In a new article, he talks about how they beat you in the 2026 primaries:
“We’ve already lost our House to the far right.”
Far right is what he calls the Idaho House for passing a bunch of immigration bills that never made it out of the Idaho Senate. So they spent around $200,000 on nine Republican primaries to protect what he calls the “firewall” of moderate senators.
Their guy won in 8 of those 9 races.
Then they bought billboards:
“We could track when people were passing these billboards, then push a digital ad to those same people.”
They grabbed your phone’s location when you drove by. Then they chased you onto social media. He said “it freaked our board out.” Freaked me out too, Rick.
Then he bragged about their playbook:
“Take out Idaho. Put in Kansas or Utah. Pick your red state. We don’t care.”
Their study admits nearly 90% of Idaho’s dairy workforce is foreign-born. The source for that number is literally “According to the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.” And Naerebout told NPR last month that some 90% of the workers at Idaho’s dairies may not have legal status.
That’s the cheap slave labor business model, in writing.
Then they quoted developer Tommy Ahlquist saying we should “stay away from government red tape policies like e-verify.” E-Verify is how you check that a worker is legal. And the ironic part is they named their group after the exact thing they’re fighting against: a legal workforce.
Their “fact sheet” says losing these workers would make the housing crisis worse. Page 2 of their study says Idaho’s population boom “increased housing demand and led to sharply rising prices.”
Yes, they wrote that.
Idaho’s construction workforce nearly doubled from 2014 to 2024, and home prices went up 168% anyway, because every illegal worker they import needs a house too.
Plus, their study only looks at what happens right away, before anybody has time to fix anything.
And they admit they “assume price stability.” That’s economist-speak for: in our made-up model, prices never change. Including the price of labor.
Well, here in the real world, when a dairy can’t find workers, it raises pay. Higher pay pulls Idahoans off the couch or out of worse jobs (or the dairy buys a machine that does the work of three guys).
But their “model” doesn’t allow any of that. Wages are frozen. So the worker just vanishes and the job never gets filled. Rig it that way and the only answer you can ever get is more cheap foreign labor.
The scenario they ran was roughly 70% of Idaho’s illegal workforce gone in a single year.
Show me the Idaho bill that does that. You can’t. So instead they built a scary hypothetical and waved it at the Legislature and the press as if any bill we pushed did that.
And they can’t keep their own numbers straight anyway. Workers removed: 28,725 in the press release. 25,611 on page 34. 26,824 on page 37. Page 34 also says “total job losses of 1.16 million.”
That’s every job in Idaho!
And the authors’ contact email is a gmail account (just saying.)
My favorite line is on page 20 though.
States less dependent on illegal labor “will likely benefit,” because companies will expand there. They name Wisconsin and Maine. So their own economists think leaning on illegal labor is a weakness?
Naerebout told NPR the jobs “just don’t appeal to Americans.”
No kidding.
What American wants to show up to a crew where nobody speaks his language, in lousy conditions, for pay built around workers who can’t complain?
Of course it doesn’t appeal to Americans. They built it that way.
And notice nobody in that crowd ever finishes the sentence with a wage. Cheap labor jobs only appeal to people with no other options.
That’s the whole point.
Their own economists admit the fix exists. Page iv says that over the long run “adjustments and investments in other market segments, as well as substitutions for other activities, will be necessary.” Page 20 says “Investments in capital are likely to be made.”
That’s higher pay. That’s the robot milker. That’s hiring the kid down the road. But they cut every bit of it out of the model, because a study where Idaho adapts can’t sell amnesty (their goal).
Pay Idahoans. Buy the equipment. Enforce the law so the dairyman who does it right isn’t undercut by the one who doesn’t.
It turns guest workers into 350-day “temporary” workers and gives legal status to illegals who were here by May 31, 2026 and worked in ag. It caps their wage growth around 3.25% a year and folds meatpacking into “agriculture.”
I thought 1986 was supposed to be the last amnesty. (I was 7 years old, but still.)
So here’s your homework. Go look up which nine races that $200,000 went into. Then ask your state senator, by name, which side of the firewall they’re on.
Pocatello–A local family will be getting a new table to eat their Christmas dinner on this year, thanks to local business owner Ryan Nelson of Naughty Pines Woodworking.
“Christmas is a hard time for a lot of families because times are tight, so this is a small thing we can do,” Ryan said in a video he posted on the company’s Facebook page last month. Lumber to create the tabletop has already been donated, though a base is still needed.The company is also seeking donations of items to go with the table.If possible, they would like to include chairs, non-perishable food items, cash and gift cards, and other Christmas gifts. The goal is to “give [the family] a great holiday and help with some of the stress,” Ryan told the Observer.
