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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Beck Targets RINOs w/Latest Idea

Beck is no longer content with a system that has served his party just fine: one where anyone can run as a Republican and face the scrutiny of primary voters. He wants the state central committee, county committees and legislative committees to vet the would-be candidates and filter the field. The committees would choose up to two candidates for every primary race. Other candidates are out. This proposal disenfranchises the voters — those not already alienated by the new closed GOP primary, another Beck handiwork. It places way too much power in the hands of a few kingmakers. It’s a thinly veiled way of punishing incumbents who aren’t Republican enough to pass muster with the screening committee. That’s what happened in Utah, where three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett was shown the door. As with so much Beck does, this seems driven by a single-minded desire to root out and eradicate the “RINO,” the politico who is “Republican In Name Only”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: I'd like to hear from Republicans at Huckleberries Online re: what they think of this ongoing attempt by Rod Beck & other party hardliners to install purity tests for their voters and candidates?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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