Truth Timeline

Time to share my side of the story about YAL

It is time to lay out a timeline of truth. I have stood alongside many of our liberty-minded legislators for years, from the birth of the Idaho Freedom Caucus to our involvement with Young Americans for Liberty (YAL).

I hesitated to share this because the truth can be painful—but so are deceit and lies. I can no longer remain silent as I watch people I have trusted, fought alongside, and cared for destroy the character of others in the name of compromise.

Our focus has shifted from fighting with principles for the people to playing politics and securing a seat at the "cool kids" table. I never imagined we would be divided over good conservative policy, believing we would support each other despite any personal disagreements about the individuals behind the bills. Sadly, that has not been the case.

We’ve been denied the opportunity to add our names to strong conservative bills, and we’ve been told that bills bearing our names would never see the light of day.

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It is time for people to know the truth as I see it. Let’s start with YAL and Make Liberty Win.

Many of your liberty legislators completed YAL’s questionnaire to seek their endorsement and, potentially, campaign support from their PAC, Make Liberty Win. I would never have accepted their endorsement if their platform included legalizing marijuana, and I know that none of the endorsed legislators—including those from other states—would have accepted it under those circumstances.

After we were elected, YAL flew us to Florida to participate in sessions designed to equip us with tools and strategies to fight for our states. I’ve attended a few of these events, and not once did they advocate for legalizing marijuana. Their focus was on cutting taxes, combating the expansion of government, and advancing educational choice.

Moreover, they never imposed their agenda on us. Instead, they asked us what we wanted to fight for and work on in our respective states so they could better support our efforts.

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These are the legislators who have received support over the years to help fight the good fight for Idaho. Once again, if any of them believed that YAL supported the legalization of marijuana, they would never have accepted the endorsement.

I challenge each of you to research, as I have, to find any instance where YAL has endorsed or promoted marijuana legislation in any of the states where they have supported candidates.

We all traveled to YAL conventions, funded by their organization, where we met numerous other state legislators and built meaningful relationships. Tammy Nichols, Ron Nate, Brian Lenney and Kent Marmon were also invited to be guest speakers at YAL. If there had been any indication that YAL was working to harm our state in any way, I can confidently say again, we would not have accepted their endorsement—or their generosity in paying for our trip to the convention.

The pictures above are from my trips in 2022 and again in 2024—so many great memories. So why are some people now trying to discredit YAL? Are they forcing us to support something we are against or something harmful to our states? For me, the answer is no.

This all began when YAL recommended Rachel Hazelip to Make Liberty Win for endorsement. She declined the endorsement to avoid any conflict with conservatives who were supporting Speaker of the House Mike Moyle.

In April, a few YAL members sent an email regarding this endorsement. I, along with A few others, chose not to sign it because we believed it was not our place as members to interfere with the decisions made by their PAC.

Notably, there was no mention of marijuana.

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Next is the email that was sent after an error was made on a mailer in Rep. Julianne Young’s district. While a mistake was made by Make Liberty Win, consider all the assistance they have provided to help many liberty legislators, their successes far outweighed their mistakes. This situation presented a perfect opportunity for them to distance themselves from YAL

A few things I would like to point out in the email.

• It states that our values do not align with the legalization of marijuana. However, if YAL had been focused on legalizing marijuana, we would have never signed up in the first place. YAL first came to Idaho in 2020 to support us, starting with Rep. Ron Nate and Rep. Heather Scott. I can confidently say that if their mission were centered around marijuana legalization, they would have never associated their names with this organization.

• Furthermore, YAL has helped legislator’s such as Tammy Nichols, Dorothy Moon, Priscilla Giddings, Chad Christensen, Karey Hanks, and Christy Zito. They even put out a mailer in 2022 that included Dorothy Moon who was running for Secretary of State, Priscilla Giddings who was running for Lt. Governor and myself as an awesome trio for Idaho in my district. Again, I say with confidence—not one of us would have accepted YAL’s support or attended their events if the organization had been advocating for marijuana.

• When I completed their questionnaire, it included a question about my stance on marijuana, which was not surprising, as many organizations seek to understand candidates' positions on various issues. I clearly stated that I was against it, and yet, I still received their endorsement and support, because they are about helping each state fight for their State Sovereignty.

