Good news for Idaho? Idaho

Because, Lord, we need it.

The dirty little secret of the past few months among us that have been doing the good work over here at westerndemocrat.com was the race against Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho. "Unmitigated failure" would not be an unfair description.

Anyway, according to Ridenbaugh Press, there may be some reason for hope:

This week comes news that Democratic Party Chair Carolyn Boyce plans to step down when the party's executive committee meets. And word that the top interested candidate to replace her may be Richard Stallings. And that raises some thoughts.

...He goes back to the mid-70s working on Democratic campaigns, ran twice for the legislature (losing in a Rexburg-based district, no disgrace for a Democrat), running for Congress in 1982 and losing - then, in 1984, knocking off veteran Republican George Hansen and winning by growing landslides in his next three re-election contests. Lost two race after that for the Senate and an attempt to regain his House seat, but more recently re-elected to the Pocatello city council.

Randy compared Stallings to another state party chief, the Republican's Phil Batt, who turned his party around in 1991, during a short tenure.

The election of 1990 was the worst for that party in three decades, the climax of three elections that each marked general reversals for Republicans and especially conservatives. Dispirited, fractious, the Republicans turned to a figure respected by just about everybody: former Lieutenant Governor (and long-time state Senator) Phil Batt.

...These cases are not identical, for a host of reasons - the biggest being that Batt had a whole lot more raw material to work with. The Republicans' biggest problem in 1991 was disarray, internal conflict and a lack of focus. At its depth, it still was the majority party in the state, and Batt's main job was to intelligently pull it together again.

If Stallings takes the job (if he wants it, it will surely be his) his task will be far broader. He would have to rebuild from a deep deficit position, and redefine the party in such a way that more Idahoans can conceive of voting for its candidates again: At present, a clear majority of voters almost everywhere in the state has a snap reaction against any Democrat, whoever they are, whatever they say or do. His task will require political strategy of the most thorough kind.

Sounds like a Herculean task, but the Democratic Party has good history in the state, and they may be helped out by the Republican Party who might rest on their laurels. Anyway, Idaho Democrats are wicked smart, the original Coyote Democrats.

"(Idaho) has elected Republicans so dumb they need to be watered, but any Democrat who hopes to stick around must have the adaptive skills of a coyote."

Emmett O'Connell | January 9, 2005 | Comment on This Post (4 so far) Permalink: Good news for Idaho? Idaho

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