Idaho Dispatch

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Op-Ed: Democrats Look to Broaden Appeal

By • July 12, 2022

Are you a Republican who is fed up with the right-wing direction of the GOP? Are you tired of the party’s ties with the Idaho Freedom Foundation, the National Rifle Association and Donald Trump?

If so, then Rep. Lauren Necochea – who chairs the Idaho Democratic Party–cordially invites you to join her party, which has a center lane for those who want to increase the state’s commitment to education while seeking property tax relief.

Don’t be too quick to proclaim 2022 as “the year” for Democrats. Until further notice, Idaho is a red state that is filled with people who think that a turn to the right – if not the far right – is the way to go for the Gem State. There are folks in rural communities, and some places to the north, who would rather vote for Putin than a Democrat.

In the first decade of this century, Democrats briefly held a congressional seat and they traditionally put up a good fight in the race for state superintendent of public instruction. Aside from that, Republicans have owned the big races.

Necochea, a native Idahoan who was elected to the party’s chairmanship in March, doesn’t need a political history lesson. And as the assistant minority leader of the House of Representatives, she’s well versed on the issues – along with the struggles that Democratic legislators face working in the minority.

Her approach is to build, opposed to living in the past. And she welcomes disgruntled Republicans to her camp.

“We’re already seeing that,” she told me. “We’re seeing Idaho Republicans who don’t recognize their party anymore and they share with common-sense Democrats on solutions they want to advance. As the Republican Party becomes more extreme, we feel we have a moral imperative to work even harder to change the trajectory of the state.”

Necochea offers no argument to claims that this year’s legislative session, marked by political postering and intense fighting between the executive and legislative branches, was the worst in the state’s history.

“Something is off when you see legislators talking about jailing librarians, jailing health-care providers, taking away people’s voting rights,  outlawing ballot drop boxes, and making it a felony to help your elderly neighbor with their ballots. I’ve never seen a more blatant extreme Legislature.”

And Necochea is just in her second term.

The Idaho Senate over the years has been the stopping point for some of the hardline initiatives. But as they say in baseball, wait until next year. After this year’s primary election, the Senate is likely to be tilting more to the right.

Only Democrats can stop the craziness, she says. “Democrats need to be elected to stop some of the worst extreme bills. Republican extremism is only growing, but Idaho voters are not that extreme overall.”

On the congressional level, Democrats are running their typical slate of smart and well-spoken  candidates – with almost zero name recognition. It’s hard for them to defeat well-funded Republicans who have been around for decades.

“It is a challenge when you have these lifetime politicians who have been around forever and have name recognition because they have been around forever,” Necochea said. “That means we will have to out-work them, knock on more doors and raise more funds to deliver our message.”

Abortion rights is not an issue that works in the Republican Party’s favor – at least in Idaho. But there has been strong negative reaction, and some protests, to the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

“Up to now, the Supreme Court has protected rights granted under Roe v. Wade. Now it’s legislators who will be able to interfere with personal decisions, and potentially banning certain types of birth control,” she said. “People are waking up to what’s at stake and that Democrats are the only party standing up to protect women’s rights.”

Whether there’s enough people “waking up” to sway the outcome of an election is another question. Idaho has a long way to go before shades of purple seep into this deep-red state.

But Democrats are, to their credit, making a noble effort in their year’s campaign.

ctmalloy@outlook. Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

This Op-Ed was submitted by Chuck Malloy. Note: Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.

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Tags: Chuck Malloy, Democrats, Lauren Necochea, Republicans

16 thoughts on “Op-Ed: Democrats Look to Broaden Appeal

  1. The Grand Old Politburo versus the CPUSA with wrestling chairs!
    Vote harder this time.
    Dominion/SmartMatic do not approve of this message.

  2. Wonder if all the pressure for masking and synthetic pathogen injections lies were in large part due to Simplot and Micron being beholden to China and therefore the current governor, former speaker of the house, senate pro tem took a knee for China and could care less about The People of Idaho?

    BTW President Donald J Trump won. Idaho’s republican leadership is liberal, no further liberal republicans or democrats are needed in this state.

  3. “common-sense Democrats”… Ya okay, uh huh…

    Democrat rule number 6. “Always put the phrase common sense before an issue or group when you wish to obfuscate the truth from the people you wish to trick.
    Example 1: ” this just in…the New York Times has reported that Bernie Sanders is a common-sense communist”…doesn’t that sound pleasant?!

    Example 2: common sens gun control.

