A proposal by the Idaho Republicans that will be discussed this weekend has caused Ammon Bundy to accuse Idaho Republicans of 'trying to get rid of him.' Bundy says the new proposal will "it will require anyone who wants to run in the Republican primaries to send out letters and fill out forms and basically beg the central committee of the Republican party for an endorsement." Bundy shared his thoughts on this issue in a release and a YouTube video while traveling the state. Mr. Bundy continues to accuse the governor and state Republican leaders of plotting to try to keep him out of this May's Republican Gubernatorial Primary.  In his release, he compares the move to the Chinese Communist Party.

"This proposed rule gives full discretion to the party leaders to decide who will run as a Republican candidate and who will not. No other party in any state has passed rules such as this. If this amendment is approved, Idahoans will not be making the choice of who represents them. The choice will first be made by those who control the Republican Party. Much like the Chinese Communist Party, the party rulers of the Idaho GOP will have full control over who appears on your ballot. Additionally, this rule bleeds all the way down to the County Central Committees picking and choosing which candidates will run for local offices." 

Is It True?

Idaho State Republican Party Chairman Tom Luna responded by issuing a press release dealing with the upcoming winter meetings.  The chairman explained that last November the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee adopted a rule change proposed to the central committee.  He clarifies that any member of the state central committee can propose a rule change.

In his release, Chairman Luna responds to Mr. Bundy's specific allegations: Many rules are submitted to the State Central Committee, some pass, and some fail. The issue at hand is that many people are assuming that the rule has passed when it has not. Furthermore, some people are speculating on who is supporting this rule and why they are proposing this change. I encourage all interested parties to contact the actual sponsors of the rule to clarify the intention of their proposed rule change. Please find the full text of the proposed rule change and the list of sponsors below. 

The state winter meetings are usually uneventful.  However, based on the firestorm ignited by today's allegations and counterpoints, this weekend's meeting promises to be one that voters will not want to miss.