Many of you received this text message, against many of your Proven Conservative Legislators. So in typical Glenneda style let’s shine light on this topic and the PAC.
That is why many of us voted no on HB 776, also known as “Benji’s Law.”
Supporters framed the bill as a necessary response to a heartbreaking infant death, arguing it would simply speed up safety checks for high-risk newborns. But when lawmakers read the actual language of the bill closely, it became clear that HB 776 goes much further than a targeted safety measure.
The legislation expands the authority of Idaho’s child protection bureaucracy to investigate and monitor certain families based on prior conduct or registry history, even when there has been no new finding of abuse or neglect. The bill creates a framework for preemptive government intervention and ongoing surveillance of parents, raising serious concerns about due process, parental rights, and the limits of state power.
For many Idahoans, those concerns are not theoretical.
The Boise case involving Baby Cyrus became a statewide flashpoint after the child was removed from his parents by authorities. According to the family’s legal advocates, a judge later dismissed the case and restored custody rights to the parents. Regardless of where people stand politically, the case left a lasting impression on many Idaho families about how quickly government systems can move and how devastating those actions can be.
When agencies with that kind of history are given broader authority and accelerated timelines without meaningful accountability, the outcome is predictable: more rushed investigations, more families treated as guilty before facts are established, and more children separated from parents first while the government sorts out the truth later. That kind of unchecked power does not prevent trauma, it creates it, often for families who have done nothing wrong.
Idaho should not respond to one tragedy by creating the conditions for another. We should not create more “Baby Cyrus” situations in the name of preventing future “Baby Benji” tragedies.
This vote was about protecting children without sacrificing the constitutional rights of Idaho families. HB 776 expands CPS authority, lowers the threshold for government intervention, and increases the risk of families being investigated or separated before facts are fully established, especially low-income families with fewer resources to fight the system.
The bill also does little to fix the actual failures that led to the tragedy it is named after. Instead, that tragedy is being used to justify a dangerous expansion of government power.
We voted against this bill because real leadership means defending due process, demanding accountability from government agencies, and refusing to hand more authority to bureaucracies at the expense of Idaho families.
Rep Heather Scott gave a great testimony on the floor.
1st Debate
2nd Debate.
Since the vote, a Boise-based PAC called Defend and Protect Idaho has launched text-message campaigns attacking lawmakers who opposed HB 776.
Supporters of the PAC portray the effort as a grassroots movement of concerned Idaho parents. I argue it is something very different: a professionally organized political operation backed by a coalition of establishment interests, national networks.
Voters deserve to know who is involved.
The Democracy Program is a flagship initiative of The Carter Center, the nonprofit founded by former President Jimmy Carter in 1982. Launched in 1989, the program focuses on election observation, international election standards, civic engagement, digital security, and combating disinformation.
Supporters describe the effort as a pro-democracy initiative designed to strengthen public trust in elections and civic participation worldwide. Critics argue that globally connected democracy programs can sometimes blur the line between neutral civic work and ideological activism, especially when intertwined with heavily funded political advocacy networks.
Way Back PAC highlights how modern political money frequently moves through layers of nonprofits and advocacy organizations that make tracing the original source of funding difficult for ordinary voters.
One of its funding channels, Western Futures Fund, reportedly received millions from the Sixteen Thirty Fund one of the country’s largest progressive “dark money” organizations managed by Arabella Advisors and backed in part by donors including George Soros and Hansjörg Wyss.
Additional funding reportedly flowed through the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, another left-leaning donor network connected to progressive causes nationwide.
Supporters say these organizations provide critical infrastructure for advancing voting rights, abortion access, climate policy, and progressive priorities. Critics argue the structure allows wealthy ideological donors to exert enormous political influence while shielding the true origins of campaign money from public view.
Idaho Land Fund represents a very different side of Idaho’s donor ecosystem.
According to FollowTheMoney.org, the organization has contributed approximately $475,370 to more than 150 Idaho candidates, PACs, and political committees over the past 25 years. Unlike national ideological funding groups, Idaho Land Fund operates primarily as an establishment Republican and business-oriented donor organization within state politics.
Its contributions have largely gone toward groups such as the Idaho Victory Fund, Idaho Majority Club, Senate Republican PAC of Idaho, and other GOP-aligned candidates and committees focused on maintaining business-friendly influence within Idaho government.
The Idaho State AFL-CIO State PAC is the official political arm of Idaho’s labor movement and the state affiliate of the national AFL-CIO organization.
The PAC primarily supports Democratic candidates and labor-backed causes including collective bargaining protections, workplace safety laws, education funding, prevailing wage policies, and public employee benefits. Its chairman, Joe Malone, is also a longtime labor lobbyist in Idaho politics.
Take Back Idaho is a coalition backed by multi-generational Idaho political insiders who have never fully supported conservative republican grassroots reforms and who also supported Ranked Choice Voting Proposition 1, including former Attorney General Jim Jones and former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb.
In 2022, Jim Jones broke with the party and supported Democrat Tom Arkoosh’s campaign for Attorney General, serving as campaign treasurer.
Bruce Newcomb first sought office as a Democrat for Cassia County commission and lost. He then switched parties, ran as a Republican in the next cycle, and won remaining a Republican thereafter.
We answer to the people we represent, not to PACs or national political networks. Every vote we take is guided by the constitutional oath we swore to uphold and the belief that individual rights come first.
That means protecting children while also defending the God-given rights of parents, demanding accountability from government agencies like CPS, and standing firmly against unnecessary government intrusion into Idaho homes.
We will continue fighting for limited government, due process, and the constitutional freedoms that protect every Idaho family, even when it is politically difficult. Because true conservative leadership is not about protecting systems or bureaucracies. It is about protecting people.
Every one of our challengers appears on the contributor list. Whether they wrote large checks or simply paid to attend a fundraiser, the fact remains: they financially supported and participated in these political networks. That makes them contributors.
I also highlighted several additional names here in the Magic Valley so voters can clearly see how deep these political connections run locally.
Now more than ever, it is critical for voters to stay informed and not be manipulated by emotionally charged political messaging designed to provoke fear, anger, or division. If you have questions about a vote, reach out directly to your legislators and ask them why they voted the way they did. An informed voter seeks facts, context, and truth, not just headlines and attack ads.
Too much of today’s political messaging is built around emotional reaction instead of honest discussion. But elected officials should never govern based on emotion or political pressure. We should govern based on principles, facts, constitutional responsibility, and what is truly best for the people we represent. Idaho deserves leaders who stand firm in truth, not leaders who simply follow the loudest voices or the latest political narrative.
