Spectacular report and results. I now have more hope in the Republican party overall.
Many thanks for your work at the convention.
One quote really struck me: "The message of unity from the establishment was never sincere, in my opinion. " Remember Joe Biden's message of unity? That wasn't sincere either.
Thanks for the report Brian. I wasn't there but believe it to be accurate. I do call to question several editorial and analysis choices you made. Yes, Tom's attempt to hold a corrupt agent and county party accountable was poor political timing and it hurt him. Fair enough. But you missed the damage to Machele Hamilton by the boneheaded $50,000 pay raise given her by Janice McGeachin just days before the convention. (Disclosure - both women are friends of mine). There was buzz in my circles about that among many conventioneers. That well could have cost her reelection.
Political parties are like water in that they rise and fall to their own level. Sometimes gentle tides and sometimes waves. You used Tsunami. I believe it is less so, but the appearance is driven by words like "establishment," or "conservative wing," etc. The Statesman called Chairwoman Moon "far right." She is not. The water has leveled and by definition - and the votes of 700 delegates representing all of Idaho, she is now the face of the Party. She is neither right nor left of the Party. Nor is she to the right of me - on anything. Tho you might call me "establishment" (smile).
So our fight with the media will be to reject calls that Moon lurches us to right, but rather that our new Chair has caught up with the Party and represents it bullseye dead center.
Regarding "unity" I have seen at least a dozen hateful FB posts today about Tom. There are some in our Party who don't deserve the good leadership they get.
I agree that the pay raise issue hurt Machele, but I have not researched it enough to comment on the specifics of that case. Perhaps I will have a chance to look at further it for a later post or stream. Interestingly enough, Janice McGeachin herself was there as a delegate, but kept a fairly low profile.
I would not necessarily call you "establishment" Mike, rather I think that unity is very important to you. I have no doubt you will continue supporting the Republican Party with Dorothy Moon as chair the same as you did with Tom Luna.
It is clear to me however that there is some factionalism at work. There is a definite fault line within the party. Very few delegates, for example, wore stickers or buttons for both Luna and Hamilton, or Moon and Mathews. The so-called "conservative" side calls the other "establishment" and the so-called "establishment" calls the other "extremists". I do my best to define the labels I use, but in the end they're just that - labels that simplify a lot of complex issues.
No matter how united we become, there will always be some in the party who think that others are too far left and should be ousted, and some who think that others are too far right and should be ousted. There is a constant tension, and I think that is normal and natural. We shall see how things play out over the next two years.
As always I appreciate you reading and sharing your feedback. Thank you!
Thank you Brian for the reports. I am glad to see Dorothy Moon lead and I had researched her previously and hopefully she will unite all sides of the party so we get down to business in fighting the left instead of self inflicted wounds to only weaken our party.
Great job Brian. You must have put in some long hours as a delegate, then reporting the days events. I’m not a member of the party, mainly because it no longer represented my values. I am eager to see if there is follow through m with the changes being made. Thanks again for all the informative posts.
Brian was my alternate from 2020 to 2022, and with the new precincts being created, including 1411 being split into three, I was moved into 1408 and Brian now represents the new 1411, made from middle half of the old 1411.
First, I would like to thank Brian for his seconding speech. He hit it out of the park, just as he does on these substack columns.
Second, for those that weren't there, my speech accepting the nomination focused on three changes I believe need to be made to the office of Treasurer.
First, as Treasurer I plan to reach out to all 44 county treasurers and any legislative district treasurers to let them know that they have a resource in the state office. One of the things we learned from Mr. Luna during his defense of his lawsuit is that errors by local jurisdictions have the potential to roll up to the state party. Most of our local treasurers are amateurs and I will be a resource for them when they have questions. Since the convention, I have already received two requests for the Financial Controls policy that I wrote two years ago for Ada County.
Second, as Ed Humphreys' Vice Chairman in Region IV, I had to attend State Executive Committee meetings. The financial reports I was provided at those meetings was about what you would see in any company's annual report. Revenues were rolled up to a single line. That's fine for public distribution, but the Executive Committee needs much more detail to inform their financial decisions for the party. I intend to see to it that our accounting firm and state staff provide that detail at future meetings as well as provide me the data I need to be able to answer the committee's questions in real time.
Finally, our state party rules provide our seven Region Chairmen with several financial responsibilities, including interpreting financial and fundraising guidance for our county and district chairs in their regions, helping the counties and districts with fundraising for national, state and local candidates, and helping with fundraising for the state party.
I believe that these actions will go a great distance toward improving and strengthening the financial foundations of our party.
The debate at the convention was heated. Lots of ideas were debated by people who had valid arguments on multiple sides of an issue. But as Treasurer I am fortunate. When it comes to my issues, there's no differing opinions. Either the books are in balance or they are not. That's not open to debate. I am a solid conservative who has in the last two years frequently found myself in positions where my voice is not welcomed. Unity can be obtained by at least two different methods. One, by brooking no opposition and silencing all opposing voices. But it can also be achieved by hearing from all sides, putting the issues to a vote and then agreeing to move forward toward the opinion expressed by the majority. Just as it is wrong to silence a minority before their ideas are presented, it is wrong to continue to disrupt and insist on a minority opinion after the majority has spoken. I support the latter.
Again, Brian, thank you for an outstanding comprehensive report and for your support for me personally on Saturday.
Spectacular report and results. I now have more hope in the Republican party overall.
