At the Idaho Republican Party's election-night watch party at the Riverside Hotel tonight, party Chairman Norm Semanko led off by introducing Gov. Butch Otter. There are very few election results in yet; just a smattering of numbers from a few counties. Otter talked about the race for the White House and California's problems - repeating his earlier comment that “if California were my horse, I'd shoot it, it is so sick,” and forgot to introduce his wife, Lori. He also made no mention of the unprecedented divisiveness in the Idaho GOP this primary election season, saying only, “Let's bring this party together and go into November with victory on our minds and victory as our banner.”

State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna gave a campaign pitch for his “Students Come First” school reform laws, which are up for a referendum vote in November. “We know what's best for our children, and when we go to the polls in November we are going to vote yes … to keep these laws,” he told the GOP crowd.

Semanko said as party members await the results, “We want you to talk about what you're going to do this November to make sure all of our candidates win.” And GOP Congressman Raul Labrador told the crowd, “We have the choice of supporting the candidates that win (the GOP primary), or we have the choice of shutting the heck up.”

Ron Paul backers have a plan to use state Republican Party rules to overturn the results of this spring's Idaho GOP presidential caucus, reports Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey, and hand Idaho's presidential delegates to Paul instead of Mitt Romney, who won all of them after securing 62 percent support in the caucuses; Paul came in third, behind Rick Santorum. The plan revolves around winning little-noticed precinct committee races across Idaho in the May 15 primary; you can read Popkey's full report here (but first you'll have to wait through a loud advertising video). The Paul camp's machinations have prompted former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt to send out 20,000 postcards to Ada County Republicans, urging them to support precinct committee candidates who will up hold the caucus result and offering his list of endorsees.
  

Now that the Idaho Republican Party is requiring candidates to pledge their support to the state party's platform or outline where they disagree, the candidate surveys are taking on new significance as primary elections approach, reports AP reporter John Miller, and they've divided the state's dominant political party. Jonathan Parker, executive director of the state GOP, told Miller the review “gives people the opportunity to find out where the candidates stand.” But critics such as Priest Lake Republican Rep. Eric Anderson say it's an unnecessary “purity test.” “It's silly,” Anderson said. He added, “There's always going to be things in life you disagree with.”

The platform includes planks such as calling for the repeal of the 17th Amendment, which let voters, rather than state legislatures, elect U.S. senators; returning to the gold standard; abolishing the state's redistricting commission and handing that task back to the state Legislature; and calling for state nullification of federal laws. Click below for Miller's full report.

The Idaho Republican Party has announced that five candidates have qualified for the ballot for its March 6 presidential caucus: Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Buddy Roemer. Roemer is the former governor of Louisiana and served four terms in Congress in the 1980s as a Democrat. Click below for the Idaho GOP's full announcement about its caucus ballot.

Four GOP presidential candidates have filed for Idaho's March 6 Republican presidential caucus, the Idaho Republican Party reports: Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. The party today issued a “final call” for others who want to participate, with Chairman Norm Semanko saying, “We welcome all Republican presidential candidates who are seriously campaigning to secure the Republican Party’s nomination in 2012 to visit our great state, to discuss issues important to Idahoans, and to campaign for Idaho’s 32 delegates to the Republican National Convention.” Click below for the Idaho GOP's full announcement.

The Idaho Republican Party's first presidential straw poll tonight was won decisively by Ron Paul, with 173 votes of the 359 GOP members attending and paying $30 to cast a ballot at the party fundraiser at the Riverside Hotel in Boise. Mitt Romney came in second at 135 votes. Here are the other results:

Newt Gingrich – 47
Rick Santorum – 40
Jon Huntsman – 4

Rick Perry's campaign asked not to be included on the straw poll ballot.

“The Idaho Republican Party congratulates Congressman Ron Paul on his straw poll victory tonight,” said Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko, who added, “It was a packed house tonight, the energy was contagious, and the Idaho Republican Party is looking forward to making Barack Obama a one-term President! ”

Jesse Benton, national campaign chairman for Paul's 2012 campaign, said in a statement, “Ron Paul has a tremendous support base in the oft-overlooked but important state of Idaho.  This straw poll win is a positive early indicator that as we focus even more on Pacific Northwest contests, Idaho will stand out as one of the states where Ron Paul has a competitive edge over his establishment competitors.”

