Tyranny in Idaho State Senate - Update 05/25/24
Senator Chuck Winder continues his path to the destruction of liberty, this time against Sen Brian Lenney. That makes three Senators: Lenney, Zuiderveld, and Herndon. Why?
This is an update to the story published previously about tyranny in the Idaho State Senate. The NEW symbol (🆕) highlights recently updated details below.
“Senator Winder is neither my boss nor my dad. I serve the people.” ~ Sen. Brian Lenney
What is Happening to Idaho?
🆕 05/23/24 Update: District 20 voters finally had the chance to wield THEIR power during the May 2024 Primaries. District 20 voters ousted 8-Term Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder from the Idaho State Senate. Historic! A principled Conservative Republican, Josh Keyser, will run against Democrat Andy Arriaga. THANK YOU 🙏 District 20 voters. Keep up the good work in the Nov 5 2024 general election! Read
Summary
On 11/16/23, Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder doubled down on his authoritarian stance against members of the Idaho Freedom Caucus by removing Senator Brian Lenney as Vice Chair of Commerce and Human Resources Committee, threatening him with an ethics violation, and scolding him like a school kid. This in addition to removing Glenneda Zuiderveld as Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and threatening her and Senator Scott Herndon with ethics complaints. Why? Because they spoke truth to power.
Read all about it below. Then TAKE ACTION.
🆕 Idaho Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder is allowing Democrats to block conservative reforms enacted to limit government spending growth (01/30/24). Send Winder a loud and clear message: Idahoans want these conservative reforms now! Read (see also #1 under TAKE ACTION below) | Related Article & Action Item
LAWFARE! I will not be intimidated by lawfare! By GLENNEDA ZUIDERVELD (12/18/23). Glenneda Z responded to a lawsuit thread against her free speech as follows: “I will not allow threats of lawfare to cow me into submission. I promised my voters that I would always tell them the truth, and that is what I will do, no matter what. I don’t work for Senate leadership, and I don’t work for special interests that want to control what I say and do. I work for the voters of District 24, period, END OF STORY!” She also advocated support for Senator Brian Lenney’s upcoming anti-SLAPP bill (SLAPP stands for “Strategic lawsuits against public participation”): Read | Related Idaho Freedom Caucus Article
Will There Be Accountability for Senator Winder's Abuse of Power? Senator Chuck Winder's actions represent a grave abuse of authority, and the Idaho Freedom Caucus demands accountability. By IDAHO FREEDOM CAUCUS (12/15/23): Read
Scott Herndon Newsletter (12/12/23). Will Senator Winder apologize? No, not so far. More details about Ada County Resolution denouncing Chuck Winder and his violations of Senate rules and the first-amendment rights of elected representatives: Read
More Winder Transgressions. By Karen Schumacher (12/11/23). Schumacher details Senator Chuck Winder’s turn away from representation of the people to crony capitalism, or corporate representation. She explains how Idaho’s top elected officials (including Winder, Governor Little, and Lieutenant Governor Bedke) are in bed with corporations and third-party entities, making deals made that benefit those groups and officials who are in bed with them, and forcing new unconstitutional paths on the people because of those relationships: Read
Ada County Republican Central Committee Passes Resolution “Strongly Disapproving” of the Actions of Senator Chuck Winder – Idaho Dispatch (12/10/23). The Ada County Republican Central Committee has passed a resolution detailing their strong disapproval of recent actions taken by Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Winder (R-Meridian) against Senator Scott Herndon (R-Sagle), Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld (R-Twin Falls), and Senator Brian Lenney (R-Nampa). Read
DENOUNCED: Ada County GOP Passes Resolution Against IACI Lackey Chuck Winder — Conservatives Fighting Back Against Liberal Establishment — Idaho Tribune. Conservatives are done playing around with corrupt corporate shills. (12/07/23) By Johnston Meadows. One of the best articles on this topic to date. Read
