PRIMARY: RINOs and white elephants

Another election is upon us. It is one of the little-big ones, the primary. It will determine which Republican moves onto the election in November. It is also a big-big one for your local precinct committeeman. They don’t move on; the winner is determined May 19th.

I am told the term RINO (Republican In Name Only) should not be used to describe a candidate; moderate is nicer. But RINO is so succinct. How else do you get the message across when someone consistently votes with Democrats and against the GOP platform?

I have been following the Idaho Legislature these past few years, and I can’t believe that some Republicans claim to be conservative when their voting record aligns with Democrats. I’ve watched the House bill scoreboard on many bills and Representative Sauter often votes with Democrats. Senator Woodward does the same. According to the Gem State Chronicles’ scorecard explorer, five conservative organizations have both Woodward and Sauter scoring near the bottom. I know, I know, Democrats can’t win in North Idaho, so they run as Republicans. But it is so dang frustrating! How can a group who claims to be true conservatives support those two candidates from District 1?

Don’t like the term RINO, what about white elephant? Not the type of gift exchange you play at Christmas, but pretenders. A white elephant gift looks pretty on the outside, but you don’t know what you’re in for. Could be fruitcake or an expired Starbucks card. What do you get when you cross a rhino with a white elephant? A baby donkey, I fear. Keep an eye out and be wary of white elephants.

JENNY HOLMES

Post Falls