Sheep Over the Cliff

This oughta throw a wrench in things.  Eye on Boise is reporting that the state of Idaho, with an affidavit from Republican Party Chair, Kirk Sullivan, has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the group of 70 Republican Party members led by former state senator Rod Beck.  The suit was filed against the state of Idaho, hoping to force the Secretary of State to close the primary.

This new motion claims that the group has no legal standing to bring the suit.  Kirk Sullivan writes to the group's lawyer:   

“I appreciate that individually, your clients may feel like they are advancing the cause for Republicans everywhere, but it is inappropriate for them to individually or collectively state that they represent or speak on behalf of the Idaho Republican Party or the Idaho Republican State Central Committee, and indeed it is legally impossible for them to do so."

The group that brought the suit, called Grassroots Idaho GOP, has not yet responded to this new motion, but in a recent post on the website  they indicate that the move was not unexpected.

On Friday, Kevin Richert from the Idaho Statesman posted that some in the group have given up on subtlety and are blatantly calling this attempt to close the primary what is is—a purge.  He quotes from Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance:

"The practical effect of the implementation of this rule is that it will be easier for pro-family candidates to survive GOP primaries, and harder for Republicans-in-name-only to get into office," Fischer says.

What does it mean when the most conservative wing of the most conservative party in the most conservative state in the Union indicates that the party isn't conservative enough?  It means that they have rushed like sheep to the edge of the conservative cliff and are just about to go over—and they are taking the entire Idaho Republican Party with them. 

It remains to be seen if the sane wing of the party can turn the herd around.

Comments

[MountainGoat]

Boise Weekly has some reaction to the motion here:

http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A262489

[misc.]

I certainly hope the sane republicans fail. It'll be more fun that way.

[Steve Rankin]

Closed primary: a party's primary ballot is only available to that party's members. No judge, no court can close a primary, and neither can the state. If a party has a closed primary, it's because that party closed it.

The problem with an open primary law is that the state is forcing the parties to have open primaries. Once the courts have outlawed the state-mandated open primary-- as I believe they will-- each party will be free to say who votes in its primaries.

I'm surprised that, in its motion to dismiss, the state did not mention the U. S. Supreme Court's 1991 ruling in Renne v. Geary. In that case, the court said that a bunch of party activists and party officials did not have standing to challenge a California law that forbade political parties from endorsing candidates in nonpartisan elections.

Clicking on my name will take you to good commentary on the Mississippi Democrats' lawsuit against our state-mandated open primaries.

[Jay]

I still say that this encourages the majority tyranny while discouraging voting turnout in primary elections.

Thats usually a Republican tactic, so I'm really dismayed to see Democrats doing the same thing.

[Steve Rankin]

The Mississippi Democrats filed the suit because they want to be able to keep Republicans out of Democratic primaries. The Dems say they will invite independents into their primaries.

The Mississippi Republicans, on the other hand, say that they will keep their primaries open to ALL voters-- even if party registration is enacted.

The Dems' suit was filed a few months prior to the 2006 congressional primaries, and many Republicans thought its main purpose was to keep them from voting for Rep. Bennie Thompson's opponent in the Dem primary (who was also black). The judge refused to grant the Democrats an injunction for the 2006 primaries, but Thompson won with 60%-plus anyway.

[Jay]

Steve, do you agree or disagree with the Democrats on closing the primary to registered Republicans?

Why?

[Steve Rankin]

We don't have party registration here in Mississippi-- yet.

Personally, I like the current setup here-- except that I would eliminate party primaries in local elections and have all candidates there run in the same election. (How do Idaho's municipal and county elections work?)

But honesty compels me to report that the days of the state-mandated open primary are numbered. If I were in the Miss. Democrats' place, I wouldn't want Republicans helping to choose Democratic nominees. (You wouldn't let Republicans serve as delegates to Democratic conventions-- or vice versa-- would you?) The Dems are taking an incredible beating over this lawsuit.

BTW: The Mississippi Democrats' lawsuit is being appealed to the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.