OP ED: Asking the Petty Tyrant Dictator Winder for His Resignation. YOU ARE NO LONGER CAPABLE OF UPHOLDING YOUR OATH OF OFFICE (11/21/23). By Steve Fioravanti: Read
OP ED: Senator Tighty-Whities Winder. HE IS ACTING LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN A SCHOOLYARD BULLY STANDING UP FOR HIS FRIENDS (11/19/23). By Karen Schumacher: Read
Maria Nate, Director of Idaho Freedom Caucus Weighs, in on Chuck Winder (11/18/23). Includes radio interview with True Idaho News editor Daniel Bobinski (podcast 28 min): Read
Summary: Director Nate stated that Winder’s real concerns align with the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI), but Winder doesn’t like freedom-minded senators telling the public about that. Candidates and organizations that actually advocate for top-down authoritarianism know they must sound conservative to get elected in Idaho. So, they use, support, and are supported by organizations such as Idaho Liberty PAC, Main Street Caucus, and Idaho Conservatives that — despite their names — actually advocate for policies and programs that diminish true liberty. Citizens must ignore conservative sounding names, and instead look at what these organizations actually support, which is not liberty at all. Follow the money; follow the power.Nowhere To Hyde -- Perception vs Reality (11/27/23). If the GOP has a supermajority in Idaho, why are prominent politicians Like Gov. Little and Sen. Chuck Winder attacking their fellow GOP legislators? (video 19 min 30 sec): Watch
Senator Brian Lenney Stripped of Vice Chair Role by Pro Tempore Chuck Winder. By Brian Lenney (11/15/23): Read
Senator Brian Lenney Stripped of Vice-Chair Role by Pro Tempore Chuck Winder. He's at it again. By IDAHO FREEDOM CAUCUS (11/15/23): Read
Is Brad Little Behind Attacks on Conservatives? Come with me down the rabbit hole. By BRIAN ALMON (11/16/23): Read
Bait and Switch. Is Governor Little fighting Republicans instead of Democrats? By BRIAN ALMON (11/17/23): Read
Winder Removes Lenney as Vice Chair. The tantrum from Boss Winder continues. By BRIAN ALMON (11/15/23): Read
Forging Forward! Do you lose your 1st Amendment Right the Moment you become Senator? By GLENNEDA ZUIDERVELD (11/13/23): Read
Honestly, I am shocked Winder tried this. By Senator Scott Herndon (11/13/23): Read
An Attack on Elected Representation: The Idaho Freedom Caucus Will Not Be Intimidated. The Idaho Freedom Caucus will not be bullied or intimidated into silence. By Idaho Freedom Caucus (11/13/23). Read
See What All The Fuss Is About. By Idaho Freedom Caucus (11/13/23): Read
Conservative Truth Silenced at the Idaho Capitol. By Representative Jacyn Gallagher (11/13/23): Read
BREAKING NEWS: Winder Removes Zuiderveld as Vice Chair, Threatens Her and Herndon with Ethics Complaints. The tinpot dictator thinks they work for him. By Brian Almon, Gem State Substack (11/13/23): Read
Winder Abuses Office in Attempt to Silence Conservatives. By Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation (11/13/23): Read
🆕 Chuck Winder’s Sweetheart Socialist Deal With The University of Phoenix. By Devin Miller (05/16/24): Read
🆕 Drama On State Street: This is the Hill That Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder Said He’ll “Die On.” By Idaho Tribune (05/20/24): Read
🆕 District 20 voters ousted 8-Term Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder from the Idaho State Senate. Historic! A principled Conservative Republican, Josh Keyser, will run against Democrat Andy Arriaga. THANK YOU 🙏 District 20 voters. Keep up the good work in the Nov 5 2024 general election! Read
🆕 The Pros and Consequences of Chuck Winder’s Loss. By DANIEL BOBINSKI (05/24/25). The Senate must choose its next leader wisely to avoid a President Pro Tempore who is a big spender, controls committee chairs and chairmanships in an authoritarian way, and prevents bills that are important to Idaho citizens from being heard: Read
More Thoughts
Ada County Republican Central Committee recently underwent a leadership change in which authoritarian officers were replaced by a more collegial group. See Gem State Substack commentary.
Should we remove Chuck Winder as President Pro Tempore and District 20 Senator? He has repeatedly shut down the free speech of conservative Republican Senators, including Brian Lenney, Glenneda Zuiderveld, and Scott Herndon. Three strikes against the free speech — guaranteed by Article I Section 9 of the Idaho State Constitution — and Senator Winder should be out!
We’ve found all the testimony and writings of the sanctioned senators to be factual, accurate, and respectful (bold and firm but respectful). Idahoans and their Senate representatives do not deserve authoritarian behavior. We get enough of it from our federal government, bureaucrats, and media!
As shown below, Senator Winder appears to represent Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) interests far more effectively than he does regular Idaho taxpayers.
IACI Leadership (Ballotpedia; scroll down the page)
Follow the money (Secretary of State Sunshine query). Some examples below:
Companies represented on the IACI board of directors who donated to Chuck Winder 2020-2023 (our best effort to collect info from a big spreadsheet; total $33,150.00):
Altria Client Services $1,850
Amalgamated Sugar Company $1,500
Ball Ventures LLC $2,000
Blue Cross of Idaho $4,000
Clearwater Paper Corporation $2,000
Hecla Mining Co. $400
Idaho Forest Group $3,500
Idaho Power Company $4,000
Intermountain Gas Company $1,500
J.R. Simplot Company $2,000
Micron Technology $2,000
Mountain View Hospital $500
PacificSource Health Plans $1,000
Potlatch Corporation $4,000
Union Pacific Railroad $900
United Heritage Insurance Co. $2,000
Where do these Idaho leaders stand on supporting Gem State businesses? Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) rankings:
Winder: 100
Zuiderveld: 43
Herndon: 43
Where do these Idaho leaders stand on supporting freedom? Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) rankings:
Winder: D- Education Index 63.0% | F Freedom Index 43.5% | F Spending Index 6.1%
Zuiderveld: A+ Education Index 100.0% | A- Freedom Index 93.5% | A+ Spending Index 98.8%
Herndon: A+ Education Index 100.0% | A+ Freedom Index 97.6% | A+ Spending Index 99.4%
🎬Take Action!
Tell Senator Winder to Stop blocking conservative budget reforms! Sign Petition or write him a letter at CWinder@senate.idaho.gov or call him at (208) 332-1354.
(02/05/24) Idaho Freedom Foundation suggests Senator Winder is behind the latest coup that undermined Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) coup. IFF Report | Petition | Related article & Action Item
Email Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld with your words of support: GZuiderveld@senate.idaho.gov
Email Senator Scott Herndon with your words of support: SHerndon@senate.idaho.gov
Email Senator Brian Lenney with your words of support: BLenney@senate.idaho.gov
Email all Idaho legislators: https://emailidaho.com/email-both-the-house-the-senate/
Tell them Senator Winder’s behavior toward Senators Lenney, Zuiderveld, and Herndon is unacceptable. His behavior is an assault on free speech and the freedom of every Idahoan. Senator Winder should apologize to the senators he disrespected, restore them to committee positions, and RESIGN from the Senate IMMEDIATELY.Call and email Senator Chuck Winder (District 20):
Home: (208) 332-1301 | Statehouse: (208) 332-1354 (Year-round) | Statehouse Voice Mail (208) 332-1302
Email: CWinder@senate.idaho.gov
Tell him:His behavior is unacceptable! He should apologize publicly to Senators Lenney, Zuiderveld and Herndon.
He should immediately reinstate Senators Lenney and Zuiderveld to their positions as Vice Chair of Commerce and Human Resources Committee and Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, respectively.
He should resign as Senate President Pro Tempore.
He should resign as Idaho State Senator for District 20 (map).
DONATE TO SAVE IDAHO FREEDOM:
Idaho Freedom Caucus: Donate
Brian Lenney (District 13): Donate
Glenneda Zuiderveld (District 24): Donate
Scott Herndon (District 1): DonateSHARE this message! Share
Think carefully about voting for people with R after their names. They’re not always as advertised. Look at who is supporting them before you vote.
🆕 Run for Senator Winder’s seat as a true conservative and WIN. Idaho needs you. (05/23/24 Update: Josh Keyser ran for this seat and WON! We will be lucky to have him in the Idaho Senate. He just needs to beat the Democrat in November 24.)