    Trick:. Everytime you hear a Marxist use the phrase common sense, do the opposite and know they are trying to ummm…deceive you.

  4. I wonder if Necochea is the same type of reasonable Democrat such as Lisa Sanchez and Mayor Mclean. If so, good luck. It’s going to be a long, long ride.

  5. Guess Malloy erroneously believes he’s writing for the Idaho Statesman. Just who is he convincing?

  6. The Republicans are the other Democrat party . In the grand scheme of things the Republican politicians aren’t the saviors people think they are.

  7. This person is a liar just like the administration in power! She is insane and is trying to inflame people of Idaho with ridiculous rhetoric! Democrats have solutions? Democrats have common sense solutions? I laughed so hard when reading this article. Republicans are extremists? Republicans are you disagree with ANYTHING the Democrats want or do! How about inflation, out of control spending, out of control border, illegal aliens getting better treated that Americans, continued censorship, soft on crime attorney generals and judges, illegal searches, shame Jan 6 hearings, a fake president that is a criminal and cognitively impaired weak, feckless leader with an administration that has no experience in the offices appointed to. I could go on and on, but let me say this, most Americans are sick of the Democrats ruining our country with their policies. So don’t talk about Republicans going over to Democrats. It is TOTALLY the other way around! STOP. TELLING. LIES!

    1. Oh another thing. Men can get pregnant? Cannot define what a woman is? Infanticide is a type of abortion? Abortion up to birth and up to 28 days after? Abortion a health issue and a constitutional right? BS! Gun bill that does NOTHING but address law abiding citizens! Holding our children hostage unless schools allow boys/men is girls bathrooms? Destroying girls/women’s sports by allowing men to compete with women? Forcing radical LGBTQ indoctrination in our schools?

      1. Nailed it, and that’s just the tip of the ice berg. This article is absolutely comical. And as a conservative refugee from CA coming home to his Grandfather’s birth state, hearing North Idaho referred to as the evil extreme right wing portion of the state is comforting as hell. It’s sickening that someone like this even feels there’s a legit opportunity to turn this state. Fight Idaho… Fight like hell, because once it’s gone, you don’t get it back. And there aren’t any places left to run to.

  8. What right-wing direction of the GOP? I’m certainly fed up with the establishment GOP. They’re as conservative as Karl Marx. They fit right in with the “party of science” … upside down and completely out of touch with real people who fight every day to keep their humanity. Enough with these lovers of trans-national, trans-human, trans-sexual dumpster fires. How about a courtesy flush at the state convention? The smell is starting to get to us.

  9. Really? Anyone who can put out garbage like this is missing a few marbles upstairs or has had their head stuck where the sun doesn’t shine for the last two years. Maybe both!

  10. If the Democrats accuse the Republicans of doing something, you can be assured that is exactly what the Democrats are doing.

  11. How does a “Native” Idahoan” decide she likes what she see’s in California and other “Blue” states and wants to emulate them. We’re already seeing the changes and compromises and it makes me sick to my stomach. It is a slippery slope to slavery.. Keep Idaho Free!

    1. From a CA refugee (sorry… believe me I understand the resentment) who fought against this crap for 50 years and finally fled to North Idaho, only to see inbreds like this fraud looking to CA for inspiration, it makes my stomach turn. There is ONE aspect of CA that other states should emulate, and it’s the ONE aspect that Democrats in the state have been trying to destroy for decades… Prop 13 locking in property tax levels at time of purchase so people on fixed incomes don’t get forced out of their homes by rising property tax bills to the government. How more states don’t have that in place, I don’t know. But literally EVERYTHING else in terms of CA policy is absolute SH!T.

      Keep Idaho as it is folks… reject the “moderate” BS, because it doesn’t exist. Don’t elect Democrats, and don’t elect GOP establishment cucks who promise to “reach across the aisle”. They’re just part of the UniParty.

      FIGHT!!!

  12. “Something is off when you see legislators talking about jailing librarians, jailing health-care providers, taking away people’s voting rights, outlawing ballot drop boxes, and making it a felony to help your elderly neighbor with their ballots. I’ve never seen a more blatant extreme Legislature.”

    Excuse me, but no one is jailing librarians….but Dems and RINOs want to jail health care providers who advised AGAINST the masks and the jabs or prescribed Invermectin or HCQ or anything that worked and was cheap. The drop boxes are mule drops and the nursing staffs were VOTING FOR their own picks on elderly ballots. She is PROJECTING her own abuses on conservatives.

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