping point and the same is true in other states.  Wyoming not only has liberal Teton County but also in Albany County and you guessed it— home of the University.  Forget Missoula County in Montana, the University makes that a Democratic stronghold.  We not only have to come against the institutions but also what they produce. 

The journalists in the media virtually statewide in our area are solidly leftists.  From the McClatchy papers in the south to the Hagadone group in the North, they dominate the message of statism.  The State of Idaho facilitates that to some extent by giving funding to PBS and NPR public radio.  

Fortunately, we have many waking up to what needs to be done.  Social media is alive and well among the population of freedom loving people  We need to support good candidates and be involved in the process.  In 2020 we had 81% turnout of registered voters in Idaho (87.4% in Kootenai County) which was amazing!  In 2018 we had a 32.6% turnout in Idaho and Kootenai as 29%.  We can’t repeat that turnout, we have to be a 2020 population at every election.

This brief column gives us the lay of the land today and the threats we face.  In another column we will outline the local races and the primary coming next May. 

I leave you with another quote from Steve Deace and a book everyone should read, Truth Bombs. 

“Democrats and Republicans offer you a lack of change agents on purpose, because at the leadership level they are creatures of the status quo. One party run by neo-Marxist progressives, the other by corporatist progressives. Collectively they are not proxies of an existential battle for the soul of a nation, but a unibrow.”

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