Idaho Democrats will caucus on Saturday morning to select their presidential delegates, and they're inviting folks to join them at the gatherings in each Idaho county. At locations from Mugsy's Tavern in Bonners Ferry to the Morrison Center in Boise, Dems will gather at 10 a.m. local time - meaning the doors will close then, so those who want to participate should arrive before that hour; you can read my full story here in today's Spokesman-Review.

“People who turn out are people that are excited to be Democrats, they're excited to have a Democratic president to support, and this is their chance to do it,” said state party spokesman Dean Ferguson. “I'd expect quite a bit of enthusiasm.” Ada County Democratic Chair Colleen Fellows said, “This will be an exciting up-beat rally atmosphere.”

Any qualified voter who lives in the county and will be 18 by the November election can participate; participants also must sign a pledge form stating that they're a member of the Democratic Party and declaring either support for President Obama or that they're uncommitted. Many of the caucuses around the state, including those in Ada and Kootenai counties, will include the showing of the new Obama documentary, “The Road We Have Traveled.”

Four years ago, roughly 22,000 participated in Idaho's Democratic presidential caucuses and threw the state's support to Barack Obama over rival Hillary Clinton by a two-thirds margin; this time, President Obama is unopposed. Sally Boynton Brown, state party executive director, said, “Lack of competition means these events will not offer the drama or draw the crowds of 2008, but the caucuses are important gatherings for party members who want a say in the party's state and national platforms.” For more information, go to idahodems.org.

The Idaho Democratic Party, at its fall state central committee meeting over the weekend in Sun Valley, voted to keep its primary election open to all voters, rather than closing it to anyone but registered party members as Idaho Republicans have opted to do. “Not a single person on our state central committee was interested in disenfranchising voters,” said Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant.  “The Democratic Party welcomes everyone that has been thrown out of the Republican Party by the extremists trying to purify their ranks by closing their primary.”

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, “Our Democratic legislators represent everyone in their districts, not just the Democrats but Republicans and independents as well, so our election process should reflect that.” Saturday's central committee vote was 70-0. Idaho's next primary election is May 15, 2012.

Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant has issued a news release slamming the recent decision by Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower to forgo prosecuting former state Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow because statute of limitations had expired. “It is outrageous that Chigbrow won’t be called to account for his wrong doings,” Grant wrote. “If Republican leadership had acted when they first were told of concerns about Chigbrow’s behavior, maybe it wouldn’t have been too late to hold him accountable.  This is just another case of the Republican Party turning a blind eye to unethical, and in this case, criminal behavior.”

He pointed to recent ethics questions involving state Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, and state Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, and said, “It's time the Republican Party holds their leaders accountable.” You can read his full release here.

The Idaho Democratic Party announced today that its central committee has elected Larry Grant as it new state party chairman. Grant, a former congressional candidate and former vice president and general counsel for Micron Technology, is from Payette. Click below for the Democrats' full announcement.

The Capitol Hill newspaper “Roll Call” reports today that Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick says he’s “gone for good” from elective politics. “I think I’m done with elective politics,” he told the newspaper.  “I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I think it’s time for somebody else.” The article examines the dismal elective record of Democrats in Idaho in the past three decades, and the Idaho party’s future prospects, perhaps with conservative, well-funded Democratic candidates like Minnick. “I might’ve fit the profile of a winner, but it was a bad year,” Minnick told Roll Call before one of his last votes in Congress. “It was a big wave, and I was on a low island.” You can read the full article here.

Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Keith Roark has decided not to reappoint party Executive Director Jim Hansen when Hansen’s term ends Dec. 31, though Roark insists he doesn’t blame Hansen for the GOP sweep in the Nov. 2 election. “There is a need for some new direction, some new approaches,” Roark said. “Obviously with the Democratic Party in the situation that it’s in, looking forward, we’re going to have to try some new things that have not been tried before.”

Hansen, a former three-term Democratic state lawmaker from Boise and the son of former Idaho Congressman Orval Hansen, headed United Vision for Idaho for 13 years before he took the party post in 2008; there, he was recognized with a prestigious $100,000 leadership award from the Ford Foundation in 2005. When Hansen became the party’s executive director in 2008, Roark, in a press release, called him “one of Idaho’s best known and most experienced community leaders.”

Roark, who has served as party chairman for three years, said he’s not sure himself if he’ll seek another term in February. “I think our biggest failure has been the failure to develop and articulate a message that clearly reflects what we stand for, and consequently we have found ourselves in a position where we are defined by the Republicans, rather than by members of the Democratic Party, and that’s a significant shortcoming on our part,” Roark said. “We’ve had a very difficult time creating an identity and a message for Idaho Democrats that is separate and distinct from the national Democratic Party. That’s a challenge.”

Roark added, “Jim has worked extremely hard,” and said no individual could have fixed the problem. “We’ve got to look forward, and that means some new names, some new faces and some new personalities with different ideas than those that we pursued for the last three years,” Roark said; click below to read his full message to the party’s central committee about the move.

Idaho House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, in an op-ed piece, notes recent Democratic gains throughout the West. “Yet the Democratic brand continues to lag across much of Idaho,” he writes. “We know that our fellow Idahoans will not shift long-held voting patterns unless they have compelling reasons to do so. So here’s my best shot at telling you what Idaho Democrats stand for.” Click here to read his full article.

Rusche suggests that Idaho Democrats are misunderstood, and that if voters knew more about them, they’d vote for more of them.