How conservative is Idaho, really?

Daily Digest 6/15/26

Whose vision?

Idaho’s voters are overwhelmingly conservative. Our governor touts his conservative accomplishments, our legislators all go home and tell their constituents how conservative they are, and our national reputation is that of one of the most conservative states in the nation.

However, try getting any two to agree on a single definition of conservative.

My vision of conservatism is not quite the same as yours, and is surely very different from that of Gov. Brad Little or Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen. So how can we evaluate how conservative our state is, and how much work is left to do?

I wrote about it today:

I have argued for a long time that the Republican Party has always been home to a wide range of ideological opinions. Back in the 1940s, followers of Sen. Bob Taft of Ohio wanted to scrap the New Deal, seeing it as government overreach, and accused Republicans who disagreed of essentially being RINOs. On the other hand, followers of Gov. Thomas Dewey of New York wanted to rein in the New Deal, believing that its popularity with voters made outright repeal impossible. They accused the Taftites of being radical extremists who would drive people away from the GOP.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

At the heart of this debate is one overriding question: What does it mean to be a conservative? I’ve noticed that most people who set out to judge whether Idaho is a conservative state beg the question regarding that definition, assuming that their own set of personal policy positions is what it means to be conservative. For example, if you believe eliminating the sales tax on groceries should be our top priority, then our state’s failure to do so is prima facie evidence of our lack of conservative standing. Even if others argue that a grocery tax carveout is less conservative than it is populist, such arguments are dismissed as RINOism or progressivism. The definition thus becomes a tautology: conservatism is in the eye of the beholder.

I’m reminded of a conversation between Alice and Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass:

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”

So, whose vision of conservatism will prevail? Read the article and let me know what you think.

Newsletters

• Congressman Mike Simpson

• Secretary of State Phil McGrane

• Attorney General Raúl Labrador

Press releases

• Fulcher supports free park access for foster families

• Little wants to keep college athletics competitive

• Crapo steps up to protect firearms manufacturers

Video of the day

Rufo & Lomez engaged in a fascinating discussion about the nature of electoral politics and how there is no such thing as a neutral election policy:

I am still planning to catch up on the discussion on my new platform proposal before the convention starts on Thursday. Speaking of which, I look forward to seeing many of you at the convention in Meridian. Make sure you’re registered!

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