To Republican voters, before you vote in the midterms, read the Idaho party platform

GOP platform

Dear Republican voter,

Before you vote in the midterms, you might consider reading the Idaho Republican platform. Here’s a sample:

“We believe Social Security must be stabilized, diversified and privatized to allow expansion of individual retirement options…”

“We support…homeschools, schooling at home, microschoools, learning pods, co-ops, private and parochial schools, and accountable public school systems…”

“We believe…the right to decide what their children are learning, the right to inspect any educational materials used….”

“We believe…remaining roadless areas should be released for multiple use…”

“We support the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act in its entirety…”

“We support the supreme authority of parents in all medical decisions for their children, including providers and treatments”

“We affirm that abortion is murder from the moment of fertilization…We support the criminalization of all murders by abortion.”

Elisabeth Ratcliff, Garden City

Voting

The success, or failure, of organized political parties has depended on their ability, or inability, to change their values and platforms to meet the current needs and priorities of the majority of Americans who choose to exercise their right to vote. Most recent elections have not been controlled by right- or left-leaning party voters, but by more moderate, objective and free-thinking independent voters who can’t identify with either major party. These independent voters recognize that compromise, not “my way or the highway,” solves problems. They support the peaceful, not violent, transfer of political power. They support candidates who believe in honesty, the rule of law and the respect for others, not big lies, conspiracy theories and political intimidation. They recognize that freedom to worship any religion, not a forced theocracy by one religion, is the future of American democracy.

Steven Shake, Caldwell

Extremism

Whether you are a new or longtime resident, I encourage you to examine all of the candidates running for public office. Don’t let a sign that says “conservative” determine if they can lower your property taxes, manage growth, insure election integrity, repair roads, protect public lands, build and manage a budget, honor the rule of law or appoint people to positions because of their qualifications and not their party affiliation.

If a candidate won’t communicate with you, appear in a debate/forum or fill out questionnaires meant to inform the public, how can you expect them to be transparent when they are in a position of power. Character does matter. People elected to office should make government work for the people they serve, not try to destroy it.

Idaho is at a crossroads. If you haven’t already seen The Color of Conscience, an Idaho Public Television documentary, I encourage you to watch it. Then make sure that Idaho does not take a path back to fear and intimidation. Speak up against extremists! Vote for Tom Arkoosh for Idaho Attorney General, Phil McGrane for Secretary of State and Stan Ridgeway for Ada County commissioner. They will speak up, too.

John Sullivan, Garden City

Sen. Crapo

Michael Crapo, you seem to be blaming Biden for the inflation. Is he responsible for the high price of gas worldwide? Yes, this is a worldwide problem. Now, for the serious question: What have you offered to curb inflation? It was the Democrats that wanted to investigate the oil companies for price gouging. But you and your fellow Republicans put a stop to that right away.

Seems a lot easier to blame someone than to actually do something, especially when it is against your contributors. Just maybe if you were more concerned about the people of Idaho rather than Mitch McConnell, we could actually get somewhere. How many bills have you introduced that would make life cheaper and better for the people of Idaho? You don’t care about the people of Idaho; you just care about your power and prestige. As a politician, you have proven yourself worthless. The people of Idaho deserve someone that is concerned about the problems of their daily life not your contributions.

Jerry Johnson, Payette

Debate

Shame on the “politicians” who do not participate in legitimate debates for Idaho residents. The excuse “people in Idaho already know me” is not an honest statement. Idaho has grown rapidly with people moving from other states. Thousands of new voters turn 18 every year and become eligible to vote. The arrogance of assuming everyone ”already knows them” is appalling.

I spend a lot of time developing messaging for young voters to inspire them to be engaged in our democracy by registering to vote, getting informed and then voting. Candidates running for office who do not make themselves available or do not answer questionnaires from legitimate sources, deny these new residents and voters of opportunities to learn about them or where they stand on the issues. Maybe that’s the whole idea: The less you know, the more chance they have of being elected by people who don’t do their homework before voting. Or maybe people just won’t vote.

Candidates willingly accept financial campaign donations, but don’t make themselves available to the general public. We deserve better. If they want our vote, they need to earn our vote.

A big thank you to candidates who make themselves available for the voters.

Kathy Holcomb, Star

Goodbye, Eagle

I moved my family to Eagle from California in 1980. My motivation was to raise my kids in a safe rural environment, where there was also some business opportunity.

Nothing much happened here, development wise, until the late ’80s. The new residential projects, like Lexington Hills and Island Woods, were well conceived ones with jogging paths, waterways and park areas.

Back then, Eagle’s master plan was based on the concept that housing should be less dense as it moved north, south and west of town.

Beginning in about 2005, the existing master plan was abandoned. We have gone from densities of one house per two acres to four houses per acre. And, housing has not just been built on flat land, where there is existing water rights and infrastructure close by; but now, in our foothills where there is an unproven water supply and services are far more costly.

Eagle could have been an exemplary community, but it has been given away to opportunistic developers.

Bob Nahas, Eagle