To nominate a family or donate to the project, call or text Ryan at 208-380-0094. Nominations are due by November 15; donations need to be received by December 1.
Naughty Pines Woodworking specializes in custom epoxy river and solid wood tables. The shop is located near Elevate Fitness in Pocatello’s Westwood Mall, at 1800 Garrett Way.
I’m an Idaho OB/GYN. I Oppose Proposition 1, and I’m Not Alone
By: Dr. Kim Cox, M.D.
For 35 years, I have had the privilege of caring for women and their pregnancies in Pocatello, Idaho. I am a Christian, a political conservative, and an obstetrician-gynecologist who believes deeply in the value of both a mother and her unborn child. I have dedicated my professional life to caring for both, often during the most difficult and vulnerable moments of their lives.
My colleague and practice partner, Dr. Carole Shelley, recently published an opinion in the Idaho State Journal supporting Proposition 1, the proposed Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act. I have tremendous respect for Dr. Shelley, both personally and professionally. We have spent years working alongside one another, caring for the same community and sharing a commitment to our patients’ well-being. Nevertheless, we have significant differences regarding Proposition 1, and I believe Idaho voters deserve to understand why.
Many people mistakenly believe Idaho’s obstetricians and gynecologists overwhelmingly support Proposition 1. Yet fewer than 10% of the state’s 346 licensed physicians identifying as OB/GYN or maternal-fetal medicine specialists appear among the signatories of the United for Yes physician letter. This does not establish how the remaining physicians intend to vote, but it should dispel the notion that our profession speaks with one political voice. Physicians are first and foremost healers, not political activists. We are independent professionals whose judgments are shaped by our individual training, experience, and responsibility to our patients.
My opposition to Proposition 1 centers on four fundamental concerns.
First, the recognition and value of unborn human life. Proposition 1 establishes a broad right to reproductive freedom and privacy, placing the decision to terminate a pregnancy primarily with the pregnant individual. What troubles me most is the absence of meaningful recognition of the unborn child’s life within that framework. As an obstetrician, I have spent my career observing, monitoring, and caring for developing human beings throughout pregnancy. I recognize the profound responsibilities and difficult circumstances facing pregnant women, but I also believe the life growing within the womb has intrinsic value. A law governing pregnancy should acknowledge both lives rather than treating the unborn child as though its existence carries no independent moral significance.
Second, the definition of fetal viability and the timing of abortion. Proposition 1 defines viability according to whether a fetus has a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures. This language concerns me greatly. Modern neonatal medicine routinely provides respiratory support, specialized intensive care, and other interventions to premature infants, many of whom go on to lead healthy lives. What, precisely, constitutes an extraordinary medical measure? Could this definition be interpreted to exclude infants who require significant support even at 34 to 36 weeks of gestation? While viability determinations would remain subject to a physician’s medical judgment, the ambiguity of this language raises serious questions about how late in pregnancy an abortion could be permitted. After 35 years in obstetrics, I believe the law should reflect the capabilities of modern neonatal medicine rather than create uncertainty about the value and viability of infants who need medical assistance to survive.
Third, parental rights and consent involving minors. Proposition 1 grants reproductive freedom and privacy to “every person,” without expressly distinguishing between adults and minor children. Its protections extend to decisions involving abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, and other reproductive healthcare. Furthermore, the measure directs that its provisions be liberally construed in favor of reproductive freedom and privacy and take precedence over conflicting sections of Idaho law. This raises legitimate concerns about how existing parental notification and consent requirements would be affected. Parents ordinarily play an essential role in important medical decisions involving their minor children. I believe the relationship between parents, children, and physicians deserves greater clarity and protection than Proposition 1 provides.
Fourth, the treatment of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. These are extraordinarily difficult circumstances that require compassion, sensitivity, and appropriate medical care. Idaho’s existing law provides a first-trimester abortion exception when rape or incest has been reported to law enforcement or the appropriate authorities. A victim does not need to secure a criminal conviction or prove an assault in court for the exception to apply. That distinction is important when discussing what Idaho law actually requires. While reasonable people may disagree about the adequacy of existing exceptions, those discussions should begin with an accurate understanding of the law rather than the suggestion that a victim must first prove her assault to the state.
I do not approach these questions without firsthand experience caring for women facing devastating pregnancy complications. During my career, I personally treated a patient whose severe, life-threatening complication required termination of a previable pregnancy. It was an incredibly difficult situation, but it was medically necessary to protect her life. That same patient subsequently experienced two additional pregnancies complicated by the same condition. This time, however, those complications occurred after the pregnancies had reached viability. Today, she is the mother of two delightful children.
I share this experience because it illustrates the complexity of obstetric medicine and the importance of individualized clinical judgment. Physicians must recognize life-threatening complications, act when medically necessary, and provide compassionate care without losing sight of the lives entrusted to us. My experience has reinforced my conviction that caring for a mother and valuing her unborn child are not mutually exclusive obligations.
Much has been said about Idaho physicians’ ability to practice medicine after the Dobbs decision. Yet across our state, dedicated obstetricians continue delivering babies, managing complicated pregnancies, treating emergencies, and caring for women every day. Our colleagues are doing remarkable work, and political narratives should not overshadow it. Idaho’s maternal healthcare outcomes also deserve consideration when evaluating claims about the effects of our laws.
Ultimately, my opposition to Proposition 1 is rooted in something deeper than politics. It is a moral conviction shaped by my Christian faith and 35 years of medical practice. We routinely ask our elected legislators to balance individual freedom against society’s obligation to protect human life. I believe pregnancy presents a profound example of that responsibility, because two human lives deserve our consideration.
On November 3, Idahoans will decide whether our laws should recognize the value of both a mother and her unborn child, or establish a new statutory framework that, in my view, fails to adequately protect the latter.
After 35 years caring for Idaho mothers and babies, I know where I stand.
I am voting NO on Proposition 1.
Dr. Kim Cox, MD, is an Idaho OB/GYN who has practiced in Pocatello, Idaho, for 35 years and delivered more than 8,000 babies.
(Governor’s Office Press Release, October 28, 2026)
Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little announced today the State of Idaho completed the awards for $186 million in Year 1 grant funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), aimed at strengthening and modernizing healthcare in rural communities.
Year 1 awards were distributed in alignment with Idaho’s plan, which focused on five core initiatives:
Improving rural access to care through technology
Expanding innovative care models
Strengthening workforce recruitment, training, and retention
Supporting population-specific, evidence-based prevention and chronic disease efforts
Investing in rural health infrastructure and partnerships
These awards will provide far-reaching benefits to Idaho citizens through hospital networks, shared infrastructure, regional programs, and mobile services.
The funds are part of close to $1 billion over five years awarded to Idaho by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve rural healthcare. The funds come from H.R. 1 The Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
Nearly all of Idaho’s counties are considered rural, and many communities face challenges related to access, workforce shortages, financial sustainability, and distance from care. The funding is intended to address those challenges through system-wide improvements and long-term investments.
Idaho’s application was submitted by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) in consultation with the Idaho Rural Health Taskforce, which Governor Little created through executive order in 2025. The task force included legislative leaders, tribal representatives, and executive branch officials. The department also gathered extensive public and stakeholder input through a statewide survey, with 500 responses representing every county. In addition, the Legislature’s Rural Health Transformation Committee worked alongside the executive branch to determine distribution of funds.
“For many Idaho families – especially in rural areas – affordable, accessible health care is a real concern. This investment recognizes those challenges and puts resources where they’re needed most. It helps strengthen local health care and ensures Idahoans can get the affordable care they need, no matter where they live,” Governor Little said.
“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “Funding new approaches to strengthen local healthcare capacity and expand access to care is an important step toward achieving that vision for rural Idaho and I look forward to seeing RHTP dollars support equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”
“Rural Idaho knows its health care needs better than anyone. This funding gives our communities the opportunity to strengthen local hospitals, recruit and keep health care professionals, and invest in practical solutions that will make a difference for years to come. I’m proud of the work that brought us to this point, and I’m excited to see these investments improve care for Idaho families across our state,” said Senator Julie VanOrden, co-chair of the Idaho Rural Health Task Force.
“The Rural Health Transformation program funds present a unique opportunity to embrace technology and innovative care models so we can overcome distance, connect patients with providers, and find new ways to deliver care in our rural communities. Together, we are building lasting solutions that improve access and strengthen health care for Idaho families for years to come,” said Representative Jordan Redman, co-chair of the Idaho Rural Health Task Force.
“This funding gives Idaho the flexibility to pursue solutions that are shaped by rural communities themselves. By listening to providers, patients, and local leaders, the state can make targeted investments that support sustainable, high-quality care closer to home,” DHW Director Juliet Charron said.
EXAMPLES OF HOW THE FUNDING WILL BE USED IN YEAR 1
A statewide mobile hearing clinic could bring specialized pediatric services closer to families in rural communities across the state.
Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind received $897,788 in Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding for a mobile pediatric audiology clinic.
The mobile clinic is designed to bring specialized hearing testing for infants and young children into rural and frontier communities instead of requiring families to travel to regional specialty centers.
More than $5.8 million is going to Bonner General Health in Sandpoint to strengthen local healthcare.
Bonner General Health received approximately $5.8 million in RHTP Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding across two projects in Bonner County.
Approximately $3.69 million will support a multispecialty healthcare suite.
