OPINION: Moon’s GOP dances to the tune of the Idaho Freedom Foundation
Jim Jones
Dorothy Moon’s branch of the Republican Party is so entwined with the inaptly named Idaho Freedom Foundation that it is hard to know who is calling the shots. Both are extremely far to the right. Both have sought to divide Idahoans by stoking fear and outrage over fake culture war issues. Neither has shown much interest in working on actual problems facing the state, such as water policy, adequate funding for pre-K through higher education, property taxes, infrastructure and important social programs. The IFF has established a strong grip over many GOP legislators since it came on the scene in 2009. The closing of the GOP primary in 2012 supercharged its efforts to populate the Legislature with extremists and control their votes.
Both Moon and the IFF have ties to the white nationalists who have gained a foothold in the Gem State in recent years. Moon has a history of associating with nationalist individuals and groups. It was recently disclosed that the IFF hired an alt-right propagandist, Dave Reilly, to shape its messaging. Brent Regan, IFF’s board chair, who also controls the Kootenai County Republican Party, has a friendly history with those who have fled progressive states to live in the Nationalist Redoubt in North Idaho, where Christian Nationalists will make their last stand against multicultural hoards.
Because there is so much cross membership between the IFF and Moon’s GOP, it is not easy to determine which group has the ultimate say-so. A recent chapter in the GOP’s effort to squelch individual thinking in its ranks provides an answer.
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