Needed: GOP political unity and openness

I read with interest the recent column in The Press, from Ruthie Johnson entitled, "Wanted: Political Unity." She has a well-earned reputation for her hard work for the Idaho Republican Party over her decades of service and she is to be complimented.

In her letter she implores the Republicans to work together and criticizes Kelli Palm for writing about problems that she (Kelli) feels are not being properly handled at the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, the original KCRCC.

While I strongly agree that we should all work together, with all due respect to Mrs. Johnson I take exception to the approach of not publicizing problems, the KCRCC should not be treated as a closed club; it represents all Republicans in Kootenai County. Don't the Republican voters deserve to know what is going on with their own party leadership?

When I was a young boy, my mother often burned the toast in her haste to get to work. Being of meager means she would attempt to scrape off the burned portion and sneak it by me. It was hard to miss neither the burned smell nor the taste even when Mom loaded it up with homemade jelly. It seems we are being told to not notice the burned smell, enjoy the taste of the jelly and just get along.

Just the other day, the KCRCC voted to have their books audited after several years of avoiding it, but why the delay? Is there something to hide that would embarrass someone?

The Idaho State Republican Platform is quite specific on openness in Government.

Article I.2. states "We support true government transparency that allows the public to review all local, state, and federal government expenditures, contracts, and audits online. We support uniform accounting systems that allow taxpayers to compare and analyze government spending trends."

Is it not hypocritical for the KCRCC to not practice what the party preaches? What is a legitimate reason to not allow full access to all records to all Central Committee members? We as Republicans expect this from governmental agencies; we should demand it from our own Central Committee. Could this recent attempt at an audit be the result of too much light being shined on a problem and putting it in the public eye? The books of the central committee should be fully open to any member of the committee; it is their fiduciary responsibility to assure that the money is spent in an appropriate fashion consistent with the expectations of the donors and the body as a whole.

Then there is our state Republican Party platform and policies. How many of us in North Idaho appreciated the presidential caucus in lieu of a regular primary election? This procedure of selecting our party's standard bearer should not disenfranchise Republicans, who would normally vote absentee. Active duty military and others who cannot make a meeting that lasts late should be allowed to fully participate in our presidential primary process.

The state party platform also contains a plank to repeal the 17th amendment. If you remember your civics from high school (I didn't) this is the amendment that gives the citizens the right to vote for our U.S. senators. Repealing this would have the Legislature select the senators. This would put into place conditions too close to how the former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell a vacant Senate seat. Rod is now spending some time in federal prison for his efforts. Last fall there was an attempt to oppose this plank at the KCRCC but they voted to table the motion indefinitely, having the effect of killing the motion.

We need a Central Committee who will fight to keep our rights to vote for our U.S. senators and restore the rights of absentee voters to fully participate in the selection of our party's presidential candidate. When the KCRCC steers away from common sense we should demand that our representatives alert us all. Please remember to vote in the May 20 primary election.

Hank Martin is a Hayden resident.