photo courtesy of Pixabay user aitoff
(IDAHO) Fractures regularly occur in American political parties, but what’s happening in part of the Northwest isn’t a a fracture, but appears to some as a great divide.
There are differences and extremes in both major political parties, but a group of former elected officials say it’s time to get back to basics. Jack Riggs is a former Lieutenant Governor. He’s now a founding member of a group calling itself “North Idaho Republicans.”
“We believe that the ‘Central Committee’ network has alienated most of what we would call ‘regular’ Republicans,” Riggs said at a recent news conference. “And therefore, we are now called ‘RINOs.”
Or “Republicans in name only.” Riggs wants to flip that notion on its head, because this new group, he says, espouses what mainstream Republicans always have. Idaho’s Central Republican Committee…he says…has gone too extreme.
Why would you be interested in a story about Idaho politics? Riggs and his co-horts are convinced mainstream Republicans across the country are being forced to embrace the untruths, and the political fury of today’s party extremists…much of it coming from those loyal to Donald Trump.
“We’ve also seen a network of growing disrespect,” says Sandy Patano, former vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party. “We’ve seen a network of people show-up at public meetings, an angry mob if you will, trying to intimidate elected officials.”
If you needed an example of the divide within the party in Kootenai County, you merely had to witness the news conference where this new group was announced. A man made his way to the platform, so he could hold a big white sign in front of media cameras reading “Fake Republicans.” That protestor later told our news partner…
“It’s why some of the things that have taken place in our state have taken place…it’s because they’re not actually Republicans,” Randy Neal told a reporter from KXLY-TV.
The North Idaho Republicans list five pillars of their group: To provide an organized and welcoming place of engagement…to engage, embrace, and educate part members…to routinely provide accurate and honest information…encourage more citizens to become involved…and to be a force for good in their community.
That mission statement implies the main Republican group, the one running the show until now, was NOT those things. It’s something Kootenai County GOP Chairman Brent Regan takes exception with. In a statement, he says “I would like to hear how these folks define ‘growing dysfunction’ accusations without evidence.”
But the new, old Republicans are sticking to their convictions.
“This isn’t about a battle, we don’t want to wage war” Riggs says. “What we want to do is create a home for the tens of thousands of Republicans in this county that don’t have a home right now.”
