We must continue striving toward a democracy where every person, rich or poor, has a single vote, and political influence cannot be bought.

We’re rapidly moving in the wrong direction as a handful of billionaires — with an incomprehensible level of wealth — buy elections, buy politicians, and buy policies that benefit themselves. This is happening in Washington, D.C., and Idaho, where Governor Little signed a voucher bill despite fierce public opposition.

Elon Musk spent at least $288 million electing Trump and other Republicans. Without being confirmed to a Cabinet position, he is unilaterally gutting our public sector: firing high-performing employees, shutting down agencies, freezing payments, and treating our entire federal workforce like they work for him. What is he leaving intact? Contracts benefiting his personal business interests. While Americans loudly decry his actions, the Republican-controlled Congress does nothing to rein him in.

Republican Congressmen Fulcher and Simpson rubber-stamped a House budget resolution that will lead to $880 billion in Medicaid cuts and $230 billion in cuts to food assistance. Idahoans are opposed to such cuts. Among Trump voters nationally, 71% oppose Medicaid cuts. But Republicans advanced a reverse Robin Hood resolution because they want huge tax cuts favoring the extremely wealthy, no matter the cost to people with modest incomes.

When Democrats proposed amendments to a budget bill in the U.S. Senate to at least stop tax breaks from going to billionaires, Senators Crapo and Risch voted them down. For these Republican senators, tax breaks for billionaires are a must-have.

Similarly, a majority of Idaho’s Republican legislators and Governor Little sold out to the billionaire-backed voucher scheme proponents.

Idahoans saw this voucher scheme for what it was: a blatant attack on public education. Voters flooded Little’s office with calls opposing it by a 10-to-1 margin, jamming phone lines so that his office had to set up an automated system.

The people saw through the lies, dark money, and backroom deals, but too many GOP politicians were willing to bow down to the out-of-state voucher lobby that helped elect them.

The Idaho Federation for Children PAC, funded by the national American Federation for Children, poured over $300,000 into the 2024 Republican primaries. That money helped unseat incumbents who opposed vouchers, replacing them with people willing to push the privatization agenda. Out-of-state interests funneled another $85,000 into the Idaho Federation for Children PAC to target general election races, including $53,000 to defeat public school advocate Senator Rick Just. Their pay-off came when his Republican opponent, Codi Galloway, voted to approve vouchers.

Republican politicians keep choosing to serve the billionaires over the people. The people must remember who stood with them and who sold them out.

Onward,
Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair