Republican vs Republican
The 1979 movie Kramer vs Kramer brought into the limelight the consequences of divorce. Much happens behind the scenes but when the matter is put before a court, the disagreements become public.
On Friday in the Senate State Affairs committee, that seems to explain what was really at issue. The specific debate was on H138, a bill that would consolidate the presidential primary in March 2024 and the party primary two months later into one election in May. The savings of time and money saw it sail through the House.
But IDGOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon sent out a notice that the later primary date would likely mean the contest was decided and it could cost the party significant money and rob Idahoans of a chance to impact the nomination. Several supporters then appeared at the committee hearing to kill the bill.
The debate, which was mostly Republicans vs Republicans, veered away from the matter at hand and the pinnacle was an exchange between Senator Winder and IDGOP Secretary Maria Nate. Winder said he did not like where the party was headed.
As to the bill, which passed the committee and will now head to a vote on the Senate floor, Trent Clark argued for killing the bill due to the impossible timeframe imposed on a May primary as the FBI wants 90 days to vet delegates for the party’s July convention. Saul Seyler, Ada County Elections Manager, argued that the March and May separate elections does not give them enough time to adequately manage both.
Will we see more of the intra-party feud play out when the bill is heard on the Senate floor?
Is there a Sex-Ed Industrial Complex?
With the reference to Eisenhower’s warning of a ‘military-industrial complex’, this study names names - specifically, Planned Parenthood. This report is from the Idaho Freedom Foundation which promotes a conservative viewpoint. The Idaho Voter will look for responses to the accusations made in this study.
From the Executive Summary, IFF argues that Planned Parenthood with federal funding has gone beyond support for abortion and is behind sexually infused programs for the teaching of children.
North Idaho College Saga Gets New York Times Attention
The article linked above drew a response from the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, which took exception to how the NY Times portrayed the situation with the college.
Democrat Debrief
This week, the Democrats applauded the stoppage of the ESA bill (S1038) and the library book ban. They are focused on stopping H200 which would impact Medicaid availability. Additionally, they are focused on stopping bills that are anti-trans and anti-drag as they see that as limiting freedom of speech and expression.
How State Budgets Work in Idaho
There are concerns that this legislature may extend beyond the end of March, which is their goal for wrapping up the session for the year. Some of the delay is due to changes in the budgeting process. The image above shows the major portions of the budget process which actually begins in July. JFAC (Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee) is the legislative oversight on all budget bills and several rule changes had to be sorted out prior to actually voting on individual budgets. For more details on the budgeting process, click the image or this link.