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RANDY STAPILUS Idaho |
The Idaho Republican convention's closing hours in Moscow last weekend were so unusual and so conflicted that they've taken on a character of their own – a poison pill of sorts for Idaho's dominant political party, an event so embarrassing that, in some views, it might cost the party control of state offices.
Let's step back just a bit.
Will the chaos convention in and of itself change much in Idaho politics? Probably not. Even amid all the headlines, most Idaho voters likely are only vaguely aware that a convention was held, and far fewer could explain to you just what happened there. So what if they failed to elect (in the normal way at least) a chair or adopt a platform? Outside of people really active in Idaho politics, who would notice? When's the last time either of those things elicited a lot of discussion two weeks after the event?
Short term, the party has a mess in front of it – disagreement even about whether it has a chair and officers in place. Meetings last week didn't seem to go much better than the convention did. Some of that may be resolved in the next few weeks in meetings various party people are trying to set up; or those efforts could collapse as well.
Still, as a one-shot event, this and the botched convention was not a big deal in the broad reach of Idaho politics. It will pass.
That doesn't mean it's insignificant.
It (and the ongoing conflict) could turn off some party workers and volunteers who, out of anger or disgust, won't be going out there and working the way they usually do. That could hurt the party in the case of races which are otherwise close.
But there's also something bigger. (more…)
