Op-Ed: By Crook or By Crook: Proposition 1

The following Op-Ed was submitted by Brian Parsons. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.

“I hate a liar more than I hate thief. A thief is only after my salary, a liar is after my reality.” ― 50 Cent

Acommon refrain when referring to a determined but immoral opposition is “by hook or by crook.”  We understand this to be synonymous with “by any means necessary.”  It leaves open the possibility that the subject will try to accomplish their goals by legitimate means before resorting to below-board or unsavory means.  I posit to you that Democrats aren’t versed in the way of the hook and only operate by the crook.

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The organization Reclaim Idaho submitted approximately 70k signatures to the Idaho Secretary of State’s office this summer to get Proposition 1 on your November ballot. Proposition 1 is deceptively labeled the Open Primaries Initiative.  It is deceptively labeled so because the authors hope to tap into a time before 2011 when the legislature put partisan primaries in the hands of their respective parties. 

In 2011, Democrats chose to leave their primaries open so that they might absorb a more significant share of unaffiliated voters.  Republicans closed their Republican primaries to only those who voluntarily affiliate with the Republican Party.  Why shouldn’t they?  Coke and Pepsi don’t seat the executive boards of their opposition.  The New York Yankees don’t fill the starting lineup for the Boston Red Sox.  

Some proponents of open primaries disagree with the state funding model, and I’d be the first to tell you that I agree. As the Vice Chair of the Bannock County GOP, I personally believe we should explore funding our own primaries to exercise more control over who uses our trademark and get lifetime politicians on board with the conservative agenda or get them gone.  But this referendum isn’t about funding or even open primaries.

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Proposition 1 would effectively eliminate party primaries, and parties wouldn’t be able to choose who runs using their trademark because the ballots would only list how a candidate is registered.  We already have enough trouble with RINOs and DINOs who only use the party labels to get elected and then proceed to govern in a manner contradictory to the will of the voters.  This is not lost on the voters who stopped me at the Eastern Idaho State Fair to apologize because they were tricked into signing the petition to get it on the ballot, not knowing fully what it was about.  They were misled.  

The Democrats who pushed the ballot referendum already have open primaries; I’ve noted this repeatedly. If the proposition is not about open primaries, then what is it about?  It’s about ranked-choice voting. Ranked-choice voting is currently on the ballot in seven states.  Some, like Alaska, are desperately trying to rid themselves of it.  In ranked-choice voting, you don’t vote for your preferred candidate; you vote for every candidate in order of preference and then hope your vote doesn’t get redistributed to someone you don’t support.  Democrats are fully aware of this, which is why they support it here in Idaho and oppose it in every Democrat stronghold where it stands to harm them, like Colorado.  

It is one thing for Democrats to deceptively push Proposition 1, primarily funded by out-of-state money, looking to get their claws into one of America’s reddest states.  It is a whole other ballgame to participate in bullying and suppression.  The Idaho Republican Party currently has a 5k dollar reward leading to the arrest of the activists who keep destroying signs opposing Proposition 1.  It is happening at a high rate.  Worse, it is also happening here in Pocatello. 

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Numerous private individuals who paid for signs opposing Proposition 1 with their own money have filed complaints with the Bannock County Republican Party because some grown children who don’t respect private property are defacing and destroying them.  In my neighborhood, some deranged leftist keeps tearing down signs we’ve placed on private property with full permission of the property owners.  If Proposition 1 passes, understand that this contempt for private property by a few deranged will become the norm because Communists don’t respect private property and only operate by the crook.