How to Keep Idaho Red
And how to make it even redder
Protecting our traditional values is an important part of the culture of our state. Conservative patriots throughout America have long seen Idaho as the “last redoubt”. The Idaho Republican Party often says “Keep Idaho Red!” Gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy named his platform “Keep Idaho Idaho.” Most Republicans recognize that left wing activists are trying to take over Idaho the same way they have taken over states like Washington, Oregon, and Colorado.
The question, however, is “how?” How can we use our influence to stop the same process that has doomed our neighbors? How do we protect our God-given liberties in the face of political, social, and corporate pressure? How can we convince our leaders to take the necessary steps to keep Idaho red?
The conservative movement has been on the defensive for the better part of the last century. Conservatism is naturally defensive; after all, to “conserve” something means to retain it in the face of so-called progress. In reality, that means that today’s conservatives are only conserving yesterday’s progressive gains. The average conservative today has completely accepted homosexual marriage, for example, less than seven years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v Hodges that forced it on the country. Few conservatives are willing to contemplate rolling back the 1965 Immigration Act, or the Great Society programs of Lyndon Johnson, much less the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. Conservatives could not even conserve the women’s restroom.
It is not enough to conserve the status quo. The New Right must be explicitly reactionary. Enough playing defense; we must go on the offensive and take back lost ground.
How did public schools become Marxist indoctrination centers?
How did our libraries become hotbeds of leftist propaganda and sexual degeneracy?
How did our state bureaucracy become willing enforcers of petty tyranny?
Why is every newspaper in America just a Democrat mouthpiece?
It is because conservatives continue to compromise with the left. Most of us grew up believing that the left argues in good faith, that they truly want to make America better, and so we should work with them, meet them halfway, reach across the aisle, to do the work of the American people.
But the left does not act in good faith. They are content to settle for a compromise today, because they are getting closer to their goal, while pulling us away from ours. Marxist progressives have a vision for this country - it is evil, it is sterile, it is hopeless, but it is a vision and they are constantly focused on moving towards it. Meanwhile, conservatism is progressivism driving the speed limit.
No more. It is not enough to simply stem the tide of progressivism; we must retake lost ground with our own tide of traditional American Christian values. We must offer a positive vision for what we want our country and our communities to be.
Here are some concrete steps we can take today to make Idaho redder:
School choice: We must free parents and families from being trapped in a failing degenerate public school system. Many families do not have the money or time to invest in homeschooling or a good classical private school. We need to take the taxpayer dollars that go to the public school district and give them directly to the parents to spend as they see fit. Even the proposed bill that establishes an account for families to use is not good enough. We need a system where the government has no say over education.
Reject federal control: Right now, the DC bureaucracy can dictate policy to the State of Idaho without any legislative approval simply by threatening to withhold federal funds. We need political leaders willing to cut off our addiction to the federal teat and reclaim our sovereignty. We cannot continue allowing bureaucrats to bypass the 10th Amendment by using our own tax dollars as a bribe.
Reclaim federal lands: The federal government exercises direct control of more than 60% of Idaho’s land. This should not be. This land belongs to the people of Idaho, not another DC bureaucracy. This is one area on which I strongly agreed with Mr. Bundy: we must take this land back from the federal government and use it for the benefit of our own people.
Slash welfare: The government safety net has been a huge mistake. While there are some cases where handouts might have helped people who truly need it, most would agree that this has created perverse incentives. The professional homeless flock to the cities that promise the most benefits. The recent “tent city” in Boise is only the beginning if we continue to offer unearned handouts. Left wing activists make emotional appeals about the poor and homeless, demanding we expand these programs, but they only make poverty and homelessness worse. They also attract Democrat voters to our area.
No refugee settlements: Michelle Malkin has done yeoman’s work documenting the racket that is refugee resettlement. Charities and NGOs get millions of taxpayer dollars to facilitate the migration of refugees into our communities, many of whom do not meet the international standards for refugee status. Once ensconced here, these populations often exist with little oversight. Any crimes committed against citizens are covered up by media and government.
Immigration moratorium: While much of this authority lies at the federal level, Idaho can take some steps to stem the tide of illegal immigration as well as the legal immigration that alters our demographics, dilutes our voting power, and takes jobs away from native citizens. We need to force businesses to use E-Verify. We need our senators to stop pushing the federal government to increase work visas. Big corporations, especially in the agricultural business, lean on our leaders to bring in more cheap foreign labor rather than pay the wages that American citizens demand. How does it benefit Idaho to import a servile class just to save a few cents on produce?
Reconstitute the state militia: A state militia is part of the Idaho Constitution, but it has not been activated for some time. The federal government is becoming increasingly hostile to our liberties, and Idaho’s National Guard is continually used by the military industrial complex to fight their foreign wars. The people of Idaho need a military force that is tasked with defending their rights no matter who is threatening them. Florida recently did the same thing, and other states already have a standing militia.
State-backed money: While the US Constitution prohibits states from creating their own currencies, there is nothing saying that Idaho could not, for example, run a statewide credit union for its citizens. Banking platforms and payment processors are the latest front in the war on our liberties - see how the Canadian government is confiscating the accounts of anyone who even donated to the trucker protest. Idaho must step up with a plan to protect the ability of our citizens to conduct business no matter their political views.
Ban abortion: The current heartbeat law is a good start, but it only goes into effect if Roe v Wade is overturned. A new one on the floor as we speak would go farther. Why not go all the way? Ban abortion from conception. We agree it is murder, so why are we allowing it to go on in our state?
Promote Christian values: Our traditional beliefs are under assault from all sides - public schools, libraries, news media, entertainment, etc. We need to go on the offensive. It is time for our government to stop pretending to be neutral even as woke Marxist dogmas are pushed at every level. Bring back prayer in schools. No more “Happy Holidays”. We can respect other beliefs while still endorsing the shared values of a majority of Idahoans.
If we accomplish even a fraction of the things on this list, then we will not only make Idaho a better place for our families to grow, but it will repel progressive activists like a cross repels a vampire. We hear a lot of talk about keeping Idaho red, but what action? Constitutional Carry is a rare example of action. Our lawmakers ignored the left-wing media and restored to us our God-given right to self-defense, and our state is better for it. That is just the beginning of the bold action we need.
Conservatism has been on the defensive for so long that we have forgotten how to win. We have a long way to go. Our state government is 80% Republican, so there is no excuse not to take back lost ground. Let’s get to work!