Ready to rumble

The Idaho Democratic Party had its convention this weekend in Idaho Falls, and I can tell you: We are ready to win this fall. With every passing week, the party's message gets stronger and more compelling - and that certainly was the case once we'd hammered out the last details in the platform Saturday afternoon.

If you could boil it down to five words, it'd be: Idaho is not for sale. That's Jerry Brady's slogan, but we'll all run with it. From preserving access to public lands to keeping our air and water clean to building strong local economies that lift every boat (not just the yachts), Democrats are standing up for working Idahoans. We're fired up, we're not distracted by wedge issues, and we're one helll of a lot more unified than the GOP seemed to be following their contentious convention last week.

Now, Idaho Falls is a Republican stronghold, but even here, the tide may be turning. Check out d2's entry at 43rd State Blues about a conversation with the clerk at a local motel, who said:

"I think you're gonna have a good election this year. My mom's always voted Republican, and she's had enough. The last straw was when she found out that everything at the Republican convention last week seemed to focus on how to keep non-Republicans from voting. I mean, that's just wrong. Everyone's supposed to vote."

Lieutenant Gov. candidate Larry LaRocco was standing there, too, and D2 notes how this probably would end up in a stump speech. Indeed it did, just hours later at the evening banquet.

Some personal notes: I've written about Larry Grant's barbecue here at Grassroots for Grant. And as an Ada County delegate, I especially enjoyed taking part in the final platform hearing Saturday. I suggested two changes that sailed through unanimously: changing the introductory phrase of the platform from "We advocate these ..." to "We stand for these ..." and, in a section on energy, suggesting that we back not just the development but the development and use of public transportation. Woo hoo.

I'll add a link to the whole platform when I get a chance. For now, though, I am continuing east into Wyoming for a few days wearing my travel-writer's hat. I'll send a blog postcard if I get some good access; otherwise, I'll be back online by midweek.

Comments

[Michael Strickland]

... "Now, Idaho Falls is a Republican stronghold, but even here, the tide may be turning. Check out d2's entry at 43rd State Blues about a conversation with the clerk at a local motel, who said:

"I think you're gonna have a good election this year. My mom's always voted Republican, and she's had enough. The last straw was when she found out that everything at the Republican convention last week seemed to focus on how to keep non-Republicans from voting. I mean, that's just wrong. Everyone's supposed to vote." ...

Many here is southeastern Idaho were shocked when the conservative slate got thumped in the last Idaho Falls election, by a much more moderate team. This is one of the points I have been mentioning in my Idaho State Journal (Pocatello) columns about the changing tide in Idaho politics.

Check out our politics blog at www.idahostatejournal.com.

This ain't your grandma's Idaho.

--Michael
www.michaelrstrickland.com

[KAREN SVEA JOHNSON]

IdahoPTV DIALOGUE Discusses Proposed
University of Idaho Law School Expansion

— Airs Thursday, June 26, at 8:30/7:30 p.m. MT/PT
— Repeats Sunday, June 29, at 5:30/4:30 p.m. MT/PT

On this week’s edition of DIALOGUE, host Marcia Franklin talks with Don Burnett, the dean of the University of Idaho Law School. For nearly 100 years, the law school has resided solely in Moscow. The Idaho State Board of Education has authorized the school to proceed with an implementation plan for a Boise location. The expansion would increase the number of students at the school from 296 to 500, and would require additional private and public funding, including higher student fees and tuition.

Dean Burnett appears on Thursday’s live show (June 26, 8:30/7:30 p.m. MT/PT) to discuss the rationale for expanding the law school to Boise, as well as the proposed timeline and funding for the initiative. During the live call-in show on Thursday at 8:30/7:30 p.m. MT/PT, he and Franklin will take calls from viewers on a toll-free line: 1-800-973-9800.

Questions are also accepted through e-mail in advance of the Thursday show ([email protected]) or through the DIALOGUE Web site (idahoptv.org/dialogue). (No call-ins are accepted on the high-definition [HD] TV airing at 9:30/8:30 p.m. MT/PT Thursday or the Sunday repeat at 5:30/4:30 p.m. MT/PT.)

Burnett, an Idaho native, has been dean of the law school since 2002. His legal career started in 1971, when he served as a clerk to the Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. Burnett was also an assistant attorney general for the state of Idaho before forming his own private practice in Pocatello. A former president of the Idaho State Bar, in 1982 he was appointed to the Idaho Court of Appeals. He won another term in 1986. In 1990, Burnett was chosen the dean of the law school at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, and at the U of I in 2002.