Tonight on David Letterman's “Top 10” list, he featured the “Top 10 signs it might be time to end your presidential campaign.” Among them, at No. 5: “Instead of Iowa, you've been campaigning in Idaho.”

On that note, the Idaho Republican Party today announced detailed plans for its first straw poll this Friday night, an event designed to bring in the faithful, raise funds for the party, and broadcast that the Idaho GOP's moved up its presidential delegate selection this year to try to be more relevant. The straw poll will be this Friday from 7-9:30 p.m. at the Riverside Hotel, and will feature various party awards presentations along with the straw poll, which will follow pitches from representatives for each candidate. “We're encouraging in-person local support that can speak on their behalf,” said party executive director Jonathan Parker. Participants who pay $30 will get to vote.

Parker said he's had one complaint about the pay-to-vote rule. “We just make it very clear that first and foremost, this is a fundraiser for the Idaho Republican Party,” he said. “Secondly it's a fun way for the candidates to demonstrate their support in our state and let their organization be known to drive people to the straw poll, and No. 3, it's really a great opportunity for us to get the word out that the Idaho Republican Party has adopted a presidential caucus that will take place on Super Tuesday, March 6, and the fact that Idaho has more delegates than Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada.” Idaho's 32 GOP delegates will be claimed at the March caucus; until this year, they weren't decided until the May primary election.

Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey reports today on the latest splits among Republicans in North Idaho, with a new group backing “reasonable” Republicans and another saying it's so conservative it disavows Richard Nixon as liberal.

“You can’t be on the Republican Central Committee unless you can look through a keyhole with both eyes at the same time,” former state lawmaker Dean Haagenson told Popkey; he's among the founders of the new North Idaho Republican Political Action Committee, aiming to find sensible, business-friendly candidates for the May primary. “We’re raising money to support candidates that are better than Phil Hart.”

Popkey reports, “Hart, R-Athol, is the best example of how the North Idaho GOP has veered from its good government, Chamber of Commerce roots. After seven years in the Legislature, Hart owes the Idaho State Tax Commission and IRS more than $500,000. He pilfered trees from state land to build his house. He’s been elected four times. Hart says that knowing what he knows now, he couldn’t support Nixon because he expanded government.” You can read Popkey's full column here.
  

Idaho Statesman reporters Cynthia Sewell and Rocky Barker report that Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko owes the non-profit Idaho Water Users Association, his employer, $161,000, a result of a loan the group made to Semanko; such a loan to an executive is legal in Idaho, but is banned in several other states. Semanko is now a candidate for mayor of Eagle. You can read their full report here.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Republicans have approved a motion giving Sen. John McGee a vote of no confidence following a drunken driving incident but postponed indefinitely a resolution calling for the Senate majority caucus chairman to resign his leadership position. The no-confidence motion approved by the Idaho GOP's state central committee on Saturday at its meeting in Moscow has no legal effect, but some members say it sends a message that they don't approve of what McGee did. McGee, of Caldwell, on July 1 pleaded guilty to drunken driving on June 19, and in exchange prosecutors agreed to drop a felony stemming from him taking a SUV that didn't belong to him. The Lewiston Tribune reports that committee members spent more time talking about McGee than any other single issue.

Here's the opening of the Lewiston Trib story, by reporters Bill Spence and Cody Bloomsburg: “MOSCOW — A resolution calling for Senate Majority Caucus Chairman John McGee to resign his leadership position was defeated at a state party meeting in Moscow on Saturday, but the group did give the Caldwell lawmaker a vote of no confidence. The Idaho Republican Party state central committee spent more time talking about the McGee resolution than any other single issue. It said the party “agrees with the will of the voters, who disapprove of and seek the resignation of any politician who drinks, steals and drives.” Initially it called for McGee to be censured and expelled from the central committee, but it was later amended to remove the expulsion clause.” Click below for a full report.

