Idaho Pulse Podcasts

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate expose $1.5 billion in Idaho reserve and stabilization funds sitting above the state’s $5.5 billion general fund budget — roughly $784 per resident that Nate argues should be returned to taxpayers. They dismantle the property tax exemption myth, showing how exemptions for veterans or seniors don’t reduce total collections but shift the burden to remaining homeowners, and trace property...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate break down the 2026 Idaho Freedom Index, revealing that only 12 legislators scored 90% or above on freedom votes — down from 16 last year — while 42 members landed in the “Big Spender Caucus,” voting for increased spending more than 84% of the time. Nate names the all-stars and the worst offenders, explains how election-year politics and lobbyist...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate expose Big Dairy’s retaliation against Senator Glenita Zeiderweld’s family — pulling 85% of her husband’s business over her immigration votes — and lay out the essential questions every Idaho voter should ask candidates before the May primary, from defining what conservative actually means beyond pro-life and pro-gun to whether legislators would overturn a citizen abortion initiative....

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate break down the 2026 Idaho Freedom Index, revealing that only 12 legislators scored 90% or above on freedom votes — down from 16 last year — while 42 members landed in the “Big Spender Caucus,” voting for increased spending more than 84% of the time. Nate names the all-stars and the worst offenders, explains how election-year politics and lobbyist...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, dissect the 2026 Idaho legislative session — exposing how committee chairmen’s bill drawers killed immigration reform, teachers’ union payroll legislation, CPS due process protections, and a Medicaid expansion repeal, while the state budget grew $352 million in a year lawmakers claimed was about cutting spending....

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate of the Idaho Freedom Foundation deliver a final-week 2026 session verdict: the $800 million in promised spending cuts have been swallowed by enhancements, pushing the budget to $14.2 billion with more possibly coming. Zero tax relief passed. Key conservative bills — grocery tax repeal, Medicaid repeal, CPS reform, medical freedom — are buried in committee drawers while rat abatement...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate of the Idaho Freedom Foundation tear through the final weeks of Idaho’s 2026 legislative session: a $14.1 billion budget hemorrhaging through agency enhancements, conservative bills buried in Senate committee drawers, only 13 of 105 legislators scoring an A on the Freedom Index, Big Ag thuggery targeting a senator’s family business, and a Firearms and Freedom Dinner celebrating 10 years...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate tackle Idaho’s spiraling budget crisis where $800 million in maintenance cuts were wiped out by $800 million in agency enhancements. Nate details how committee chairs are killing popular bills—the union funding ban passed the House 45-23 but sits in Dan Foreman’s drawer, while Jim Guthrie buries immigration bills to protect big ag interests. The conversation pivots to House Bill...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate expose the committee chairman “drawer” system killing Idaho legislation. Senator Jim Guthrie buries three House-passed immigration bills while Senator Dan Foreman refuses to hear a teachers’ union dues bill he personally sponsored. Nate details how $769 million in promised budget cuts have been devoured by JFAC enhancement spending, tracks the teachers’ union fight against school choice, and previews Idaho...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate dig into the numbers behind Idaho’s 2026 legislative session—884 bills prepared but only 9 passed both chambers. Nate details the razor-thin 18-17 Senate vote on $192 million in budget rescissions, the defeat of an Article 5 convention resolution, and why mosquito abatement districts fought informed consent legislation. The conversation turns to CPS reform, the Baby Cyrus case, Governor Little...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate dig into Idaho’s growing budget deficit, where spending has outpaced revenue growth for six years running. Nate breaks down maintenance budgets, explains why pre-COVID spending levels should be the target, and pushes back on legislators who claim voting for big government is the hard vote. They tackle school choice tax credits—applications now exceed funding—legislative filing week strategy, a suspicious...

Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate break down Idaho’s legislative session where serious bills on CPS reform, grocery tax repeal, cloud seeding oversight, and protecting children from harmful library materials are being killed by committee chairs while trivial bills on rat abatement, water ski mirrors, and Appaloosa license plates sail through. Nate details how the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s bill rating system shapes legislation before it...