Approximately $2.12 million will support a Meditech-related technology investment.
Together, these investments will strengthen the healthcare infrastructure available to people in Bonner County.
More than $4.8 million will support healthcare improvements at St. Mary’s in Cottonwood.
Mary’s received approximately $4.89 million in RHTP Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding across multiple projects in northern Idaho, including the purchase of an MRI and replacement of aging x-ray equipment.
$6.6 million will support modernization at Benewah Community Hospital in St. Maries.
Benewah Community Hospital received approximately $6.65 million for a clinic modernization project in Benewah County.
A $1.53 million mobile dental clinic can bring dental care closer to rural communities.
Shine Dental Co. received approximately $1.53 million for a mobile dental clinic with Kootenai, Bonner, and Benewah counties included in its planned reach.
A $200,000 investment will expand behavioral health prevention and early-intervention services across Southwest Idaho.
Southwest District Health received $200,000 to expand rural behavioral health prevention and early-intervention services across its six-county service area, which includes Canyon County.
Funding supports a behavioral health clinician who will provide early identification, brief intervention, and prevention services, along with community outreach.
Services can operate through Southwest District Health satellite offices, community locations, and telehealth, giving the program flexibility to reach rural residents in different settings.
A $461,680 investment will build a regional mobile healthcare system with the potential to expand across Southwest Idaho.
Southwest District Health received $461,680 for its Community Integrated Mobile Care Infrastructure project.
The project will support two mobile healthcare vehicles, telehealth and diagnostic equipment, care-coordination technology, and data-sharing infrastructure.
The initial rollout will focus on Gem, Payette, and Washington counties, with expansion to other rural counties in later years as needs and resources allow.
A $2.26 million mobile clinic will bring more preventive and diagnostic care into rural eastern Idaho.
Mountain View Hospital, based in Idaho Falls, received $2,255,219 in Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding for a mobile healthcare clinic.
The project specifically identifies Jefferson County, along with Bingham, Fremont, Clark, and Madison counties, as part of its planned service area.
The mobile clinic plans to offer services including preventive care, immunizations, health screenings, pediatric care, chronic disease management, behavioral health services, mammograms, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory services.
A $1.24 million investment could make treatment for opioid use disorder easier to reach in Bonneville and Twin Falls counties.
Center for Behavioral Health Idaho received $1,237,795.36 in Healthcare Infrastructure Support funding. Its application proposes two rural medication units, in Twin Falls and Bonneville counties.
The project goal is to reduce repeated travel and make it easier for people to stay connected to treatment. The project would bring supervised access to medication for opioid use disorder closer to rural residents while using technology to support treatment between visits.
The project’s analysis estimated potential demand of 147 to 197 patients in Bonneville County, with a preliminary planning range of 100 to 150 patients for the proposed medication unit. In Twin Falls County, the application’s planning analysis estimated potential demand of 146 to 195 patients.
A $1.59 million mobile screening program will bring cancer and heart-health screening closer to rural communities.
Luke’s Health System received a $1.59 million Healthcare Infrastructure Support award for a mobile CT screening program, and Twin Falls County and Canyon County are included in the initial service area.
The mobile unit will provide low-dose lung cancer screening, coronary artery calcium screening, smoking cessation services, and cardiovascular risk assessment closer to where rural residents live.
The unit can travel to underserved communities in partnership with rural healthcare providers, public health agencies, employers, and community organizations.
Governor Little looks forward to continuing to work with CMS and the Idaho Legislature to further the state’s investment in rural healthcare in Year 2 of the Rural Health Care Transformation Program.
(Idaho Family Policy Center Press Release, October 30, 2026)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel [on Friday] issued a stay of the injunction from District Court Judge Lynn Winmill in the Seyb v. Labrador case challenging Idaho pro-life laws. The decision ensures that Idaho pro-life laws — including both the Heartbeat law and the Defense of Life Act — continue to remain fully in effect.
The Heartbeat law, which was researched, drafted, and championed by Idaho Family Policy Center, provides civil liability for elective abortions performed once a preborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs about 18 days after fertilization. The Defense of Life Act provides criminal liability for elective abortions performed once a pregnancy can be clinically diagnosed, which is usually about 10 days after fertilization.
In their decision, the Ninth Circuit panel recognized that Idaho has a “profound interest in preserving fetal life” through its pro-life laws and further noted that the U.S. Supreme Court held in Dobbs that the Constitution “does not confer a right to abortion.”
Even Judge Kim McClane Wardlaw, a Clinton appointee, recognized in her concurrence that the Idaho pro-life laws are not “an outlier” when compared to other laws throughout our nation’s history. She also noted that Idaho laws provide clear “exceptions for abortions necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” and “in cases involving rape or incest,” and allows “medical personnel to provide abortions in medical emergencies.”
