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IDAHO: Elections, Not Coronations by Jerry Brady, Candidate for Governor Published in Coeur d'Alene Press July 30, 2006 In his recent "Notebook" column, pundit Bob Paulos suggests that we skip elections in Idaho and simply install the next Republican in line to the governor's office. Paulos suggests that my opponent should be crowned without contest. The most striking element of this argument is its neglect of core American values. The second most glaring quality is an apparent lack of knowledge about the race itself. Were Paulos' ideas taken seriously, the word "upset" would have no place in American politics, Harry Truman would never have endeavored on his whistle-stop tour of the nation, and the headline, "Dewey defeats Truman," would not have been printed the night before the election results, but weeks before. Truman would never have held the presumptuous headline high from a St. Louis train stop. With Paulos' logic, a classic American moment is erased from history. Were Ross Perot to have taken Paulos at his word, he would have had no fun as a spoiler in the 1992 presidential race. Was it an exercise in futility for the eccentric Texan or an exercise in the freedom of American politics? My race against Congressman Otter is far from a foregone conclusion. How could it be when the Idaho Statesman predicted on May 24 that the election would be "a good battle?" How could it be when I raised more money during the last financial period than Congressman Otter? How could it be when 75 percent of voters in a Coeur d'Alene Press online poll prefer the Democratic property tax relief plan to the Risch-Otter special-interest handout? The poll is no surprise, considering that our plan gives 100 percent relief to homeowners without raising the sales tax, while Gov. Risch's plan is just another favor to big business and second homeowners. Paulos may not have wanted to be taken seriously in his notebook rant, but when a columnist gets the facts wrong and treads upon prized American values, someone needs to set the record straight. Jerry Brady candidate for governor Suggestions and submissions for this page may be sent to: Web Master     Back Home.