Idaho's GOP Central Committee, at its meeting in Moscow today, approved moving to a caucus system – like the Idaho Democrats' – for its presidential delegate selection in 2012, making the state's presidential primary election meaningless for both parties. “It would just make it irrelevant,” said Jonathan Parker, Idaho GOP executive director. “So (Idaho Secretary of State) Ben (Ysursa) and I have talked about reaching out to the Democrats … (about) getting a bill through that would just eliminate it altogether.”

Today's GOP central committee meeting also saw 9 of 11 proposed resolutions approved, including a “China-Beachhead” resolution declaring that GOP Gov. Butch Otter’s “Project 60” trade-building initiative is a bid by the Chinese to take over Idaho’s sovereignty, and calling on the Legislature to look into it; a resolution to kick the EPA out of the Silver Valley and instead put the Idaho DEQ in charge of mining contamination cleanup there; and a resolution to study a gold currency to replace the “failing” U.S. dollar. Also approved by the Idaho Republican Party's central governing body:  A resolution from the Boundary County GOP to prevent school districts from running tax levy votes for a year after one fails; one from GOP Vice Chair Todd Hatfield to forbid the state Land Board from “investing in or owning any business that competes in the private sector;” and one from William Roberts of Boise County to push Otter to back gun rights including allowing firearms on state college campuses.

A resolution from John Blattler, Boise County GOP chairman, to back a since-abandoned proposed rule change to have county party committees screen primary election candidates, was pulled “because obviously it was irrelevant,” Parker said. And a measure backing more high-tech efforts by county parties passed with amendments, while one backing Idaho Fish & Game rules for ATV use by hunters cleared the resolutions committee, but was pulled before it went to the full central committee. “A lot of people thought it needed more debate,” Parker said. “It will probably be brought up again.”

The GOP meeting saw lots of debate – the resolutions committee debated for two and a half hours, and the full meeting ran 'til 5:30 p.m., when it was supposed to be over by 3:30. “I thought it was great - it was a very energetic crowd, lively debate,” Parker said. The meeting, he said, reinforced to him that the Idaho GOP is a “party of ideas,” because “ideas were discussed and debated.”

Idaho Republicans have dropped a proposed rule change to let party committees screen candidates for primary elections and select just two for each office, but they'll consider plenty of other big changes when they gather Friday in Moscow for their annual state central committee meeting, including doing away with their May presidential primary entirely.

Also on tap: An array of resolutions on everything from kicking the EPA out of the Silver Valley, to studying a gold currency to replace the “failing” dollar, and to an “Idaho as China-Beachhead Withdrawal Resolution,” declaring that GOP Gov. Butch Otter's “Project 60” trade-building initiative is a bid by the Chinese to take over Idaho's sovereignty, and calling on the Legislature to look into it. Not on the agenda for the two-day meeting: Letting independents vote in the GOP primary for state offices next May. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

The Idaho Republican Party has named its redistricting commissioners: Lou Esposito, Evan Frasure and Lorna Finman. Click below for their full news release.

Here is Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko's statement in response to today's federal court ruling declaring the state's open primary law unconstitutional:

“This decision will allow the Idaho Republican Party to decide how to conduct its Primary elections. It reaffirms the basic Constitutional right, guaranteed under the First Amendment that allows the Idaho Republican Party to decide how its candidates will be selected. We believe that this is a fundamental constitutional right, a cornerstone of our freedom and democracy. The Idaho Republican Party is an open and inclusive party and we welcome any Idahoan to join us and participate in our party’s candidate selection process. We only ask, and have a right to expect, that members of the Democrat Party or other political parties will not choose our candidates for us.”

The Idaho Republican Party finally got its chance Wednesday to make a case for scrapping the state’s open primary, the AP reports, which they say allows Democratic voters to unfairly influence GOP politics and results at the ballot box. Click below for a full report on the first day of the closed-primary trial from AP reporter Todd Dvorak.

Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa is in federal court today, defending the state’s primary election system in a lawsuit from his own party, the Idaho Republican Party. The party sued to try to force the closure of its primary elections to anyone other than registered Republicans; Idaho has never had party registration. The three-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill kicked off this morning with cross-examination of expert witnesses, as much of the arguments and direct examination of experts has been submitted in advance in writing. First up today was Bob Moore, of Moore Information, which conducted a survey the party cites to argue that “crossover” voting by Democrats in Republican primaries violates its rights and has forced Republican candidates to modify their positions.

