Bryan Smith's Gold Medal-Worthy Mental Gymnastics Performance at the Idaho GOP Winter Meeting

If mental gymnastics and hypocrisy were Olympic events, Bryan Smith might take home the gold with his performance of the pearl-clutching resolution to censure Hyrum Erickson. When it comes to double standards and political theater, Smith proves time and time again that he’s willing to bend, twist, and flip-flop with the best of them.

Smith, a loyal operative and board member of the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), led the charge to censure Erickson, a Precinct Committee Officer from Madison County. Erickson’s offense? Advocating for Proposition 1 – a voter initiative that Smith insisted would "destroy the Idaho Republican Party."

Never mind that Erickson engaged in open debate, made his case transparently, and stayed true to his conservative principles. It looks like that, in Smith’s world, questioning the party line and doing anything that he thinks would help the Democrats is heresy and must be punished.

Reasonable Republicans said his resolution was a terrible idea, yet Smith persisted.

Dave Taylor of Madison County spoke up during the debate and said, "Hyrum did a good job of presenting his wares, whether they be correct or in the party's best interest... But Hyrum is a good man, a good conservative Republican, and he’s a valuable member of our Central Committee."

Apparently, being a good conservative isn’t enough. If you cross Bryan Smith, expect to be punished and purged.

The Double Standard on Full Display

Here’s the kicker: Smith and his friends at the Idaho Freedom PAC (the PAC arm of Smith’s Idaho Freedom Foundation) played a critical role in electing a Democrat in District 26. Yes, the same man screaming betrayal at Erickson’s advocacy for open primaries and ranked-choice voting sits on the board of directors of an organization that led the plan to support an “independent” candidate to sabotage the actual Republican nominee.

And to be clear, anyone who tries to say that IFF and IFPAC are entirely different is attempting to gaslight you. The only thing that separates those organizations is a piece of paper. Everyone knows there is no daylight between IFF, IFA, and IFPAC — it looks and behaves like a political machine.

Spoiler Alert

Kala Tate, conveniently unaffiliated from the GOP to run as an independent, received backing from groups connected to Smith. The goal? Peel off enough Republican votes from the real Republican candidate, Laurie Lickley, to ensure Democrat Ron Taylor’s re-election. It worked.

Let that sink in – Smith and his allies helped a pro-abortion Democrat win re-election while wagging their fingers at Erickson for daring to have a policy disagreement.

Mental Gymnastics is a team sport, and Heather Lauer, chair of the Blaine County Republican Central Committee and Idaho Freedom Action board member, did her part to help. As chair, her job was to support Lickley, the Republican candidate. Yet, Lauer donated to the Idaho Freedom PAC, which worked hard to ensure the Democratic candidate defeated the Republican in the general election.

IFA / IFF Board Member Heather Lauer donated to IFPAC

Observers in District 26 told me that Lauer didn’t lift a finger to support Lickley, undermining her campaign through silence and inaction as county Republican central committee chair. But Heather Lauer is no stranger to hypocrisy. Her privacy organization claims to protect against political abuse. In contrast, one of her employees and the organizations she helps direct have weaponized personal information to silence opposition.

Heather Lauer and The People United for Privacy Lie

If that was not enough, the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance (MVLA)—a Christian Nationalist organization and cog in the IFF political machine—openly endorsed Tate over the Republican candidate. Despite its conservative branding, MVLA fractured the GOP vote and paved the way for Taylor’s victory.

MVLA - An organization pushing Christian Nationalist candidates endorsed unaffiliated “Republican” Kala Tate to help the Democrat defeat the real Republican primary winning candidate.

But wait, there’s more. Ryan Spoon, head of Idaho Freedom PAC and Vice Chair of the Ada County Republican Central Committee, undermined Lickley and endorsed a “Constitution Party” candidate against Republican Matt Clifford for Ada County Sheriff.

Clifford still won in a landslide with nearly 80% of the vote against the Ammon Bundy acolyte candidate for sheriff, but Spoon’s actions sent a clear message – loyalty to the GOP means nothing if it conflicts with his team’s agenda.

Dustin Hurst, former IFF Communications VP and Smith’s long-time helper, helped orchestrate the District 26 fiasco. Hurst, who collects a paycheck from Lauer’s People United for Privacy, is no stranger to these political games, happily working behind the scenes to undermine Republicans. Hurst, a libertarian, registered as a Republican to vote in the last primary election in 2024.

Will the Real Marxist Please Stand Up?

