Guest Columnist ID Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld: When Good People Go Quiet, Bad Politics Grow Bold

My politics are simple: I will not sell out Idaho families, our Constitution, or our rule of law to keep a paycheck or please a lobby. The Idaho Dairymen’s Association and a handful of powerful dairies don’t like my politics, and when they couldn’t get me to change my principles or my votes on policy, they came after my livelihood instead. I am a lifelong Idaho farm girl who has spent decades in and around the dairy industry, and I will not apologize for standing up for secure borders, parental rights, health freedom, fiscal discipline, and an agriculture policy that serves the people of Idaho, not the political class or the special interests that think they own this state. If the price of standing firm is losing 80–85% of our income, then so be it, my job is not to make Big Dairy comfortable; my job is to tell the truth, defend your liberty, and refuse to bow to anyone who believes they can bully a senator into silence.

Are These the Politics They Want Silenced?

• I keep my oath to the Constitutions of Idaho and the United States, even when it costs me personally. I don’t treat my oath as a slogan for campaign season; it is the standard I use on every vote, whether lobbyists and politicians like it or not.
• I oppose any government growth that is not clearly constitutional or necessary. If a program or agency can’t be justified by the Constitution and real need, I won’t vote to grow it just because “that’s how Boise has always done it.”
• I will not support spending money we do not have or bloated budgets padded with pork, favors, and slush funds. Idaho families have to live within their means, and government should have to do the same instead of stuffing budgets with projects that benefit insiders.
• Illegal immigration is breaking the law, for those who enter unlawfully and for those who knowingly hire them. We cannot claim to be a nation of laws and then look the other way when it is politically or economically convenient.
• Life begins at conception, and I will defend the unborn without apology. Every child is a human life deserving protection, and I will stand for policies that respect and safeguard that life.
• Government must be accountable; I oppose “blind appropriations” and demand detailed audits of how every single dime is spent. Before we hand agencies more money, they should have to prove how they used the last dollar and what results Idahoans actually got.
• State sovereignty must be protected from federal overreach; the states created the federal government, not the other way around. I will resist schemes that bribe Idaho with federal dollars in exchange for surrendering our rights, our land, or our self‑government.
• The federal government is supposed to be defined, confined, and checked, and Idaho must have the backbone to say “no” when D.C. goes beyond its limits. Saying “no” to unconstitutional mandates is not extreme; it is exactly what our system expects of strong states and strong legislators.
• No governor, lieutenant governor, agency, canal company, union, or industry group gets to buy my vote or silence my voice with threats to my livelihood. If I can be intimidated into breaking my principles, then any legislator can and that would be a direct threat to every Idahoan’s freedom.
• I support the Second Amendment as an individual, God‑given right to keep and bear arms, and I oppose attempts to chip it away through “common sense” gun control. “Shall not be infringed” means something, and I will stand against back‑door restrictions that punish law‑abiding citizens instead of criminals.
• I believe income and property taxes are abusive and fundamentally wrong; I support shrinking government and shifting to a fairer system that does not threaten people with losing their homes. Government should not have the power to tax you out of your land or confiscate your labor at will; we must rethink how we fund essential services.
• Education should serve parents and students, not unions and bureaucrats. I support parental rights, school choice, and getting indoctrination and political agendas out of Idaho classrooms so parents have transparency and real options when their local school refuses to respect their values.

Remembering What the Founders Risked

Our Founding Fathers gave us a constitutional republic and pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to secure it. They fought for freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition our government, liberties that have kept America free for nearly 250 years. I am learning firsthand that if we intend to keep that republic and stand on the same principles, it will cost us, too.

The Declaration of Independence listed grievances against a king who taxed without true representation, used regulations to crush livelihoods, ignored petitions, and concentrated power far from the people living with the consequences. Today, we have turned a blind eye as those same patterns creep back in: unelected bureaucrats making rules that feel like laws, politicians treating taxpayers as a bottomless ATM, agencies punishing dissenters, and leaders listening more to big donors than to the citizens they swore to represent.

Our Grievances in Idaho Today

So in our day, here in Idaho, we have our own grievances:

• When government agencies retaliate against citizens for their beliefs instead of protecting their rights, we have turned a blind eye.
• When lobbyists and big donors decide what happens, and too many elected officials just go along instead of thinking for themselves, we have turned a blind eye.
• When families are taxed out of their homes while budgets grow and bureaucracies expand, we have turned a blind eye.
• When illegal immigration is tolerated because it is convenient for cheap labor and political power, we have turned a blind eye.
• When parents are treated as threats for wanting a say in their children’s education, we have turned a blind eye.
• When federal “grant money” is used to drag our state into programs and policies we never voted for, we have turned a blind eye.

The Founders wrote their grievances to warn the king and awaken the people. I am writing ours to warn the political class, and to awaken Idahoans, before we lose the very freedoms they bled and died to secure.

The Price My Family Is Paying

When I talk about “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor,” that isn’t just a line from a history book for my family, it has become our daily reality. We have watched 80–85% of our income disappear almost overnight because I refused to bend my votes to satisfy powerful industries, political leaders, and agencies that expected obedience instead of integrity. My husband has lost work, our plans have been upended, and every month now comes with a question mark where there used to be stability and predictability. We have had some very hard conversations at the kitchen table about what we can cut, what we can sell, and how far this will go if the pressure keeps coming.

And yet, in the middle of all that pain and uncertainty, my family and friends has stood with me and said, “We are not for sale.” We know that if those who still believe in the Constitution back down whenever the cost gets high, then the people who use money and power to control our government will never be challenged. I would rather my children and grandchildren watch me lose work for doing what is right than watch me live comfortably after compromising what I know is true. That is the real test in front of us, not just whether we can quote the Founders, but whether we are willing, in our time, to pay a price to preserve what they left in our care.

It has been deeply grieving to watch businesses threatened because they supported me and to see others stay silent or hide their support out of fear of Big Ag’s retaliation. I’ve watched individuals in the agriculture industry, on boards, and in key community positions tell me they agree with me, but they cannot say so publicly because they know their job, their farm, or their business could be next. That is not the way a free state behaves; that is the way a captured system behaves, where a few powerful interests believe they have the right to punish anyone who steps out of line. The fact that ordinary Idahoans feel they must hide their convictions to protect their livelihoods is exactly why I refuse to bow. If they are being forced into silence, then I have a responsibility to speak louder, not softer.

A Call to Pray, Speak Up, and Vote

Now I am asking you to stand with me.

Pray, for courage, for protection over every family and business under pressure, and for leaders in Idaho who will fear God more than they fear losing power or income. Speak up, at your school board, in your church, in your neighborhood, and in your circles of influence, so that those who are trying to control this state with fear hear from more than just lobbyists and insiders. Support those who are paying a price for standing on principle; don’t leave them to fight alone while others enjoy the benefits of their courage.

And on May 19th, vote. Vote as if your children’s and grandchildren’s liberties depend on it, because they do. Vote for candidates who are willing to lose their livelihoods before they will lose their integrity. Vote to send a message to Big Ag, big government, and big unions, and to a Governor and Lt. Governor who try to use their influence to punish dissent, that Idaho is not for sale and its people are not easily intimidated. And vote for those who have already proven they will stand in the gap, like the Gang of 8, the State Freedom Caucus, who have taken the heat, paid the price, and refused to back down from defending your liberty.

If we will pray, speak up, vote, and stand together behind those who refuse to bow, then the price my family is paying and the price others are paying, will not be wasted. It will be an investment in preserving liberty in Idaho for the next generation.