Politics

Recapping The Political Races

Finally! It’s over. No more political ads, roadside signs, recorded phone messages or broadcast talk shows.

The GUARDIAN barely cleared the .500 mark on the pre-election predictions. In our defense we have to admit we were probably influenced by the national mood which saw the Dems take over the Congress. Also within Ada County there were notable wins by the D candidates. However, the Republican stranglehold on Idaho politics is still strong.

One kind reader sent an early message declaring 5 out of 9 to be a failing grade.

–IDAHO GUV, Even though he lost Ada County, Butch Otter beat Brady. GUARDIAN Wrong.

–LT. GUV, Risch won handily as predicted. GUARDIAN Right.

–IST DIST CONGRESS, Sali beat Grant and the media got rich off ad revenues. GUARDIAN wrong.

–2nd DIST CONGRESS, Simpson won as predicted. GUARDIAN right.

–ADA COMMISH, Tilman over Ames as predicted, but Ames did much better than we expected probably due to anti-Tilman vote. GUARDIAN right.

–ADA COMMISH, Kimball, Ullman, and Woods. Ullman’s distant third was surprise after Daily Paper endorsement and active campaign. Woods won it with lots of cash and help from Greenie “Conservation Voters” who did a mass mailing. Kimball did better than expected, probably because of the ”R” connection. GUARDIAN wrong.

–PROP 1, School sales tax issue failed as predicted. Sales tax increase and lack of good language made it hard to pass. GUARDIAN right.

–PROP 2, Eminent domain failed as it should have. Not needed. GUARDIAN right.

–MARRIAGE DEFINITION, we missed this one big time. There will probably be some court challenges as the gays become stronger politically in other states. GUARDIAN wrong.

In summary, we blew it with Ullman and the marriage definition the worst. One thing about the GUARDIAN, you get what you pay for.

Comments & Discussion

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  1. Guardian,

    Don’t feel bad. Now you know a bit better how Scott Dorvall feels when he predicts sun and gets snow.

    I volunteered for my party and knocked on a slew of doors in a variety of districts and I must admit I am a bit shocked. Most of the people I met were pretty much in the mood to block Sali and send Lil’ Jimmy packing. Must of been some waffling at the end.

    Two years from now should be a real fun-fest. People need to prepare themselves for this year times ten.

  2. It the continuing tradition of sedning idiots to Washington DC, Bill Sali wins! Again proving the point that if you want to win here in Idaho, just have a “R” next to your name. I am sure Osama could win here just as long as he had the “R”.

    –“Depressed in Idaho”.

  3. I agree–don’t feel bad. You can always hope . . . . I no longer live in Idaho and I miss everything about it except the politics. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to live in a place that actually has two parties. I am totally enjoying the national Republican spanking, especially now that Rumsfeld has exited the scene. Otter, Sali, Luna, your marriage amendment–the only upside is that this keeps your lovely state from being inhabited by 15 million people.

  4. Curious has a good point. I never thought of it that way.
    Sali should convince the nation that Idahoans are a bunch of idiots, and only other idiots would want to live here.
    And I suspect that Luna will be able to discourage people from wanting to bring their kids here.

    Damn! I guess I should have voted for all R’s.

  5. Very disappointing results from Idaho, especially with Sali winning. Idaho would have been better off had the Democrat, Larry Grant won. At least he might have landed on some committees and had some sort of influence with this new congress. Sali, and his fringe views, will be shut down, and deservedly so.

    At least Boise made the correct move on the 10 Commandments issue.

  6. Thanks for calling me kind……your more generous than Mrs. Porcupine was this morning!

    EDITOR NOTE–I didn’t really mean it.

  7. So, when Sali is making an arse of himself in DC at the State of Idaho’s expense…I hope I can bring myself to chuckle and know that I had NOTHING to do with him being there. I worked a polling place for over 17 hours yesterday and the voter turnout was awesome. That’s the good news. I guess we’ll all enjoy the peace and quiet!

  8. Win some lose some ! I see Sali`s name mentioned have no fear as a freshman congressman he won`t be able to do much of anything other than fill a seat. With any luck just maybe the people will come up with some one much better the next time around (which shouldn`t take much doing ). Yes in two years it should get very interesting, in the mean time its done, live with it..

    Dave 500 is better than zero (smile)

  9. Yes, Paul Woods did get support from the conservation community for his fine work on the city’s foothills open space protection program. But the decisive factor in Paul’s election was having Sharon Ullman on the ballot which had the effect of drawing away voters from Kimball. Without Sharon, Kimball would have drawn most of those votes and won, so thanks, Sharon, for saving us from disaster.

