In Kootenai County, a magnet for conservative retirees from other states where Donald Trump won 70% of the vote in 2020, most public institutions and services are overseen by directly elected trustees. That means that Republican activists and voters, who increasingly see even once-benign institutional authorities as a threat to their values, are in a position to do something about it. The clash over the college began in 2020 when, after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, the school’s diversity council issued a statement expressing support for social justice demonstrations, including Black Lives Matter protests. The statement caught the attention of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. That year, the committee began vetting and endorsing candidates for county board positions in what are technically nonpartisan elections. In the Coeur d’Alene Press, a committee precinctperson accused the school of supporting a “radical, racist and Marxist organization” and “guilting white male students,” and urged county residents to vote for two candidates endorsed by the committee “to balance the NIC Board” in the November election. https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?forums/political-discussions.8/create-thread
I am a native of neighboring Washington State and spent much of my childhood visiting Eastern Washington. There is nothing new here. Northern Idaho has long sheltered white supremacists and actual uniformed neo Nazis. The latter called themselves the Aryan Brotherhood and they were very scary.
Some years ago, the Brotherhood lost its compound to a civil judgment. They marched out in formation with Nazi banners flying. Right behind came two street sweeping trucks. The Mayor of Coeur d'Alene denied emphatically that he was making a political statement but...well, the action was popular. Not everyone up there is evil.
I see that Gonzaga University's law school offers a two year JD degree. Something to be said for just two winters in Spokane!
