A few weeks ago Scott Bedke dropped a potential bomb on my radio program. During a discussion of the property tax crisis in Idaho, the speaker of the state House of Representatives offered a radical solution. Completely eliminate property tax. What would follow would probably be a large patchwork of options. Maybe a lot of them are user based. Since then, I have shared his comments with several local and county heads of government.

The reaction is always the same. My eyes widen and the councilors and commissioners tell me they would like to know more.

By May 2022, you’ll need more than a residue of anger.

I have had a few messages over the last few days where I really gave the matter to the media and the Republican Party establishment. Now it is the turn of the so-called constitutionalists and the “freedom caucus”.

The president is a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. If he can provide more details, he may have reached the maternal vein.

The real elections next year are only 11 months away. Primary is in May. The Republican victors are expected to face symbolic resistance from the Democrats in November.

Among Republicans, one faction seems to have a long public memory. The 2020 pandemic orders have rubbed many Idahoans the wrong way. I was among them. This is also why Governor Little seems to have loosened his foot a little. The backlash was intense and it even came from potential allies like Scott Bedke. Lawmakers did not like to be caught off guard by the initial restrictions on your fundamental freedoms. The commissioners and councilors were also fuming. The governor made the initial statement, and then cell phones and social media used by local Republicans began to explode. This is the number of local government officials who initially heard about the orders.

Overall, some polls in the mainstream media have shown initial public support for the governor. It was by no means a wide margin and the polls also included Democrats and Independents. However, they do not vote in the Republican primaries. Even some Republicans are considering open primaries in hopes of limiting the growth of the other faction.

A recommendation for the latter. By May 2022, you’ll need more than a residue of anger. I woke up this weekend to news about the state’s unemployment rate. We are back where we were before the so-called pandemic arrived. If you need a job and aren’t picky, you can find one. Help the search signs populate the streets I drive.

Focusing on freedom is good, but how are you going to help me with the property tax hike? If Mr. Bedke comes up with a master plan and Governor Little adopts the same, both men will gain traction.

In a previous column, I highlighted my doubts about voters looking for notes before going to the polls. Do you really think a lot of people look at the Idaho Freedom Foundation and American Conservative Union scores? Heck, most people have never even heard of these outfits. It doesn’t mean they are stupid. It just means that they often have a separate priority list.

About 15 years ago, I read research on university students. A large bloc interviewed at the time said he would give up the right to vote for the rest of his life in exchange for forgetting his student loan debt. These people are now in their thirties. Many live in starter homes or maybe even their dream home. They have watched helplessly as property taxes increase.

I have worked in the media for almost 40 years. I have met some very sincere candidates but with a problem. I do not remember that one was elected.