Life in the Chain Gang

For the price of 50 eggs at today's rate, you could probably get Idaho's Gang of Eight to vote for anything provided they did not have to disclose who paid for the eggs.

There’s a scene in Cool Hand Luke where Paul Newman’s character, Luke, is forced to dig a hole, fill it back in, and then dig it again. It’s a punishment designed not just to break his body but his spirit—to make him surrender to the authority looming over him.

Idaho’s legislature isn’t a prison yard, but looking at the Gang of Eight—Glenneda Zuiderveld, Lucas Caylor, Clint Hostetler, Josh Kohl, David Leavitt, Christy Zito, Faye Thompson, and Kent Marmon—you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re part of a political chain gang. They don’t govern. They follow orders. And standing over them, cracking the ideological whip, are Ron and Maria Nate, full-time political babysitters who ensure this crew doesn’t stray too far from the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s (IFF) donor approved agenda.

Ron, a former legislator turned enforcer, helps craft the IFF’s purity tests, ensuring that every bill is pre-scored before it ever hits the floor. Maria, a dedicated hall monitor for the far right, makes sure the Gang doesn’t get any ideas about, say, representing the interests of the people who actually elected them. And the Gang? They read the script on camera like they’re in a hostage video.

The result? An average Idaho Freedom Index score of 97.13%, meaning they have about a 3% chance of thinking for themselves.

Maria Nate’s Gang of Eight (credit: Sen. Zito Substack)

Manufacturing Obedience

Idaho voters might have assumed they were electing independent conservatives. Instead, they got a batch of pre-programmed YAL-bots trained at the political re-education camps run by Young Americans for Liberty (YAL).

For the uninitiated, YAL is a Texas-based operation that claims to promote “freedom candidates.” What it actually does is manufacture ideological foot soldiers, installing handpicked recruits in state legislatures across the country through a carefully coordinated dark money pipeline. And the Gang of Eight? They didn’t just stumble into politics; they were processed through the YAL machine.

Look who’s making indoctrination look fun! (Credit: Sen. Zuiderveld Substack)

Each of them attended these so called ‘YAL-Qaeda’ training camps, where they learned the script: never compromise, never negotiate, and never question the overlords who got you elected.

The YAL group antics were so bad that even the newly re-formed Idaho Freedom Caucus—a group of former ‘YAL-Qaeda’ legislative operatives—has kept them at arm’s length, an impressive feat considering they all live in the same ideological bunker.

Snake Oil and Shiny Brochures

But how does this whole system work? It’s simple: you use out-of-state money to hire an army of door-knockers who flood Idaho neighborhoods with propaganda, pushing IFF-approved candidates into office.

Enter Mobilize the Message, a company run by former YAL President Clint Maloney. Maloney’s operation is a stroke of dark money genius. A PAC—often fueled by donations from Maloney’s own organization—pays Mobilize the Message to deploy out-of-state political mercenaries into Idaho communities. Armed with glossy IFF talking points, they go door to door, claiming that the Republican incumbent isn’t “conservative enough” and that the real conservative in the race just so happens to be the person IFF’s PAC just happened to endorse.

In Magic Valley, the script takes a more targeted approach. If an incumbent or opposing rational Republican candidate happens to be LDS and/or isn’t an IFF loyalist, suddenly they’re “not a real Christian” and definitely not a “true conservative.” It’s a narrative wrapped in Christian Nationalism, packaged by a pro-drug legalization group that has no actual connection to Idaho values beyond its well-funded interest in helping the IFF control the legislature.

And it works. Because when you repeat the lies enough times, people start believing it.

The Cry Harder Caucus

Once elected, the Gang of Eight didn’t waste any time showing where their real loyalties lie.

Demand grocery tax repeal or nothing at all.

Demand $250 million in “gold standard” taxpayer handouts.

No new spending (except for the $250 million.)

No new government jobs (unless it’s to process funds for private schools)

No compromise (until the Nates say otherwise.)

When Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen (R-Idaho Falls) introduced HB 378 on the house floor—a bill that would simply require legislators to disclose who’s funding their politically lucrative travel—the Gang melted down. Transparency was suddenly an unfair burden on underpaid public servants, especially those who had “selflessly” rejected their legislative pay raises—exactly what all those annoying YAL Facebook posts told them to do.

Their real fear? Having to admit that their lavish out of state trips are funded by the same dark money network that got them elected in the first place! It’s one thing to keep the dark money locked in a box away from sunshine. It’s another to have voters see the receipts and know they are getting duped

Why is Rep. Clint Hostetler comparing a transparency bill to a caste system?

The Magic Valley Liberty Express

For a group that claims to be fighting for “real Idaho conservatives,” it’s funny how half of the chain gang are directly tied to the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance (MVLA)—a Twin Falls area group conveniently aligned with IFF and YAL.

MVLA’s job is to ensure the they look like their candidates are backed by a grassroots effort so voters don’t notice where the real support comes from. It identifies new recruits, gets them trained, and makes sure they are connected to the cash and logistical support to steamroll anyone who dares challenge them.

And that’s the real trick. This whole system doesn’t just control their legislators—it conditions and controls who shows up to vote. Having recent California transplants be nasty on purpose is effective in getting multi-generational Idaho Republicans to sit out elections.

Put Those Shovels Down

There’s a reason Cool Hand Luke resonates. It’s not just about one man against the system; it’s about how systems break people down until they accept their fate. With the new Idaho Republican Party bosses working under the direction of the IFF machine, the machine turns more voters away from the closed primary elections.

The Republican voters who still think its the same party they grew up with are left to keep digging holes and filling them back up, conditioned to believe whatever the IFF machine tells them. Vote out a “RINO,” elect an IFF lackey. When that lackey starts to think for themselves, repeat the process.

Every election cycle, they’re handed the same shovels and told to get back to work—digging, refilling, voting, replacing. Until, eventually, they stop questioning why they’re digging in the first place.

And that’s when the machine wins.

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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 strategic communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. You can follow Graf’s work on X, Threads, or Facebook.

Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in exercising 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.

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