That’s what the group, 50501, is all about. And that’s why I am asking people to help build this movement. Of many things we can do to help, one tactic is very hard for me–welcome back those folks who have been hurt by MAGA.

I admit it: I am a true F Around and Find Out kind of gal. If you vote for criminal idiocy and then you become a victim of criminal idiocy, the voice in my head is screaming a loud, righteous, “I told you so!”

But vendettas and grudges are the MAGA way. If we are to reclaim our country, our state, and our communities, we need to recruit folks to join the struggle. That means extending grace. It means extending understanding and compassion to past MAGA supporters who have been stung by the outrageous policies.

A caveat: I am not talking about the 15% who make up the cutlish core of Trumpers who are filled with bile and hatred. I’m talking about our friends, our neighbors, our family members who may have just been hoodwinked by the idea of a different style of politics.

For the 50501 Movement to succeed it will be built, in part, on the understanding of where MAGA found its strength. Ironically, MAGA unified around the idea of division. That division created disunity. In disunity grew the chaos they needed to hoodwink ordinary people into thinking that billionaires have their best interests at heart. In disunity, MAGA appealed to society’s most venal impulses and ignored our better angels.

As painful as it is to see an authoritarian regime attack Americans, we must embrace some of those who empowered them. 

Our basic values will guide us. After all, hatred or exclusion have no place in our shared future. And we can acknowledge that, to some, the MAGA movement was more than just a political ideology; it was a movement that promised to listen, to hear them. They felt they were voiceless–and sometimes they were. They felt they were powerless–and sometimes they were. MAGA promised. They believed. 

So, how do we bring these folks back into the fold?

First, we must listen. People will not trust us if we are unwilling to listen to their stories. We must listen to listen to why they supported certain policies or leaders. Listen to their concerns, their fears, and their hopes. We must give them space to reflect and speak freely without judgment.

Second, we must offer empathy and forgiveness. Bitterness or retribution will not heal our divided country. We truly believe in the values of inclusivity. And that means creating a path for people to return. That means giving them the dignity of redemption. We can acknowledge their mistakes without erasing their humanity.

Third, we should focus on shared goals and values. We must find areas where our hopes for a better nation align. Whether it’s the desire for a robust economy, equitable healthcare, or safer communities, there is common ground waiting to be found. Working together on tangible solutions will build trust once more.

Lastly, we must lead with love, patience, and resilience. There is no quick fix to political polarization. But when we extend our hand with the belief that we can grow together, even in disagreement, we create a foundation for long-lasting unity. It is easy to keep people at arm’s length, to mock them for their past choices, but it takes courage to invite them back into the conversation.

This is NOT easy. We admire courage because it is difficult. But we can do this. We can forgive. We can find the wisdom to understand. We can overcome anger, and fear, and resentment, to recreate the vision of a nation of people unified in their pursuit of liberty and justice. We can recreate an American Way that leads–once again–to an American dream of prosperity and peace for all. 

Let us be the generation that rises above division, that reaches out to those who may have once felt lost, and guides them back into the fold with grace and love.

The post My take on the state of our democracy? appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Stripping Medicaid from those who need it isn’t about encouraging work—it’s about cutting people off. Just like in other states, the red tape is designed to make sure people lose coverage.

Idahoans overwhelmingly said yes to Medicaid expansion. The Idaho GOP just told them, too bad. This isn’t leadership—it’s cruelty. And voters need to hold them accountable.

The post Statement on Gov. Little signing HB345 appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Engaged as I am in today’s pitched battle to restore and preserve our basic rights, I don’t always pause to appreciate the good work of good people who cast their light for us to see. I should. 

They lift our spirits with hope.

Any Idaho woman who has navigated this state’s besieged healthcare system–any woman wishing and praying that she won’t be killed by pregnancy complications because the law forbids doctors from saving her life–understands just how much darkness has crept into our lives.

So, it’s heartening to see St. Luke’s healthcare system be true to its mission of saving lives–even if that means operating in the courtroom instead of the operating room.