  10. Some of the finer things in life are free, Guardian and you are one of them. I give you a 3-star rating for your explanations and follow-ups on the elections. I myself hoped that the dems. would take over Nationally but I knew people like Sali,Tillman and the gay marriage diatribes were still,unfortunately, an integreal part of Idaho political bigotry. Thats sad, but we have to keep fighting, because we are, as the Guardian predicted, winning!

  11. Geez, losing to Bill Sali has to be a huge slap in the face to Larry (“I was a Micron VP”) Grant.
    I sorta thought the Dems could of filled up a bag with sand, painted a face on it, and beat the stumbling, bumbling Sali at the polls.

    On the other hand, maybe too many current and former Micron employees voted for the lawyer they didn’t know instead of the one they did know.

  12. Hey, only vaguely related, but:
    I think i’ve finally figured out how they do the assessed values for property tax purposes.
    They have computers with random-number generators.
    Each year, they plug in your current assessed valuation, hit the “plus” key, hit the random-number generator, then hit “equals.”

    Whatever random number comes up is automatically added to your previous valuation, and, ta-dah! There’s your new value.

    (They must have a delimiter on the generator, though, so the random number can never come out less than, say, $100 or more than $100,000).

  13. Am I at all surprised that Sharon lost, not at all? There was a reason no one voted for her when she was a commissioner and there is a reason no one voted for her this time. She is just like Sali, a one timer. Once everyone found out how she really was, just like they will with Sali, they voted her out.

    It pains to see Sali going back to D.C. But I guess the good thing is he won’t be here in Idaho anymore. I also was annoyed at the media coverage and how they were titling the marriage union as the anti-gay marriage proposal. This bill had to do with gay and straight unions, bad on channel 6’s part. Oh well, like you said, you get what you pay for.

  14. I agree that Sali will be ignored as a bit player in Washington. Since he will now be part of the minority he will, as another person stated, only fill a seat (a size large). Unfortunately our taxes will pay the salary of this idiot. I think Larry Grant would have brought respect on a national level to the state of Idaho. I guess the East coast money and the right wing religious types got what they paid for.

  15. Sorry Guardian, but I can’t be so kind when it comes to your grade in Prophecy 101.

    First, in the following races, there was never a doubt in anyones mind who would win (and that probably includes the challengers). So these 2 prophecies have been tossed: Lt. Gov & 2nd Dist.

    Therefore, I score you a 3 out of 7. This drops your percentage from 55% to 42%. Good thing you have a real job to fall back on. (Or you could still be a weatherman with scores like that)

    As for all of you Sali bashers — Ha! The Dems really blew a golden opportunity. In two years it’ll be nearly impossible to unseat him (short of him committing high crimes and misdemeanors). If it gives you hope to think that you’ll be able to boot an incumbent Republican Congressman in Idaho, then stick with your sad fantasies!

    I fear this election is going to prove to be a lose/lose for the American people. With a near 50/50 split and Congress going to the Dems, now is the time for true statesmanship and bi-partisanship. Unfortunately what we’re already seeing is ‘look at our mandate’ & ‘this is what we’re going to do now that we’re in power’. The GOP had that attitude and blew it & now the Dems are destined to repeat history. Stand-by for two years of political gridlock

    Here’s my prediction: This Congress will get less done in the next two years than any in American history.

  16. Snoop said: “Oh well, like you said, you get what you pay for.

    Hmmm — seems like kind of a low blow … when it’s in the free Guardian!

    Joe Moran’s comment is much better.

    🙂

  17. Doesn’t matter what you call it, it IS an anti-gay marriage proposal.

  18. “EDITORS NOTE– I didn’t really mean it”

    I didn’t either,
    Porcupine

  19. patman2u: I don’t get the feeling that the Democrats are going in with the attitude that you are talking about. I think after 8 years of disastrous Republican rule the Democrats will work to set the country back on the right course. I really think gridlock will only happen if Bush decides to veto everything the Democrats try to accomplish. But if political gridlock occures then I would rather have that over the terrible policy that the Republican majority has given us.

  20. Patman2u said, “Here’s my prediction: This Congress will get less done in the next two years than any in American history.”

