R: Or is it, arrrrrrrrrgh?

It appears there is "trouble" right here in River City, along with Coeur d'Alene, Rathdrum, Hayden and Kootenai County in general.

The Republicans passed a rule that said only registered Republicans could vote in the Republican primary elections. They didn't want any mischief making non-Republicans messing with their candidate selection process.

But it appears that the mischief-makers were not only their fellow Rs, but were Rs even more radical than the "plain Rs." So now this new group wants to "help ‘less agenda-driven' candidates," slog their way through the primary election process.

Will the registered Republican voters be forced to register in one of two distinct classes? Regular Republicans ® or Right Wing Republicans R? And if so, will there be two Republican primary ballots offered, or just one with the competing candidates declaring as ® or R on the ballot? It surely r ® R some kind of conundrum! What ahrrgh primary voters to do!

Being a kind sympathetic sort of citizen, I offer the beleaguered primary election voter a less stressful option. Vote in the Democrat Primary! You won't have to be a registered Democrat. We believe voters should have the right to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice. And of course, I suggest you strongly consider voting for the Democrat candidate in the General Election as well.

Thanks for your time and a special thank you to the Republicans for making it so much fun to write this letter.

DAVID B. LARSEN

Coeur d'Alene