Bad legislation? No, this is blatant belligerence

There’s little doubt that most of the citizens serving in Idaho’s Legislature are good people whose motives are purely to serve constituents to the best of their abilities. It’s possible that description fits every single member of the Legislature. But it doesn’t mean they’re immune to blindspotitis.

We think that’s the case with the mind-numbing march forward of the Legislature’s apparent intent to dismantle the single greatest tool now in the hands of citizens who might disagree with their legislators: The initiative process. If this were a simple policy disagreement, that would be one thing. But this is something else.

Clue one is that people on the right and the left are being joined by a broad bunch in the middle to cry “foul” at the direction the Senate and a House committee took on this power grab. That broad and deep dissent should be making legislators re-examine not just their decisions, but the motives behind those decisions.

It’s entirely possible groupthink is an underlying culprit here; that insulated in their Capitol cocoons, legislators in favor of strapping Idaho with the most restrictive initiative process in America have simply mutually agreed themselves into absurdity. But time is running out for them to wake up.

While this is the most egregious example of state government overreach we’ve seen in years, it’s not the first. In a high profile 2016 case, cities sought to be able to set their own minimum wage, just as other states have allowed. The Idaho Legislature kicked that upstart idea in the teeth, ostensibly because it might upset state uniformity. It’s fair to conclude, however, that the ideal of local control was desirable only when legislatively convenient back then, and that ugly specter is rising up again on citizen initiatives.

What makes this time around even worse is the legislators who insist that citizens signing petitions — and voting on initiatives come election time — don’t know what they’re doing. That’s insulting. It’s also not terribly smart. To suggest that citizens don’t know what they’re voting for would mean they also don’t know who they’re voting for — in this case, the same elected officials who are now trying to wrest power from the people. Remember that overwhelmingly, Idahoans supported Medicaid expansion just as they swept Republicans into office.

Too many of those Republicans are turning their backs on a constitutionally guaranteed provision that gives ordinary citizens one last chance to effect changes in the law, one final check and balance that threatens the legislative power brokers. As much as we hate to believe that’s the burning desire behind the Legislature’s belligerence, no other evidence has been offered.

Gov. Little, we sure hope you’re warming up your veto pen.