The Long View

Remember why you fight

Politics is consumed by a short term perspective. Idaho legislators must return to the voters every two years, which means anyone who prioritizes the long term at the expense of short term victories risks facing an electorate that will ask “What have you done for us lately?”

Yet the surest way to lead our state and our nation into ruin is to ignore the long term.

As we head into the 2025 legislative session, we face many battles. We will be looking to reduce taxes, cut spending, eliminate DEI, protect life and childhood innocence, and uphold the rule of law. These are all important issues. However, we must also ask ourselves what we can do today to ensure Idaho remains a safe, prosperous, and free homeland for our posterity.

Consider the initiative process. Left-wing organizations such as Reclaim Idaho, having given up on the legislative process, discovered that they could use citizens initiatives to push a progressive agenda in the Gem State. By gaining a certain number of signatures, activists are able to put issues on the ballot that would never pass the Legislature, such as 2018’s Medicaid Expansion.

The experience with Proposition 1 showed that there are no safeguards to prevent initiative backers from outright lying about their proposals. Attorney General Raúl Labrador sued the backers of Prop 1 multiple times over their blatant dishonesty but the courts provided no relief.

If Idaho ever turns blue, it will be due to this abuse of the initiative process. Initiatives are a relic of the Progressive Era and they circumvent the republican system of government created by our Founding Fathers. With enough out-of-state money and a slick sounding proposition, leftist activists can completely hijack our state from its conservative foundation.

With a view to the long term prosperity of Idaho, the 68th Legislature must take steps to rein in the initiative process. Senate Bill 1110 in 2021 was an attempt to do this, by requiring signature gathers to canvas in all 35 counties instead of just 18. The Idaho Supreme Court struck down the law, claiming that it infringed upon the rights of the people. This was despite the Idaho Constitution specifically giving the Legislature the power to regulate the initiative process:

The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws, and enact the same at the polls independent of the legislature. This power is known as the initiative, and legal voters may, under such conditions and in such manner as may be provided by acts of the legislature, initiate any desired legislation and cause the same to be submitted to the vote of the people at a general election for their approval or rejection.

Reforming or removing the initiative process will do more to ensure the long term safety and prosperity of Idaho than any single bill this session. If we don’t do something now, we will see attempts to legalize marijuana, repeal our ban on abortion, and many other things that will turn Idaho blue.

Consider also the judicial system. Why does Idaho, a red state whose Legislature is nearly 90% Republican, have judges that consistently rule against conservative principles? The vote to uphold Idaho’s abortion ban was only 3-2, courts refused to intervene when Prop 1 backers were blatantly lying to voters, and of course, they also prevented the Legislature from reforming the initiative process.

While Idaho judges must stand for election, they often circumvent this process by retiring early and allowing the governor to name their replacements. Said replacements then appear on the ballot as incumbents, often with no opposition. The governor’s choice are limited to a selection that has been approved by the Judicial Council, which itself is made up of members who are vetted by the Idaho State Bar.

What this means is that our highest judges come through a pipeline that is tightly controlled by an established system. The original purpose of setting it up this way was to keep our judicial system nonpartisan, but I think it’s clear today that “nonpartisanship” has become a veneer for a specific brand of technocratic oligarchy, one that is ultimately detrimental to our freedom and prosperity.

These are just two issues that, despite not being as exciting as exempting groceries from the sales tax or eliminating DEI from colleges and universities, would have a significant impact in the long term. We are still living in the shadow of the Progressives, who built the structure of our government to incentivize their priorities. Our state government still echoes the appointments of Cecil Andrus, our last Democratic governor, who took a long term view in shaping the future of Idaho.

As you spend time with family and friends during the Christmas holiday, consider what we can do now to shape the future for our children and grandchildren. The purpose of politics is not to win short term battles, but to do what we can to ensure our posterity can enjoy the freedom that we take for granted.