A vote for the soul of the Republican Party

In a place with a long history of hate, a rebel Republican bloc mobilizes against far-right extremism within the local party.

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A generation ago, community activists were able to bankrupt and push out a white supremacist hate group that took root among the tall pines and crystal lakes of North Idaho. It was a hard-fought triumph — one North Idaho residents took pride in.

But today, some of those activists and residents worry that hateful ideologies are returning to their region.

This time, they say, the threat is no longer on the fringes of society, dressed in Nazi garb at a hideout in the woods. Instead, they say they see it in the leadership of the local Republican Party, which has mirrored the lurch to the right of the national conservative movement during the Trump era on matters of race, religion and sexuality. The bigotry of the past, they say, now has mainstream political cover.

Today on “Post Reports,” extremism and domestic terrorism reporter Hannah Allam talks with host Martine Powers about the self-described “traditional” Republicans who spent the past two years planning to wrest back control from leaders they accused of steering the local GOP toward extremism — charges those officials vehemently denied. And Hannah gives an update on their plight.

Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the episode.

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