Op-Ed: Manweiler Sees Path to Victory Over Bedke
By Chuck Malloy • November 8, 2022If Boise attorney Terri Pickens Manweiler wins the race for lieutenant governor, she may be thanking Rep. Pricilla Giddings and the Idaho Freedom Foundation for her victory. It’s not that Manweiler, a Democrat, is siding with the far right of the Republican Party – because she’s not. But Giddings, fresh from an attack-filled race with House Speaker Scott Bedke, has people of her ilk who view Bedke as a card-carrying RINO.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation adds fuel to that fire by giving Bedke a failing grade in its “freedom index.” So Bedke is vulnerable, especially with the conservative wing of his party. He received just 52 percent of the vote in the primary election, beating Giddings by 10 percentage points. But it showed that nearly half of Republican voters, for whatever the reason, don’t want Bedke as lieutenant governor.
Manweiler isn’t about to start campaigning on the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s platform, but she’ll gladly take any votes she can get. She’ll also have generous support from Democrats, along with women who are nervous about abortion laws in the Gem State. “I’m going to win because since June 24 (the date of Supreme Court ruling putting abortion laws in the hands of the states), 60 percent of all voter registration has been women. Of that 60 percent, 20 percent are women between the ages of 18 and 25.” Traditionally, those in that age range don’t vote.
Manweiler says that Bedke’s primary race probably was saved by voters who were not necessarily Republicans – in other words, Democratic crossover voters who wanted to keep far-right candidates out. She thinks those voters will be on her side in November, along with pro-choice advocates and people who think that Republicans have been in power for too long.
If the new voters happen to show up on Election Day, she says, “I win handedly.” That’s a bold prediction, given the success of Republican candidates over the last few decades. But there’s nothing timid about Manweiler in substance, or style. She’s a trial lawyer and a business operator, so being aggressive is part of her job description.
As lieutenant governor, she’d have no direct say about abortion or any other policy issue. But she would be able to state her views on issues, although with more tact than shown by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin. Up to a few years ago, Manweiler considered herself as a Republican – supporting Little in the primary election and generally siding with GOP’s conservative stands on fiscal issues. “But in the last five years or so, the party became unwelcome for women and gay people, and my daughter is both,” Manweiler said. “I can’t put an ‘R’ by my name when I can’t stomach the idea of policy being directed at my daughter to marginalize her. I absolutely can’t put an ‘R’ by my name after the big lie.”
So, she became a Democrat. “For my daughter to have freedom, she’s going to have to leave Idaho and that’s not a fourth-generation Idahoan’s wish for her daughter. I can hold Scott Bedke accountable for this. He’s fighting vehemently against the Department of Justice lawsuit and for a law that doesn’t allow abortions under any circumstance even if she’s dying of complications relating to the pregnancy. So what he’s saying, in addition to taking away freedoms, is that women don’t have a right to live. I take issue with that.”
Manweiler pledges to “restore civility” to the office – meaning Gov. Little could leave the state without worrying about Manweiler imposing ridiculous executive orders. She thinks she could use a combination of statesmanship and sound reasoning to convince legislators to oppose bills that will end up losing in courts. She plans to have a fulltime employee in the office researching bills and providing guidance.
Of course, that’s all easier said than done in an institution where statesmanship and sound reasoning don’t always apply. And good luck in getting Republican lawmakers to pay attention to “research” coming from a Democrat’s office. But Manweiler certainly is not lacking for energy in this campaign. Her race could be a test case for the strength of the abortion issue in Idaho, from either side.
Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com
This Op-Ed was submitted by Chuck Malloy. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
Tags: 2022 Idaho Election, 2022 Idaho General Election, Abortion, Lieutenant Governor, Scott Bedke, Terri Pickens Manweiler
23 thoughts on “Op-Ed: Manweiler Sees Path to Victory Over Bedke”
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Bedke is 100% a card carrying RINO. He got nominated by trashing an amazing female candidate. If he loses, it’s because he’s a milquetoast good old boy.
Like I’ve said for years now, we’ve been left to choose between the lesser of two evils, every, single, election.
Do I want a Democrat? No, I do not want someone with a “D” in front of their name voting in-step with their party for the socialistic values that are pushed down from their federal counterparts (you know who I’m talking about), so what am I forced to do? Vote for that asshat Bedke, over, and over, and over again. Ain’t much better than voting “D”, but I, and I suspect a lot of other Idahoans, feel we are forced to vote for someone who’s barely above them.
Some days I seriously think its better to just vote the “D” in and let everyone see just how quickly this state would change in conservative policies, values and morality, but I just cannot bring myself to doing it, and so I have no choice but to vote for that less evil rino, knowing full-well that its really not who I want running things in this state.
Pro-life for Lt Gov
“Manweiler says that Bedke’s primary race probably was saved by voters who were not necessarily Republicans – in other words, Democratic crossover voters who wanted to keep far-right candidates out. She thinks those voters will be on her side in November…”
So she admits that our Primaries were rigged to ensure that we got the worst possible Republican candidate on the general ballot?
