As an occasional diary contributor to Daily Kos, I recently got an email urging me to post some more.
It said in part:
"With the election over, there’s a lot to talk about where Democrats must go—and the grassroots must lead the conversation."
Up until now, I have confined my writing to two general topics; Democrats in Idaho, my beloved home state, and music, particularly banjo music, a subject that is another thing that is a vital part of my life.
I've been content to let the folks who concern national politics and the workings of the Democratic Party to lead the larger discussions we are all interested in and are concerned over. I have believed I don't know enough about the national scene to offer much, so I have stuck with the subjects I know the best.
But right now, I'm pissed off. I'm an Idaho Democrat, and that's not going to change. I've weathered a lot of Republican blizzards and they haven't changed me yet, nor are they going to, but I have some bones to pick with the national Democratic Central Committee, the Democratic Senate Central Committee, and other big fund raising and leadership entities in my party.
So, Paul, whoever you are in the Kos crew… you asked for my thoughts, here they are, blunt, hard, and with all the bark on them.
While I don't believe my meager contribution won't change anything, I am not yet so cynical as to believe it may, at least, start a discussion.
Idaho Democrats have been steadily losing the ideological fight here since 1990. Our political influence was fading before then, but 1990 was a watershed year of sorts; it was the last year that the Idaho Democratic Party, almost always a minority throughout my life, but always a healthy minority, became chronically ill. It was the last year a substantial number of Democrats were elected into offices from the county level up.
For my life until then, our Democratic candidates were still viable statewide. They could still win against incumbent Republicans, and our incumbents could still win over their Republican challengers.
Idahoans were willing to vote for a candidate who had the better vision for an office, a candidate with better experience, and a candidate with the heart of a public servant with less regard for which party the candidate came from.
Idahoans wanted a strong minority/majority push and pull happening in our Legistlature. They liked the idea of a minority party Governor balancing a majority party House and Senate. They wanted each party in the houses to slug it out before a bill reached the Governor's desk. They wanted a mix in our Administrative offices.
All that changed after 1990. Gradually, but rapidly, party affiliation grew to be the greatest deciding element in every election. Having an R behind the person's name became more important than the person's positions, qualifications, or personal favorability. A D behind a person's name stood for Defeat, except for a few spots here and there. Idaho Democrats swiveled down to only a nominal presence in our Legislature, so few they weren't worthy of derision any more. A pitiful few to be ignored.
The reasons for this are many and vary in importance, are fairly complicated. To explain how the Republicans rose to total political dominance here requires a lengthy diary of it's own.
But now, after over 20 years of compete dominance, the GOP is both deeply entrenched and deeply divided. 2014 was the very best year of opportunity our Democrats have ever been given in all that time, and we responded with the best ticket we have presented in years in response.
Our hopes were high. Our GOP was in a blood feud with itself. Here are some of our greatest opportunities, and who we offered.
Our Governor was unpopular for his entire second term. He faced a major revolt in his own party as he sought a 3rd term. He was in cahoots with the corporation that took over our prison system after he pushed for privatization, and their management turned our prisons into gladiator schools, so understaffed they were a danger to everyone inside, and cost us millions in illegal over-charges. So bad they are now being federally investigated.
He was indifferent, showed up for work when he wanted, dedicated to enriching his cronies, and left all state leadership to others. He sought a 3rd term, something that has only happened once before in our history, and was so despised by his own party he lost his primary in his home county, district, and in Boise. He squeaked out a primary win only because of a right wing backlash against the extreme right, and the resultant disarray. At 73, he ran only due to personal hubris and vanity. He has become Idaho's version of Strom Thurmond.
Our younger Democratic opponent was a very successful businessman, a dedicated civic leader in Boise, and a long-time member of his local school board. He was a conservative moderate, a former Republican, and decided to run because he saw the state government was flying us all straight into the ground. He was so committed to his campaign he spent millions of his own money on it, while our GOP incumbent spent none of his money. He didn't have to, because he received massive financial support from GOP and private PACs.
Our Director of Education, who was controversial since his first election, when he was elected to lead our education system when he held no college degree, was completely disgraced when his sweeping changes were resoundingly defeated in a referendum in 2013, and decided to not run, leaving our education leadership wide open.
Our Democratic candidate was highly experienced in our state education's leadership, and was highly qualified. And widely favored by everyone in our state's education system.
Her GOP opponent won by a narrow margin in a 4-way primary, was unknown, and had never held any high position other than in the district where she was a teacher. Her qualifications were conflated, her campaign almost non-existent, and she never attended any state ed conferences, preferring to skip her best opportunity to introduce herself to those she wanted to lead to having coffee with a Representative when the convention was happening.
Her website was plagiarized word for word from her Democratic opponent's, and she didn't bother to vote in any election but one from the first time she moved here until this year. She even failed to mention that her husband was her second when it became an issue of minor importance.
