Right-wing culture warriors wielded slanderous campaign literature and a fearmongering video in Tuesday’s election to unseat two moderates and secure a majority on a library board in rural northern Idaho.
Incumbents Judy Meyer and Regina McCrea had joined the Community Library Network’s board of trustees, overseeing Kootenai County and parts of Shoshone County, back in a time when it was as non-partisan as it is supposed to be. Both had done whatever was reasonable to respond to the concerns of citizens who expressed fears that children were being exposed to inappropriate materials.
That did not stop members of the Kootenai County Republican Council from hand-delivering copies of a letter falsely alleging that Meyer and McCrae "allowed graphic books with text and pictures describing every imaginable sex act to be purchased and displayed to children."
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"Many of the good people in our community have been shocked to learn that sexually explicit books are on display in the children’s section of our libraries,” the letter further claimed. "These books are so explicit that if you were to give them to a child, you would be committing a crime."
Meyer and McCrae responded by suing the Republican Party precinct reps who delivered copies of the letter to homes in their assigned areas.
When asked about the lawsuit, committee President Brent Regan said via email that he “can’t talk about pending litigation.”
Regan did acknowledge that the GOP committee financed a professional-looking video posted in the days leading up to the election. The 90-second ad begins with text reading, “A MESSAGE FROM THE KCRCC” and “Our library trustees have failed to protect minors from harmful media and reading material.”
The video then features a child who is returning from school. She is heard, but never seen.
Her mother can be seen at the kitchen sink, hand-washing dishes. A plate of chocolate chip cookies sit on the counter
“Hi honey, I'm in the kitchen,” the mother says. “How are you today? How was school?”
The child replies: “We went to the library today and there’s a special room for kids. And this funny lady, she, uh, read us a book and she showed us all the pictures in the book. The lady gave me a hug, but I could feel her face was really scratchy, like dad’s face.”
The child is apparently describing a drag queen story hour, events that have been held at libraries in other parts of the country but not in these northern Idaho libraries.
“Oh, what was the book about?” the mother asks.
“Oh, it was about moms and dads and there were kids and stuff, doing things like kissing each other and some of 'em didn't have any clothes on,” the child replies.
“Oh my,” mother says.
“Mommy…” the child begins.
“Yes, honey?” the mother says, turning from the sink, holding a white plate in both hands.
“...What’s anal sex?” the child asks.
The mother drops the plate, which shatters on the floor. The focus is on the pieces during a male voiceover.
“Our library boards have allowed for adult materials to be displayed in the children’s sections. Visit cleanbooks4kids.com to see for yourself. Time for new leadership. Vote May 16th for Tim Plass and Tom Hanley to protect our children's innocence.”
That is what the voters of Kootenai County did. Plass and Hanley, backed by Regan’s group, unseated Meyer and McCrea on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Plass claimed that book-banning is “not really even a political issue.”
“This is, you might say, good versus evil,” he told The Daily Beast.
He suggested that the evil includes the American Library Association and like-minded others .
“Why would anyone want these books in the library for kids, unless they're a pedophile or a groomer?” he asked.
The five-member library board already had one member—Rachelle Ottosen—who has voiced views similar to Plass’ stance. They now have a controlling majority.
Plass, a recently retired Stanford-educated electrical engineer, figures he and his comrades will waste no time moving any books they deem inappropriate to where they cannot be accessed by children and teens.
“That’s a definite,” he said.
Hanley said in an email to The Daily Beast that he “was motivated to run for the Community Library Network after learning about the hundreds of obscene books located in the minor’s areas of the libraries.”
He added, “Someone had to do something about it, so I thought, why not me?”
He was much nicer about his vanquished opponents than the GOP outfit that targeted them.
“As for the incumbents who were not re-elected, I believe they have had fine intentions and accomplishments, guiding the library system to where it is today,” he said.
Meyer did not respond to a request for comment. McCrea said she and her family had been through so much during the election that she would prefer to avoid the spotlight. She sounded still jarred from being accused in board meetings and in mailings and online of sexualizing children.
“I’ve been called a groomer,” she said. “I’ve been accused of harming minors, distributing books that are obscene.”
“I’m a mother, I want to protect children’s innocence,” she said. “Just the idea that I am trying to pervert children is offensive. I believe children’s innocence should be protected just as much as anyone.”
She was able to note one bright spot: Denise Neujahr, a librarian who runs teen youth services in the network is the recipient of the American Library Association’s 2023 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity in recognition of her efforts to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth.
“Denise was targeted by the ‘Panhandle Patriots,’ a militia-oriented motorcycle club based in northern Idaho,” the ALA announcement noted. “They received her personal information through a public records request and commenced a personal attack on Denise that included printed posters and a social media campaign that labeled her as a ‘groomer’ and claimed that she was indoctrinating youth with an LGBTQ+ agenda.”
Neujahr will be presented with the award at an ALA gathering in Chicago in June. That is the same month the new majority will be taking over the library network back in Northern Idaho after a campaign of lies and fear.