    My first inclination is that if you are correct, it might be the best thing that’s happened. After more thought, I believe we may at last see immigration reform that makes sense, and after all these years (since Reagan Amnesty) that will be worth having colored the nation blue.

    Additional Comments on Sali: He ONLY won because he had an R by his name….sad to say. Rs are so afraid of Nancy P. and the “new york liberals” (don’t you all want to vomit when you hear that phrase) that any R was a good R. Even Delores Crowe (R) from Nampa, who loathed Sali in the legislature took exception to the use of a derogatory quote attributed to her about Bill. She said “That doesn’t mean I won’t vote for him”…I think as my grandpa used to say…”If they ran a yellow dog”.

    As for Treva’s comments about Church. I go to Church and the only thing I’ve ever heard there is get educated and then vote as your conscience dictates. I suspect most churches do the same. If religion dictated Sali’s win then where were those same votes in support of the Brandi monument? I’m failing to see a correlation.

  21. If I remember right I think it takes a 2/3 vote to override a veto and that might be difficult to get. I look for congress to only get a few small maters done over the next two years .
    Let me state here I`m not big on either party and
    vote for who I hope can do the best job.

  22. Patman. Sali goes to Washington as representative for Club for Growth not Idaho. It is the Idaho Republicans who will rue the day they backed him in their futile effort to retain control of Congress. The bright spot for Idaho Dems is they did their part in drawing millions of dollars away from close Republican contests elsewhere in the nation to save a safe Republican seat, and thereby assuring a Democrat Speaker of the House. That sacrifice made it worthwhile.

    Now the minority Republicans have a Congressman already marginalized within their ranks. He will get no choice appointments to committees. Fortunately that makes him completely impotent, further good news for Idaho. But I’m sure it won’t stop him from spewing the bigoted agenda of Club for Growth. In so doing he will become the poster boy of what’s wrong with Republicans. I predict it won’t be Democrats unseating Sali in the next election. Instead Republicans will have another bitter primary contest to find someone who more accurately reflects the values of District 01. Which is more good news for Idaho Democrats.

    And with regard to gridlock, it looks alot more appealing than what single party rule has brought us. And you set the bar pretty high since the last Republican controlled Congress already received the title as the “do nothing” Congress. I predict that this Congress will accomplish a backlog of great things in legislation which will be thwarted by an unprecedented use of Mr. Bush’s veto stamp. Changing course from unheard of debt, international loss of prestige, doing nothing to solve our health care crisis, and the Iraqi quagmire can only be a win.

  23. Sagenay,
    The problem with gridlock is that everything stays the same. So if it does happen, none of the policies you despise will change because they’re already in place.

    As far as the Democrat’s attitude, I formed my opinion based on media reports of what soon-to-be Speaker Pelosi said (This is one of many I could quote):
    “House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to “drain the swamp” after more than a decade of Republican rule.-Washington Post”. Pelosi’s rhetoric after winning is as corrosive as her pre-win rhetoric. I will concede however that in today’s news, her comments are a bit softer (maybe a trusted friend told her to shut up??)

    A true statesman would have realized that, with such a hairline majority, neither side has a ‘mandate’. Nor does either side have the votes to push their agenda. I would be a whole lot more optimistic about the next two years if her comments reflected the reality that without compromise and bi-partisanship, nothing will get done – especially in the first 100hrs.

  24. Obviously the focus of this thread is on “Mister Sali Goes to Washington” rather than the more localized election results.

    I’m in Simpson’s district, so I’m just an outside observer. But for me, the jury is still out on Sali, and on the new Democrat Congress. As other astute fellow posters have observed, moderation and bi-partisanship is the order of the day, if anything is to be accomplished. (Bill can be a lonely bomb-throwing outsider, or he can learn some negotiation/compromise skills. Hopefully his DC colleagues will end up with a higher opinion of him than Bruce Nukem did. But… if I were Sali, I might wear Nukem’s calling me an “idiot” like a badge of honor!)

    (If this weren’t a “representative republic,” and I had to choose between Queen Nancy or King Bill… I’d probably make like all those former Hollywood actors, and defect to Canada. They DID make good on their promise to leave, if Dubya got elected, didn’t they??)

    (-;

  25. Patman2u said, “Here’s my prediction: This Congress will get less done in the next two years than any in American history
    God lets hope so!
    There’s been so much damage done now we need a break!

