Time to get back to work

    Democrats can certainly rejoice in Barack Obama's win and be proud of Walt Minnick picking up the 1st Congressional District seat, but beyond that, there is little to celebrate.  In fact, we lost a seat in the legislature, a sitting commissioner in Ada County and another commissioner in Bonner County.  So, no matter how you spin it, we have to get back to work if we are ever really going to turn Idaho any shade other than deep red.
    Some of the numbers do not really make sense.  Ada County is one of the best examples.  How does Barack Obama get more votes than either Paul Woods or David Langhorst?  How does Walt Minnick win in West Ada County when neither Obama, Woods, or Langhorst carry the county when they have the North End and the Bench, an advantage that Walt didn't have? 
    The answer is that Walt's win probably has more to do with what is happening in the Republican Party than it does with the Democrats.  Make no mistake, Walt's win was fantastic and he deserves the credit, but it seems clear that the Republicans were fed up with Sali's antics and decided that if they were ever going to get rid of him, 2008 was the time to do it.  If Sali had won, he would have been the virtual leader of the Idaho Republican Party, given the leadership fight they had at their last state convention.  Voting him out gives the party back to Governor Otter and crew and also clears the way for their up-and-coming talent in future Congessional races.
    The one thing that means is that the Republicans will be doing everything they can to win the seat back in 2010.  We Dems will have to work very hard to keep the seat.  And in a straight up vote between a reasonable Republican and Walt, it will be as hard a fought race as we have ever had in Idaho.  So get ready.
    But between now and then, it is time to do what we always say we are going to do but never quite get it done, and that is recruit candidates for city elections and school boards.  Many of these elections take place in 2009.  If we are ever going to make real headway in Idaho, we need to start by fielding candidates in these local elections.  Doing so provides us with people who learn how to campaign as well as govern.  More importantly, these elections are non-partison, so our candidates are not hampered by having a D behind their name on the ballot.  That makes it much more about name identification and GOTV, things we can control.
    So, if you are thinking about running for office anytime soon, please think about running for city council or school board in your local community.  It is a great way to learn the ropes and, more importantly, get set up for a county or legislative race in the future.

Comments

[theresa]

I love that you end with please think about city council and school boards. Too often we tend to forget about the base; and instead focus on the bigger campaigns only.

I would even suggest that a lot of the folks that run campaigns for things like, extreme issues that I consider hate issues; learned this rule all too well.

So those that were working hard in grassroots, local work and building a base and candidates up - started to skip this step.

But the other side said hey you know what works - and moved into that very quietly and very well.

It is an area that deserves focus, and time!

(ok sorry stepping off my soap box now)

t

[sharon fisher]

good idea, Larry.

[Linda]

I think we should also focus on fund-raising. It's difficult for local candidates to run if they don't have enough money, and, in Boundary County, at least, we believe in raising money to give to candidates. We should also be donating more as individuals to the IDP. We have a great team of leaders in the IDP and if all those Democratic votes could turn into a monthly donation of $5-$50 or more, we might have the money to invest in local as well as state candidates.