Whittle urges Idaho GOP to join 'Revolution X'

COEUR d’ALENE — It was a great midday break.

Part entertainment and part call to push Idaho on an uber-conservative course, nationally known speaker Bill Whittle reached the dais at a perfect time.

And Whittle delivered on both counts — he got laughs at just the right places in his practiced speech, but he also railed against progressive “destruction” of states like Idaho and suggested conservatives pick up the fight for “Revolution X.”

The “X” referred to the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which more and more right-wing activists see as a perfectly legal way to save the nation from a destructive course.

However serious his underlying message, though, Whittle was an excellent Saturday star.

Weekend political gatherings generally need a spark around the halfway mark to keep folks energized, and this was a super choice.

Sandwiched between a Friday night forum featuring the top three candidates for governor, and procedural meetings spiced with hors d’oeuvres later on Saturday, Whittle delivered ideal stuff for attendees at the Idaho Republican summer meeting at the Best Western Coeur d’Alene Inn.

Whittle has drawn huge crowds all over the country, produced popular blogs and sharp YouTube videos for national audiences, but he’s doggone good at tailoring his material to particular crowds — and it helped that he clearly does love Idaho.

Whittle joked that he’d do what he could to keep his fellow Californians (he lives in Irvine) from discovering Idaho.

“I’ll tell everyone that there’s junk on the beaches, oil spills, plastic washed up everywhere,” Whittle said as the audience laughed along with him.

But Whittle also suggested that Idaho, besides its physical attractiveness, was a perfect place to enact conservative principles without much bother from anyone.

Echoing what the gubernatorial candidates mentioned on Friday night, Whittle noted that Idaho was small enough to be nimble.

“This isn’t the Titanic, where you see an iceberg 80 miles away and still can’t turn,” he said. “Idaho is the ideal state to enact sovereignty, see that progressive iceberg and maneuver around it, create a conservative basis for governing, avoid the meddling of the federal government, build an educational system that works for your state — not the rules of some outside agency — and even revert to a health care system that really does give citizens the safety they need.

“I use that word ‘revert’ intentionally, because Idaho was a place that HAD a workable health care system a couple of decades ago — before the federal government got involved.

“Why not go back, see what you need and let your legislature tailor it to Idaho? That’s the perfect formula.”

One of Whittle’s critical points was that a state like Idaho — which is not in debt and can make financial decisions in the best interests of its citizens — actually is richer than California.

“Everyone makes a big deal out of the fact that California is the seventh-largest economy in the world,” he said. “Well, it got that way because nobody cares about debt.

“It’s just a deal where you borrow what you need, then borrow some more. And more after that. Nobody knows how it’s ever going to get paid. It’s like imaginary money.”

At that point, Whittle did his star turn and rocked the crowd.

“California is all about glamor,” he said, “pulling some extra-large sunglasses from his pocket and covering a good share of his face.

“There’s actually nothing behind our glamor,” he said, “but we don’t say anything about that.”

After the audience finally quit laughing, Whittle pointed again at a screen that contained the wording of the 10th Amendment.

“For states and individuals who want to live in a state with limited government and sensible regulations, our Founding Fathers created it with the 10th Amendment.

“Look at those words …”

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Whittle gave a crowd a few moments, and said: “You don’t have to invent anything. It’s right there.

“It’s nothing new. It’s nothing theoretical. It’s nothing illegal.

“Believe me, Idaho can do this. I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t a glamorous state (laughter), but that’s great. You can govern properly, and at the beginning, do it under the radar.

“Pretty soon, Idaho will be making people take notice — and other states will say, ‘How did they do that?’ ”

Whittle’s next killer line sounded like a spoof when he first said it, but after a quick pause, it was obvious he was deadly serious about the 10th Amendment.

“We don’t need to change the law with new bills,” he said. “The legal basis we need is right there in the Constitution.

“All you need in a state — a state like Idaho — is a governor who can read and an attorney general to who can read out loud.

“That right there is enough for an argument with the Supreme Court.”

Even though Whittle got plenty of laughs to liven up the afternoon, it was clear that he’s not only passionate about his conservative cause, but that he intends to spread the message to anyone who will listen.

He does believe that the 10th Amendment can be a road map to honest and effective government.

Likewise, he feels certain that the costs of health care started with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who put a cap on salaries as a way out of The Great Depression.

“The only way to add to someone’s pay was to offer benefits like health care,” Whittle said. “Things just took off from there, so thanks, Frank.”

Whittle also believes the “liberal media is a true evil.”

But in the midst of these numerous struggles, he watched in shock as Donald Trump pulled off the great upset last November.

Whittle’s take on that result …

“Either miracles can happen, or there is some freedom left in America,” he said.

“Or both!”