In 2001, the Aryan Nations was forced to give up its 20-acre Idaho HQ and to pay $6.3 million in damages. Aryan Nations members were dangerous, morally reprehensible and their presence tarnished Idaho’s reputation. Why then would any Idahoan support a keynote speaker who describes herself as a “White Nationalist?”

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes White Nationalism as espousing “white supremacist or white separatist ideologies.” In other words, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a racist in the same mold as the Aryan Nations and the Ku Klux Klan. So, I ask you Mr. Regan, why have you (and the KCRCC) invited a nationally known racist to speak at a dinner that is supposed to be celebrating the values of President Lincoln, also known as The Great Emancipator? This is an inappropriate, corrosive and divisive choice that destroys community and promotes hate.

Good governance requires good judgment. Looking at the Republican party in both microcosm and macrocosm, it is a party without a moral compass, without a plan, and without the ability to govern. Locally, NIC’s Banducci, McKenzie and Waggoner are examples of these failures. In macrocosm, Republicans in the House of Representatives are giving positions of power to extremists and insurrectionists. Nothing effective will be accomplished in the House because of this failure in judgment.

Mr. Regan, rescind the invitation to Taylor Greene and re-think your values. I hope others, including local spiritual leaders, will join me in condemning Mr. Regan’s choice of keynote speaker.

ETHEL STEINMETZ MARMONT

Coeur d’Alene