April 7, 2022
Why I’m Running for the Idaho Legislature
By: Craig Yadon
With early voting fast approaching, I want to tell you why I’m running for Idaho State Representative. But first, I want to walk us through how our Founders intended for us to keep our government in check.
The Founding Fathers understood the weakness of human nature and so devised a system of checks and balances to prevent the centralization of power. They divided our government into three branches, each with separate and distinct powers to check the others. They also divided our government vertically, separating the national, state, and local governments. However, they understood that their elaborate system could fail and that ultimately the final check on the government was and is the people themselves.
The Preamble to the US Constitution states that “We the People” established the Constitution of the United States or as George Washington once said, “The Constitution – It’s only keepers, the people.” We are the final check and balance against the abuse of government power.
The Founding Fathers gave us a Republic where “We the People” choose representatives to perform the legitimate functions of the government. The government is not an agent unto itself. We created it and it exists to protect our rights and it does this by the “consent of the governed.”
Such a system requires trust. Trust is fundamental to a functioning free society. If we were to insist on verifying every detail of life deserving our trust, we would find ourselves paralyzed and unable to act. We trust the products we purchase will function as advertised, that the post office will, in fact, deliver the mail. We trust our relatives, our friends, and co-workers. Trust is an inescapable requirement for daily living.
Life requires trust and so does government.
What we are experiencing today is a crisis of trust. America is unraveling and freedom is decaying due to the poisoning of trust.
For years in Idaho, we have sent Republicans to Boise to represent us. We did this believing that those who carried the Republican banner believed in God-given rights, limited government, and the ideals of the American Revolution. We did this trusting that those who wore the Republican Party uniform would fight for our freedom and represent the interests of the people.
We trusted but failed to verify and now we are paying the price.
Our state, our legislature is essentially a one-party state. The GOP controls all statewide offices and has overwhelming majorities in the house and senate, but we are governed as if we lived in Colorado.
During the pandemic we shut down businesses, imposed mask mandates, and thousands of Idaho citizens lost their jobs or had their jobs threatened by vaccine mandates. The jobs of some are still threatened and many more will lose their livelihoods. We have cultural Marxist ideologies being taught in our public schools and universities. Radical sex, race, and gender ideologies that have no place in American classrooms.
All this has occurred in a “deep red state” dominated by the Republican Party. This is part of the crisis of trust. It is true, the people must hold their government accountable, but the average citizen does not have the time to watch every word and every vote of their representative. There needs to be a certain level of trust between the people and their representatives.
For a free society and a republic to function oaths, parties, and platforms must mean something. They cannot all be hollow.
The issue of trust is at the heart of this election. My opponent, Dustin Manwaring, has betrayed the trust of the Republican Party. He wore our uniform but played for the other team. He said he was one of us but voted like a Democrat. In fact, sometimes he even votes to the left of the Democrats. He backed away from every fight and voted against our freedom and our interests every time it really mattered.
My opponent has voted over 30 times to expand the size, scope, and power of government. He has voted to increase fees on everything from hunting and fishing to driver’s licenses and snowmobiling. He has voted to create more boards and commissions to further stifle our businesses with unnecessary government regulation. He even voted to give the Idaho Department of Fish and Game power to restrict the use of motorized vehicles on your own land.
He has voted to limit free speech and public protest. He has also voted against protecting free speech on Idaho’s college campuses.
My opponent rarely meets a tax, a fee, or an expansion of government power he doesn’t like. With a Republican like this who needs the Democrats?
Over the course of the pandemic, he voted four times against limiting the emergency powers of the governor. He voted against bills that would prevent the governor from threatening our rights to work, keep our businesses open, provide for our families, and worship God without government restriction. He has consistently voted against our freedom and in favor of government power.
My opponent has also developed a habit of absenteeism on the most important issues. Twice this year he was absent for votes on legislation to protect the unborn. He can claim to be pro-life, but when it comes to action, he refused to support bills that would effectively end most abortions in Idaho.
This year the Idaho Legislature voted on a bill that would have stopped all vaccine mandates in Idaho in government and business for one year while the legislature further studies the issue. This bill wasn’t perfect, but it would have provided immediate relief to thousands of Idahoans who may lose their livelihoods due to these immoral mandates. My opponent was absent.
Twice he voted against legislation that would have ended mask mandates in Idaho from any level of government.
There is a reason why some have begun to call my opponent “Mandate Manwaring.” There doesn’t seem to be a mandate or government overreach he will not support.
This is why I am running for office, to restore trust in our representatives and our Republic. My commitment is simple. I will tell you what I believe and vote accordingly. My votes in the legislature will match our party platform and the values of our community and our party.
The preamble to Idaho Republican Party platform reads:
“We are republicans because:
We believe the strength of our nation lies with our faith and reliance on God our Creator, the individual, and the family; and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.
It says we believe in American Exceptionalism and that the United States of American is unlike any other country on earth.
We believe the United States Constitution is the greatest and most inspired document to govern a nation, and the republican form of government it gives us, is the best guarantor of freedom in history.
We believe human life begins at conception and is protected by the unalienable rights endowed by our Creator along with the fundamental right to life and shall not be infringed upon.”
I believe in the principles outlined in party platform, but more is required than mere belief. In the Bible, in the Book of James we read, “You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble!… But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”
So, a lawmaker might say he’s a conservative, he might say he’s a Republican, but it takes more than mere words. You must put action to your belief. You must vote to protect our freedom. You must vote to limit our government. And yes, unlike Dustin Manwaring, you have to show up when there is a bill on the floor that helps to defend the defenseless babies in the womb.
I will do what my opponent has failed to do. I will fight for your freedom. I will act, I will do, and I will work for you. The time for talk has passed, now is the time for action. The time of weak Republicans who say one thing and do another must end.
So, I ask you to join with me in restoring our party, our state, and our Republic. Join me in fulfilling the sacred duties entrusted to us by our Creator and the Founders of our country. Let us band together to restore and preserve the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.
Thank you and God Bless America and the great State of Idaho.
