Twin Falls’ Pizza-Gate Provides a Window into Idaho Politics (Updated)
Establishment Republicans could value conservative Republicans, but instead they repeat the Left’s talking points.
An episode, forgettable in itself, from the state Republican convention in Twin Falls illustrates how the liberal media, establishment Republicans and fake Republicans work together to stigmatize conservatives.
The episode is called a new Pizza-Gate, with an Idaho twist. People living in a Twin Falls homeless shelter were handed flyers advertising a “feed the hungry” event at a local joint for pizza. But the joint was really holding a “Pizza and Patriot” rally for incumbent state party Chair Tom Luna. A homeless child showed up to the joint, according to a Republican staffer, looking for pizza, so the staffer bought it. Homeless had been manipulated to disrupt a Luna event—and they weren’t even going to get their pizza.
Later, a representative of Valley House, a homeless shelter in Twin Falls, confirmed that a man dropped off the flyers a day before the event. It is alleged that the man is Dave Reilly, but no one knew who it was during the convention.
Establishment Republicans, interested in defeating Dorothy Moon for state party Chair, immediately pinned the “dirty trick” on Moon. The unknown man must be a Moon operative or a Moon supporter. Moon or her supporters, the argument went, were using the homeless as pawns in her effort to spike Tom Luna’s event. And every act of someone who supports Moon must be attributable to Moon. That was the establishment Narrative.
Luna issued a statement: “We can’t allow this behavior to be tolerated. My heart goes out to those families and children in need who showed up at our event,” Luna said in a released statement Saturday morning, just before the Republican delegates voted on the state party chair. “I hope, I ask every Republican to stand up for what is right and not reward this kind of behavior.” Luna did not define what is right, but he meant that good people should not support Dorothy Moon for state party chair.
To be clear, no one officially knew who the unknown pizza-flyer-deliverer was at that point.
Kelcie Moseley-Morris, of the far-left Idaho Capital Sun, was on the case. She posted an article on Friday evening, July 15 at 7:21, carrying Luna’s message implying that Moon was responsible for the shenanigans. Moseley-Morris was, however, certain that the person who distributed the flyers was “not affiliated with Idaho Republican Party Chairman Tom Luna’s campaign for a second term.”
Luna and his allies among establishment Republicans and fake Republicans coordinated their messaging with Capital Sun’s Moseley-Morris in an effort to sway delegates away from supporting Moon’s election as char. By tarring Moon, they hoped to sway "civil" and "decent" Republicans into Luna's camp. Moon, seeming not to know whodunit, remained quiet.
Action Idaho has received a series of digital images depicting Moseley-Morris communicating with Gregory Graf, who helps run a liberal Republican or fake Republican group (depending on one's perspective) called “Idaho Conservatives.” Graf exerts much energy trolling conservative legislators and lambasting the Idaho Freedom Foundation—and he thought Moon’s elevation to chair would be a disaster for Idaho for the reasons that liberals opposed Moon's candidacy. Graf fed lines to Moseley-Morris—“[Moon’s] avoiding the press on this is perfect. Shows guilt.” Graf told Moseley-Morris about Luna’s aforementioned statement and worked to get her a copy. Graf delivered it thereafter, but asked that she not use it until it was distributed. So-called Republicans were using far-left media to get their talking points out. (Additional digital images are available at this link.)
Graf lives within a completely different world than Moon, it seems. Moon probably did not comment on the story because she did not know who handed out the flyer and she expects the press to be fundamentally dishonest in any event so she bypasses the press. Graf seems to look at the leftist press as an ally in getting his word out. Graf texts and coordinates with the leftist press as the head of "Idaho Conservatives." Moon is an Idaho conservative and knows what time it is.
The methods endorsed by Luna and his supporters backfired. Luna was willing to imply that Moon perpetrated this act and to adopt the talking points of the forces who have been stigmatizing conservative Republicans for months. No conservative activist could trust him in leadership after that display.
Everyone, including Moon, it seems, was expecting a tight race for the Republican state chair, but she ended up winning in a landslide. One reason for that: Tom Luna followed establishment advisors and tried to tar Moon with unsubstantiated charges, exactly as the Left has been doing for months.
This was very out of character for the magnanimous Luna. Conservatives cannot and should not trust or even listen to these fake Republican and establishment Republican groups. Tom Luna did. Now Luna is ousted.
(Update: the original essay called it a pizza joint. It was a joint for pizza.)