Friends,
Joe Biden wasn’t the only liberal to have a bad week. The RINOs in Idaho were summarily defeated by the Idaho Freedom Caucus this week. Here’s a play-by-play of what happened:
*The IDFC, along with their more conservative allies in the legislature, got a jump on the RINOs and passed strong spending reforms through their budget committee. The reforms included transparency and accountability measures that would expose $1.3 billion in “fluff” - wasteful spending that would be hard for members to defend.
*Caught by surprise, the RINOs teamed up with the Democrats and their corporate special interest cronies to undo those reforms. They refused to consider the budget committee’s reforms and tried to get the budget committee to go back to the old way where they could hide their wasteful spending in large Christmas tree-type bills (they even waited until the committee’s co-chair was out sick for the day!).
*While they did this, the Idaho Freedom Caucus ignited a PR war - alerting the grassroots through email, radio, and social media.
*The RINOs, in a panic, got liberal Republican Governor Brad Little to oppose the budget reforms. His poor defense - reported in the press - was a word salad that made no sense. The RINOs themselves tried to confuse the public by saying the budget reforms would make Idaho more like Washington, DC.
*But it was too late. The Idaho Freedom Caucus won the PR war and the first budget reform bill passed this Wednesday by a vote of 38-31 (Idaho’s House is 59R-11D). The key to this victory is that the ID Freedom Caucus laid out a bold, conservative vision, activated the grassroots, and encouraged their more conservative colleagues to join them.
*Seeing the writing on the wall, the Idaho Senate voted along party lines to pass the House’s first budget reform bill.
*In the aftermath of defeat, the RINOs tried to show they were still in charge so they held a vote in the Idaho House GOP caucus to “retain the majority leader”. She went down in flames. So now the Establishment is divided and demoralized.
The other budget reforms bills must still pass the House (and then the Senate), but this first bill sets the stage and puts the RINOs on their heels. Needless to say, it’s no exaggeration to say that this was the biggest budget reform plan to pass in Idaho in decades! Rest assure that the Idaho Freedom Caucus will continue to wage this battle in defense of taxpayers to the very end.
Georgia
In the Peach State, Republicans are once again attempting to blow out spending with their FY24 budget.
The details are infuriating. So-called “Republicans” are pushing to hand out massive subsidies to the electric vehicle industry, institute more mandates for health insurance, and allow woke DEI policies at Georgia’s universities.
It’s a travesty, but it’s what we’ve come to expect under Gov. Brian Kemp.
Luckily, the members of the Georgia Freedom Caucus called out Kemp and his RINO soldiers in the legislature. Here’s a statement from GAFC Chair, Rep. Charlice Byrd.
Wyoming
RINOs in Wyoming are also trying to blow out their budget for FY 2024.
While families are struggling to keep up with the cost of inflation, liberal Republican Gov. Mark Gordon is asking for an increase of 12% compared to last year’s budget and is 33% higher than the budget from just five years ago.
It would be the largest state budget in the history of Wyoming.
Fortunately, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus is fighting back. As soon as the budget was released, they issued an op-ed. Key excerpt:
“If the Governor’s budget is approved, state employees will have seen a 30% increase in total compensation from the 2020/2021 budget. How many of you have seen your total compensation packages increase 30% in the last five years?”
Read the whole thing at Cowboy State Daily.
Pennsylvania
The Keystone State has a liberal governor. Naturally, he is proposing a budget that also blows out government spending.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing an 8% increase in spending (which is astonishing less than liberal Mark Gordon’s budget in “red” Wyoming). It represents an increase of over $8 billion from last year’s budget in Pennsylvania.
This will inevitably lead to higher taxes and more bloated government for the citizens of Pennsylvania.
Watch Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Dawn Keefer’s response.
As you can see, the budget fights across the country at the state level are heating up, quickly reaching to DEFCON 1. Thankfully, our state freedom caucuses are getting loud and pushing back.
More to come as we wage these important battles.
Keep fighting,
Andy Roth
President
State Freedom Caucus Network
P.S. Your help is critical in building out a network of patriots and freedom fighters throughout our nation’s state capitols and in your home state. Please consider a contribution and join us as we work to advance the cause of liberty.