One element of persuasion, whether we’re talking about television commercials or email scam, is a sense of urgency. Advertisers and scammers alike attempt to bypass your logical mind, the part of you that typically stops to evaluate what you’re being told, and instead appeal directly to your emotions. Whether the goal is to convince you to buy a product or give thieves access to your bank account, the method is the same: make you feel like you absolutely must act now.
Political discourse is similar. Organizations and figures locked into permanent campaign mode operate on that same emotional level: If you don’t sign this petition or donate to our cause NOW, everything will be lost!
Consider how fast-paced our media consumption has become over the past century. In 1925, you could catch up on current events by reading the newspaper or, later, by listening to the radio or watching newsreels at the theater. Television entered our homes in the 1950s, and then cable brought 24-hour news in the 1980s and ’90s. Today, smartphones and social media bombard us with a constant stream of information, and incidents that might have dominated headlines for weeks are forgotten in mere hours.
Remember the controversy over a jeans ad featuring actress Sidney Sweeney? That was just last week—ancient history, basically.
Was the human mind really meant to consume so much information so quickly? Probably not, but it is what it is.
We also have a tendency to see doom just over the horizon. Whether it’s Evangelical Christians convinced that the Rapture is imminent, leftists certain that global warming will destroy the world within a decade, or preppers expecting a second civil war to break out any day, many of us carry a subconscious expectation of massive upheaval in the near future. Yet chances are, life will continue much as it has for generations, despite that little voice insisting, this time it’s different!
Back to politics. To compete in the ten-second attention span world of TikTok and Instagram, political activists must grab your attention and drive you to quick and decisive action. That means bombarding you with urgent, often hysterical messages predicting disaster if you don’t click the link or share the video. It also means painting everything in shades of doom and gloom.
It’s a truism that politicians in office share only good news, while those on the outside share only bad. Both sides are incentivized to exaggerate—one to defend the status quo, the other to tear it down. It’s even more apparent with groups whose stated mission is to overturn the entire system. If you like your car, you want the insurance company to fix the dents and scratches. If you hate it, you hope they’ll total it.
One side effect of this rhetorical arms race is an inability to accept any form of political victory. Nothing is ever good enough. A couple of weeks ago, the pseudonymous author of the Conundrum Cluster Substack wrote a long essay well that is worth your time. There’s too much there to fully summarize, but this excerpt speaks directly to our situation in Idaho:
You don’t get points for believing the right things if you conclude from this that we should lose. If you think in this way, it’d be better if you didn’t know about any of these online issues and just casually supported Republicans because Democrats broke the country and want to kill you, or even because of one of the tenuous and kind of quaint outmoded justifications for voting Republican: Small government, balanced budgets, the Constitution, etc.
Today online rightwingers just get a sign and then they deploy an appropriate online right countersign to show that they’re part of the awakened. Sometimes it makes sense. Oftentimes it doesn’t. There’s no longer any thought or plan or desire to achieve anything behind the words. These people feel scared and then they break out slogans like “Trump hasn’t done anything,” or “There’s no difference between the parties,” or “The GOP is worthless,” or “It’s over,” all of which may have been or at least seemed true at one point but are just delusional and harmful now.
These are slogans people repeat because they’ve seen them repeated thousands of times before. The words are just group identity signifiers now. Good news, bad news, it always leads back to these platitudes. You’re not arguing about reality when you disagree with people trapped in this discourse, you’re arguing about their emotions and self-perception. You will never win that kind of argument no matter how absurd what’s being said actually is. People are unwilling to adapt to their new situation, as a part of the ruling coalition, with the accompanying responsibility to not just point out problems but to do something about them.
It’s a paradox, isn’t it? (You could even call it a conundrum.) Breaking through the torrent of information consumed by the average person requires hysterical language and a sense of urgency—but behind it is an almost nihilistic belief that nothing will ever materially change. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Dobbs v. Jackson was one of the worst things to happen to the pro-life movement, because it removed the simple objective—overturning Roe v. Wade—that had driven outreach and fundraising for half a century.
Achieving real political change means cutting through the noise and finding the signal: the tools you can actually use to make a difference. That requires stopping to think, which is the exact opposite of what the drive-by activists want you to do.
Just a few years ago, when strong conservative lawmakers were a distinct minority in Idaho politics with no real legislative influence, shouting loudly was a viable strategy. With no expectation of passing conservative bills, the focus was on spreading conservative principles and drawing a contrast with so-called establishment politicians whose voting records showed a more moderate stance.
But today, while conservatives may not have an outright majority, they do have a critical mass. That means they have what Conundrum Cluster called a “responsibility to not just point out problems but to do something about them.” It’s easy to be ideologically pure when you know nothing will be enacted. At the national level, GOP senators and congressmen were never more committed to conservative ideals than when Obama or Biden was president, because they didn’t have to follow through. Once a Republican took office, it was time to put up or shut up. As we saw when John McCain crossed the aisle to kill the vote to repeal Obamacare, that’s when you see a politician’s true colors.
Here in Idaho, conservatives now have enough clout that we can hold them accountable for actions, not just words. 2025 was a good year—medical freedom, big tax cuts, school choice—but 2026 is coming. It’s an election year, not only for the Legislature but for our statewide executive offices as well. Once again, it’s put up or shut up time.
Still, you’ll hear voices on social media claiming the sky is falling, that the last session was a disaster, that Idaho is moments away from becoming a California-style hellhole. These voices want to bypass your critical thinking and make you feel angry—make you feel like you need to take drastic action (sign the petition, donate to the organization) right away.
Take a deep breath. It’s going to be all right.
So, what is the state of the state right now? We have a strong economy, low unemployment, and both people and businesses continue to move here, keeping demand high. Abortion and marijuana remain illegal in Idaho, and our lawmakers have shown interest in resisting left-wing indoctrination.
Are things perfect? Of course not. Government spending is rising, big cities are raising taxes and embracing progressive causes, and the public school system continues to fail students while pushing Marxist ideas on our children. There’s still a long road ahead.
But the sky is not falling. Even though we’re not moving as quickly as many conservatives would like—even though certain politicians you might dislike are still in office—we are moving in the right direction. Continuing that momentum requires citizens and statesmen who are thoughtful and deliberate, not reactive and emotional.
Also, be wary of single-issue activism. Whether your passion is spending, guns, weather modification, the Epstein case, or America’s relationship with Israel, that kind of tunnel vision can distort your perspective. Step back and look at the full picture before labeling any political figure a traitor—or a hero, for that matter. Just because your #1 issue has not been addressed to your satisfaction does not mean that the game is hopelessly rigged and we can’t vote our way out of it.
As you read this, our elected legislators are already drafting bills for the 2026 session. If there’s something you’d like to see accomplished, reach out to your senator or representatives. Take the time to calmly explain your priorities and offer to help in any way you can. That approach will be far more effective than shouting on social media or signing some bogus petition designed only to harvest your personal information.
Check out Idaho Insider for detailed information on your elected representatives and statewide constitutional officers. Learn more about their backgrounds, their priorities, and—most importantly—how to reach them.
Above all, try to relax. Spend time with your family. Get some sunshine and fresh air. And remember—it’s going to be okay.
Gem State Chronicle is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
