“It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” – Noel Coward
Have you ever participated in a white elephant gift exchange? Often, a tradition at the Christmas holidays or similar, a white elephant gift exchange is a game in which participants bring practical joke gift items designed to elicit laughs. The exchange is about the experience and not the gifts.
Here’s how it works: participants draw names or numbers in the order of participation. When it is the first person’s turn to draw a present from the pile, they get to unwrap it, and everyone laughs at their expense as they display their newly won Trump Chia Pet. Grow your own tremendous plant! When the next person’s turn comes, they can either steal the Trump Chia Pet or open a new gift from the pile. The cycle continues until everyone has a white elephant gift. In the end, nobody knew what they were getting, and nobody left with anything good.
Here in Bannock County, the white elephant is making the rounds again. Unfortunately, this white elephant also doesn’t end with anything good. It ends with No Kings rallies, ICE protests, selective war support, abortion on demand, gender transitions for minors, and probably a medical marijuana dispensary on every corner. This is a different white elephant.
In 2022, the Bingham and Bannock County Republican Parties didn’t get their way at the GOP State Convention. In protest and to deny the convention a quorum, they walked out, leaving the voters of Bannock County unrepresented at the state level. Grassroots Bannock County Republicans took notice and organized to remove the obstructionists from office. They were successful.
Since that time, the reorganized Bannock GOP has given the party back to the people. They have been present. They have fixed infrastructure, the website, and created a compliant donation platform. They have fundraised and paid their annual dues years in advance. They have refrained from playing favorites by endorsing candidates over others. All candidates have had access to an elections center, had their campaign literature stuffed on their behalf, signs and literature distributed, and even had Republican Central Committee members make phone calls on their behalf.
The most important feat of the reorganized Bannock GOP is its presence, and the Idaho Republican Party has taken notice. This is why they were asked to host the 2025 GOP Summer Meeting in Pocatello. This is why District 29 Chair John Crowder was awarded the Most Outstanding Chair Award by the Idaho GOP. This is why disgruntled malcontents continue to fight to get their club back.
Having lost the keys to the kingdom in 2022, a select cadre of the good old boys joined their wallets and efforts in an attempt to wrestle control of the party back from the people in 2024. I wrote about it then. Unable to find enough Republicans to field a slate of conservatives, they’ve recruited and dipped into the Democratic Party to round out their rosters. Thus, the birth of the white elephant.
The white elephant was the moniker adopted by Trent Clark and Tom Luna when their Gem State Conservatives merged with Christa Hazel’s North Idaho Republicans of Coeur d’Alene. Christa is a well-known spokesperson for Women for Biden and a Kamala Harris devotee. The white elephant moniker prompted the Idaho GOP to issue cease-and-desist letters over its use of the elephant trademark. The white elephant perfectly explains why East Idaho’s elected representatives refuse to sign the Integrity in Affiliation pledge of the Idaho GOP, which aligns at 95% with the national platform.
Most recently, Bannock residents may have noticed the white elephant showing up on Precinct Committeeman signs around town. It is an interesting choice, given the connotations of a joke played on unwitting participants. In this case, many of the unwitting are both candidates and voters. A recent list of white elephant candidates is circulating, claiming to represent a common-sense slate. Some unfortunate inclusions have seen themselves roped in with active “No Kings” and anti-ICE voices. There is nothing either Republican or common sense about liberals larping as conservatives.
Unfortunately, it appears that several detrimental ballot initiatives will have met the signature threshold required to appear on the November ballot this year. Republicans will once again be tasked with standing in the gap for children and family-first values. One initiative in particular would codify abortion on demand up through viability and permit medical gender transitions for minors. Republicans will need all hands on deck. Don’t expect a white elephant to ride with you into battle.
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
- Return Of The White Elephant - May 2, 2026
- Integrity In Affiliation? - April 22, 2026
- Correcting The Record: Mean Girl Politics - April 9, 2026