Today's general session at the Idaho Republican convention has started. Started with a prayer, pledge and the singing of the first (the one everyone knows) and less commonly known fourth verses of the Star Spangled Banner #idpol 
Sen. Risch is speaking now. Said he brings greetings from Trump and that if the national media think they have him down they're wrong. "It drives the other side crazy, too bad for them. He does give America the leadership it demands." #idpol
Risch is defending Trump's handling of #COVID19. Points to the China travel ban, says Democrats called him a racist for it and the media doesn't talk about this. "Who was the first person to take dramatic action against the spread of coronavirus? It was Donald Trump!!"
Risch is criticizing China and the World Health Organization for their handling of #COVID19
Risch: "There isn't a person in this room I don't think that doesn't think what happened to George Floyd wasn't a horrible horrible criminal act, unfortunately by a police officer, but there are 800,000 police officers in America. ... These are good people." #idpol #GeorgeFloyd
Risch: The officer who killed Floyd will go to prison probably for life. Rioting is not a justified response. "We are the party of law and order. We have always been the party of law and order." Says the Democrats want a nationalized police force, which draws boos. #idpol
Risch: The Dems will probably keep the House. That leaves the presidency and Senate. I'm not worried about Trump having a rough patch here or there. "The same people that are telling us right now that he is deeply in the hole in the polls and can't get re-elected 1/2
Are the exact same people who told us Hillary Clinton was going to be president of the United States." 2/2
Risch calls the Senate "the firewall to keeping America America." He talks about the Democratic Party's moving left and praises the filibuster
Risch calls the Senate "the firewall to keeping America America." He talks about the Democratic Party's moving left and praises the filibuster
Risch is talking about how the filibuster stopped card check back when the Democrats controlled the Senate. If it hadn't been for the filibuster, he says, unions would be much more widespread than they are
Risch: The Dems are talking about axing the filibuster. If they do the first things they will do is statehood for DC and Puerto Rico, which he says would be "really really bad."
Risch: if DC and Puerto Rico become states, "I will be the last Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee forever because they will pick up four Democratic seats that will never flip over. ... Republicans will never be in the majority in the United States Senate."
Risch just went over the Senate map, the competitive races in Maine, Arizona, Colorado, Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina. Says he thinks the GOP will keep the Senate but that the Senate flipping is a real possibility
Party Chairman Labrador is talking about planning the convention. Says they looked into holding it in Boise but they didn't know how #idahocovid19 restrictions there could affect things. "So we moved it to a freer county, to Canyon County, where they believe in freedom."
He talks about how he opposed holding a virtual convention but planned for one just in case, and also opposed requiring attendees to wear masks. Now he's thanking the staff and volunteers.
