Dean: Democrats Could Take the West

[Blue Rectangle]

Clinton won states like Montana and Colorado because of Perot, pure and simple.  Clinton only got 38% of the vote in MT in 1992!

In his eight years, Clinton did a lot of things to piss off Rocky Mountain states: logging restrictions, wilderness road restrictions, snowmobile restrictions, the Staircase-Escalante land grab, etc.  This isn't libertarianism.

The current social "libertarian" policies of the Democrats are things like abortion rights and gay rights.  These are loser issues in the West.  In these states, libertarian means things like lower taxes, a smaller federal government, property rights and gun rights.

If the Democrats somehow become pro-life, anti-gay rights and pro-gun and become the party of lower taxes, smaller government and less environmental regulations, then yeah, they can win here.

[Blue Rectangle]

Clinton won states like Montana and Colorado because of Perot, pure and simple.  Clinton only got 38% of the vote in MT in 1992!

In his eight years, Clinton did a lot of things to piss off Rocky Mountain states: logging restrictions, wilderness road restrictions, snowmobile restrictions, the Staircase-Escalante land grab, etc.  This isn't libertarianism.

The current social "libertarian" policies of the Democrats are things like abortion rights and gay rights.  These are loser issues in the West.  In these states, libertarian means things like lower taxes, a smaller federal government, property rights and gun rights.

If the Democrats somehow become pro-life, anti-gay rights and pro-gun and become the party of lower taxes, smaller government and less environmental regulations, then yeah, they can win here.

You are quite correct about the West in general, but not about your own state, which is changing out from under you.  NV first, and then CO will be Democratic leaning states. 

Kerry spent an aweful lot of time and resources on CO in 2004 and Bush still won easily.  If the Democrats want to waste even more time in 2008, then that's fine by me--it will just mean Republicans will win other states.  If Dean wants to waste time going after MT, with its whopping 3 EVs, then I say go for it.  Maybe we can arrange a trade: we'll give Dean NV, CO and MT, but we get MN, WI and MI.

[Blue Rectangle]

the Rocky mountain west may be kind of a reach, but it's far closer than the solid south, which Dean originally went for while campiagning.  At least this strategy is a bit smarter.

There's other Bush states besides the Interior West and the Deep South.  Democrats should have an easier time in MO, AR, and VA than in AZ.  Anywhere is better than MT.  It's far too remote and too small to consider spending real campaign resources on.  Dean just says these things to look like an optimistic visionary.

About the ID vs. MT and WY thing: the higher number of Native American voters in the eastern two probably has some effect too.