Thanks, St. Luke’s!

As background: 

 St. Luke’s predicted that President Trump—the felon who has declared himself to be our KING—would drop a federal lawsuit that challenged Idaho’s cruel anti-abortion law. The lawsuit lets doctors, for now, save women’s lives.

And who helps King Trump fight for our “state’s rights” to kill women? 

Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador: He does whatever gets him elected and, for him, that means feeding his mean as snakes MAGA base. 

Governor Brad Little: He’s a coward. Eww. 

Mean As Snakes MAGA Base: They’re anti-science, anti-freedom, and they fight to turn America into a theocracy. 

As much as I’d like to just think about moments of light, we won’t beat the darkness by ignoring it. We need to study it. We need to understand what motivates GOP leaders. 

I bet I am not the only one who has been puzzled by GOP leaders—I used to be a Republican and didn’t understand them! 

I used to think that GOP leaders would eventually realize that they couldn’t reconcile their loud “pro life” “pro liberty” “pro God’s love” declarations with their full-throated cries to cut food security and health care for kids and to pass anti-abortion laws that would obviously kill women. I thought they just needed to be shown their hypocrisy and they would correct their course–that’s how decent people would act, isn’t it?

I am not puzzled anymore. We aren’t dealing with decency. 

That giant swath of darkness spreading through Idaho like measles through unvaccinated children was not caused by a lack of logical thinking. In fact, it’s the result of carefully thought-out planning. It’s as intentional as it is insidious. 

No, GOP leaders don’t lack logic, they lack empathy. 

They only act like uncreative dolts. But they are very creative, and effective. Just look how they’ve gotten a huge junk of voters knotted up enough to think—against all real evidence—that somehow Republican candidates are the “better evil” to choose.

So, here is the truth that I Idaho voters need to know: 

• GOP leaders are spreading darkness through Idaho on purpose.
• GOP leaders intend to be cruel.
• There is no such thing as a “better evil.” There is only evil.

But for a moment, let us pause, let us celebrate the wisdom, the courage, of St. Luke’s healthcare system for fighting the good fight. 

May we all shine as brightly as you.

Now let’s keep fighting because you know–and THEY KNOW–that our lives depend on it.

The post Celebrate the Light Amid Idaho Darkness appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl is an American hero for showing us that there is no difference between those who perpetrate evil and those who idly watch it happen.

So, last weekend, Dr. Borrenpohl went to a public town hall meeting as a constituent of the Republican legislators for her district. As the lawmakers crowed about their deeds, Dr. Borrenpohl yelled from the crowd. Her words quickly brought down the wrath of off-duty Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris and three plain-clothed goons. The men set upon her, forced her to the floor, zip-tied her hands, and viciously dragged her out of the public forum.

What was her sin? Why did the local GOP order their goons to violate her constitutional and fundamental rights? She yelled the wrong free speech:  “Women are dying.”  

Women ARE dying in Idaho because we have been stripped of our right to access fundamental medical care. For telling the truth, Dr. Borrenpohl was assaulted and, get this, charged with battery and trespassing.  (Thankfully, the Coeur d’Alene police department and Kootenai County Prosecutor reversed course and have since dismissed all charges against Dr. Borrenpohl.)

But what about the REST of the folks sitting in that auditorium?  Those who clapped and cheered when she was violently forced face-down on the floor and sat on by two paramilitary men? The goons, of course, did what goons do when a government turns them loose on its people. BUT WHAT OF THE ONES WHO SAT IN SILENCE? What of those who cheered like this is all a damn sport? Let me remind you what Abraham Lincoln had to say:

“Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you.”

And, for the women who cheered this assault on, I share the sentiments of the late-Madam Secretary Madeleine Albright who said:  

“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”  

Nazi Germany in the late 30s and early 40s had Mein Kampf and Musselini’s Italy to guide their descent into darkness. Today, Idaho elected GOP officials have a plan called Project 2025.

What does Project 2025 look like for Idaho? It looks like government-sanctioned attacks on women who won’t behave. It looks like partisan mobs cheering while those women are dragged–shirts torn, zip-tied, bruised and helpless–by brutish men without pity or compassion or independent thought. It looks hellish. 

When will the silent majority use its voice, stand up, and start slapping down those folks that are cheering the loss of our fundamental rights and freedoms?

When will we STOP letting GOP leaders and lawless Sheriffs attack us for using “free speech”?

As I have previously stated, this is not the time to play nice. This is the time where we all need to be standing up for our fellow citizens and for ourselves. We NEED more Dr. Borrenpohls. Now more than ever.

Who’s with me?

The post The Axis of Evil appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

To paraphrase: A New York felon who leads a shady gang of billionaires is gutting our national security, relief programs for hungry kids, and our expert federal workforce so they can pay themselves more money (“tax breaks” is the term of art). And, that New York felon loves seeing the same thing happening to Idaho!

To be clear, President Trump only cares about Idaho schools because he wants all states to follow his lead on gutting public education. His goal is to end public education altogether. Gut the department of education nationally – check! Now onto the states –  check! Thanks, Brad Little.

Don’t let them fool you–it’s not alarmist to call this out. In fact, I’ve been warning for years that Brad Little and his puppeteers have been working on this. 

It’s simple math. The GOP supermajority wants to give money to their wealthy cronies, who are affiliated with private, usually religious schools. (The bonus is that they buy the loyalty of parents this way too). They shift that money from public schools. It’s $50 million this time. Does anyone really think that’s a cap?

If you are interested, let me go a little more deeply into how the school voucher program works to hurt Idaho kids:

School vouchers drain funding from public schools, which rely heavily on local and state taxes. When students head for private options, the money follows them. This cuts money available to run, staff, and maintain the local public schools. These schools, particularly rural ones, already struggle with overcrowded classrooms, outdated facilities, and insufficient educational materials. So, the funding loss makes it even harder for public schools to offer high quality education. This fuels a cycle of disinvestment and declining standards. Oh, and say goodbye to things like sports, clubs, and after school programs. That’s where cuts come first.

School vouchers weaken the public education system. Public schools serve students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and abilities, providing an equitable education regardless of a student’s circumstances. School vouchers starve this opportunity-creating system by shifting resources to private institutions that have lower accountability standards. Private schools do not adhere to the same, high standards of public schools, such as teacher certification, curriculum requirements, and access for students with disabilities. Lack of oversight decreases educational quality for private-school students, especially those with special needs or those from marginalized communities. Cuts to public schools makes it harder for them to serve a diverse student population as well.

Count on school vouchers to exacerbate inequality by benefiting wealthier families. That bears repeating: School vouchers help the wealthy while harming the poor.

Trump and today’s new brand of billionaire robber barons have captured our federal government and they love the all-GOP, all-the-time make up of Idaho’s state government.

Shifting money from the public schools to the private and religious schools favors the rich and hurts the poor and that’s why Trump likes it. Brad Little? Who knows. He’s not known for his courage, so it’s likely that he’s just scared to death of Idaho MAGA. And, he’s probably scared of the President. Or, maybe he really doesn’t care about Idaho kids.

It doesn’t really matter what drives our governor. What matters is that he is complicit, and acts enthusiastic, about a terrible terrible school voucher program that can only hurt kids and destroy our education system that has a long history of helping America find her “best and brightest” hidden among our poorest and most disadvantaged populations.

The post HB93 – Making the Rich Richer? appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Yes, back in 2016, before the first Trump Administration, Michelle Obama advised, “When they go low, we go high.” That didn’t work. MAGA has bitten every hand offered to them and in the past 8 years they have dived lower than we ever imagined possible.

We need to stop them. That means fighting back. And, I can tell you, right now that’s a real problem for freedom-loving Americans. Too many of our champions are conflicted, or just plain in denial, and keep pretending like the old decorum still exists. It doesn’t. Right now, we need champions to fight an onslaught of cruel chaos from free-wheeling billionaires who are on the verge of taking everything from us. 

I am a leader who will not cower and quail. I tell it like it REALLY is. 

And, look just how much Idaho Republicans are to mistreat and endanger the lives of regular people like you and me. Here are the recent priorities: 

• Slash Medicaid–that’s healthcare for poor kids (if their poor parents are too old for Idaho’s famous empathy).
• Give your tax dollars to private and religious schools–any legislator who claims this isn’t a public schools cut is exactly the kind of shameless liar that can go places in today’s BIG MAGA government. 
• Criminalize Abortion: it’s healthcare, period. It’s healthcare that also revolutionized a woman’s chances at having meaningful lives, giving us new paths toward freedom from poverty. Don’t like women’s rights? Then you don’t like women. And if it’s your religion that advises you to treat women like chattel, that’s why I don’t want my tax dollars paying for your cruel religious school.
• Let Brad Little veto ballot initiatives–when all of the power is in the Executive, you have the kind of government that Italy’s Benito Mussolini is credited for starting. He called it fascism. A youngish Adolf Hitler once sent Benito a fan letter about how great he thought fascism was. Brad already abuses the power he has: he and his MAGA overlords don’t need more.

And Let me say this loud and clear to everyone: I told you so! 

Too many of our leaders were cordial; they fretted over how to get along with our MAGA neighbors; and talked about the niceties of tradition, compromise, and decorum when we should have been fighting tooth and nail. If you don’t stand up to bullies, they keep bullying.

So, no. Now is not the time to be nice. 

The examples of the folly of being nice to this bunch are too many to list. But I think once Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade it was a clear sign that, in politics (or Monopoly or Poker or … name the game), cheating with impunity is the side that wins. Everytime. Last year, SCOTUS declared that the convicted felon who is right now installing an army of thieves, miscreants, and dilettantes to lead our country can go ahead and commit crimes (aka, cheat all he wants) with impunity.

Nice hasn’t worked. Nice won’t work.

I will likely get much louder and more vigilant as we all see with our own eyes the destruction that is happening in Idaho and in this country.  As I watch the marginalized get trampled, the LGBTQIA+ community attacked, women told that it’s “your body, my choice” all the while a small handful of rich men take over this country as an oligarchy and do Nazi salutes on national television. Yeah, count me out of being nice. Our society is falling apart, so now is not the time for being docile and nice. The most dignified and loving action right now is to speak the truth.

Instead, I commit to the following:

• I will loudly support the LGBTQIA+ community
• I will show up for people of color when they are being attacked
• I WILL PROTECT WOMEN
• I will fight for kids to get a chance to be healthy, educated, and free.
• I will oppose attempts by the Idaho GOP and federal government–and the MAGA faction that put them in power–to further infringe on the rights of all of us citizens.

Pay attention to this moment in our history and think hard about what is happening. I have.The trendline is clear and if things keep going the way they seem to be going, soon we may all be committing crimes just by speaking our minds–whether we are nice about it or not.

The post I will “tone it down” when we get back our rights appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

My opponent, Gov. Brad Little, decided that former President Carter did not deserve to have the flag lowered for 30 days as a show of respect.

That’s petty. 

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we have to venerate our political leaders as though they are demigods. But I do think it unites our country to honor the memories of those who came before us. 

Of course, Mr. Little was also defying a presidential executive order by making the decision to fly flags at full staff. The idea wasn’t his own. Only after Mr. Little traveled to Mar a Lago—short-brimmed, white cowboy hat in hand—to kiss the ring of our new president, did he decide to fly the flag high for the first-ever felon to be elevated to our nation’s top post.

That’s tyranny.

I assure you that if I am governor when Mr. Trump dies, I would not fly flags at full-staff. (I hope I am not defying some new executive order by imagining the world without our new president). Obviously, I wouldn’t fly the flag half-staff because I had thought of the president as highly as he thinks of himself. I would do it out of common decency. I would do it out of respect for our customs. I would do it to honor the solemnity of the occasion.

Mr. Little marked Mr. Trump’s presidential start with a soft, wealthy man’s act of defiance. It’s an act of privilege and selfishness. An uncourageous defiance of the law by a man who knew he would not suffer any ill consequences. Don’t even get me started on the blanket pardon of over a thousand insurrectionists responsible for the deaths of police officers and the desecration of our nation’s capital.

Unfortunately, the petty games of the privileged men and women (let’s face it … still mostly men) in charge of our country matter to the rest of us. 

The wealthy elite make rules that help themselves. They make rules that punish their enemies. When those laws help the rest of us, it is only by accident and never by design.

As we move forward, we need to be very clear: the Republican Party leaders have discarded anything but the pretense of being “the party of law and order.” Understand, that flag flown full-staff on January 20 (and given the patina of legality with a new presidential order demanding full-staff flags for the day) was a symbol of what is to come for the rest of us: a great struggle for Justice.

With so many of our elected leaders—such as Mr. Little—bending the knee to lawlessness, those of us who seek justice will need to be brave, and true, and strong.

The post The Lawlessness Begins appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

(First rule is “me and my wealthy buddies come first.)

Poor Mr. House Speaker Mike Moyle can’t live by the Second Rule any longer. That’s why he is talking about fixing an actual, real problem that hurts us all. The problem? Dark Money in elections.

Sound familiar? It should. Folks have sounded the alarm for years after the US Supreme Court Citizen’s United ruling let corporations and nonprofits spend big dollars electing candidates. That means Political Action Committees (PACs)—(whose names usually include words like “truth”, “freedom,” “America,” and “conservative”)—now run smear campaigns where transparency has gone from shady to pitch black.

A well-seasoned old political goat like Moyle wasn’t troubled by this until last year when it finally became his problem. In the closed Republican primary, PACs spent nearly $190,000 to beat Moyle.

Moyle told the Lewiston Tribune he wants to stop PACs from “saying something that’s not truthful and then hiding how much they spent, where they spent it, and what they did until after the election when it’s too late to counter it.” Poor little fella. It hurts when your frenemies turn on you, doesn’t it? If I don’t sound empathetic, it’s because I am not.

For a dozen years, the meanest, crookedest, stupidest kinds of campaigns have elected the meanest, crookedest, stupidest kinds of politicians. Moyle didn’t care because he kept getting re-elected and his party became the undisputed heavyweight chumps of every branch of Idaho government.

But one-party rule can’t stand long before it starts to fall under its own weight. Now that Moyle is at the top of this mess, it’s finally his problem.

If we get some good policy changes because the self-interests of Speaker Moyle accidentally align with the self-governing interests of the public, great!

Be clear, this good policy work isn’t for us taxpaying Idaho citizens, it’s for Moyle. And, he is a model for his whole party—especially those who are trying to chop him down.

This matters because of the other issues at the forefront this year. 

For instance, my opponent, Gov. Brad Little, wants to spend tax dollars on private, religious schools (if this sounds okay, pretend it’s for a religion that you don’t like). He has taken the position … Gosh, the program will be fine! We’ll do good! No way will it blow up in our faces … until well after you finally vote to retire me.

Yes. Brad lives by the Second Rule too.

In the meantime, our best defense is one where we keep the whole team on the field all the time. I encourage everyone to find creative ways to make sure that the politicians who are mismanaging our state finally all end up where Moyle is.

Let’s all work to make sure our problems are “their problems” too.

The post Second Rule of Idaho Politics: If it’s not my problem, it’s not my problem appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

As governor, I would fight this attack on a minority group—the LGBTQIA+ community—for the following reasons:

• It makes zero sense to take rights away from people who harm no one.
• Leaders should not kneel to the insatiable demands of a powerful group, with a self-proclaimed religious mandate, especially when that same group demands that the government honor their “religious freedom”—be assured, many religious folks support marriage equality.
• It is disgusting for crass politicians to inflame the passions of their most vociferous supporters for political gain.
• It is puny and cruel to create laws that give one class of people more rights than another based on who they love—this Apartheid for the LGBTQIA+ community.
• This bill is part of a noxious nationwide effort to set American rights back 165 years, or so, and turn America into the kind of theocracy that once burned innocent women in Salem for political gain.
• The only debate here is just how much freedom do our lawmakers think is too much freedom for the people who elected them.

On a personal note, I am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, mother of a gay daughter, and friends with so many in the queer community whom I love and admire. We all know that printing this bill is a direct attack on our Civil Rights. Voting to give this bill the platform of a hearing in our Capitol breathes life into some of the darkest political and societal impulses that history warns can only have ugly, dangerous consequences for all of us.

To say that I am disappointed would be a gargantuan understatement.

The post I oppose the decision to print a bill seeking to outlaw same-sex marriage in Idaho appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

One kind of “freedom” in Idaho is being called “school choice” or “parental choice.” There’s nothing wrong with “choices.” But politicians are debasing, defunding, and dead-ending public education to pay for their so-called choice. It’s absolutely unnecessary, and it’s needlessly cruel to thousands of kids. But the corrupted political leaders have worked hard to make us believe you can only have good public education or good private education—not both. And at this point, they aren’t even hiding behind words like “choice”, they have decided to make your choices for you. So what if you can’t afford private school for your family. They don’t care.

These elected Idaho GOP officials are thieves, stealing your freedoms, and now your public school dollars. Thieves? Basically, yes. What is really happening is that corrupt politicians have discovered that the ghost-givers behind rightwing Super PACs will shovel them tons of campaign dough—just look at the millions that lined their pockets this last campaign cycle—as well as jobs and perks for their friends and families. The hitch is that the private donors will only give big if politicians funnel our tax dollars to them in return. One example: Prager University. Need I say more? Well I will.

It’s a simple scam. But Idaho politicians are fully in charge and they aren’t going to tattle on each other. It helps to have full collusion with the governor’s office, the attorney general, the Legislature, and don’t count on the judiciary staying independent forever either. In fact, they would prefer that we all just stay out of their “business” and continue our straight-ticket, party-line voting because they sure have relied on that for years. And why wouldn’t they? It seems to be working for them.

I know we’re all pretty worn out after being hammered for political attention for the past year. I am not suggesting that you do anything right now. Relax. Enjoy the holidays with family and loved ones. Recover. We are all going to need our strength and stamina to survive the whirlwind that will be the next two years.

So when the middle of January rolls back around, be ready to stand up for yourself and your families—Lord knows there are scarce few politicians who will stand up for you. (And I am so grateful for those who will, but they are vastly outnumbered.)

By then, when you hear Idaho legislators bad-mouthing teachers, or threatening to pass bills to raise your kids for you, or passing laws about what you can read, or telling you that your boys are one trip to the school nurse from becoming girls, or that the school historian’s section on the Civil War is a Marxist plot, or calling you a pedophile because they are completely devoid of any actual moral compass, all the while insisting on kids being read the Bible in public schools, then it will be time to engage. Folks, I thought we dealt with this nonsense seventy-five years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court said no thank you to prayer in school. All that nasty rhetoric will be your cue that they are unabashedly coming after your kids’ learning experience, your town’s gymnasium, your school library, and your reasonably sized classrooms.

And, they’re not just going to gobble up and divert the money from your schools either … that increase in the property tax on your home? Sales tax on your groceries? The gays, and the immigrants, and the universities didn’t do that. The all-powerful political machine that runs this state did —and, frankly, they look like they’re just getting started. So buckle up. We’re in for one hell of a ride.

I am sure you agree with me. That’s an awful big price for “freedom” in Idaho.

The post Freedom Shouldn’t Cost This Much appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.