• Additionally, when I attended the YAL summit in Florida alongside many other legislators from different states, not once was marijuana legislation discussed. The claim that YAL was pushing this agenda on us is a complete lie. I challenge anyone in the photos to say otherwise.

  

• The ally they speak of was Mike Moyle.

• Also notice how they expressed frustration over the lack of support in the primary. If they were truly advocating for marijuana legalization, why would you have sought their support in the first place?

• Claiming that many lost their races due to a lack of grassroots door knockers is misleading. I disagree—the losses had more to do with the negative campaign ads funded by the PAC that Governor Little supported.

  

• Let’s talk about “misleading and deceptive claims.” Once again, they made an error regarding Julianne Young’s race. I want to highlight that I was the target of numerous misleading and deceptive attacks from a PAC to which our own Governor, Brad Little, contributed half a million dollars. So why didn’t the misleading TV commercials, radio ads, and social media campaigns against me cause me to lose my race? I believe it was because I remained focused, actively engaging with voters and being present wherever possible to prove those attacks were lies.

• Every candidate must take responsibility for their own outcome. Negative mailers are an unfortunate reality of campaigning, and at some point, we all receive them.

• Once again why would you care about if the mailers were sent to the wrong district if they were out of state dark money pushing marijuana?

• Ultimately, our credibility is our own responsibility. I am deeply grieved by the many lies and deceptions I have witnessed, especially from people I care about.

• Lastly, the only ones blocking good legislation are the leaders in the Idaho State Capitol. Senator Zito has had her name removed from both a bill and a resolution, and I have been told that any bill with my name on it will never see the light of day. Meanwhile, the eight of us who remain YAL members continue to face retribution—especially for standing on principle against the legislative pay increase and for advocating the repeal of the grocery tax on behalf of our constituents.

• Why did I put my name on this email? I didn’t want to, but I was told that if I didn’t, mailers would be sent out falsely claiming that I supported marijuana.

  You see, Make Liberty Win isn’t the only organization that employs confrontational politics. I succumbed to the pressure because, after already being targeted by negative ads, I simply didn’t have the energy to take on even more “misleading and deceptive claims.”

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One more truth I must share.

Here is a resolution that was put forth by the Twin Falls Republican Central Committee (TFRCC) after the general election. While I agree with many of the 'Whereas' statements, I want to draw your attention to the one I underlined. Once again, this was an attack on YAL simply because they were successful in helping us achieve the Magic Valley Miracle.

I specifically want to highlight the dollar amount mentioned—$30,000. Interestingly, they didn’t have the courage to associate that figure with the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance (MVLA). However, it is no secret that MVLA PAC received this money—anyone can verify it by looking at the Sunshine Report.

Do you want to know what the funds were used for? They were used to help fight against Prop 1. That’s right—this so-called "out-of-state dark money" helped protect our state from Prop 1. In fact, they spent more fighting against it than the TFRCC did. They recognized the importance of this issue more than our own local Republican Party.

When I saw what was happening, I immediately called Dorothy Moon to warn her that this could end poorly for the party. However, the resolution still made it to the winter GOP meeting. The resolution committee this year was chaired by Scott Herndon—an excellent bill reader who rarely lets anything slip past him. Yet, for some reason, this resolution did make it past his committee, despite the fact that its presenter, Tom Wangeman, was not even present. Herndon allowed it, and it proceeded to the full body, where it was ultimately passed.

What I find interesting is why they are targeting a PAC that opposed Prop 1 while turning a blind eye to those who supported it. It was no secret that Sen. Linda Hartgen, along with others like Rep. Greg Lanting and Rep. Chenele Dixon, actively advocated for Prop 1, despite it being contrary to the Idaho GOP platform.

Once again, I called Dorothy to remind her that YAL did more for Idaho in the Magic Valley than our own Twin Falls GOP Central Committee party did."

I have remained silent about the truth for a long time, but the ongoing attacks are harming many good legislators—individuals who simply want to stand on their principles and serve the districts that elected them. It is time to speak up and defend them. The people deserve to know.

I will be revealing more truths about the Idaho Freedom Caucus soon—I am just waiting for the right time.