Whoa! It's worse than we thought
News release from Party Watch
Hey Party Watch Fans,
Anyone who has ever attended a Canyon County Lincoln Day event can hear the words of Melinda Smyser echoing through their ears: "Why are we here? To raise money. And what is it for? To elect Republicans.”
Funny, isn’t it? Because under Dorothy Moon’s leadership, the Idaho GOP seems to be doing everything but spending money to elect Republicans. It appears our money is being spent on Dorothy’s personal travel adventures, lavish meals, and who-knows-what-else—all while the party itself financially flounders. Let's say that louder; Not a single dollar has been spent on candidate support or independent expenditures for any candidate.
We can get back to that in a minute. First, let’s talk about Dorothy’s latest escapade. On March 19th, she stood in front of a Republican Women’s event and spent her time attacking Party Watch instead of addressing the real issues. Why? Because we’ve been asking the tough questions she doesn’t want to answer. Questions like:
Why did you claim $19,481.26 in mileage reimbursements for one year? -
Where are the logs to prove you actually drove 29,076.51 miles for the party? (That’s the equivalent of driving the entire perimeter of Idaho 47 times.)
Why when we look at the “Credit Card” charges on the dates surrounding the RNC convention in Milwaukee, it appears there's an additional $31,118.97 in credit card charges for travel, meals, and other expenses during that time?
Oh, and let’s not forget, there was already $7,359.67 explicitly labeled as “RNC Expenses” on top of that. All told, it seems Dorothy racked up nearly $40,000 in travel-related expenses around one convention. We want to know, who Steve Linden is in relation to the party and why are we paying $582 for his Uber rides at the RNC? Is this a political party or a luxury vacation fund?
Where is the "Conservatism"?
In recent memory, if at all, we can't think of a time that the Idaho GOP paid for all of the delegates’ expenses. To quote one of the greats, Ronald Reagan. "One could say the government [Dorothy] spends like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors because the sailors are spending their own money.
We have heard stories from past conventions where 4 delegates shared one hotel room. Other delegates stayed with family far from the convention site to make it affordable. No worries here though, Mama Warbucks got you. There is nothing conservative about Dorothy's spending, but even worse is what she's spending it on.
The irony: IT'S YOUR MONEY that Dorothy is wasting.
Dorothy and crew made it clear that counties will pay their dues, or the iron fist of big brother IDGOP will block you from the state convention. A large portion of the party's income came from county dues. You raised it through Lincoln Day events, summer picnics, auctions, and good old-fashioned grassroots fundraising.
Then you turn it over to the state party to have Dorothy spend it on frivolous things like crepes, Uber Rides, and over $90,000 of unitemized "Bank Of Idaho Visa" payments.
It was not spent to directly elect Republicans in YOUR county.
What Are We Doing With Our Money?
Melinda Smyser’s words bring us back to the core question: What are we doing with our money? As you may recall from our first email,(Where is All the Money?) we analyzed a specific ONE YEAR set of data for our numbers. Well, we went back and confirmed how much Dorothy spent on independent expenditures, direct candidate campaign support, direct support to county central committees for candidate efforts, and direct advertising and mail for Republican candidates. The total? $0.
That’s right—It seems Dorothy didn’t spend a single dime to directly help Republicans get elected. Meanwhile, during the previous leadership, the party invested $66,619.73 in direct candidate support during a similar reporting period. That’s $66,619.73 more than Dorothy. We’ll give her credit for consistency, though—she’s consistently done nothing to directly help elect Republicans.
Instead, she’s been busy treating the Idaho GOP as her personal travel agency and smear campaign fund. Mileage reimbursements? Check. Fancy meals? Check. Credit card charges, we can’t seem to get answers about? Double check.