Exactly. Bedke and Little were both roundly supported by Democrats who see nothing unethical about calling themselves Republican in order to elect RINOs. If the Dem party can’t win based on its own merits, then cheat–elect Dems to the GOP ticket so that people THINK they are voting for conservatives!
This guy Malloy is a far-left liberal “reporter” who would love nothing more than to see Idaho turn into a political California. He is a modern day misinformation specialist (propagandist) and I wouldn’t trust a single thing he said. This article isn’t about Bedke. Its about his support for Manweiler, who he would LOVE to see as Idaho’s next Lt. Governor. It’s about his support for everything the left wants imported from California and implanted here. Ignore everything he says. He’s only here to spread hate and discontent.
Exactly Wild Bill and he forgot to mention Manweiler’s pro baby killing advertisements that were paid for by george soros, blm funded “actblue”.
Well turns out Manweiler lost, then we all lost, the entire state, with Kangaroo Court/Dictator Bedke weaseling into office, and Pro-Life could not pull enough votes for the win.
Dirty RINO politics from Little and Bedke and their Minions kept our best choice by far, Priscilla Gidding from being our Lt Governor elect.
You are right on!
I voted for the constitutionalist. Are we pretending there isn’t another option?
YES. Why TF are people still voting for democrats like Bedke over Constitutionalists.
What a crock! The GOP–and the conservative wing of it–is not at all unfriendly toward women. In fact, a lot of us ARE women–women who care about our constitutional rights to free speech, to our right to self-defense, and much more. We want to be able to trade our labor for a paycheck and keep what we earn–and to not have the government erode our purchasing power. We want to be in charge of our own health care (not forced to take experimental drugs in order to go to work), we want to not be locked down, we want to be able to take our kids to the park without getting arrested for some nonsensical local “mandate.” It makes no sense to be anything BUT a conservative if you value your freedoms and your equality. There is good reason why there was a 26% shift among suburban women from Dem to GOP.
That said, conservatives are not “anti-gay”–we really don’t care what your orientation is. Just get out and do your job. We are merit-based. What we ARE “anti” is stuff like sexualizing kids–and that goes for gay OR straight. We are confused when gay people and those who say they support gay people flock to the support of Anthony Fauci and his deadly “medicines” when he previously victimized gay people and used them as guinea pigs for his deadly AZT, and who is now doing the same thing to the population as a whole. We are the egalitarians here–conservatives don’t exploit people by using them to virtue-signal how “tolerant” we are. We look at you as individuals–just like we do straight people.
As for Bedke….he is a a petty control freak and manipulator who used his role as House Speaker to play personal politics and block legislation from Representatives he didn’t like. He is a career politician of the worst sort. You could not have induced me to vote for either him OR Mannweiler–they are birds of a feather. As others have stated they did here, I voted for the third party.
Well stated.
In point!!
I was following Manweiler on Twitter and her only goal everyday was tweeting about killing babies. I wonder if she ever thought that her support for that is infringing the rights of many babies to be born that were to be female and also gay? You can’t have it both ways. If she was a Republican, she was a weak one at that since she apparently missed the big tent the GOP is. I despise Bedke and think he is everything that is wrong with politics, but my hope is that Raul Labrador will run for Governor and take Bedke out of Idaho politics once and for all.
Considering Bedke won with 65% of the vote, it looks like it’s a non-issue. As lieutenant governor, one can assume he is positioning himself to replace Little in the next election. He may then have a problem if someone more conservative wants the position as well.
Good grief. Manweiler thinks her daughter will have to leave Idaho but maybe M should leave also. Is that how Dems think???
As far as Scottie dog nipping at Little’s ankles for money and attention, we know that he will do the “dirty” work of the gov. Sottie had his drawer for bills the hierarchy didn’t want passed including the grocery sales tax bill Did Little LIE when he said that he would sign the bill????
We have a big problem.
Manweiler states that her daughter has to leave Idaho because she’s a lesbian?
There are plenty of gays in Idaho who live free and happily. It is up to the individual to stand with conviction. If her daughter does not have that capacity then there are other issues. Is her daughter flaunting and forcing her lifestyle onto others? Life is uncomfortable, it’s time that adult children learn that life does have to bow to them.
Are we expected to all be leftist and embrace the alphabet soup agenda just so Manweiler’s daughter is comfortable?
If anything Manweiler and her daughter should be outraged that the left has decimated the lgtb etc… community with its pedophilic agenda.
Most gay and lesbian persons want the same things in life as anyone else but their lifestyle has been hijacked by the left and they are being used to promote a distorted lifestyle of perversion and mental illness.
Regarding abortion: It is not true that in a life-saving event abortions cannot happen. It has always been an exception that abortions can be done in life-saving events.
The problem is that abortion is used by the left to scare the population into thinking that the extreme exists and to stop individuals from thinking reasonably.
Abortion has been normalized to the point of acting as a contraceptive, Therein lies the issue.
For example;
In the lie of women’s reproductive freedom prop 1 in California which now allows abortions up to a viable baby.
In other words, a formed child that can survive outside its mother’s womb without aid may be aborted.
