Primary initiative isn’t just for liberals. Here’s why conservatives should support it | Opinion

In his May 7 opinion piece, Bryan Clark did a good job providing an overview of the proposed open primary and ranked-choice voting initiative, but his introductory paragraphs highlight the frustrations and anxiety of many socially liberal Idahoans. This might lead many to conclude that a socially conservative person should oppose this initiative,.

I beg to differ. I’m strongly pro-life and a supporter of the proposed initiative. Why?

I see a need for more serious legislators than the closed primary process produces. Our state has good pro-life laws. However, pregnant women in Idaho’s biggest population centers are within driving distance of states with liberal abortion laws. This should create a sense of urgency in the Legislature to find ways to make it easier for women to keep their babies and to support them through pregnancy.

One solution could be increasing our shamefully low $205 Child Tax Credit to $1,000, and making it refundable on a monthly basis beginning in the third month of pregnancy and continuing until age 2. We could also eliminate the sales tax on food, diapers and formula, all expenses that hit all families particularly hard, including single moms. Finally, the Legislature could crack down on child support enforcement. A state serious about supporting moms and protecting life should not allow men to make babies and then keep working part-time, living on their parents’ couch and spending their income on beer, porn and pot while working moms and Idaho taxpayers pick up the slack.

You’ll not see such serious practical issues that impact mothers and kids addressed by the Idaho legislature any time soon. They’re too busy catering to very online primary voters, many of whom have fallen down the rabbit holes of sensationalist news sites. These sites emphasize issues that get clicks and viewership but are often neither the most important or the most common issues that Idaho families deal with.

Serious people don’t want to run for the Legislature because they can’t even pretend to be the type of people that core Republican Primary voters want, nor would they want to be. The result is that we have a Legislature that is full of show horses acting like they’re trying to get a Daily Wire gig rather than workhorses who are there to do the work of the people.

Opponents of this initiative are going to spend a lot of time over the next eighteen months trying to scare voters because that’s all they know how to do. But the truth is simple: This initiative will not turn Idaho blue, it will not make Idaho socially liberal or lead to overturning pro-life laws.

What it will do is empower the people who want to live, work, and raise a family to choose legislators who will effectively represent their values rather than a radicalized fringe that is focused on issues that have nothing to do with the best interests of our State.

Adam Graham is a Boise-based writer and former Republican activist.