OPINION: Cheers & Jeers: Simpson supporters left hanging

JEERS ... to Congressman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

After Idaho Republican Party Chairperson Dorothy Moon’s GOP condemned Simpson’s vote against Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be House speaker, the 2nd District congressman pointed out his party’s leader didn’t know what she was talking about:

“Perhaps Chairwoman Dorothy Moon has not lived in Idaho long enough to understand how important things like agriculture, delisting wolves, our nation’s military and the Idaho National Laboratory are for our state,” Simpson said. “I cannot — and will not — support a speaker who has repeatedly taken positions against Idaho’s best interests. However, Chairwoman Moon made it clear this is the kind of speaker she would stand behind.”

That was Oct. 20.

Five days later, Simpson supported Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., to assume the office. The names changed but the circumstances did not. There’s not much difference between how Jordan or Johnson voted on the issues Simpson cited — as columnist Marc Johnson notes elsewhere on this page.

If Simpson had an objection specific to Jordan, why didn’t he say so? There’s plenty in Jordan’s resume to detest.

But more than a few people sincerely took Simpson at his word that he was defending Idaho values.

Among them were these two columnists:

“... Simpson has shown himself to be courageous when it comes to putting the interests of the nation over the self-serving interests of far-right extremists like Jordan,” wrote former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Jones.

“I hate to applaud the obvious, but Simpson makes a very cogent and reasonable point. He represents the people of the state of Idaho and he won’t support someone who votes against the interests of Idaho,” wrote Democratic communications volunteer and Boise City Council candidate Jeremy J. Gugino.

Simpson’s reversal left them and others hanging.

If he’s going to be a squish, stay a squish.

CHEERS ... to Lewiston City Councilor Jim Kleeburg and city council candidate Jessica Klein.

Among the eight candidates seeking three seats, only they defended the idea of keeping partisan politics out of nonpartisan city elections. They refused to answer the Nez Perce County Republican Central Committee’s questionnaire, a document that talks about school vouchers, abortion, same-sex marriage and gun rights but says not a word about fixing Lewiston’s streets, updating its infrastructure or maintaining its police and emergency response services.

In other words, it’s a thinly-veiled code intended to identify fellow members of the political tribe pushing the GOP toward the right-wing fringe.

“I thought it was totally inappropriate for a nonpartisan election,” Kleeburg told the Lewiston Tribune.

Added Klein: “The questions didn’t seem to pertain to City Council, but were trying to figure out how (Republican) I am.”

Good for them.

CHEERS ... to Dustin Hurst.

As a former Idaho Freedom Foundation staffer who currently works for the People United for Privacy Foundation, Hurst’s conservative street cred is impeccable. But he respects the vote of the people. So when he saw an erstwhile ally, Republican Brandon Durst, frustrating that vote, Hurst called him on it.

Last month, patrons in the West Bonner County School District overwhelmingly recalled two of the three school board members who hired — and amply paid — the grossly unqualified Durst, an unsuccessful GOP candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, as the WBCSD superintendent. More than a month ago, Durst announced his intent to resign.

But as the Idaho Statesman’s Bryan Clark noted, he was still cashing his paychecks last week because a remaining Durst ally on the board, trustee Troy Reinbold, refused to attend meetings, thereby depriving the panel of a quorum.

On Oct. 20, Idaho Education News reported that the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office had launched an investigation into whether Reinbold had committed nonfeasance as a public official.

Two days later, Hurst took to X (formerly Twitter) calling for Durst to step down:

“If this were an isolated thing, I’d leave it alone. But it’s not. And he’s doing serious damage to conservatives in North Idaho.

“And for what? So he can run for state superintendent and lose again?

“But Durst is selfish and he doesn’t care. One bit.”

Wednesday, the school board convened and appointed a temporary superintendent after accepting what Idaho Education News described as the “resignation of an unnamed employee” presumed to be Durst.

Who knows? Maybe Hurst had something to do with that.

JEERS ... to Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star.

Not only has he refused to update the Homestead Exemption for almost a decade’s worth of inflation, his Band-Aid alternative is starting to fray at the edges.

The Homestead Exemption is supposed to shield half the assessed value of an owner-occupied home from taxation. But lawmakers capped the maximum benefit at $125,000 — shifting the tax burden increasingly on the backs of Idaho’s homeowners. They pay more so that owners of car lots, hotels, retail outlets and manufacturing plants can pay less.

Just this week:

The State Tax Commission reported that if the Homestead Exemption had kept pace with inflation, its maximum benefit would be $234,223 next year. In other words, the tax break would totally cover any Idaho home worth $468,446 or less.

Instead, anyone living in a home worth more than $250,000 is paying more than his fair share of property taxes. And that hurts a lot of people. In Nez Perce County, for instance, the median sales price of a dwelling is $349,500. That means half are worth more and half are worth less. The average sales price is $378,479.

Moyle’s solution was to throw money at the problem — about $375 million. But as one of his co-sponsors admitted earlier this year, it pencils out to a 10% to 13% cut — far less in most cases than the tax break a homeowner would receive under a rejuvenated Homestead Exemption. The foundation for Moyle’s program is a state budget windfall that may be evaporating. Reports the Idaho Capital Sun: State tax revenues are about $38.8 million below what was expected at this point in the fiscal cycle.

So don’t expect Moyle’s shell game to survive much longer. — M.T.