EDITORIAL: Is it a caucus or a carcass?

Tomorrow is Caucus Day for Idaho Republicans, a lamentable electoral mess brought about because a handful of party leaders wanted to butt in line ahead of other states who declare their presidential preferences earlier.

Any finger-pointing as to how we came to this juncture must be done in front of a mirror. Republicans hold a supermajority in the Idaho Legislature, so the caucus chaos can’t be pinned on the communists allegedly pulling political strings.

The governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the controller, the superintendent of public instruction, yeah, even the dogcatcher are registered Republicans. Can’t blame Biden for this one.

Those of the GOP persuasion — in its manifest forms — will pack into precinct places tomorrow and, by sometime in the afternoon or night or maybe Sunday or by Tuesday at the latest, will receive officially unofficial results showing how big Donald Trump’s margin of victory was. Early projections suggest it could reach 107% of registered Idaho Republicans.

Many of the same folks who are terrified by the open primary initiative that is likely headed to your ballot this November claim it should be rejected because it’s too confusing. 

And yet, answering a few basic questions about tomorrow’s caucus required a lengthy 850 words in last week’s column from the head of Kootenai County’s Republican Party. It was a subject he’d already expounded upon in previous columns.

The missive does, however, shed some light in the darkness, so serious voters can get at least a little better understanding of what’s happening by reading it: https://shorturl.at/qsBO6

On behalf of the longtime Idaho Republican voters whose presidential support will be ignored tomorrow — members of the military serving their nation elsewhere, conservative seniors and folks with disabilities who rely on absentee voting, and more — common sense suggests there has to be a better way to do this.

Those pulling party strings say they’re simply making the best of others’ oversights. Perhaps if enough Republicans tell them clearly that they disagree, that a May presidential primary was working just fine before and will work fine again, maybe, just maybe, party officials will listen.

Then again, all bets are off if the communists take over.