The problem with the Idaho Republican Party’s pursuit of platform purity | Opinion

The reelection of Dorothy Moon as the chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party at this weekend’s Republican state convention is a victory for platform purity, a concept Moon champions.

Platform purity is the idea that anyone elected under the banner of the Idaho Republican Party must vote in a way that aligns with the party platform. Sounds reasonable enough, right? If you want to call yourself a Republican, you have to vote like a Republican.

But there are a couple of problems.

First, some planks of the Idaho Republican Party platform have become so radicalized and extreme, no one should support them.

To wit, at this weekend’s state convention, the party voted its opposition to taxpayer funding for education programs beyond high school, according to Idaho Reports.

Could that include funding for higher education? No more funding for the University of Idaho, Boise State University, Lewis-Clark State College or Idaho State University? Guess we’ll find out in January, when the Legislature reconvenes.

Another plank passed this weekend was opposition to the destruction of embryos, which can occur as a result of in vitro fertilization. So no more IVF in Idaho. Couples who are having trouble conceiving would have to move to another state or travel elsewhere for treatments.

Also approved this weekend was an opposition to no-excuses absentee voting, a practice that conveniently allows voters to request an absentee ballot and vote in advance, leading to greater voter turnout. God forbid we promote greater voter turnout.

These new planks are on top of the already crazy planks, such as returning to the gold standard, barring citizens from electing U.S. senators and privatizing Social Security.

When we talk about “extremism,” this is what we’re talking about. These are extreme views and extreme positions that lead to extreme laws with extreme consequences.

Second, many issues are just too nuanced and complex to respond with a simple black-and-white, yes-or-no vote.

Abortion is a much more complex issue than Idaho’s simple ban, as illustrated by the dilemma Idaho doctors experience when trying to balance the health of a mother with complying with the law. But Idaho’s extreme law forces patients to seek treatment in other states, while doctors leave Idaho to practice elsewhere.

Allowing teachers and employees to carry a gun in school is fraught with many more concerns than simply saying “I support the 2nd Amendment.”

We saw the dilemma many Republican legislators face when state Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, voted in favor of a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youths, even though she said on the House floor that she has a family member who would be directly negatively affected by this bill.

These legislators know that their votes will be used against them in a primary, where extremist groups, such as the Idaho Freedom Foundation, will send out mailers with simple messages labeling Republican legislators as RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only, if they don’t vote along strict party lines.

Vote against the transgender care ban, you’re in favor of youth gender mutilation. Vote against the guns in schools bill, you’re against the 2nd Amendment. Vote against the library book banning and bounty bill, you’re a groomer who supports giving pornography to kids in libraries.

As evidence that the Idaho Republican Party platform has become so radical, such Republicans as Sens. Scott Grow, Kelly Anthon and Ben Adams and Reps. Rod Furniss and Doug Ricks, for a total of 41 Republican legislators, all received a grade of F on the Idaho Republican Party’s litmus test, a scorecard that scores legislators on how “Republican” they are. Others, such as House Speaker Mike Moyle, Reps. Wendy Horman and Doug Pickett and Sen. Todd Lakey, earned D grades.

This is the party, under Moon’s leadership, that last year expelled the Idaho Young Republicans, Idaho College Republicans and the Federation of Republican Women from the state’s executive committee. It’s led to Soviet Politburo-style central committee tribunals going after Republican legislators who don’t toe the party line.

There are now 600,000 registered Republicans in Idaho. Certainly not every Republican agrees on every issue, and many recognize that not every issue has a simple answer.

But if you dare stray from the party line, especially if you’re a Republican legislator, you’ll be ostracized from the party. The only ones who will be left are the extremists.

And that seems to be the goal of Idaho Republican Party leadership under Moon.

With Moon’s victory this weekend, expect the Idaho Republican Party to become even more extreme than it already is.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.