Federal district court Judge Lynn Winmill issued a ruling on August 13, 2026, blocking enforcement of Idaho pro-life laws in cases where a mother threatened self-harm. The scope of the initial ruling was later limited by Judge Winmill before being stayed by the Ninth Circuit to allow both sides the opportunity to provide more briefing and oral arguments.
The IFPC Legal Center filed an amicus brief at the Ninth Circuit supporting the pro-life laws on behalf of more than 50 state legislators, including almost all of House and Senate Republican leadership. The brief explained why Judge Winmill shouldn’t be allowed to legislate from the bench by unilaterally rewriting Idaho pro-life laws and argued that state policymakers should have the final say on state abortion restrictions.
A statement from Blaine Conzatti, president of Idaho Family Policy Center:
We’ve said from the beginning that the lower court decision would be reversed on appeal. Pregnant mothers don’t have a constitutional right to abortion merely because they threaten to harm themselves. Women in mental health crises need treatment, not abortion.
This decision ensures that our pro-life laws here in Idaho will continue protecting both mother and baby. We want to extend our gratitude to Attorney General Labrador and his team for their hard work defending our laws.
Idaho School Choice Is Off to a Strong Start! An update on the Parental Choice Tax Credit, plus important Election Day reminders!
By: ID Senator Tammy Nichols
ID Senator Tammy Nichols (Photo Credit: Tammy Nichols)
Idaho parents are speaking up, and the message is clear: Families want more choices when it comes to their children’s education!
I wanted to share an update on Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit and what has happened since we passed this important legislation.
The program has now completed its first application cycle, and the response has been tremendous. More than 7,000 applications were submitted, representing over 12,500 Idaho students. The program reached its nearly $50 million annual funding limit, showing just how strong the demand is for educational choice.
We also saw an important legal victory. Earlier this year, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously rejected a constitutional challenge to the program, allowing it to move forward and giving families greater certainty.
What Does the Tax Credit Cover?
The program provides up to $5,000 per eligible student and up to $7,500 for students with qualifying disabilities.
Because it is a refundable tax credit, the program is administered through the Idaho State Tax Commission, which oversees eligibility, applications, and qualifying expenses.
I’ve received several questions about what families can and cannot use the credit for.
Qualifying expenses include:
Nonpublic school tuition
Homeschool curriculum and textbooks
Tutoring in core academic subjects
Certain academic tests and preparation courses
Reasonable transportation to and from nonpublic schools
The credit is not a general spending account. Sports fees, athletic equipment, uniforms, band expenses, musical instruments, vacations, and other nonacademic purchases do not qualify.
One important clarification: Beginning with 2026 expenses, participating students may take part in public-school sports, band, and other extracurricular activities without automatically losing eligibility. However, the tax credit cannot be used to pay for those activities.
This is exactly why I supported this legislation. Parents know their children best, and I believe they should have more opportunities to choose an education that meets their family’s needs.
There’s still work to do, but Idaho has taken a meaningful step forward in protecting parental choice and expanding educational freedom.
Election Day Is Almost Here. Vote November 3!
We’re just days away from one of the most important responsibilities we have as citizens: voting!
Early voting ends Friday, October 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
There are several important issues on the ballot this year, including statewide propositions, constitutional amendments, the firearm advisory question, legislative races, and local elections.
Please take a few minutes to review your ballot and make a plan to vote. Don’t forget to remind your family, friends, and neighbors!
You can find your polling location, view your sample ballot, and review the statewide ballot measures. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Last Chance! My Gun Giveaway Ends November 3!
Don’t forget! Election Day is also the final day of my gun giveaway!
One lucky winner will receive a great package that includes a Smith & Wesson M&P 22X pistol, a suppressor, a Faith Outdoors hat, and a Gadsden flag!
A special thank you to Faith Outdoors for their generous donation and support of this giveaway.
If you’ve been meaning to enter, now is the time! Your participation and support are greatly appreciated!
