Idaho Dispatch

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Op-Ed: Dumpster Diving Politics

By • May 23, 2022

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

The 2022 Primary is finally over and we can hopefully enjoy our mailboxes having less junk in them for a time.  Politics is often theater, and I have seen my share of it.  In 2012, I served as a precinct chair in Salt Lake City for the Utah Republican Party.  That was the first year that current Utah 2nd Congressional Representative Chris Stewart ran for office. At the state Republican convention, six candidates vied for the congressional seat. In quite a show of theater, five candidates running against Stewart accused his campaign of trashy rumors. One by one, they walked to the microphone and instead of giving their speech they denounced Stewart, endorsed one of the other five, and dropped out.  It reminds me a lot of the trash politics that we saw in Idaho this year.

If you followed Idaho politics at all, you were likely subjected to a heavy dose of soap opera-level theatrics pulled straight out of the Democrat Party’s playbook.  Given the results of the primaries, it looks to have worked.  No shortage of accusations of being rapist defendersvictim shamers, and white supremacists filled the Idaho airwaves and print.  It was spearheaded by the establishment wing of the Idaho Republican Party.

I’m saddened that this is what the Republican Party has become.  The moment they diverged from performance and sunk to the level of the leftists, they declared their opposition sub-human and irredeemable.  By their assertions, Janice McGeachin isn’t the wrong person for the job because she’s unrefined and had poor job performance. She’s the wrong person because she is the embodiment of the Ku Klux Klan.

The worst part of the identity politics and drama is that the accused were almost exclusively women, and those who benefitted were exclusively men.  This does nothing to dispel the accusations of the good old boys being a bunch of misogynists.  When the left joined the chorus of the deranged and went after candidates like McGeachin, it was normal to see comments across social media about her appearance, like referring to her as “crazy eyes”.  In no other sector of society would it be acceptable to trash a woman based on her looks, and yet the party of “believe all women” led the charge.

I was not surprised to see Janice McGeachin fall well short of the necessary votes for the governorship.  I believe that Janice is likely a good person, but she is not the polished politician that many voters look for when they cast their ballots.  I don’t believe that she is a white supremacist or that selling your message to the entire body of voters is something that should disqualify you from office.  When critics suggested that McGeachin presenting her message to ex-convicts is a disqualifier, what they’re really saying is that the Governor should only represent people who look, talk and think like they do.  Perhaps this tribal response is a reflection of the greater culture?

In the lieutenant governor’s race, Priscilla Giddings was the better candidate between her and Scott Bedke, but could not overcome the slander campaigns launched from his seat as Speaker of the House.  She is a certified badass female fighter pilot and by all measures a shining example of female empowerment.  She is a fearless and dynamic speaker and will one day make an excellent executive.  By contrast, Bedke embodies the good old boy system.  He is a generational rancher, a poor public speaker, and he utilized his authority as Speaker of the House to target his political opposition.  I suspect Bedke has reached the pinnacle of his political career, while Giddings has a much higher ceiling.

The establishment wing of the party on the Jim Jones Take Back Idaho slate had a good showing, and by “take back Idaho” they really meant “stay in power”.  Scott Bedke moved from Speaker of the House to likely Lt. Governor.  Phil McGrane moves from Ada County Clerk and former head of the Elections Board of the County Clerks Association to likely Secretary of State, and Brad Little likely remains the Governor.  The only state-level upset saw Raul Labrador unseat twenty-year incumbent Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.  In my opinion, this likely sets up a match in 2026 between Bedke and Labrador for the Republican gubernatorial nominee.

By all measures, the establishment wing was successful in portraying itself as the sane middle ground.  When they threw bombs they did so by proxy utilizing PACS and the leftist press to do their dirty work. Fire-bombing candidates that went on the offensive like Idaho Falls’ Chad Christensen, had no proxy from which to operate, and thus came across as the erratic opposition.  It was a political miscalculation. The public is susceptible to political fire-bombing, but only by proxy.

Congratulations to the candidates who ran electorally successful campaigns, and congratulations to the candidates who ran campaigns that kept their integrity intact, but fell short of victory.  To my fellow Idahoans, let us be more mindful of the political theater and demand better of our candidates, our elected representatives, and the press.

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Tags: 2022 Primary, Brian Parsons

7 thoughts on “Op-Ed: Dumpster Diving Politics

  1. I know that my post doesn’t pertain to this article by Idaho dispatch, but by many it pertains to a more important situation – please read. Many do not know that Jif peanut butter is actually manufactured in China, ant that there are now NUMEROUS batches (too many to mention here) under recall, including many other products distributed by the same company (candy/snack type options. Also Please check peanut butter products marketed under certain store labels (Albertsons, Walmart etc.). Some information on this recall can be found on YouTube for those who wish to search for the information.

  2. Good Analysis. I would elaborate on the fact that what we read and hear about certain candidates involving themselves in the rumor mill of politics, makes me wonder where the rumor comes from. For example, I have known some of these said candidates and worked with some of them on projects from time to time. What I learn about them is not always what the political spin has shown. For one example, you may not like Janice, but her photo op with the 3 percenters was just that-I was there that day in the Capitol building when the photo was taken. It was a photo op-nothing more. Those who don’t know who the 3 Percenters are, maybe should find out by talking to them instead of their critics. For instance, I’ve seen a member or two at a candidate meeting who at the time were serving on a local District School Board. Again, maybe you may not like or agree with certain candidates, but if it’s not illegal or immoral, it just equates with another viewpoint. I do like to see disagreement among groups on occasion, but at the same time, I notice comments based on nothing but hearsay. I have attended open meetings of groups I have heard negativity about but didn’t know about-and attending meetings and talking to the members just might offer a valid second viewpoint either validating or negating a personal position.

  3. Bottom line, good ole’ boys own us and we have no recourse to restore constitutional freedom in Idaho. Dirty politics and RINO’s is the Republican Party. Bunch of losers in my book, cowards and liars. Republicans have never demonstrated and stand for freedom, just ‘Democrat light’. Fascism i s alive and well, Ammon Bundy is the only antidote. Stop being a Republican, they will continue to lie, the controlled opposition will never deliver.

  4. This is what to expect further from the RINO machine in Idaho. The Dems are too weak to gain ground, so they have been enlisted to assist the RINOs to hold back any gains by Freedom candidates who believe in genuine Constitutional concepts. They are in league with the NWO Cabal that want to destroy our freedoms and take Idaho for themselves. They are the Elites in a Hunger Games like narrative.

    We must organize to defeat them!

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