The Law of Flak: The stupidest phrase in Idaho politics | Opinion
Perhaps the single stupidest saying in politics, especially in common Idaho politics, is what I’ll term The Law of Flak: “When you’re taking flak, you’re over the target.”
As the Statesman’s Carolyn Komatsoulis reported, Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, last month celebrated that the ACLU had immediately filed suit to block House Bill 83 — a bill he sponsored to create a state-level immigration enforcement system — from going into effect. The fact that an organization committed to upholding everyone’s civil liberties under the Constitution had acted so quickly was evidence he was “over the target,” he said.
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Amanda Brailsford issued a temporary restraining order blocking the law from going into effect for the duration of the lawsuit.
Sometimes — often, actually — when a federal court blocks your big idea immediately, it’s because you probably violated the Constitution. It’s because you lazily broke the oath you swore to defend that document when you took office. The court has immediately blocked your action because it’s so bad that if it went into force, even briefly, it could result in irreparable harm to rights, lives and property.
But, you know, “taking flak” so “over the target.”
In The Law of Flak, those more fond of rhetoric than clear thought seem to believe they’ve discovered the Philosopher’s Stone of politics. Anytime you’re caught screwing up, repeat this simple phrase and emerge covered in gold.
Not that it actually works that way.
In fact, anytime these words come out of someone’s mouth, it’s a fair bet they’re about to take a thumping — one of their own making.
In 2022, then far-right Ada County sheriff’s candidate Doug Traubel faced accusations that his book advanced the antisemitic belief that Jews were to blame for Soviet communism. He responded with a nearly 4,000-word, unhinged rant in a right-wing blog that, to any reasonable reader, deepened concerns that he did have antisemitic views.
“You know you’re over the target when you’re taking flak,” it began.
Traubel went on to lose the Republican primary by nearly 20 percentage points. He tried again in 2024 and lost his next election by more than 50.
When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — an absolute favorite of journalists, since he sometimes gives them great scoops by randomly texting them his secret war plans — complained on social media earlier this week that all of his press coverage had been negative, a supporter chirped: “You know you’re over the target when you’re taking flak.”
This year, Idaho lawmakers finally succeeded in creating a school voucher system. It has extremely poor oversight mechanisms and is likely to be used for fraud, as has happened in other states. Over the long run, it’s also likely to undermine the quality of Idaho’s public school system, as the head of the Idaho Education Association pointed out to KBOI.
Commenting on that, Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Couer d’Alene, replied, you guessed it: “When you’re taking flak, you’re over the target.”
When the increasingly irrelevant Idaho Freedom Foundation came into the cross hairs of Melaleuca CEO Frank Vandersloot in 2020, then-president Wayne Hoffman tried to swing back: “As they say, if you’re taking flak, you’re over the target,” he began.
(Hoffman, incidentally, seems much happier now that he’s become some sort of psychedelic seeker rather than a political arm-twister. His recent critique of mandatory school Bible readings is worth a read.)
Before long, you’re sure to hear this phrase coming from economic policy “experts” in the Trump administration. The latest GDP report showed a major reversal in years of economic growth, showing the U.S. economy shrank in the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term. It’s an early sign that his chaotic, on-again-off again tariffs are doing serious harm to the economy and are pushing us toward recession.
Here, “when you’re taking flak, you’re over the target” means that when you needlessly wreck a long period of economic growth while somehow also increasing inflation, that proves what you’re doing is really good for the economy.
But you just can’t talk your way around empty store shelves, layoffs and higher prices. Sometimes, when you’re “taking flak,” it’s because you are a terrible pilot who has no idea how to fly a plane.
That isn’t antiaircraft fire.
Those are the branches of the trees you’re flying through right before you hit the ground.
Quit bragging about it, realize you’ve made a terrible mistake — and eject.