GOVERNOR: He’s wrong; Lt. Gov right

Regarding the Op/Ed in last Friday’s Press by Luke Malek with the headline, Lieutenant governor abdicates her duty to protect Idahoans:

Luke makes the statement: “…she swore an oath to defend Idaho against ‘all enemies, foreign and domestic and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the governor of the State of Idaho.’”

Here is what the Idaho oath of office actually says:

“…I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Idaho…”

Nothing is said about obeying the president or the governor. Idaho oath does not even say preserve, protect, defend the Constitution.

A lot depends on your perspective. Who is right? The governor has obviously violated his oath to support the Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights. It therefore appears that the lieutenant governor is right and the governor is wrong.

What Mr. Malek says may sound perfectly right, but it is in fact a violation of the Constitution itself. We are to obey the Constitution, not magistrates. When a ruler is wrong, we have no choice but to obey the Constitution.

JIM HOLLINGSWORTH

Hayden