WEDNESDAY ROUNDUP: Back to Earth

I had a fun visit to Idaho County last week, visiting with great Republican patriots at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Greencreek. I enjoyed conversing with legislators, PCs, and other engaged citizens, and the food was fantastic. My wife was kind enough to record my speech, if you’re interested. I rushed a bit at the end because it was getting late.

If you haven’t checked the Session Spotlight recently, I recommend you do so. I stayed up late last night adding some interesting bills that were introduced in the last week. We have passed the deadline for bill introductions in non-privileged committees, so the biggest flurry should be behind us. Now we watch them work their way through the process. If there is a specific bill that you feel passionately about, I suggest you sign up to testify. Click here to see the daily committee schedule, and check the relevant committee to see if it’s on the agenda. There’s a link at the bottom of the agenda to sign up to testify.

You can also email your legislators, or a specific committee, or the whole House or Senate, over at emailidaho.com.

I read a couple of interesting essays recently that I would like to share with you.

The first, over at IM1776, explains how Nayib Bukele came to power in El Salvador, how he cleaned up the streets and defeated the gangs, and how he now faces US-led international pressure due to his success. It’s a long but fascinating examination of how a political figure can truly make a difference.

The second is by Nate Hochman, a rising young star in the conservative discourse who briefly served as speechwriter for Ron DeSantis. He lays out exactly why that campaign failed, despite DeSantis’ bona fide accomplishments in Florida, and what it is about Donald Trump that so endears him to the Republican base. It’s well worth your time, both to understand what happened in the primary, but also what the future holds for the Republican Party and the conservative movement as a whole.

Sen. Ben Toews has a new Substack, joining many other legislators who are using this platform to deliver their message. His latest post is about H415, which would allow teachers and other school staff to carry concealed. That bill is currently awaiting a hearing in Senate State Affairs, on which Toews is a member.

As I was writing this, Michael Malice published his interview with Vivek Ramaswamy, who always has interesting things to say. I’ve been listening as I put this roundup together:

The Zoomer historian Rudyard sees a frighteningly plausible scenario in which the 2024 election sparks a civil war. While I don’t think that’s a given, there’s no doubt that our country is entering uncharted territory and we all need to be ready for anything:

Thank you again for your support. The only reason I can do this is because of you! You can support my work directly with a paid subscription to Substack, or you can promote your business by advertising on the Chronicle. Drop me a line if you’re interested!