What's Wrong With Brad?

C'mon, stand up.

When I was in the Idaho Senate, Brad Little presided as the President of the Senate. He was the elected Lieutenant Governor. Butch Otter sat in the Governor’s office on the second floor of the Capitol.

All us Senators were cautioned to only refer to “The Governor” when we were debating a bill as “the gentleman on the second floor”. Maybe Butch had threatened a veto, maybe he supported, but it was crucial to maintain the separation of the different branches. That discipline of speech, enforced by the President, Brad Little over us Senators with the gavel, made me appreciate the importance of the separation of our duties. And of the clear distinction in the Idaho Constitution of the separation of powers.

The legislature elected every two years has a primary duty to our electorate, the people. We controlled expenditures. If the executive branch thought something should be done, but we didn’t, we didn’t give them the money.

This is written clearly in the Idaho Constitution.

The legislature couldn’t control the executive branch. Nor could the Executive branch direct the legislature. These bodies had a separate, but unified goal: to serve the state.

But the bodies, the legislature and the Governor, might have different visions.

So why don’t they just get together and agree?

That would be a different form of government than our Constitution directed.

I was always impressed when Butch wouldn’t cross this line. Honestly, I didn’t find Governor Otter impressive most times. But he knew the principles of governance, and he honored them and stood by them. He tried to persuade the legislature, but he honored the separation of the roles.

Brad has forgotten this. Maybe he is taking a lesson from his mentor in the White House.

Honest disagreements are what our governance structure expected and built into the framework in our Constitutions.

Brad has shit on this. Our Governor has given over the function of the executive branch to the legislative. While that might seem a niggling, whiny complaint, and I’ll agree, it does sound so, it gets to the principle of the work we elect these folks to do.

Stand up for us.

Stand up for your office.

Stand up for something.

Brad is not standing up.

He’s not standing up for the separation of powers our Constitution demands. He’s not standing up for the office of Governor of the State of Idaho. He’s not standing up for us, who elected him.

Here’s just some of the evidence.

Trump and our Idaho congressional delegation cut Medicaid funding in their One Big Beautiful Bill. They knew our rural hospitals would be gutted. So they offered some cheese.

We are mice, eh?

Five years of big money grants to ease the pain. So now we scramble for their cheese.

Brad set up a committee to review this.

Did they meet? There are no minutes for us to review.

Then the Idaho Legislature took charge. This was a clear Constitutional violation.

And Brad did what he does. He shrugged.

Hundreds of millions of health care funding will leave this state. Does a tenth, a hundredth of that bother Syringa General in Grangeville or Lost Rivers in Arco or Benewah Community Hospital in St Maries?

It should bother you.

We all should be working for a sustainable solution.

Brad gave some wimpy legislators the handle on this weak money. They don’t care if your small-town hospital dies.

Brad doesn’t seem to care either.

He can see the writing on the wall. Our government just doesn’t seem to care.

So why should he?

I’ve known Brad for a few years. I’ve drunk beer and laughed with him. He’s better than this.

What’s wrong?

Has he bought in to the bigger MAGA vision to tear it all down?

Brad, what’s wrong?