Idaho Gov. Little skips town without telling Lt. Gov. McGeachin. Can you blame him?

So Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is mad that Idaho Gov. Brad Little left the state without telling her.

Given her track record, who could blame him?

The past few times that Little has left the state, McGeachin has taken the opportunity to undo Little’s executive orders and issue her own executive orders, including banning all mask mandates in Idaho, which sent school districts into a frenzy in the waning days of the school year.

In 2019, as acting governor, she even administered the oath of the National Guard to a group at a rally of militia members commemorating Patriots Day.

The last time Little left the state, McGeachin inquired about whether — as acting governor — she could deploy the Idaho National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Forgive us for not blaming Little for skipping town without telling McGeachin.

“Did the governor fail to notify my office because he didn’t want me to use my position as acting governor to once again give the power and decision making back to the people of Idaho?” Lt. Governor McGeachin wrote in a press release.

That’s not how this works, lieutenant governor.

The people of Idaho exercised their power and decision-making when they elected Brad Little governor. That means, whether any of us like his policies or not, he’s the governor. His absence from the state for a few days doesn’t mean the acting governor can undo or change his policies and orders.

That’s certainly not efficient use of government time and resources.

And knowing that Little will overturn any foolish order or act committed once he returns demonstrates that this is merely grandstanding and political theater. Again, a foolish waste of government time and resources.

McGeachin wasted the time of Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, head of the Idaho National Guard, who had to respond to McGeachin’s inquiry about deploying the National Guard to the border.

She wastes the time of Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney every time she issues one of her bogus executive orders.

Now, she’s even wasting the time of Alex Adams, the head of the Division of Financial Management, by asking what the salary differential is that she can expect to receive as acting governor while the governor is out of state.

McGeachin claims Little “left the state of Idaho without a Governor for multiple days in direct violation of the law.”

Let’s look at Article IV, Section 12, of the Idaho constitution.

“In case of the failure to qualify, the impeachment, or conviction of treason, felony, or other infamous crime of the governor, or his death, removal from office, resignation, absence from the state, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease, shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor.”

(As an aside, we think it’s appropriate that the constitution uses the word “devolve” when it comes to describing the transfer of power to the lieutenant governor, particularly in the current circumstances.)

As for the Idaho Code, Section 67-805A(2), here’s the full text:

“In case of temporary inability to perform his duties, or in the case of his temporary absence from the state, the lieutenant governor shall perform such duties as acting governor until the disability is removed, or until the governor returns to the state.”

It’s clear that the Idaho Constitution and state code envision circumstances more serious than the governor simply crossing state lines for a couple of days.

According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Little has an opinion from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office indicating that he may not be absent from the state, as the Idaho Constitution means that term, when he travels. If McGeachin doesn’t agree, she should sue, and the Idaho Supreme Court can clarify the matter.

It’s also patently obvious to any reasonable person that when the governor leaves the state for a couple of days — particularly in these days of air travel and cell phones — the law’s intent is not to allow the lieutenant governor to set her own policy.

Of course, clearly, we’re not dealing with any reasonable person here.

If McGeachin is going to abuse the power of acting governor, we can understand why the governor would keep her in the dark for a couple of days.

This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 3:11 PM.