Senator Jim Risch joined us from Washington, D.C., and we worked through a mix of big-picture foreign policy and very Idaho-specific concerns. On China, Risch urged patience—he thinks President Trump has a plan and we’ll see announcements soon, likely on trade and possibly Iran. On Iran, he painted a picture of real internal instability (a leadership vacuum and factions competing), and he flat-out doesn’t believe durable nuclear agreements with Iran are possible. His view was more “deterrence and enforcement” than “deal-making,” with the two urgent issues being Iran’s nuclear ambitions and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open—because when that strait is threatened, regular Idaho families feel it fast through fuel prices. He supported the idea of suspending the federal gas tax as an easy, quick, limited relief step, but emphasized it’s not the real solution. We also talked public lands funding through the Great American Outdoors Act framework and a newer push (the America the Beautiful Act), with potential dollars for Idaho to tackle long-neglected maintenance like campgrounds, roads, bathrooms, and basic recreation infrastructure.
Then we shifted hard into what’s happening in Idaho legislative races right now—and why it’s leaving us discouraged. We dug into the Sunshine Reports and followed the money: major out-of-state cash (especially routed through “the Way Back PAC”) has poured into multiple Idaho groups (like Defend and Protect Idaho, Hometown Heroes, Idaho First, and Take Back Idaho), and then into independent expenditures—mailers, ads, and digital hits—aimed at shaping local legislative outcomes. We also talked about issue-specific PACs popping up fast (like the newly created PAC for Public Lands), using hot-button local topics (Harriman State Park) to target certain conservative candidates while ignoring others who played bigger roles. The takeaway for us: this isn’t just “people donating,” it’s a coordinated influence operation that’s intentionally hard to track, and it’s distorting representation. We pushed listeners to use the election toolkit, look at independent expenditures, and—most importantly—vote and bring someone with you.
**Highlights**
– Risch: don’t expect reliable nuclear “deals” with Iran; deterrence and enforcement matter more.
– Strait of Hormuz instability is a direct driver of painful fuel prices for Idaho families and farmers.
– Public lands funding could mean real repairs: restrooms, roads, campgrounds, and recreation facilities.
– Out-of-state money (Way Back PAC) is being funneled into Idaho PACs to influence dozens of races.
– “Independent expenditures” are where you can really see PAC power in action—mailers and ads stacked on top of candidate spending.
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