October 29, 2026 (Cover Image Credit: Gem State Chronicle)
Socialism Inevitably Leads to Tyranny
By: Gem State Chronicle Publisher Brian Almon
Brian Almon
Seven minutes after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was declared the winner of Brazil’s presidential election, a corrupt judge ordered the seizure of right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro’s passport. Under socialist governments, losing an election often means losing your freedom, as Bolsonaro’s father Jair learned after Lula ousted him in 2022. The elder Bolsonaro remains under house arrest right now, but his son has seemingly avoided that fate, escaping first to Argentina with his family, then flying to the United States in an operation apparently coordinated with the U.S. State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Democrats in America celebrated Lula’s victory and condemned Bolsonaro’s request for asylum. Congressman Ro Khanna of California characterized Lula’s victory as “fighting back against extremism” and the opposition as “authoritarian leaders” who “always attack democracy.” Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas tweeted that “losing an election is not grounds for asylum.” Flávio Bolsonaro is apparently the only person in the Southern Hemisphere that Democrats don’t think should be allowed into the United States.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said that “Brazil showed the world that the will of the people is stronger than the authoritarians who try to suppress it.” Notice how, from the socialist’s perspective, “the people” are always on their side, and anyone who opposes them is “authoritarian,” despite the fact that Lula’s regime is authoritarian by definition: censoring free speech, exerting government power against private enterprise, and arresting political opponents. Socialists must always maintain an external enemy who is to blame for everything that inevitably goes wrong with socialist countries.
American Democrats play the same game. Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois recently claimed that he rebuilt his state “after years of GOP dysfunction,” despite the fact that Democrats have been in control of Illinois for more than two decades. Republican Bruce Rauner was in office for four years in the 2010s, but Democrats still controlled both chambers of the Legislature during each of those years.
George Orwell explained the strategy in Nineteen Eighty-Four, showing how the Party maintained the fiction of the evil Emmanuel Goldstein, always lurking just out of reach and sabotaging everything good the Party was trying to do. Socialist leaders like Lula can blame all of their country’s problems on opponents like Bolsonaro and use their control of the government to persecute their political opponents. Consider how the Biden Administration used the January 6th protests at the Capitol as a pretext to go after not only those who were present that day, but also President Donald Trump, his attorneys, and many others connected to the Trump Administration. Democrats used every possible lever to prosecute Trump, hoping to put him in prison for the rest of his life, while Democratic officials attempted to remove his name from the ballot in states under their control.
Those attempts failed in the United States, but could they succeed in the future?
There’s a saying on the right that you can vote your way into communism, but you can’t vote your way out. Once leftists, socialists, and communists have power, they rarely give it up willingly. Their typical strategy is to subvert as many democratic institutions as possible, including the judiciary, in such a way as to force the right to break constitutional norms to stop them. Indeed, it was Lula’s former attorney, now on the Brazilian Supreme Court, who ordered polling places to stay open an extra two hours, despite locations in Bolsonaro-heavy regions having already shut down. It was a judge who ordered Bolsonaro to be detained following the election.
Here in America, we’ve had judges—many of whom are foreign-born—issue injunctions meant to stop the president from enforcing immigration law or fighting violent crime in our biggest cities. Conservatives who believe in the institutions of our republic find themselves caught in a state of cognitive dissonance as those institutions are slowly and inexorably turned against the republic itself.
Liberal history records men like Francisco Franco of Spain and Augusto Pinochet of Chile as villains in the same category as Adolf Hitler because they engaged in revolutions against communists who managed to take control of their countries. Sen. Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin is also labeled a villain, with his very name becoming a synonym for a baseless witch hunt, because he recognized that communists were busy infiltrating the United States as well.
Lula’s victory, whether legitimate or not, is the exception to the last two years of right-wing wins in Latin America. One theory I’ve seen is that the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) stopped the flow of American tax dollars that was propping up these Latin American socialist dictatorships. Obviously, the Trump Administration has also been proactive in shutting them down—see the black-bagging of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro—but it’s a striking theory. When Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, there were many claims of election irregularities, but the Biden Administration came down firmly on Lula’s side and refused any support for Bolsonaro’s challenge. What a difference a new president can make.
Wouldn’t it be something if it turned out that socialism in the Western Hemisphere only survived this long due to money funneled from American taxpayers?
Consider Cuba, which is the definition of a failed state. Following Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959, Cuba became a leading supporter of socialist dictatorships throughout the world, with figures like Che Guevara exporting revolution to other countries. Yet by the end of the 20th century, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Cuba had drifted listlessly into poverty and impotence. This week, an independent journalist submitted an op-ed accusing Sen. Jim Risch, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of abdicating his duty to the people of Idaho and America by refusing to fight against the policies of President Trump and Secretary Rubio regarding Cuba:
Whatever Risch thinks of Cuba’s government, punishing an entire population doesn’t serve Idaho or this country. As I’ve argued in The American Conservative, our policy fuels migration, undermines anti-drug cooperation, pushes Cuba closer to Russia and China, denies opportunities to American businesses and wastes taxpayer dollars.
