Idaho Politics Gets Ugly at the Finish Line
I’ve been following politics since I was a kid, and have my first memory of an election almost 60 years ago (I was in first grade and was a kid for Nixon). That was 1968, one of the most violent years in American political history. I was aware of what was going on because it was on TV every night, but as Election Day approached, I was more preoccupied with Halloween. If you’re of my generation, you’ve been exposed to a lot of political violence. Many people simply can’t abide by the candidates, and the majority. We’ve witnessed a new spate of violence on the national level over the last decade, as the socialists can’t win at the ballot box and turn to the cartridge box.
Anger permeates the Campaign Air
That’s not to say that there isn’t anger on the right, and on the local and state levels. It’s not only aimed at candidates, but at those of us who won’t promote Idaho’s Branch Glennedians. I’ve got some guy who used to be somebody and is now in search of relevance, harassing me on social media every day. It got started when I wouldn’t give him the microphone. These people learned their politics from a teacher named Dorothy Moon, and then turned on their mentor when she wouldn’t get on board with their Christian nationalism, and violate her oath to Idaho’s Republican Party. They see the party as personal property and as a tool to manipulate politics for their devious needs.
Primary Day is May 19th, and I would say the group, which calls itself the Gang of Eight, is going into the election with confidence, but if they wake up on the 20th and they’ve gone down in flames, there are people in their camps who’ll be out for vengeance. One of the latest verbal assaults is coming from a man who works for the John Birch Society, telling me I’m not a Christian. When it comes to politics, I’m an American. When it comes to worship, I’m a Catholic, and I suspect that’s the problem. I won’t be coerced into Christian nationalism.
I Guess They Believe I'm Easily Intimidated
On Thursday, I had a message from an old friend. We worked on national Tea Party issues going back almost 20 years. She admitted she knows little about Idaho politics, but then added she was going to encourage people to harass me at work. Is this the future of life in our state?