Dave did the opposition not have the opportunity to make their voices heard?

EDITOR NOTE–No issue with “sides,” just the usual complaint of a low turnout. Nationally it was the lowest turnout since 1942 when the guys were all overseas and Rosie was riveting at the factory. Ada voters did come out at the 62% rate…still, 38% stayed home.

It’s so obvious, it”s like the nose on my face. The people with the most money always win, and you know they are always going to win within weeks of the race starting. Not trying to say don’t vote, because that’s your rite as a citizen, but hasn’t anybody been smart enough to see the pattern and just call a day a day? Like back when we were fighting Luna, but he and Butch had eastern money in their pockets? A done deal, even though it ruined the lives of the teachers, and made our state 50 out 50 in student spending, showing all who really didn’t give a darn about the people? Same thing here. And religion does make a difference in backing these knot heads.

Well, I am incredulous that Tom Dale has slithered back onto the gravy train in Canyon!!

He will not waste any time in screwing things up there!!!

If you look at what counties the votes came from. Ada counties vote was a hold different story. Maybe we are just more informed than the rest of the state.

Diane Sower asserts that the people with the most money always win.

That seems like an inaccurate generalization to me. If the “word on the street” is true, Mitt Romney is richer than Obama. And Balukoff is richer than Otter.

Do the “deep pockets” sway elections? I’d agree with that. The “progressives” are constantly railing against the billionaire Koch brothers. And on the other side, George Soros and Bloomberg and Hollywood try to buy votes. Votta countrie!!

She also asserts that “the religious always call it by voting a certain party.”

Although that’s a very broad generalization, there’s likely some truth to it. Perhaps the losing party should examine its various positions on the various issues… there must be something there that “the religious” don’t care for.

(This may surprise many… the eastern Idaho Mormons used to vote solidly for Democratic candidates, a generation or two ago. Did the Mormons evolve, or did the Democrats evolve? Something has apparently driven them apart.)

It’s a BUMMER that I can’t somehow prevent everybody from voting who disagrees with me! (haha!)

A few of my candidates won… many lost. I was most surprised by the victory of Ms. Ybarra as Schools Chief. Apparently,
1) The people who voted for her weren’t paying attention, or
2) They were willing to overlook her various “stumbles” along the way, or
3) They liked her better than her opponent.

Soon we’ll all be able to road-trip over to Ontario or Adrian and smoke away all our cares.
(-;

Not sure why some continue to believe that money expended on students is ratiometric with the quality of education. Fundamentally, the government is the only institution in the world that can get away with that notion. Every company in the world has to do more with less year-after-year to stay relevant while the government works on the inverse of that principle. We currently spend 6x (adjusted for inflation) per student than we did in 1960 and we are not producing 6x better students. Personally, I think the educators are doing very good with the dollars appropriated to them and spending more won’t ‘solve’ non-existent problem..

Zippo, I’m a Democrat (albeit one that also ends up throwing at least a couple votes the Republican way because I vote on the candidate too) and I like your comment. I love it here in BLUE Boise. Tea party knuckleheads are welcome to live in 2C and commute in if they can handle us dirty liberals. Awesome logic 🙂

P.s. Two time Obama voter that voted early this year. Outlier to your theory? Maybe.

Nate,
The 1960 dollar is worth 8 2014 dollars. Likewise, inflation adjusted, if your number is accurate, we’re actually spending 25% less than we did in 1960. Just saying, inflation …

If voting worked, the elite would change the rules so that it didn’t. Between the corporate propaganda machine known as The Media, the money pouring into crooked politicians pockets, and ignorant citizens, we haven’t a chance at a benevolent government.

JSmith,

You hit the nail on the head with regard to ignorant citizens. Perhaps that’s why education is such a low priority for republicans – the more educated you are the less likely you’ll vote for them.

People vote party line because the politicos also vote party line in office. So people voting the party line is like buying a sector-ETF. It’s not as mindless as so many of you claim.

Dems blew it big time this year. On the national level they’ve not had a majority mandate since 2008… and even then, in 2008, that majority was given to them by those who wanted an Obama-phone and set down the crack-pipe long enough to vote.

2014, Idaho, AJB was a lib-dem… how stupid was that? Had the dems ran a RINO instead they’d have won. AJB’s wife could still have funded it and keep their privacy. Perhaps next time. Butch, you’d best pony up a fresh contender by then.

BTW: I think eminent domain should be used to turn the Boise residential lowlands into a mountain resort vacation destination… Book it and run it like they do a cruise ship, without the seasickness, cheap booze, or food lines. The tax revenue would be hugely bigger than the current take from the dilapidated residential Norend today. Plus Bieter could have his train.

A couple observations:
AJ had no ads interviewing an Idahoan enrolled with health insurance because of the the Affordable Care Act? WHY? AJ made no attempt with Otter’s ads of AJ being right for Liberal California to let Idahoans know that California probably gets most of the additional medicaid funding that Idaho Republican Otter turned down? Republicans always talk less government and Taxes? Jim Risch raised Idaho sales tax to 6 percent during his 6 month stint as governor of Idaho. And George Bush and Dick Cheney created Homeland Security, talk about big government. PART OF HOMELAND INITIALLY MAY HAVE BEEN NECESSARY. Otter voted against HS, as a Congressman, you don’t hear him wanting to repeal that! It is a wet dream to think Idaho will turn blue? The only things to turn blue will be the BALLS

Mormons vote Republican because they are republican. Go out and take a vote. We have incredulously good teachers, but punishing them like luna did wasn’t the answer. School districts that had no supply rooms didn’t make them wonderful teachers. Giving them “clickers” wasted their time. Dreaming up “Luna laws” further wasted precious teaching time, yet, he was incapable of going into a classroom and teaching, because he couldn’t teach! If you want a good superintendent, he/she needs to be able to read lesson plans and implement them, in order to gain the respect of the teacher. A two year online degree in measurements is not worthy of my vote, and his punitive ideas against the teachers were shameful, and only meant to deepen his pockets. Shameful, and put into office by religion. And yes, at some point you have to spend something on the students. At least Luna and Otter got money under the table. Why not students?

Robert:

Yes. I like AJ, but his lame complaints about the Idaho economy, implying that Governor Otter caused or created this weak economic environment, is disingenuous at best, and at the worst, is the height of hypocrisy!!!

Liberal policies killed our timber industry, and many Idaho towns were decimated. To then lament that Idaho’s wages are low, and the economy weak, is hypocrisy!!!

So far I have learned that: 1. Obama voters are a “fairly stupid bunch; 2. the voters in Idaho rely on Statesman endorsements; 3. Ada County may be more informed than the rest of the state; 4. Tea Party folks should live in another county and commute; 5. More-educated people vote for Democrats, so Republicans won’t fund education; 6. It’s surprising that someone with a Masters degree would vote for Otter. It’s time we stopped pretending that anyone who disagrees with us is dumb. It seems that nobody agrees with me, ever. However, I know there are some smart folks out there.

Foothills:

Many even so-called “moderate” Dems are way left, big spenders, want ever bigger and costly govie, more entitlements, and so forth.

Simply because you use CA as the benchmark means little. CA is the People’s Republic on steroids!

AJ voted for Obama!

Enough said???

I really hate it, don’t you? When someone suggests I move somewhere else if I don’t like the way elections turn out. My ancestors came over on the William and Stephen ship, fought in the Revolutionay war, those who followed fought in the Civil War, a grandfather fought in WW1, my father, in WW11, both parents, myself, my brother, and children born here in Boise, and yet we have no rights to be here and speak our piece. Native Idahoans have relatively few rights if they aren’t your rights. Now, don’t you find that a tad bit on the weird side? Send me somewhere else? Are you kidding me? Go back to the days after WW11 when people stood in the streets and shook hands, didn’t argue over party politics, and voted for the person. Now we are forced to vote for party politics, forced to fight with one another. Shame.

AJ:

Up your game, raise the bar, sharpen up your arguments, divorce yourself from most Dems, help to make Dems accountable for the innumerable problems Libs and Lib phosophies have caused.

Come back and run again after you have sharpened up!

Erico:

Perhaps you should say, “It is surprising that someone with a Master’s from a prestigious and reputable institution would vote for more failed liberal policies, practices,and philosophies.”

Can’t put all the eggs in one party basket. You’ll find some goofy folks in both parties. It’s not all or nothing. The tea partiers aren’t necessarily the smartest bunch in the basket, but, given the chance of working together with others with differing ideas, rather than freaking out and insisting all people must agree with all their ideas, maybe something good could come. Neither side need cram their ideas 100% down the voters, and neither side do, except of course George Bush, and we can now see the bloody, costly efforts he and Cheney made off of a balanced budget. Pre-emptive wars never work, and look at us. We’re becoming post Europe.

Robert, I think your comma should be a colon.