Recap of Party Watch Emails and Financial Shenanigans
For those of you just catching up, here’s a quick overview of what we’ve uncovered so far:
Bryan Smith’s Legal Drama: Remember Bryan Smith, our National Committeeman? He’s been claiming his 250 hours of legal work for the party weren’t donated or pro bono, despite public statements and recordings suggesting otherwise. If that’s true, why weren’t these fees disclosed as expenses or loans?
Idaho GOP’s Spending Problem: Under Dorothy’s leadership, the party has spent $608,287.44 in total expenses compared to Tom Luna’s $292,829.02. Meanwhile, she’s raised just $176,421.32, falling far short of Luna’s $249,551.11. Dorothy has managed to spend more while accomplishing less. Impressive, really.
Travel and Meals Overload: Dorothy has spent $143,992.96 on travel and meals, compared to Tom Luna’s $33,988.13. And then there’s her $19,481.26 in mileage reimbursements, which, again, begs the question: does she live in her car, or is she just hoping no one asks to see the logs?
No Candidate Support: Dorothy Moon spent exactly $0 helping Republicans get elected. Tom Luna? $66,619.73. It’s almost as if Dorothy doesn’t understand the point of a political party.
The Credit Card: Why does Dorothy charge so much on her Credit Card and then label it as Office, Travel, Meals? The money that pays for those expenses has been donated by hard working republicans. Shouldn’t they get to see how their donations are being spent?
Ethical Concerns and Legal Violations: Complaints have been filed with the Idaho Secretary of State, FEC, Idaho State Bar, and even the RNC regarding financial mismanagement, campaign finance violations, and conflicts of interest involving Dorothy Moon, Bryan Smith, and Mark Fuller.
Where’s the Transparency?
Instead of answering any of these important questions, Dorothy has decided to drive around Idaho—on your dime, by the way—to smear Party Watch for daring to ask for transparency and accountability. If everything she’s doing is above board, why not show us the mileage logs? Why not provide itemized credit card statements?
The Bottom Line
Idaho Republicans deserve better than this. We deserve leadership that prioritizes the party’s success over personal indulgences. We deserve leaders who are transparent, accountable, and focused on what matters: electing Republicans, strengthening the party, and upholding our values.
So here’s what we’re asking for:
Show us the mileage logs for that $19,481.26 reimbursement. (Aren't these legally required for tax reason anyways? so they have to exist right?)
Show us the itemized credit card statements for the nearly $95,0000 in “Office, Travel and Meal” expenses.
Show us a plan to actually invest in candidates and support Republicans across Idaho.
Until then, Dorothy can keep driving her 29,000+ miles of excuses around the state, but we won’t stop asking tough questions. Idaho Republicans deserve answers, and we’re not going anywhere until we get them. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to uncover the truth.
Sincerely,
Party Watch
p.s.
Dorothy, are you charging the party mileage reimbursement to drive around and bash Party Watch, too?
Disclaimer
This article is a news release from Party Watch. Gregory Graf and Political Potatoes are not involved or responsible for creating this well-researched and important content.
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My Opinion is Your Not Dealing with what we Used to know as a REPUBLICAN, that Name is like RINO, or Tea Party. This MAGA / Trumplican HYBRID has taken over the last 10 Years. Integrity, Nope, Ethics, NOPE, MORALS, LONG GONE, ACCOUNTABILITY- "WHAT IS THAT", Party Rules, they are what TRUMP SAYS they are. SEE the BOOKS, Public has Yet to see TRUMPS TAXES, So why this Person, or any other Supporting TRUMPISM. TIME TO WAKE UP, we are IN an AUTHORITARIAN ERA in the USA, DRIVEN by FASCISM, What You Just Reported is HOW IT WORKS in 2025. You want Some OLD ACCOUNTABILITY, "WAKE UP" and look at OUR COLLECTIVE "REALITY"; and THEN "ACT" !
The fact that u have to work so hard and hammer these points home so repeatedly and still get no action against these grifters demonstrates how far gone Republican Party membership is. Morally and intellectually corrupt.