The Trouble With Red

Are we so red because we look at things of importance through rose colored glasses? Or is is because we just don't care?

Rudy Giuliani graced our town with a fundraising visit. He didn't really have to "campaign" because Idaho is as sure a Republican stronghold as there is. It's our loss. When asked why he had come, Giuliani said, "These days every state is important. When you think about it, every state could tip the balance." Yeah, right. We have four electoral votes.

But then it could tip the balance. The problem with an Idaho doing so, however, is that we have no opportunity to see the candidates, to a get a feel for them, to ask them questions or listen their ideas beyond the soundbite. We just vote Republican no matter what. Consider that the last Presidential candidate to visit was Reagan. Wow. That really tells me how well informed Idaho voters are. Don't worry about mail in ballots bringing out uninformed voters. We've already succumbed to that status long before election day.

We aren't ignored because we have so few electoral votes. Iowa has only seven and New Hampshire, like Idaho, four. Every serious candidate, no matter which party, spends millions of dollars and sometimes years courting the voters of each. The voters in those states have early primaries and set trends and in the end they will be counted one way or the other. But whichever way they vote, they will have had a chance to get a feel for the candidates up close and personal.

We're ignored because we're so ridiculously and steadfastly Republican.