I agreed to publish it in the name of open discourse, but I want to be clear that I disagree with the conclusion. The best thing for the people of Cuba—and America—is for the communist regime to be toppled and replaced by an open and republican form of government. I support the approach being taken by President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Sen. Risch in squeezing the life out of the corrupt communists who have exploited the people of Cuba for generations. The Castro regime—first under Fidel, then under his brother Raúl, who is technically retired—has shown itself incapable of providing for the people it claims to champion. Even The Atlantic—very much a left-wing outlet—published an article this week about how the Cuban regime has all but collapsed:
No one can say when or how that transition will happen. Donald Trump may or may not have “the honor of taking Cuba,” as he boasted after imposing an oil blockade on the island earlier this year. The Cuban regime has stifled any viable domestic opposition. But the withering of the state—a process that has been under way for decades—has accelerated, and is shocking to see up close. The ration cards that used to guarantee basic foodstuffs for every Cuban had been blank for weeks when I visited in August. Police and soldiers were once ubiquitous throughout the country, but I saw hardly any.
The author, Robert Worth, points out that, contrary to claims that the embargo is to blame for Cuba’s impoverishment, the Trump Administration sent $100 million to the island on the condition that it be administered and distributed by churches, not the socialist government. Worth also says that the Cubans he met don’t blame Trump or America for their woes, but lay the blame on their own government:
During nine days of travel around the island, I did not meet a single person who blamed Donald Trump or the United States for their situation. I sometimes reminded them about the blockade Trump had started earlier this year, cutting Cubans off from the cheap oil that Venezuela had been supplying before the U.S. military captured Nicolás Maduro in January. Hadn’t things gotten worse since then?
“I don’t see any change since January,” a retired engineer named Guillermo Almeida told me. “That oil from Venezuela wasn’t reaching the people anyway.” He and others said that the more important turning point was the coronavirus pandemic, which destroyed Cuba’s tourism industry and shrank the value of remittances from family members abroad that many Cubans depend on, exposing more fully a state that had long been depleted. Another man put it differently: “It seems to us that the real embargo is inside of Cuba.”
Cuba and Brazil are warning signs for America. Socialism does not lead to prosperity, but to tyranny, poverty, and despair. Earlier this year, I wrote about the dangers of hyperbole, and how politicians who constantly warn that socialism is just around the corner can damage their own credibility. It’s true—we’re not going to transform into Soviet Russia tomorrow if we don’t immediately abolish public schools, welfare, and the grocery tax. However, we must still remain cognizant of the specter on the horizon.
In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt spoke to French students at the Sorbonne, explaining how a functioning republic required virtuous citizens. Seven years before the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Roosevelt warned about the effect of socialism on nations:
The deadening effect on any race of the adoption of a logical and extreme socialistic system could not be overstated; it would spell sheer destruction; it would produce grosser wrong and outrage, fouler immorality, than any existing system.
In 2026, we have the benefit of more than a century of socialist experiments throughout the world. Socialism and communism have brought misery and death to countless millions, from Russia to North Korea to Cuba to Venezuela, yet we still have Democratic candidates espousing socialism in America. They promise everything, but once in power, deliver nothing but death and destruction. Socialism doesn’t work, which means socialist leaders must continue cracking down on real or imagined enemies to maintain their own power.
The modern Democratic Party has embraced socialism in a way that would make John F. Kennedy and Frank Church roll in their graves. Voting for Democrats today is voting to send Idaho and America down the path of the totalitarianism of Communist China, the tyranny playing out before our eyes in Brazil today, or the misery experienced by the people of Cuba for generations. Avoiding that future is as simple as casting your vote.
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Gem State Chronicle. I encourage our readers to visit their website and consider subscribing. Find this and other informative articles at the Gem State Chronicle here: About – Gem State Chronicle
October 30, 2026 (Cover Photo Credit: Karyn Simmons)
Raul Labrador (Photo Credit: Raul Labrador FB)
Dear Friends,
Four years ago, when I was entrusted with serving as Idaho’s Attorney General, I knew difficult battles lay ahead. Some would take us all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Others were much closer to home, where success or failure could mean protecting a child in harm’s way, recovering a family’s savings from crooked contractors, or defending an ordinary Idahoan just trying to make a living.
Looking back, I’m proud of what our office has accomplished. But more importantly, I’m proud of what those accomplishments meant for the people we serve.
Protecting Idaho Families
When I took office, our Internet Crimes Against Children Unit faced a backlog of more than 1,400 unreviewed reports of suspected child exploitation. We eliminated that backlog, reduced review times to 24 hours or less, and built a statewide network of law enforcement partners. Arrests increased from 34 in 2022 to 143 in 2025. Behind those numbers are children who deserve to be safe and predators who must be held accountable.
For Idaho parents, the School Choice Tax Credit mattered. We defended it at the Idaho Supreme Court, making sure that parents had the freedom and support to find education solutions that worked for their children’s needs. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld it 5-0, and the challengers paid the state $70,000 in fees.
In October, a federal judge agreed with our defense of Idaho’s sex-offender registry law and rejected the constitutional challenge to it.