Our State Treasurer had blown millions of our tax dollars in bad investments, while spending our money on limousines, receptions and high times in New York City in service of his own PAC.
His Democratic opponent was a highly qualified corporate CFO with an impeccable reputation professionally and personally.
Our Secretary of State, the most admired Republican in our state government, decided to retire in 2014, leaving his office open.
The GOP candidate was a former Speaker of the House, who, due to his favoritism, bullying ways, and support of several very corrupt state Representatives, was voted out by his own party, the first Idaho Speaker to ever lose the position this way. He ran for Sec. of State only to bolster his state retirement greatly, profiting from a law he wrote himself while Speaker, that would pay him 4 times more than his retirement as a Representative.
Our Democrat was a fresh challenger and was as clean as a whistle. There was nothing in her background with the faintest trace of tarnish on it.
Our state's Republicans were in such a fight that their convention never progressed past the point of seating the delegates. After 4 days of fighting for 12 hours solidly a day, the convention was closed after failing to accomplish any single thing they were convened to do, including the selection of a new state party chairman.They literally went home leaving their party leaderless. And stayed that way for 2 following months until a committee was scraped together who did the job.
Our hopes were high. Idaho Democrats were motivated more than any election of the 21st century, and we had a superior slate. We were united, we offered solid alternatives, were honest, and our opponents were split deeply.
…And, once again, we were completely routed. We failed to win a single one of all these very vulnerable GOP seats. We lost again while our state's government at all levels has become corrupt, self-serving, and ineffective at all levels from bottom to top. The Republicans are happy to elect crooks, rapists, drunks, and do-nothings, but wouldn't vote for a Democrat.
Naturally enough. Despite their quarrels, conservative money flooded this state for a solid year. Our folks were all on their own.
Most voters never had the chance to know who our people were, while even down to the county levels, the GOP candidates had plenty of money to stack our mailboxes full of their fliers, and fill or TV and radio with their ads. Ours simply did not have the money to compete at even the top level races. Downticket races were much worse.
Where in the hell was the DCC when we needed their financial help the most? Where in hell did all my contributions go, when I was kicking all the money I could to our cause, just like thousands of us Democrats were?
Where was our support from our party at the national level? Not here, for sure. We were left on our own once again. One more God-damned time. We Idaho Democrats didn't even exist to them.
Worst of all, our highest party leadership failed in solid blue territory. They failed in the East, failed in the Center, failed in the South, and failed out here in the West.
Where was our top level brain power?
Where was the realization that Democrats need to do much, much, more than hold the Blue Wall?
When will my party 's leaders realize that we need to work on the hardest places the hardest first?
Where are the plans to turn the red states purple once again? The Republican Party is focused on breaking the Blue Wall. Where is our focus to break their Red Wall?
Why was I dunned, threatened, begged, and wheedled for a full year for more money, more money, more money? Where did the money go, dammit! I wanted to see just a little of it come back here!
I wanted to see some national leader act like he wanted us to win in Idaho!
I never got a sign of it. They wrote me off. They wrote all of us here off.
Why did our great 50 state endeavor of 2008 collapse? Where was our vaunted ground game? Where was our national vitality? What happened to our winning motivation to win everywhere, not in just our populated strongholds?
By the final weeks, I was so disgusted by the constant bombardment of pleas I felt like my leaders were trying to use me like a piece of toilet paper. All they wanted to do for me was a quick flush after using me up.
Most sadly, Kos seemed to be part of it all. I saw no criticism here of ActBlue, even when I saw nothing coming back here from even them. While my email box and my outside mailbox were both filling up with threats, begging, pleas, fake concern, contrived fear. 40 a day or more, from every organization connected to my party. Relentlessly. It's still happening daily, and I'm sick of it.
Worse than sick. I feel like I was conned by a bunch of slick second rate hustlers in cheap white shoes. We deserved better here. I already have a hard time dealing with our Republicans, and I was being browbeaten by my own party in a way I have never experienced before. For 40 years, I respected my party's leaders, even when they were floundering. I always believed them to be sincere, at least.
Now I think they're nothing but a bunch of oblivious assholes who can't lead each other out of a parking lot, not one bit better fit for their job than my arrogant, cynical, vain, despised , empty-headed Governor.
So, there it is. I feel like I gave blood and got pissed on after I bled. I was there on election day. I was there to help and do what I could right up to the last hour of the last day. I Was Abandoned. So Were We All.
I want the whole pack of the sons of bitches fired and run out of town with their britches on fire, and I want to see some courage and some concrete plans to come from their replacements. I want no apologies, no sniveling, and no more spineless get-alongs in our top leadership. I want to see the new guys deliver the goods up front, next year, and I want to see the 2016 election map turn half blue west of the Mississippi.
Now- let's figure out how to get that done. It ain't gonna happen with our current crop of Guchi wearing assholes sitting in their isolated, cushy Washington offices. A good start would be seeing a few of their replacements show up here, wearing work clothes, ready to get some work done.