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Edit: In search of GOP secret society

In his morning editorial, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune examines the claim by Idaho GOP conspiratorialists that a secret society exists within the state Republican Party:

Deep within the murky waters inhabited by conspiratorialists, you will find the likes of Doyle Beck, Bryan Smith and Christ Troupis. Beck, an Idaho Falls contractor, is the brother of former state Sen. Rod Beck, R-Boise, and the combative chairman of the Bonneville County Republican Party. Smith, an Idaho Falls lawyer and debt collector, was the conservative Club for Growth's last best hope of taking out 2nd District Congressman Mike Simpson. In the 2014 primary, he fell 18,400 votes short and collected only 38.4 percent. He now serves as the GOP's regional chairman in eastern Idaho.

Troupis is the Eagle lawyer whose lawsuit kicked independent voters out of the Republican primary election - and who collected $100,000 from the taxpayers in the process. Two years ago, he fell 25,825 votes short of ousting Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in the GOP primary. And last month, he flirted briefly with running for the Idaho Supreme Court.They contend that a "secret society" is trying to take over the GOP. Well, in a state where government is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party, that's certainly a headline. But where's the proof? More here.



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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