  26. Patman, I think that this was just the beginning. This Democratic vote across the nation is intended to stop the bleeding caused by Bush and his Republican party. In 2008 There will be a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President, then the Democrats will have their turn to truly guide the country. Really, I don’t think it is a good idea to have one party rule all branches. I wonder how it would work out to have elections for Congress and then allow the Senate minority party choose the president? I’m sure there would be major issues with that as well.

  27. I wanna know what kind of pollyanna pot Bikeboy is smokin’! 🙂 The idea that Sali could “learn some negotiation/compromise skills” would be laughable if it weren’t so utterly ludicrous. The man pissed off everyone he came into contact with….geez let’s hope he stays away from anyone who advocates for Breast Cancer research. He’s not just rigid and lacking diplomacy. He’s not got enough snap about him to be of any utility, even if he had a mind to be. Which he doesn’t. Club For Growth…I hope you know what you bought, and jacks jacks no trade backs.

  28. Tam, I am glad that you brought it up. I cannot believe that anyone who has known anyone who has suffered from breast cancer could have voted for Sali. His lack of brains and tact is matched only by W.

    reminds us all of the days of when Steve Sims went to DC.

    EDITOR NOTE–Don’t forget our great congressman George Hanson before he went to jail. We have a proud tradition in Idaho.

  29. Some are saying Dems won’t be able to accomplish much in Congress because G.W. Shrub will veto anything they pass.

    Well, they could take a tip from a certain Idaho Republican gov who said, “I’ll veto every bill you send to me until you pass the gigantic highways bill I want. Do it my way, or sit down, shut up and do nothing.” (OK, that’s not an *exact* quote, but …)

    So the Congressional Dems could tell the R’s, “You stop your king from vetoing our bills, or we’ll vote no on every bill you want, and our one-vote margin is enough to do it! Now play nice, or don’t play at all!”

    Would D’s stoop to a dirty trick like that? I dunno, but nobody seemed surprised when an R did it.

  30. I got what I wanted most from the national elections, divided government. It will certainly slow things down, but that will include slowing down the ill considered ideas as well. I’m looking forward to long, deliberative, frustrating discussions in congress. It will take several years for the partisans to adjust back to this system and some of them won’t make it, but I still strongly prefer two parties getting forced to the middle to hash out a few modest compromises.

    I also think the markets respond well to divided governmnet and that the recent run-up was in anticipation of this result. I expect two prosperous years, at least as good as the last big expansion (when we also had divided government).

    If there is an hope in getting our state’s spending under control, it isn’t in giving democrats the power, it is in giving them half the power.

  31. Thanks Tam and Slim Jim. It is an oddity why any woman, let alone breast cancer survivor, would have voted for Sali given his position. Governor Andrus predicted that Sali would go down just because of that issue. Can someone explain why a woman would vote for him? Anyone?

  32. Obviously neighboring Montana has a better track record in electing Democrats than Idaho. I find it hilarious that the new Idaho governor is named Butch. Excuse me while I throw up! As for Minnesota, except for govenor all constitutional offices are Democrats and both houses of the legislature are in Democratic hands. I am sure that having an anti-gay referendum on the ballot in Idhao was a great asset for the Republicans

  33. Tam – I didn’t mean to be disrespectful of all religions. However, there are some big church groups out there – and I won’t name them – which have specific agendas and give their congregations the word in their weekly newsletters and a wink and a nod from the pulpit to convince their followers to stay on message. I have relatives who are followers of one of these groups. Of course these people have the right to promote their agendas but I don’t like to see any religion get the power to take over public policy, which needs to be nonpartisan and secular.

  34. By the way, there is a funny national take on our race between Grant and Sali. Check out http://www.factcheck.org/

  35. Funny, but not at all funny that the guy won.

  36. Thanks Tam and Slim Jim. It is an oddity why any woman, let alone breast cancer survivor, would have voted for Sali given his position. Governor Andrus predicted that Sali would go down just because of that issue. Can someone explain why a woman would vote for him? Anyone

    Can I add to this?
    Why would any man vote for Sali? Please anyone?

  37. Robert – the only persons who admit to having voted for Sali are the ones who admitted to having voted a straight Republican ticket. If I were into conspiracy theories I would demand a recount. This is, however, Idaho. My only solace is that we have elected Frank Church and Cecil Andrus into office in my lifetime. That proves to me that sometimes Idahoans come through. As a native I feel guilty about wishing we might have enough newcomers to give Democrats a fighting chance. It looks like only hard line Repubs moved here. Let’s get some muscle into the 2008 elections and find candidates who are honorable and can win.

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