From my Huckleberries column of Aug. 30, 2015:

First, you need to know that retired Army National Guard Maj. Andrew Whipple served his country in Iraq during the dicey period from November 2004 until December 2005.

The Kootenai High (Harrison, Idaho) educator doesn’t give up easily. But he finally had enough with the extreme politics of the Kootenai County (Tea) Republican Central Committee last week. Andrew resigned his elected committeeman position from Precinct 70. At his first meeting three years ago, he learned that other precinct committee persons considered moderate Republicans, not Democrats, to be their “enemy.” He felt marginalized after controlling Teapublicans learned he was a public school teacher.

“I’m an original Reagan Republican,” Whipple told Huckleberries. “I’m very conservative. I love guns. But that wasn’t good enough.”

In an email announcing his resignation, Maj. Whipple told Chairman Neil Oliver of the Central Committee: “Many of you think of public schools as the devil and hell bent on promoting liberalism and all sorts of evils. I really believe that many of the Republicans are brainwashed in North Idaho and controlled by puppet strings at the hands of just a few individuals. I plead for you to think for yourselves.”

If it has no room for a patriotic war veteran, like Maj. Whipple, the Kootenai County GOP offers a tiny – and goofy – tent, indeed.