Bryan Smith made a small fortune through his medical debt collection business, which collected legal fees from the poor, sick, and elderly with medical debt. He squeezed Idahoans for every cent he could under the law—often for bills they claimed they hadn’t seen. His tactics were seen as extraordinary debt collection practices, and the Idaho legislature stepped in to limit the legal fees medical debt collection firms like his could extract from struggling families.

Victims’ stories filled the headlines, like the woman who was hit with over $5,500 in debt collection for a $294 doctor visit. This led to thousands of comments on East Idaho News’ Facebook page, with victims sharing their tragic stories about Smith's collection tactics. He even allegedly staged a lawsuit in what looked like a desperate attempt to try to invalidate the Idaho Patient Act. 

And in a bizarre twist, Smith’s behavior was apparently too much for even his own father – who went to prison for attempting to kill him a few years ago.

Smith’s record of election failure is extensive. He ran twice for Congress and once for the state legislature, suffering humiliating losses every time. Bonneville County voters even ousted Smith and his crony Doyle Beck from their stranglehold on the BCRCC, rejecting their attempts to dominate the local GOP legislative and PCO campaigns.

Despite repeated rejection, Smith appears to cling to influence by force. His cringeworthy move to remove Damond Watkins as National Committeeman to seize the position was another shenanigan that left many East Idaho Republicans furious.

Ironically, Smith frequently slings the term “communism” at Erickson and others, yet it appears his playbook mirrors the tactics of authoritarian Marxist regimes. Purges, loyalty tests, and ideological conformity define Smith’s grip on the Idaho GOP, much like the oppressive methods of one-party states. If anyone’s mimicking communists and their tyrannical playbooks, it sure looks like Bryan Smith.

Selective Outrage at Its Finest

At the winter meeting, Smith doubled down on his performative theatrics. “We need to send him a message,” Smith said of Erickson, implying disagreement with the party line is akin to treason.

Former State Senator Scott Herndon supported Smith’s efforts to purge Erickson and said, “We’re not owed due process today... We can simply consider the facts as presented.”

Apparently, due process is optional when Bryan Smith and his IFF cronies want you gone.

Steve Pinther, the Idaho GOP Region IX chair, said this in Erickson’s defense, “ I don't think that he should be publicly ridiculed like this, and purged for a bunch of false accusations and saying he's a communist. It's just unfair; that's not Republican at all. This isn't Republican to do this to a fellow Republican…

Maybe it's a Republican who disagrees with you now, but tomorrow, you might be the one who disagrees with people. Have you ever thought of that? Would it be right for us to throw you out there? To throw you under the bus, then?”

Smith’s attempt to punish Erickson opens the door to further tyrannical actions, and Pinther is right about it.

What happens now that Moon and Smith have endorsed and encouraged communist central committee-style party purges?

Listen to the Idaho GOP Winter Meeting debate on Smith’s resolution to censure Hyrum Erickson.

Who’s the Real Threat to Idaho Republicans?

Here’s the truth – the real threat to Idaho’s Republican Party isn’t Erickson. It’s Bryan Smith and his network of political operatives willing to throw real Republicans under the bus to further their control over the party.

Now that everyone knows that Smith and his friends helped a Democrat win, will they move to censure themselves? Hell would likely freeze over before they decided to be honest about their actions and intentions.

Republican voters in Bonneville County have figured this out, repeatedly rejecting Smith and his buddy Doyle Beck. Their hand-picked stooges continue to lose, and East Idaho has sent a clear message – the IFF political machine is not welcome there.

It’s time the rest of Idaho follows East Idaho’s lead. Brayn Smith isn’t fighting for conservatism. He’s fighting for control – and Idahoans are worse off for it.

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About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican. His articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. He and his family moved to Idaho Falls from Utah in 2013 and reside in Star, Idaho.

Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.

Author’s Note: I have faced Bryan Smith in multiple depositions spurred by separate lawsuits from disgraced former Rep. Chad Christensen and Doyle Beck. Beck dismissed his dishonest lawsuit, which I believe was an abusive fishing expedition, and Christensen’s SLAPP-style suit was defeated through summary judgment. Both cases were, in my opinion, classic examples of lawfare and SLAPP. Smith, Beck, and the rest of the IFF political machine have spent years trying to destroy my career, professional reputation, and family. Things got so bad that a judge issued a stalking protection order against IFF’s former communications VP Dustin Hurst during Christensen’s failed lawsuit for his publishing of my home address online and threatening to show up at my house with his fellow “Freedom Bro,” Greg Pruett. I’ll freely admit that I have a bias against those who would try to hurt my family, and I personally believe Bryan Smith is a very big part of these efforts against me.

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