The state, in its trial brief, argues that evidence, including expert reports submitted by both sides, shows “no legally significant adverse impact to the Republican Party from operation of Idaho’s long-standing primary system.  The party instead has thrived electorally and achieved a level of political dominance unmatched in any other state.”

After the party sued, both sides filed motions for summary judgment in the case in 2008; the court denied both in 2009, and asked for proof about whether crossover voting happens in Idaho, and to what extent it affects the message of the Idaho Republican Party and its candidates. In this week’s trial, the two sides are sorting through what each has submitted as proof. You can read the party’s trial brief here and the state’s trial brief here.

Idaho is the “point of the spear” as conservatives work to reshape the GOP agenda across the nation, writes AP reporter John Miller, as he examines the outcome of this year’s Republican state convention in Idaho Falls last month. Click below to read his full article.

Three North Idaho lawmakers who joined Gov. Butch Otter for a press conference today on state revenues also expressed concerns about the GOP platform loyalty oath, as did the governor. Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, said, “I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of Idaho and the Constitution of the United States. My loyalty is to the people that elected me, and I have no desire to sign anything for anyone.” Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, said she wasn’t at the convention and hasn’t had a chance to study the new platform. “It’s still not clear to me just exactly what’s in there,” she said.

Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, said, “I’ve read the platform, and if I decide to sign off, it’s going to be with exceptions.” Asked to name one, he said, “I don’t support repealing the 17th Amendment.” The party platform does; that’s the amendment that calls for direct election of U.S. senators. Goedde said there probably would be other items, too, where he’d differ.

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is the latest high-ranking Idaho Republican to say he won’t sign a loyalty oath to the state GOP platform that was approved at the recent state party convention. “I understand the motivation behind that,” Otter said, “but obviously there are things in there that I’d wholeheartedly support and things in there that I can’t.” The question of allegiance to the party platform, he said, “I don’t think can be answered by a single signature.”

The party-approved provision calls for all GOP candidates, before primary elections, to pledge to support the entire platform, or specify where they disagree.  GOP activist Rod Beck, who sponsored the measure after unsuccessfully pushing a similar proposal four years earlier, describes it as a “candidate disclosure.”

Asked today if he’d participate in that disclosure process, Otter said, “Nope.” However, an hour later, he said he’d consider specifying his disagreements with party platform planks before the next primary election, as the measure requires; but he said he didn’t want to go into any specifics now. “Obviously things are problematic there,” Otter said. “I’m not prepared to accept all or none. … If somebody wants to know why … I’m willing to give ‘em why. Before the next primary, I’ll do that.”

Idaho GOP activist and former state Sen. Rod Beck is peeved about everyone calling the GOP platform plank he successfully sponsored this year a “loyalty oath.” “It’s just a candidate disclosure, that’s all it is, it’s not a loyalty oath,” Beck declared. “It just asks candidates to say if they support the platform, and if they do, fine, if they don’t, state which areas that they don’t.” Beck, who pushed a similar proposal unsuccessfully four years ago, said he copied the language for this year’s successful proposal from Utah’s GOP. Beck said the term “loyalty oath” is “used as a pejorative in a propaganda sense.” However, he said, “The last time, Blake Hall called it a litmus test - I didn’t like that either.”

The former state Senate majority leader and current closed-primary backer said to him, a loyalty oath implies a penalty, but there’d be no penalty for those who don’t agree with the platform - the party would just publish their replies on its website, for all federal, statewide and legislative candidates prior to every primary election. Beck said in his view, it might even help improve the party’s platform - say, if every candidate objected to the same plank, the party might think about changing that one next time.

Incidentally, according to thefreedicitionary.com, a loyalty oath is, “An oath that declares an individual’s allegiance to the government and its institutions and disclaims support of ideologies or associations that oppose or threaten the government.” My Webster’s Collegiate says loyalty is “the tie binding a person to something to which he is loyal,” and an oath is “a solemn attestation of the truth of inviolability of one’s words.” Here’s a link to Beck’s guest-editorial on the subject.