Seldom is heard a discouraging word

... but Randy Stapilus has some for us, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

In a post yesterday, the longtime observer of Idaho politics suggests that Larry Grant still faces a hard uphill slog despite the exciting news that the GOP is throwing money at the supposedly safe ID-01. As Randy tells it, Idaho Democrats are stuck with the "Loser" brand and a majority of Idahoans simply vote Republican by default, no matter how lame the candidate.

Yes, but ... and Stapilus points out a few "free radicals" that might bolster Larry Grant's chances. Among them: Bill Sali is a very weak candidate. Larry Grant is much stronger, and he's running "an energetic campaign." President Bush's popularity, though higher here than most of the nation, has taken a dive since 2004. What Randy doesn't mention (and maybe doesn't know, since he's moved to Oregon) is that the Idaho Democratic Party is more organized this year than it's been since I've lived here (17 years). Randy suggests negative campaigning may be Grant's only hope, but I think Grant can stay on the high road in this new, more organized environment -  especially if the media does its job reporting on Sali's many negatives, like KIVI did last week in its excellent report on Sali's funding from the Club for Growth.

Frankly, if we can't win some big seats this year, we can't win. Period. But overconfidence is lethal in politics, so I'd like to thank Randy Stapilus for keeping ours in check.

Comments

[legion]

Well, look at it this way - every dime they spend here is a dime that won't go to a tight race somewhere else. Even if the GOP keeps ID-01 at the end of the day, maybe a few tight races elsewhere in the US will go our way that might not have otherwise.

I guess that's called 'taking one for the team'...

[Temple Stark]

Ah, two former PolState writers keeping it civil. Does my heart good. (Not that I have anything to do with it.)

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