-by John Heida
I read a tweet on Sunday morning that Lauren Walker made about Stop Idaho RINOs (SIR) that was filled with lies, in an attempt to discredit us. I figured it was best to address those lies here.
Some may not be aware of this, given current events and disagreements, but Lauren and Brandy were volunteers who worked with us at SIR. They were not “SIR,” but they indeed were part of SIR. Brandy helped much more than Lauren. Lauren came and went, especially after those two had disagreements, which, surprisingly, happened frequently; she’d be absent from conversation for weeks. You wouldn’t know that they used to fight fairly often, given that they’ve now combined to become a unifying duo on X. However, Lauren never had posting capabilities on SIR’s social media. Brandy did.
Lauren was an idea gal. She had some great ideas. “Donate to Defeat” was one of them, and the Scorecard Tracker was another. Yes, I implemented them because Stop Idaho RINOs is my PAC and always has been. But to be clear, she never pushed any content or initiatives. Brandy and I handled that.
I started SIR to help defeat Greg Chaney, but hearing from many around the state about other RINOs, it quickly morphed into something much bigger than District 11. It was inside a statewide chat on Telegram that both of those girls found me, and they both messaged me privately. Both Brandy and Lauren helped reach beyond the Treasure Valley, but to be clear, it was mainly Brandy who contributed to SIR regularly and on anything beyond ideas.
Brandy and I spent all of the 2023 and 2024 sessions clipping video (Brandy did the majority of it). We showed the good and the bad. Lauren had nothing to do with that. Nothing. In 2023, she worked at the Capitol and took a few videos of legislators for SIR (four, I believe), but that was the extent of her involvement with video, and she quickly lost interest in it as well.
Throughout those two years, we held RINOs accountable and highlighted things that many voters had never been aware of. I was told by many how SIR was greatly appreciated and much needed.
Throughout the time that Lauren helped SIR, she consistently had an overly inflated sense of importance both of herself and Stop Idaho RINOs. She attributed many of the victories in Idaho to SIR and the work we were doing, both on social media and behind the scenes in various districts. To be clear, we are an effective PAC, but the reality is that the gains made in Idaho were a team effort. The grassroots, along with several notable organizations, made significant contributions to those gains: Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Freedom Alliance, Citizens’ Alliance of Idaho, Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, and many more. Many of these are organizations that she is now bad-mouthing almost daily on social media to protect and promote RINOs and moderates and protect her access to them.
She wanted to take our “model” nationwide. To be clear, our model has always been to find and expose RINOs, not work with them. Our model has always been to examine voting records and identify those who vote farthest from the party platform, exposing them rather than working with them.
Lauren is now affiliated with an out-of-state group called the RINO Removal Project. From the looks of it, the mission appears to be similar to ours. So we applaud their efforts.
Unfortunately, her new goal of working with RINOs seems to contradict the RINO Removal Project’s stated goals, as well as ours.
I would also like to address her comment regarding our Idaho Republican Platform Scorecard. I am extremely proud of the work on that. I believe she knows that it’s pretty accurate, but doesn’t want to admit that it is, because that would mean that the “Gang of 8” conservative legislators that she loathes are the most GOP Platform-aligned legislators. It would also mean that the IFF’s scorecard, which she has repeatedly vilified since her change of course in 2024, is pretty closely aligned with the GOP Platform.
She briefly mentions, “It rewards giving money to public education,” as a way to discredit it, while providing no bill number for people to look up. However, it seems as though Lauren has not read the GOP platform.
In short, the Idaho GOP Platform supports:
- School choice (with funds following students) – Article III – Section 3
- Overhaul of the current funding formula – Article III – Section 4
- Local discretion over educational spending – Article III – Section 5
- A clear ceiling on taxpayer-funded education (ending at grade 12) – Article III – Section 6
Here are the public education bills that our scorecard rated, along with a link for you to read why:
- H93 – Parental Choice Tax Credit +1
- H147 School Bonds -1
- H175 Idaho’s Advanced Opportunities Program +1
- H305 – Staff Allowance 0
- H351 – Education – Parental Rights +1
- H352 – Education – Parental Rights +1
- H416 – School district funds +1
- H449 – Appropriations -1
- H451 – Appropriations -1
- H452 – Appropriations -1
- H453 – Appropriations +1
- H454 – Appropriations -1
- H464 – Appropriations -1
- H465 – Appropriations -1
- H475 – Appropriations -1
- H476 – Appropriations -1
- S1025 Empowering Parents Grant Program -1
- S1142 Repeals the Empowering Parents Grant Program +1
- S1213 Appropriations 0
If we missed any, let us know.
The 2024 Moyle/Hazelip primary race helped clarify things for us at SIR, and we are now pleased to be working with individuals who are unwavering in their principles.
Our mission at Stop Idaho RINOs is as clear as our name. And we will never compromise our principles or values in any way.
I have been personally involved in politics since 1998, first at the federal level, then at the state and local levels. I’ve been a student of politics for a long time. I came from a state where we witnessed the GOP compromise firsthand and saw it ultimately lead to the state’s downfall. I moved to Idaho thinking I was done with politics. After all, Idaho is a red state, right?
I came here before COVID, but was exposed to some serious RINO actions during COVID.
The goal of Stop Idaho RINOs is to prevent what happened in California and some other states from happening here. We will continue our mission and also identify and expose the bad actors who enable this, regardless of the size of their social media accounts or their delusions of self-importance.
I will end with this. Running a PAC is hard. It is much more complex than simply posting to social media. Lauren seems to think that all the work for a PAC is or should be done on X and X alone. Anybody who has ever run a business or organization knows there are far more moving parts than “posting on social media” to be effective. It’s mostly a thankless job, and it is a volunteer position. So you better be passionate about your cause because there is no money in it, at least for us.
We are passionate about freedom, liberty, and keeping Idaho red. We will continue to fight for it, regardless of the lies spread about us.