MY TURN: Our way of life is under attack
The recent onslaught of hit pieces by the North Idaho Republicans and, most recently by Joy Richards in particular, reminds me of the continuous attacks and resistance of those Democrats, pseudo-Republicans and the guilty bystanders who continually either attacked the first Trump administration or stood by and silently watched it happen. Once they were successful in generating 10 million more votes than ever recorded (before or since) in order to get their basement dweller into the top office, the fruits of their labors became evident. Chaos ensued. The rule of law was set aside, rewritten or weaponized against President Trump and the patriots who would support him; the border wall gates were welded open so that (presumably) future Democrat voters could swarm and overcome our borders; crime exploded as cartels, traffickers, flash mobs and pro-terrorist groups ruled the day. Those in power got richer, while we the taxpayers paid the bills.
Many people don’t realize that our way of life is under attack in Idaho. The same motivations that struggle for power in D.C. are the ones that attempt to control power in our states, and that conflict is passed down to — one could even surmise, begins at — the local level. Too many people who rue the machinations of liberals in Washington do not pay attention to the left’s influence here at home. Since Idaho is 2/3 Republican, the liberals know they cannot get any votes with a D behind their name, so they turn it into an R and continue to push their woke ideologies, either subtly or outright through lies, deceptions and a coalition of hidden sponsors. This has been going on for some time, but only lately has it been getting the spotlight it demands.
Not long ago, Boise was ruled by such as these, with many still holding on to power or passing it to their family and cohorts. Groups such as the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Freedom Caucus and others stand up and take blows for We the People from groups such as Gem State Conservatives, Reclaim Idaho and others, so you and I can live behind a shield of freedom and truth. As those of us at home try to keep our communities safe from woke ideologies, the power of explosive growth continues to be concentrated into the hands of those few landowners and property developers who can build and own hundreds of apartment complexes, while keeping our young families from the opportunity and pride of owning their own homes. This is not “affordable housing” for most members of our community. It is a drain on income, potential and a distraction while the rich get richer. Pushing back against government expansion, zoning changes and conversion of land to high density housing (which the area was not built for), is simply responsible stewardship.
Local groups such as the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC), the Kootenai County Republican Women’s Federation, Idaho GOP, Secure Idaho (which led the charge to defeat Prop 1) and others throughout the state are working to hold the line against progressive socialism. The elite members of well-funded groups form their exclusive rebellions like North Idaho Republicans (NIR) and such and drag the conservative institutions through their continuous attacks to promote their own causes, confuse the liberty-minded voter, and undermine the patriotic message shared among the community. Watch how the Hayden City Council members who try to follow the rules are ridiculed and marginalized, or the KCRCC chairman is yelled at and trolled by the liberals and media.
That the core conservative foundations of our society are under continual assault should give everybody pause. Gone, we hope, are the days where we the citizens need to stand armed on Sherman Avenue to deter the forces of chaos, control and “communism-lite” from ravaging our town. Today the attacks are cloaked and more sinister. Let us hope we can preserve the freedoms we currently experience through proper education of the facts, critical thinking, understanding history, and a true application of subsidiarity — with good governance starting locally, and extending outward and upward into the conservative constitutional Republic we all pledge to uphold.
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David Stoltz is a Post Falls resident.