Wisdom from two other Brians...
Daily Digest 4/27/26
I hope you all had a great weekend. I’ve been spending extra time with the growing family lately. My four-year-old is fascinated by how things work, and pulled up a chair to watch as I started some maintenance on our sprinkler system. It’s fun.
In addition to the myriad stories I’m researching, I’m also working on a special project based on the Idaho GOP Platform, so stay tuned for that. Remember you can subscribe for free to get these daily updates about what’s new at the Gem State Chronicle, or you can support my work and keep the Chronicle in business!
I’ve got two stories today from Idaho Brians, neither of whom are me. Brian Parsons is the vice chairman of the Bannock County GOP, and a regular contributor. Brian Lenney is the senator from district 13 in Nampa, and really needs no other introduction.
A visit to the border
Sen. Lenney visited the southern border last week and came back with a lot to say:
I carried the harboring bills on the Senate side. House Bill 764 this session, along with nearly every other immigration enforcement bill in 2026, was mine or a bill I was directly involved in pushing.
What these bills would have done is give Idaho law enforcement the same basic authority Arizona built its entire enforcement model around, making it a state crime to knowingly assist someone unlawfully present in the United States.
But the House Judiciary Committee killed HB 764 without a floor vote. In 2025, our almost identical bill died in that same committee. The 2026 session wrapped up this month and every single immigration enforcement bill either failed or never got a hearing. Every one in a Republican supermajority, in one of the reddest states in the country.
The Idaho Sheriffs Association lobbied against these bills. ISA went into the capitol and argued against giving their own members tools that Sheriff Dannels has spent fifteen years refining, tools that drew sheriffs and law enforcement from across the country to Arizona to study firsthand.
What is this Integrity in Affiliation thing, anyway?
Brian Parsons took some time to write about the Idaho GOP Platform and our state party rules that request all candidates for federal, state, and legislative office to be transparent with voters about where they stand:
When discussing conservative politics, you’ll often hear Ronald Reagan’s quote that Republican is an 80/20 label. We most often agree on 80% of issues and disagree on the remaining 20%. The twenty percent is typically the exception you’ll find noted in the survey responses above. What then can a Republican voter expect from their elected representatives? Can they expect at least 80% alignment with party values and policy objectives?
I’m about halfway through an interesting podcast by author and commentator Scott Greer looking at how several of our Founding Fathers felt like America had already gone off the rails just a few years after independence. It’s a good reminder to maintain a positive attitude no matter what the circumstances. Remember that we are happy warriors, fighting to preserve our civilization for our posterity.
Stay tuned for more news in the coming week. Remember to make a plan to vote, whether by mail, early, or on Election Day on May 19.
Thanks as always to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty, Money Metals, and the iLuvIdaho Voter Guide. Thanks also to all of you for supporting this work!