Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey has a column today entitled "Don't mess with Big Ben," in which he notes that backers of Propositions 1, 2 and 3 are taking on the state's most popular Republican official by defying his call to disclose their donors for a statewide TV ad campaign in favor of the measures, as Secretary of State Ben Ysursa contends is required under Idaho's Sunshine law. Ysursa was the state's top vote-getter in both 2002 and 2010, out-polling every other contested candidate and averaging 76 percent of the vote.

Popkey writes, "In what appears a desperate attempt to keep secret embarrassing information about the contributions," the heads of a group dubbed Education Voters of Idaho, Debbie Field and John Foster, are "linking Ysursa, a life-long Republican, with teachers unions the campaign calls 'thugs.' " In an op-ed piece distributed Monday to Idaho newspapers, Field and Foster wrote, "Although efforts by the Secretary of State, the union and its allies have temporarily chilled our ability to fulfill our mission, we won't back down." Popkey notes that Ysursa is going after the teachers unions for disclosure as well. Late Monday, Ysursa went to court seeking a judge's order that EVI disclose its donors prior to the election. You can read the full column here.

Popkey reports that Ysursa had private talks with Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, a leading backer of the propositions, to try to get the group to disclose its contributors. "This should have been vetted a lot more than it was," Ysursa told Popkey. "Everybody's antenna should have gone up when they're going to give money anonymously."