PARTY: Expose political philosophies

Eureka! A-ha! The scales fall from my eyes! Something definitive, hiding in plain sight, has been revealed by a Republican initiative in Idaho’s State Legislature to require candidates to disclose their political party affiliation in all local elections.

As a Conservative who moved from Maine to Idaho so that I may live in a community where those values are alive and well, I could not fathom why local politics were so mired in debates rooted in non-Conservative principles. Now, I understand! The spurious notion that local politics defies political philosophy has indeed allowed those whose ideology is antithetical to this community’s Conservative norms to win elected office.

Political philosophy matters at all levels for this fundamental reason. Does any candidate genuinely believe the Conservative axiom that the government that governs best, governs least? If they do, they will conduct themselves with more restraint than those who adopt the Progressive axiom that the problems that society can’t seem to solve must be dealt with by government. Every single candidate should be required to publicly declare their party affiliation (or lack thereof) as an earnest of revealing their personal political philosophy.

RALPH K. GINORIO

Coeur d’Alene