Time to take back our party

As a former Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) member and a former Idaho State Senator who attended many central committee meetings, I would like to offer my perspective on the current misguided committee actions.

Previously, the central committee allowed Republican candidates to run for office and then offered support for the winner of the primary. They were not involved in electioneering in primaries or nonpartisan elections and trusted the will of the voters who did not have to be force-fed the results of a small group’s screening to vote “correctly.”

The hijacked and distorted Idaho Republican Party Platform actually supports stealing the ability of voters to directly elect their Congressional representation. Regardless of the elected position being sought, the KCRCC candidate questionnaire includes a question about blind obedience to the state platform.

Ignoring qualifications, the KCRCC totally blackballs anyone not loyal to their agenda. Apparently again, the KCRCC does not believe the average Republican voter is smart enough to make their own informed choice.

I firmly believe in President Ronald Reagan’s Big Tent theory, but it has had unintended consequences. When political activists who are aligned with the John Birch Society, the Libertarian Party and the Constitutional Party realized they had no political power on their own, members affiliated themselves with the Republican Party in an attempt to take it over. And, in this region, they have.

I wonder how many precinct committee candidates for the KCRCC, in the next election cycle, would answer truthfully a question directed at their prior or current affiliation with the above non-Republican political groups?

I believe that there is only one way to correct the current situation. In the next primary election, Republicans need to elect candidates to the KCRCC who better represent the majority of real Republican voters in Kootenai County. Traditional Republicans need to stand for precinct committee election and be supported as such.

This manipulative KCRCC vetting process must be stopped. Right now, I ask all Republican voters to pay closer attention to individual candidate qualifications and make their own decisions on which contender is best suited for the job.

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John Goedde is a Coeur d'Alene resident.