The backlash against the G.O.P. is incredible. To think that it could spread to uber-red Idaho is just plain mind boggling. My mom and stepdad live in Nampa, Idaho -- one of the most conservative towns in probably the most conservative state. And guess what? They're voting for a Democratic candidate on Tuesday.
I grew up in Nampa, Idaho, where my fundamentalist (Nazarene) parents moved our family when I was a junior in high school. I've lived in Portland, Oregon or San Francisco since -- having long fled the Treasure Valley for a more liberal climate (I'm gay).
My mom has worked in the Financial Aid department at the very conservative Northwest Nazarene University there since 1984, and my stepdad is a retired christian counselor. I've spent a lot of time in Nampa the past year due to my mom contracting colon cancer (she's gonna be fine), and we've long ago agreed that politics is just not a pleasant conversation to bring up when we're together.
I decided to broach the subject yesterday when I mentioned to my mom that I had donated money to Larry Grant's congressional campaign. My mom then told me, "you know, the Idaho Press-Tribune endorsed him and I plan on voting for him, too".
I fumbled my cell phone and dropped it on the ground. No, I really did! I couldn't believe my ears!
The Idaho Press Tribune is the most conservative daily local newspaper that I know of. I occasionally look it up online because I get a kick out of reading their weird editorials and letters to the editor, so I went online and read the endorsement for myself. If you want a perspective of what it's like to read one of the most conservative papers in the nation endorsing a Democrat, go here: http://myidahopress.com/...
I asked my mom if they were planning on voting for Brady for Governor....she was still undecided on that, but had saw former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus on the television at a rally for Brady, and she "really liked seeing Cece" again. It sounds like they're leaning for voting for Jerry Brady, too!
The point is: if you knew HOW CONSERVATIVE my folks are, and that they're voting for at least one Democrat, then we should all take heart that this just might be our year -- even in IDAHO!