Idaho’s laws protecting girls’ and women’s sports also came under attack. We challenged Biden’s rewrite of Title IX, preserved privacy in school bathrooms and locker rooms, protected children from irreversible sex-change procedures, protected parental rights to raise their children as they see fit, and defended the lives of unborn children against all challenges. Some of these challenges led us to SCOTUS, and I was honored to stand with Idaho’s laws as an example to the nation.
Protecting Idaho Consumers
Inside the Consumer Protection Division, we strengthened enforcement, expanded outreach, and helped Idahoans recover money lost to deceptive business practices. Through voluntary mediation, we returned more money to Idaho consumers in the last 18 months than in all previous years combined since tracking began in 2017.
Enforcement actions increased from eight in 2023 to 49 in 2025, while our statewide educational efforts have helped families recognize fraud before becoming victims.
Major settlements against opioid manufacturers, tobacco companies, pharmaceutical companies, Meta, and General Motors held powerful corporations accountable for conduct and products that harmed Idaho families and communities. We’ve won over $300 million for Idaho and Idaho consumers in the last four years.
Defending Constitutional Freedoms
Defending the constitutional rights of Idahoans is a task I take seriously, and we’ve had plenty of opportunity in a variety of venues.
We challenged federal mandates that threatened individual freedoms of the First Amendment, and defended the right of Idahoans to live according to their sincerely held religious beliefs without contradictory government interference.
We defended the Second Amendment against unconstitutional gun restrictions across the country, including a very recent victory cutting federal registration requirements for suppressors and short-barreled firearms.
And, we regularly protect the Tenth Amendment which reserves all other rights for the states and people, instead of an ever-expanding federal appetite for bureaucracy, rules, and control. Government rarely gives power back and we’ve won almost every time we need to keep the federal government in its lane.
Standing Up for Idaho’s Sovereignty and the Rule of Law
Whenever Idaho faced federal intrusion on our state’s rights, we challenged and won against federal laws, administrative rules, and executive orders that hurt Idaho families, businesses, and agriculture. Even today, we are working to guard Idaho’s precious water resources from a lawsuit demanding the federal government be allowed to cut in line for water rights at the expense of our ranches and farms.
We worked tirelessly to stop the massive Lava Ridge wind project in the Magic Valley pushed by out-of-state interests and their allies in Washington D.C.
We blocked the Biden Administration’s criminally negligent immigration policies and stopped years of an unchecked scheme to defraud the public treasury and congressional apportionment.
Transparency in government mattered too. We defended Idaho’s open meeting laws, including our successful challenge involving the Idaho State Board of Education’s proposed University of Phoenix purchase.
We successfully defended voting integrity at the Idaho Supreme Court by protecting Idaho’s law requiring secure identification to vote against a suit hoping to weaken those standards.
On Medicaid fraud, we prosecuted providers who filed false claims, and recipients who received benefits they were not eligible for.
Alongside local prosecutors, we brought the resources and expertise needed to pursue justice in some of Idaho’s most complex criminal cases, while respecting local authority and autonomy.
The Work Continues
Good results come from strong leadership, consistent energy, and a clearly executed vision. Even with the fresh perspective of a new administration, these changes to the Office of Attorney General didn’t happen overnight, and none of these accomplishments happened because of just one person. They reflect the dedication of an entire team of attorneys, investigators, and staff who believe the law should protect the people it serves.
Not every victory makes the newspaper, and that’s okay. My team doesn’t fight for headlines. We fight for results. As Ben Franklin once wrote, “Well done is better than well said.”
It has been an honor to serve Idaho these past four years. There is more work ahead, and our commitment to protecting Idaho families, defending our freedoms, and upholding the rule of law remains rock solid.
Best regards,
ABOUT THE OFFICE
The Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to the State of Idaho. The Attorney General and his deputies represent state agencies and offices, to better the lives of Idahoans.
For more information about the Office, visit our website here.
(Idaho State Police Press Release, October 30, 2026)
BINGHAM COUNTY, Idaho – Idaho State Police is investigating a single-vehicle crash that occurred on Friday, October 30, 2026, at approximately 3:14 p.m. on Interstate 15 at milepost 95, northwest of Blackfoot.
A 35-year-old male from North Carolina was driving a 2024 Volvo semi-truck pulling a refrigerated trailer southbound on Interstate 15. The driver was using a mobile device when the semi left the roadway onto the right shoulder. While attempting to return to the roadway, the semi overturned and came to rest partially blocking the right lane.
The driver was not injured and was not wearing a seat belt.
The lanes remain partially blocked while tow crews work to remove the semi, with traffic control in place.
Idaho State Police was assisted by the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office and Blackfoot Fire Department.
This crash remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police.
