By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

BOISE, Idaho – The Gem State can be a lonely place, especially if you’re a Democrat.

Idaho is one of the least populated states in the union, and one of the most politically conservative. Of the 105 lawmakers serving in the state legislature, 80 are Republicans.

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That puts teacher union leaders who are searching for political allies in a tough spot. They could throw all their support behind the Democrats – as the national teacher unions do – but it wouldn’t accomplish much.

They could support the Republicans, but the GOPs’ support of charter schools, vouchers, and tough accountability measures for educators is like kryptonite to teachers unions.

The Idaho Education Association understands this, and devised a crafty, alternate strategy: infiltrate the GOP and change it from within by electing pro-union Republicans.

And that’s exactly what the IEA attempted to do, until the Idaho Statesman blew their cover.

The Statesmans’ Dan Popkey reports that a new political action committee, Republicans for Our Schools, is being staffed and funded by the IEA, the state’s largest teachers union.

He also reports that during the spring primary elections, Republicans for Our Schools spent $9,320 in support of five Republican Senate candidates, including incumbent GOP Sens. Shawn Keough, Tim Corder and Dean Cameron.

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The money the so-called Republican group “spent on the five races was entirely paid by the Political Action Committee for Education, or PACE, the IEA’s campaign fund,” Popkey writes.

Unfortunately, voters weren’t aware that the “Republican” PAC was just a union front group until after the election. But GOP voters can take some comfort knowing the IEA’s infiltration strategy didn’t work too well: only two of the five candidates supported by the new “Republican” PAC won their primary.

But that doesn’t mean the union is giving up. The IEA and its parent union, the National Education Association, are bankrolling Idahoans for Responsible Education Reform, a group dedicated to repealing the “Students Come First” laws in November.

(Idaho’s new “Students Come First” education laws are among the boldest and farthest-reaching reforms in the nation.)

IEA leaders know their agenda is politically toxic with voters. That’s why they’ve adopted a strategy of infiltrating the opposition, establishing phony PAC groups, and forcing a “Hail Mary” referendum on popular reform laws.

They’ve clearly willing to deceive to get their way, but we would be stunned it the strategy proves effective in the end.