The Cowardice of Thad Butterworth
Part 2: When the ACRCC chairman was given the opportunity to show integrity, he actively chose to double down on dishonesty while exposing his puppet strings.
In today's Idaho Republican Party, where extremism is rewarded, a recent incident underscores the lengths to which its leaders will go to suppress dissent and uphold their narrative. This is a story of how one cog in Idaho’s far-right political machine proved his loyalty and exposed his political opportunism at the expense of integrity, honor, and self-respect.
The Ada County Republican Central Committee (ACRCC), led by Chairman Thad Butterworth, falsely accused me of helping lead the Gem State Conservatives group and linked me to Party Watch. The verifiably false accusation was posted on the ACRCC Facebook page to shift attention away from questions surrounding Dorothy Moon and Bryan Smith. This deliberate smear aimed to discredit critics of the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), the dominant force steering the state's GOP.
Attempting to resolve the matter while giving him the benefit of the doubt, I contacted Butterworth to request that he retract the falsehoods and issue a public apology.
Butterworth was shown the proof and knew he had helped publish a lie.
He had a choice: retract it, apologize, and move on—or let it stand and expose himself as a political hack with zero integrity. Predictably, he chose the latter.
Jumping Through Their Hoops
I followed every step Butterworth requested. When I reached out privately to Butterworth in good faith, offering him the opportunity to correct the falsehoods, he refused to engage. Instead of taking responsibility, he appeared to have run to his IFF handlers, who fed him a tired, false narrative and told me, "You have a history of suing people over political disagreements."
This was nonsense. But it gave Butterworth an excuse to do nothing. He demanded I send an email so their supposed "legal counsel" could respond. That was last Friday. Since then, nothing. Not a word.
They quietly removed the offending Facebook post and blocked me from the ACRCC Facebook page. That was their answer. No apology. No correction. Just silence and censorship.
And what of this so-called "legal counsel"? If they actually have legal representation, why didn’t they respond? Was this just another lie from Butterworth? If ACRCC is paying for legal services, will that be reported correctly? And how far is Butterworth willing to go to please the party bosses who allow him to serve?
The IFF Puppet Chairman
None of this should be surprising. Thad Butterworth is a political grifter and opportunist whose ambition far outstrips his ability. He has tried—again and again—to build a political career, and he has failed. Spectacularly.
Butterworth ran for College of Western Idaho trustee. Lost.
He ran for the Idaho Senate against Treg Berndt. Lost.
He ran on the IFF machine candidate slate alongside extremists like Janice McGeachin, who appeared via video at a Nick Fuentes neo-Nazi rally, and Priscilla Giddings, who viciously doxxed a rape victim to protect a rapist now serving 20 years in prison. He embraced these people, knowing exactly who they were. Idaho voters rejected them all.
When the previous, widely respected ACRCC leadership resigned in protest over Dorothy Moon’s abusive tactics, Butterworth and Spoon were hand-picked by Moon and her IFF cronies to take control. They didn’t win their positions—they were effectively installed. Now, they serve as nothing more than enforcers for the IFF, using the county central committee to smear their opponents and shield their beloved party bosses, Dorthy Moon and Bryan Smith, from legitimate scrutiny.
Butterworth and other IFF-linked candidates failed forward and were placed on the ACRCC executive leadership team so they could likely be rerun in the next election cycle against rational Republicans in the House and Senate. Butterworth’s friends and colleagues Ryan Spoon and Priscilla Giddings served on Janice McGeachin’s failed indoctrination task force, another failed stunt backed by the IFF.
Butterworth: A Nazi-Friendly Opportunist
Thad Butterworth’s lack of integrity isn’t just about his political cowardice. It’s about the company he keeps and the values he is willing to embrace to get the approval of scoundrels.
Take, for example, his now-infamous photo with woke-right influencer Stew Peters. A well-known Nazi, white supremacist, and anti-Semite, Peters has openly praised Adolf Hitler and Nazis and called for the installation of a Christian monarchy.
Here are a few examples of Stew Peter’s disturbing posts on X:
And here’s ACRCC Chairman Thad Butterworth, with his arm around Stew Peters, grinning like he just met his favorite anti-Semitic hero.
Did Butterworth ever denounce Stew Peters and his hateful propaganda? Of course not. Did he ever distance himself from the neo-Nazi rhetoric Peters promotes? Not once. For Butterworth, the only thing that seems to matter is proximity to power. He doesn’t care how vile or extreme someone may be so long as they help him climb the political ladder.
This isn’t speculation. This is who he is. He knows exactly what he’s doing, who he’s aligning himself with, and how much he’s willing to debase himself to stay on IFF’s candidate development team.
Thanks To Butterworth, Idaho Republicans Look Like Nazis
The new Idaho Republican Party doesn’t get to claim it stands for integrity while allowing party leaders like Butterworth to run it into the ground. It doesn’t get to cry foul when called extremist while electing leaders who proudly pose with Nazis. And it doesn’t get to pretend it values accountability when its chairman refuses to take responsibility for a simple, easily corrected lie. This makes all conservatives look bad and gives the left ammunition when they attempt to paint every Republican as a racist, a nazi, and an extremist.
Thad Butterworth is a disgrace. He is a weak, spineless puppet with no principles beyond self-advancement — but don’t just take my word for it; review the facts for yourself.
Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon does not want you to vote, and her team will do everything they can to ensure that you are too disgusted to want anything to do with being a Republican, ensuring you’ll stay home. Low voter turnouts in closed Republican primaries enable a minority of organized extremists to take over, and there is no excuse for voters not to do basic candidate research to see who’s playing for which team.
Thad Butterworth, Ryan Spoon, and even Brandon Durst eventually win elections when reasonable people choose apathy over action, thus making all Republicans in Idaho look passively aligned with extremists.
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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I’m shocked that they took down the offending Facebook post. That’s an admission of guilt. I’m also surprised that they broke the cardinal rule of trumpism. They admitted wrongdoing by removing the post.
And you never admit to wrongdoing if you’re a MAGAt. Instead, you double down, even though that tactic ensures that you look doubly stupid.
I appreciate your take and on the current GOP in Idaho. It’s a shame how far the party has fallen. We need two decent parties to make progress.