Top Democrats Out Leading Cheers

Idaho’s new Democratic Party leaders have ventured into their opponents’ territory, taking late House Speaker Tip O’Neill’s words to heart: “All politics is local.”

The party’s top two officers and its entire executive council were in Idaho Falls Friday for the annual Truman Day Banquet. State Controller J.D. Williams was on hand and said he intends to run for a third term.

A.K. Lienhart-Minnick, the party’s new chair, and former state Sen. Ron Beitelspacher of Grangeville, vice chair, urged about 120 Bonneville County Democrats to help build a “grass roots infrastructure” in heavily Republican territory.

Beitelspacher had some harsh words for fellow Democrats, still reeling from a 1996 election that made the Legislature the most Republican in the nation.

“We need to stop defining ourselves by our differences and emphasizing those issues that unite us: jobs, schools and kids.”

Williams, the party’s only statewide officeholder, said if Democrats emphasize education and limiting property taxes for homeowners, the party will win back seats. “The Republicans have had those issues for years and failed to address them,” he said.