Noon: I Plan To Vote Republican

Randy Smith and Mike Wetherell used to parry political ideas when they chaired the Idaho Republican and Democratic parties in the early 1990s.Now they’re both judges - Smith in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Wetherell in Idaho’s 4th District Court - and they’re both breaking a lifetime habit of voting.Smith and Wetherell told The Idaho Statesman they made the decision not to vote in Tuesday’s primary because of a new law that makes party affiliation public record. Previously, the decision of whether to vote Democratic or Republican in the primary was private.Now many judges and staffers in the Idaho Legislative Services Office are abstaining from voting, fearing that they’ll be seen as partisan and lose credibility in their nonpartisan careers/Associated Press.

Question: I’m heading out this lunch hour to vote. I’ll register Republican because that’s what I am — a Phil Batt Republican — and I’m not going to allow the anal retentive hardliners of the local and state Republican Party disenfranchise my vote. Feel free to comment whether or not you think I should vote.