COEUR d'ALENE - State Sen. Steven Thayn, a Republican from Emmett, has made Coeur d'Alene one of the six stops on a pre-legislative tour his new group has organized.

His new group MP2 - or MP Squared - will conduct a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Monday inside North Idaho College's student union building.

Thayn will be on the panel with fellow Republican state legislators Sen. Russ Fulcher of Meridian, Sen. Steve Vick of Dalton Gardens, and Rep. Vito Barbieri of Dalton Gardens.

The panel will discuss Common Core education standards and President Barack Obama's health care law, among other topics. Thayn said MP Squared's philosophy also will be discussed.

"This isn't a debate. It's more of a brainstorming session," Thayn said Tuesday. "We hope to have some audience participation."

He said he will use the tour to publicize some bills before the next legislative session.

MP Squared is a 501(c)(4), formed in late summer. Thayn formed it with a data programmer named Jim Thomas, of Boise. Thayn is head of messaging.

MP Squared aims to help people be more productive and independent. The MP Squared name comes from the group's slogan: Motivating People to be More Productive. Its core issues are education reform, local control of state lands, healthcare privatization, and stopping the redistribution of wealth.

Government programs, he said, are "just not working any more, especially entitlement programs."

Thayn hopes the tour will grow his new group. He also hopes it changes the political discussion in Idaho.

He wants conservatives here to be more effective.

He used the analogy of a football team with a good defense, which stopped the other team, the Democrats, but doesn't know what do with the ball on offense.

"They haven't had much vision," he said.

That's what he sees MP Squared providing.

He personally picked Barbieri and Vick to join him on the panel.

"They feel comfortable doing something like this with me," Thayn said.

He said though North Idaho has plenty of good state legislators, he just feels comfortable with Barbieri and Vick.

"I think that we share some similar views when it comes to the role of government," Vick said.

While Thayn said he's not running for any statewide offices, he suggested Fulcher might be running for governor.

"I wouldn't say he's running for governor on MP Squared," he said.

Fulcher has been involved with MP Squared since the beginning, Thayn said.

Fulcher couldn't immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

NIC student union building is at 1000 W. Garden Ave.