Idaho politics doesn’t typically attract national attention, but it does when a politically incorrect biker and an elderly curmudgeon get a platform to express their views. The biker, Haley Brown, and Walt Bayes, who looked like he was going to reenact the Civil War, are both running for the Republican nomination for governor and were the real stars of the debate on Wednesday.
Brown and Bayes drew attention from the mainstream candidates - incumbent Republican Gov. Butch Otter and state senator Russ Felcher - turning the debate into an Onion-esque parody of politics.
Brown made it clear that he stands against political correctness, which makes up a “substantial portion of my political campaign.” He then listed all the minorities that he likes to insult on social media.
“It sucks. It's bondage,” Brown said of political correctness, notes CNN. Brown showed up wearing his full biker uniform, including a cigar clearly in his shirt pocket.
The New York Daily News notes that Brown said he has a “Master's in raisin' hell.”
He continued, “You bind those evil spirits behind the feds with the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the power of entombment of the Holy Spirit, the power of agreement, the word of God. Take air superiority, and then roll in with your tanks on the ground, like ... lawsuits. Blitzkrieg!”
As for Bayes, he wore a full beard and a brown cowboy shirt. He was particularly angry with Otter’s forest policy and the state’s decision to jail home-schooling parents.
“Our forests are cut like somebody raising tomatoes: 'Well, they're purty red, don't pick 'em,” Bayes told Otter.
Brown took control of the debate later and closed the event by saying that the Idaho governor’s office would be practice for his term as U.S. president.
“I need practice! Practice! I don't want to say stuff like, 'Sorry if our bombing caused you any inconvenience.' So I want to work in the Little League, as the governor,” Brown said.
You can watch the debate here: