Idaho Democrats stand for American values

Posted on Nov 9, 2010 in Uncategorized

Op.ed. by R. Keith Roark, chair of the Idaho Democratic Party

While many local Democrats took umbrage at the recent Times-News editorial suggesting Idaho Democrats change our name, I congratulate your newspaper on what I personally thought to be an insightful, if somewhat tongue in cheek commentary.  Indeed, every Idahoan should read and consider your words.

Though the election of 1990 was indeed a high point for the Idaho Democratic Party, when all the votes were counted Idaho was still what it long had been: a red state, with both U.S. Senators and four of the seven statewide offices held by the G.O.P.  What changed after 1990 was that the legendarily independent Idaho voter became slavishly obsessed with the national Democratic Party label and registered his/her dissatisfaction with Tip O’Neil, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, etc. by voting against every Democrat on the Idaho ballot, even if that Democrat was running for county sheriff against the town drunk.

Idaho Democrats stand today for what they have always stood for:  good schools, open and honest government, a fair tax system and policies that afford every man, woman and child an equal opportunity to reach their full, human potential.  We strongly believe in free enterprise but oppose the corrupting influence of unregulated corporate campaign contributions.  We believe that government of the people, by Wall Street for Wall Street is a perverse and potentially fatal threat to our government and way of life.

I honestly believe that most Idaho voters embrace those same ideals.  Unfortunately, a very large number of those voters are reflexively registering their protest against politicians in other states by voting against local Democrats at every level of government. This proclivity on the part of many, though by no means all, voters has all but destroyed the two party system and created a political climate in which Republican Rep. Phil Hart can steal timber from Idaho’s school children and Republican Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujek can walk away with more than a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars without raising a single Republican eyebrow.

I supported and continue to support our President, who was handed two unpopular wars and the greatest financial crisis in more than fifty years when he took over from his Republican predecessor. However, only once in more than half a century has Idaho voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and I don’t believe they’ll do so again soon.  My concern is not that Idahoans didn’t vote for Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton or Barrack Obama.  My concern is that robotic voting on the basis of party label at the state and local level is not good for our state and its people.

We are not going to change our name.  We recognize the anger many voters feel for our President.  But Democrats in Idaho know that, without our party, the Social Security checks and Medicare payments upon which many who voted against our local candidates depend would not exist.  We know that without our party’s leadership, lynching would still be a part of life in the Solid Red South and the right to vote, to attend decent schools, to eat in restaurants and ride on public transportation would still depend upon skin color.  We have championed the cause of equal rights for women, for African-Americans, immigrants, gays and other minorities.  We have fought for collective bargaining, fair housing and policies that guarantee our children will be able to enjoy the great legacy: our vast public lands.

No, we are not going to change our name.  And we’re not going away either.

The Times-News editorial referred to in this op.ed. may be viewed here.