When one hears the name “Reclaim Idaho” images of bread lines, green buses and massive government spending come to mind.
Normally they’re so focused on bypassing our duly elected legislature and working with Idaho’s liberal media outlets to transform the Gem State into a socialist’s dream.
However, Reclaim is now seeking to circumvent our election and initiative process as well.
We cannot allow this to happen.
Recently Reclaim Idaho started a new signature drive with the ultimate goal of getting an initiative on the ballot in November.
The initiative would place a heavy tax on Idaho businesses in an effort to pour truckloads of tax dollars into the education system even though their initiative doesn’t do anything to address the failed curriculum. How many times have we just thrown money at a problem without a plan?
How has that worked out?
If Reclaim Idaho fails to get the required 6% of registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts by April 10th, an incredibly low bar, their attempt to massively grow government through increased taxes will be dead in the water, at least for this year.
In an apparent act of desperation and a clear sign that they are far from their goal, Reclaim Idaho is seizing on the fear of COVID-19 and begging Governor Little to throw them a lifeline.
Reclaim Idaho hopes Governor Little will circumvent our election laws and allow them to collect online petitions instead.
But there’s a hitch in their giddy-up: to do so would violate the entire intent of Idaho’s imitative law.
Idaho Statute 34-1807 lays out how petitions and signatures for an initiative must be gathered including verifying that the person collecting signatures is an Idahoan and at least 18 years of age.
This prevents out of staters from say California from radically changing Idaho.
The concept is simple, Idaho initiatives should be from Idaho citizens. An online petition would inevitably mean out of state individuals would be pushing the petition link as well.
Reclaim Idaho doesn’t seem concerned, after all, they received $500,000 from the Fairness Project, a national progressive group out of Washington D.C., to help promote expanding Medicaid in 2018. Another problem is that Idaho Statute requires the petition to be signed in the presence of the petition gatherer which again protects the integrity of the whole process.
However, an online petition would make that absolutely impossible.
At a time where Idahoans are watching our 401ks tank and our property taxes are going through the roof, we cannot afford what Reclaim Idaho is selling.
During a national emergency, Idahoans must resist any attempts by progressives to circumvent the law.
Unless Governor Little tosses our election laws to the curb, this request should be dumped in the political gutter of terrible ideas.
Contact Governor Little and tell him to preserve the integrity of the petition process and reject Reclaim Idaho’s request for a bailout.
No. reject this reject this keep Idaho free contact him email phone and tell him to reject this tell him no and to reject this keep Idaho free
No reject keep Idaho free
Never let a Crisis go to Waste
“Reclaim Idaho’s new ballot initiative for higher taxes must be stopped”
By Bob “Nugie” Neugebauer
It’s time to put a halt to Reclaim Idaho’s ballot initiative to raise a heavy tax burden on Idaho businesses for the purpose of pouring more money into our education system. These are the same people who ran the Medicaid expansion initiative that cost Idahoan’s the repeal of the grocery tax and will eventually cost taxpayers hundreds of millions in future benefit costs. This is a radical left organization who will do or say anything to change our state into a liberal socialist society. This is why we need to change our laws making it more difficult to pass these types of ballot initiatives circumventing the legislative process. Big business and the medical lobbyists along with outside forces spent millions in telling lies to Idahoans with outside money to get Medicaid Expansion. Now they want to use this same process to raise taxes on businesses to put more money into education without a notion of how they will improve Idaho’s education process. These people want to use the corona virus crisis to circumvent the normal process of getting 6% of the signatures in person and use the internet to obtain these signatures which is currently not permitted in our state.
We are about to find out how liberal our governor really is as he has been asked to allow this change to take place because of the corona crisis. Idaho Statute 34-1807 lays out how petitions and signatures for an initiative must be gathered including verifying that the person collecting signatures is and Idahoan and at least 18 years of age. If he allow this left wing organization to bend the rules they will continue to change our state to a liberal bastion like Portland and Seattle. This is how it starts my friends with a socialist program like Medicaid Expansion and now a way to raise taxes without going through our elected representatives. These purveyors of circumventing our legislative process need to be stopped in their tracks before they get a grip on this state that we can’t control.
I’m not normally a friend of business but this bending of the initiative law in time of crisis is something we cannot permit and we need you to call the Governor and tell him to not allow this change in the rules. Reclaim Idaho is not going to stop with this initiative there will be another and another. We have legislative representatives who were elected to make these decisions that represent all of Idaho’s districts. With the initiative process they are seeking 6% of the signatures form only 18 of our 35 districts to get this measure on the ballot. If they are allowed to do this electronically this time they will inevitably want to do it again. You will find those districts that have very liberal populations controlling our state through this process instead of a representative process that includes all of the districts in the state.
Reclaim Idaho does not have the best interests of Idaho in mind with these initiatives they are trying to use a new weapon to rain down onerous taxes and new rules and regulations on Idahoans with lies and innuendo as they did with Medicaid expansion. Idahoans need to call the governor today and say no to any on line initiative process. Call him at 208-334-2100
I just called and the correct # is 208-334-2100