Leaders aren’t defined by the deals they make, they’re defined by the lines they refuse to cross.
In politics, everyone claims to have principles. They campaign on them. They put them in press releases. They talk about them at town halls. But principles don’t mean anything until they cost you something.
It’s easy to stand for something when there’s no pressure, no threat to your position, and no tempting deal dangled in front of you. The true test comes when holding the line means losing a vote, losing a leadership role, or losing a political ally. That’s when principles stop being a slogan and start being a choice.
Too often, we watch leaders talk a big game until it’s inconvenient. Maybe it’s the grocery tax, one year they’re loudly for repeal, the next they’re explaining why a watered-down credit “achieves the same goal.” Or maybe it’s on a specific bill where you claim to be adamantly opposed to it and won’t be pressured to support it… until a national figure endorses it.
Here’s the problem: when you bend on principle for short-term gain, you don’t just lose credibility, you weaken the entire cause, and you’ve become the very person you claimed you were going there to fight.
Why sticking to your principles matters:
- Trust is your currency. Once voters stop believing you’ll hold your ground, every promise you make is worthless.
- Principles guide policy. If your compass changes with the political winds, you’ll never steer toward lasting reform.
- Your supporters are watching. The people who knocked on doors, donated, and defended you in arguments feel betrayed when you cave.
- Compromise has limits. Strategy has its place, but when you trade away the core of what you believe, it’s not strategy, it’s surrender.
- You set the standard. Every time you abandon principle, you make it easier for the next politician to do the same.
The truth is simple: if you’re only willing to stand firm when it’s easy, you’re not principled, you’re comfortable. And comfortable leadership never changes anything.
Idaho, and the country, doesn’t need more comfortable leaders. We need men and women who will take the hits, lose the deals, and walk away from the perks if it means keeping their word.
Because in the end, the only thing worse than having no principles… is pretending you do.