Many thanks for your work at the convention.
One quote really struck me: "The message of unity from the establishment was never sincere, in my opinion. " Remember Joe Biden's message of unity? That wasn't sincere either.
Thanks for the report Brian. I wasn't there but believe it to be accurate. I do call to question several editorial and analysis choices you made. Yes, Tom's attempt to hold a corrupt agent and county party accountable was poor political timing and it hurt him. Fair enough. But you missed the damage to Machele Hamilton by the boneheaded $50,000 pay raise given her by Janice McGeachin just days before the convention. (Disclosure - both women are friends of mine). There was buzz in my circles about that among many conventioneers. That well could have cost her reelection.
Political parties are like water in that they rise and fall to their own level. Sometimes gentle tides and sometimes waves. You used Tsunami. I believe it is less so, but the appearance is driven by words like "establishment," or "conservative wing," etc. The Statesman called Chairwoman Moon "far right." She is not. The water has leveled and by definition - and the votes of 700 delegates representing all of Idaho, she is now the face of the Party. She is neither right nor left of the Party. Nor is she to the right of me - on anything. Tho you might call me "establishment" (smile).
So our fight with the media will be to reject calls that Moon lurches us to right, but rather that our new Chair has caught up with the Party and represents it bullseye dead center.
Regarding "unity" I have seen at least a dozen hateful FB posts today about Tom. There are some in our Party who don't deserve the good leadership they get.
Thanks always for your analysis.
I agree that the pay raise issue hurt Machele, but I have not researched it enough to comment on the specifics of that case. Perhaps I will have a chance to look at further it for a later post or stream. Interestingly enough, Janice McGeachin herself was there as a delegate, but kept a fairly low profile.
I would not necessarily call you "establishment" Mike, rather I think that unity is very important to you. I have no doubt you will continue supporting the Republican Party with Dorothy Moon as chair the same as you did with Tom Luna.
It is clear to me however that there is some factionalism at work. There is a definite fault line within the party. Very few delegates, for example, wore stickers or buttons for both Luna and Hamilton, or Moon and Mathews. The so-called "conservative" side calls the other "establishment" and the so-called "establishment" calls the other "extremists". I do my best to define the labels I use, but in the end they're just that - labels that simplify a lot of complex issues.
No matter how united we become, there will always be some in the party who think that others are too far left and should be ousted, and some who think that others are too far right and should be ousted. There is a constant tension, and I think that is normal and natural. We shall see how things play out over the next two years.
As always I appreciate you reading and sharing your feedback. Thank you!
Thank you Brian for the reports. I am glad to see Dorothy Moon lead and I had researched her previously and hopefully she will unite all sides of the party so we get down to business in fighting the left instead of self inflicted wounds to only weaken our party.
Great job Brian. You must have put in some long hours as a delegate, then reporting the days events. I’m not a member of the party, mainly because it no longer represented my values. I am eager to see if there is follow through m with the changes being made. Thanks again for all the informative posts.
Brian was my alternate from 2020 to 2022, and with the new precincts being created, including 1411 being split into three, I was moved into 1408 and Brian now represents the new 1411, made from middle half of the old 1411.
First, I would like to thank Brian for his seconding speech. He hit it out of the park, just as he does on these substack columns.
Second, for those that weren't there, my speech accepting the nomination focused on three changes I believe need to be made to the office of Treasurer.
First, as Treasurer I plan to reach out to all 44 county treasurers and any legislative district treasurers to let them know that they have a resource in the state office. One of the things we learned from Mr. Luna during his defense of his lawsuit is that errors by local jurisdictions have the potential to roll up to the state party. Most of our local treasurers are amateurs and I will be a resource for them when they have questions. Since the convention, I have already received two requests for the Financial Controls policy that I wrote two years ago for Ada County.
Second, as Ed Humphreys' Vice Chairman in Region IV, I had to attend State Executive Committee meetings. The financial reports I was provided at those meetings was about what you would see in any company's annual report. Revenues were rolled up to a single line. That's fine for public distribution, but the Executive Committee needs much more detail to inform their financial decisions for the party. I intend to see to it that our accounting firm and state staff provide that detail at future meetings as well as provide me the data I need to be able to answer the committee's questions in real time.
Finally, our state party rules provide our seven Region Chairmen with several financial responsibilities, including interpreting financial and fundraising guidance for our county and district chairs in their regions, helping the counties and districts with fundraising for national, state and local candidates, and helping with fundraising for the state party.
I believe that these actions will go a great distance toward improving and strengthening the financial foundations of our party.
The debate at the convention was heated. Lots of ideas were debated by people who had valid arguments on multiple sides of an issue. But as Treasurer I am fortunate. When it comes to my issues, there's no differing opinions. Either the books are in balance or they are not. That's not open to debate. I am a solid conservative who has in the last two years frequently found myself in positions where my voice is not welcomed. Unity can be obtained by at least two different methods. One, by brooking no opposition and silencing all opposing voices. But it can also be achieved by hearing from all sides, putting the issues to a vote and then agreeing to move forward toward the opinion expressed by the majority. Just as it is wrong to silence a minority before their ideas are presented, it is wrong to continue to disrupt and insist on a minority opinion after the majority has spoken. I support the latter.
Again, Brian, thank you for an outstanding comprehensive report and for your support for me personally on Saturday.
Brian- Thanks for the thorough and interesting overview of the Convention!