QUESTION: Where have Republicans gone?

When I moved here in 1996, Kootenai County was already on its way to becoming a Republican dominated area. Many attribute this to the influx of retired LAPD officers and other conservative Californians moving to the area, but the reason doesn’t’ really matter. The difference between then and now, is that in 1996 Kootenai County was full of moderate Republicans. These were the type of Republicans who publicly opposed racism, who left town during the Aryan Nations parade each summer to avoid giving them any attention and who supported our county and our community.

Today we have a different breed of people who I’d argue are not Republicans at all. These so-called Republicans “loathe the will of the people,” support racist conspiracy theorists and sue the county or their neighbors at any chance they get. I’d hate to see what kind of support they’d lend to the Aryan Nations if they were still around. Where have the true Republicans gone? I know you’re still here because I’ve heard you proclaim, “I’m a Republican and Brent Regan does not represent me,” but your voices are being drowned out.

The only way to battle this extremism is to step forward and to speak up. Please don’t let the pendulum swing any further than it already has. We worked so hard as a community, regardless of political party, to fight the racist extremism that existed here in the ’90s and we succeeded! Let’s not let those efforts be in vain.

LAURA TENNESON

Hayden