BOISE The gloom of the 1994 election disaster has lifted for Idaho's Democrats.
Buoyed by President Clinton's recovery in national polls, they believe their message of providing balance against excesses of the Republican Congress and Legislature could resonate with voters. And U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, has emerged as the their chief whipping boy.
They are even guardedly optimistic about making gains in November's election small gains, but gains nonetheless.
"Surely, they have bottomed out," said James Weatherby, a political science professor at Boise State University. "I am hard pressed to see an issue they can rally around on. (But) they have the issues to run on."
Idaho' Democrats claim only 21 of 105 legislative seats and one major statewide office, that being the controller job held by J.D. Williams.
"I think the moderate mainstream positions will auger well, but I think we have a long ways to go," Williams said. "I think we will do very well in '98. I think people in Idaho like balance."
Idaho Republican Party Chairman Ron McMurray of Lewiston said he isn't taking anything for granted.
"They have some talented people," he said. "They are going to organize and they are going to have some good candidates."
Idaho House Democratic leader James Stoicheff, a Sandpoint Democrat, said the 13-member House Democratic caucus has a chance to pick up six or seven House seats in November.
"I think we have to run everywhere and show people Democrats don't have horns coming out of their heads. (Idaho Reps.) Chuck Cuddy and June Judd aren't bastions of liberalism."
But the party has "the label of being a wine and cheese (group) instead of being in the lunch-bucket crowd," Stoicheff said.
"I think we need a few more people like (the late Idaho Sen. and Pinehurst logger) Vernon Lannen running around the state. If you can get a few guys closer to the soil, it would help."
Idaho Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Marguerite McLaughlin of Orofino said all eight Senate Democrats except Claire Wetherell of Mountain Home are expected to seek re-election. She said Democrats could gain one or two seats in the Senate, but it will be tough.
"It is never easy to come back from the losses we had," she said.
"Those Democrats are still there. If we respond to their issues and wants, they will come back. I think the main thing is you need a candidate to speak to the issue and be moderate. Sometimes our candidates haven't done that. You have to respond to the environment and the jobs."
Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bill Mauk of Boise said the Republicans successfully focused on jobs and the economy in 1994.
"I think the pendulum is swinging back in terms of the balance that has to be struck," he said. "There are growing indications that the hysteria the Republicans created hasn't come to pass. That isn't to say there haven't been jobs lost and industry isn't going through major changes."
Mauk said the broader view is the state's economy is strong and there is growth even in parts of the state that have suffered the most.
"It is a complex issue and simply blaming the federal government and policies for what is happening is too simplistic."
Mauk contends Republicans are capitalizing on "a them versus us feud" on resource issues, but offering little long-term vision to bring people together.
Nez Perce County Democratic Party Chairman Marv Hall of Lewiston said resource issues are important.
"We need to go back to the issues that are important to the people education, health, jobs," he said. "I feel better where we are now than where we were two years ago."
Weatherby said state funding for public schools could be a rallying cry for Democrats.
"But I don't know how that plays out with the 1 Percent Initiative on the ballot," he said. "That makes it murky."
McLaughlin said Democrats have to worry about what ends up on the ballot.
"If you have initiatives that bring out a lot of people, Democrats tend to lose on those issues," she said.
Williams said Democrats need their labor union base to be competitive.
"Jobs and economic factors are the reason they left us in '94," he said. He credits his 1994 victory to organized labor sticking behind him because he is a moderate and supports a stable timber supply from state lands.
He's not alone. Williams points to Idaho Sen. Bruce Sweeney, a Lewiston Democrat, sponsoring a bill to allow the State Land Board to negotiate joint management pacts with the U.S. Forest Service.
"I bet we get 21 (Democratic legislative) votes over that or close to that," he said.
Assistant State Senate Democratic leader Mary Lou Reed, a Coeur d'Alene Democrat who is skeptical about the bill, said Democrats consider themselves to be the umbrella party.
"We don't have a litmus test," she said.
McLaughlin, who is supporting Sweeney's measure, said the environmental and lunch-bucket wings of the party talk to each other more than they did previously.
"There is more of an understanding," she said. "There is a softening on the hard line between the two sides of the issue. There is more communication and a softer feeling. We have to understand the people who run from different districts have different issues that are important to them and their constituents."
Idaho Democratic congressional candidate Dan Williams, who is challenging Chenoweth, said he wouldn't mind allowing the state to manage a national forest as a pilot project.
Chenoweth has said she would like to introduce a bill to allow the state or a consortium of companies to manage a national forest or Bureau of Land Management district.
Williams said he believes some people are starting to see through Chenoweth's rhetoric on resource issues.
Both Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Walt Minnick, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, and Dan Williams have been outspoken in opposing Gov. Phil Batt's nuclear waste agreement with the federal government.
Weatherby said the issue resonates more in the Magic Valley and southwestern Idaho than other parts of the state.
Reed said the flap over Batt's agreement points to the problem of having one party control the governor's job and the Legislature.
"The electorate has been willing for decades to elect a Frank Church, a John Evans and a Cecil Andrus," she said. I think it reflects a belief in the voter that checks and balances should be in place."
Weatherby predicted Chenoweth could lose her re-election bid in November. She always has had difficulty with the Republican Party establishment and experienced her share of controversy, he said.
"I don't know whether a Boise attorney beats her," he said. "If she loses, people will be reacting to her image as a right-wing member of Congress."
Weatherby said he wonders whether the "lunch-bucket crowd" will get out and support Minnick, a former Boise forest products executive. Minnick supports drawing down the lower Snake River reservoirs to save dwindling steelhead runs.
Environmental issues have historically had a great resonance with Idaho voters, he said, citing former Gov. Cecil Andrus and the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church as beneficiaries.
"I see Minnick as at least running a competitive race," Weatherby said. "It's hard to see Larry Craig lose at this point."
Idaho's Democrats contend Clinton won't hurt their party much in November.
"In Idaho, who can tell," McLaughlin said. "He probably doesn't appeal to most of Idaho, but with his stands people realize it's a balance. He is not one to generate a lot of votes for us."
But although the president may not be a help, his recent higher popularity is helping fuel the Democrats' hopes that happy days might be here again.
"The recent months have been remarkably positive," Reed said. "I am optimistic on just about every level. I thought Helen Chenoweth was unbeatable because of the demoralization in the Democratic ranks. I think Dan Williams has a very good shot."