The left (I can not call it the democrat part bc it no longer exists)
is using abortion to undermine human life.
Not only is this killing an innocent child but In the bigger picture, this is also dangerous because it gets people used to the idea that life is not important.
In other words, when you think beyond the surface this is allowing human beings to accept that it is normal to take an innocent life.
This is a sinister mindset that the left is planting into the minds of the left under the guise of women’s reproductive rights.
It is evident in how the left keeps pushing the abortion narrative from being able to save a woman’s life to killing babies that are developed to the point in which they can survive outside of the womb without help.
Much of the ugly truth about young men being pro-abortion is that they want to be able to use women. They want to have the ability of unlimited sex with women and then be able to get rid of the responsibility of impregnating them.
What is unbelievable is that young women are volunteering to be used.
Women across the board should be outraged that in actuality abortion is being used to promote the continuous sexual exploitation of their bodies and the killing of viable babies.
Birth, which was once revered as a beautiful process of life is exploited by the left into a twisted lie.
Abortion in leftist states can be classified as murder but the left calls it a right.
Regarding, the lie of that Republicans have been in power for too long:
If anyone thinks that this is true then they are suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.
I lived most of my life in a leftist state and saw firsthand the destructive ramifications of leftist policies. It’s all smoke and mirrors, leftists have complete reign over blue states and they do nothing but dismantle society.
As a minority person of color (as the leftists love to put me in a box) their control of policies brought nothing but lawlessness and kept people poor and dumber all while handing everyone a degree.
In blue states, the left pretends to promote: equality, justice, freedom, and education all while achieving the opposite results.
I Lived it and fell for the lies and the promise of a euphoric world.
Eventually and thankfully I saw through the lies of the left and how they use minorities to further their power and control while putting everyone at an actual disadvantage.
Leftist policies resulted in the murder of my brother and the lawlessness and violence promoted in leftist states also put my other brother in a wheelchair. He is dependent on government handouts and still believes the lies of the left.
They did not flourish under leftist social programs but are sadly poster children of the real leftist agenda.
Manweiler, I am here to tell you that Idaho is not too Republican.
I urge you and your family to experience life outside of your bubble.
Perhaps it is an excellent idea that all of you immerse yourselves in life in the very blue south central Los Angeles and live the life and policies you claim are better.
Walk the talk and don’t ruin Idaho.
Be Awake and not woke!
Suggestion. If the Dispatch would like to be taken seriously, maybe put an end to editorials from liberal fanboys with absolutely no credibility.
Path to victory, was it? So…… a 35 point BLOWOUT… was that on the path?
Malloy is a hack. Enough already. Stop giving the moron a voice already.
Agree, Red West. If I want to hear/read the drivel from folks like Malloy and his ilk, I’ll read the Idaho Statesman.
“My gay daughter must leave the state of Idaho to be free”… “oh… and I’m really a Republican”.
Short of the freedom to murder a child, name one right your gay daughter doesn’t have in Idaho? As for your bullsh!t example of allowing a woman to die due to complications from pregnancy:
“anyone who performs an abortion of a clinically diagnosable pregnancy is guilty of a felony unless the abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman or in the case of rape or incest.”
– Rape
– Incest
– Life of the Mother
All exceptions contained within the “abortion ban”. Why is it people like you feel it necessary to blatantly LIE to the public? Is it because your ACTUAL values are so repugnant you can’t defend them?
https://www.hollandhart.com/idaho-abortion-laws-new-law-and-emtala-exception-now-effective
Author clearly:
1. Thinks women have their place.
2. Struggles with the concept of “freedom”.
Luna was a major part of the problem when he had control of the GOP. Vetting was predicated on whether or not there was an R behind the name. Actually vetting was non existent. All you had to do to have the GOP support/endorsement was say “I’m a Republican”, and you were a shoo in for the GOP ticket, no problem. Cases in point, Little and Bedke. As a result of their election Idaho is now screwed – in every direction. The people drank the coolaid and re-elected their democrat governor and many other RINO’s to help him turn the state from purple to blue. You had a very viable option to turn this around with Bundy, but you love the professional politicians, presto – re-elect them. So for those who like what he (Little) was doing to help the feds take away our freedom, well, just wait a little while and It’s guaranteed to get worse — in our schools, in taxes, and many of our freedoms. You voted for it, and it will be here before you know it.
This is illustrative of the secret UniParty that runs states like Idaho. A pro-corporate/establishment alliance of wealthy moderates that fight most of their battles against true conservatives. Bedke et al will slowly allow socialism and wokeism to take over via private ownership policies in finance, law and big box store domination over our lives. Democrats do it with straight power via government. RINOs like Brad Little gave them a boost with the Covid lockdowns and watched the private sector play the role of the East German Stazi. Small businesses got attacked and wiped out.
Don’t be fooled by the fake support for gun rights and pro-life legislation. Those are cover ups. Until voters wake up to these tactics, then the slow boil will continue.
EXAMINE the election system itself. ASK questions re the vote machines and ballot policies. THAT is where the cheating is going on. And the SMEAR campaigns play a big role too.