Idaho
Total Number of Delegates: 23 Pledged: 18 Unpledged: 5
How to Recognize an Idaho Delegate: Strangeness happens all over the world, but it seems to concentrate in Idaho. Just google the phrase "strange + Idaho" and prepare to get busy reading stories about straight senators seeking gay sex, Jews who are white supremacists and drunks who drive with live deer in their trunks. Stranger yet is that Democrats actually live in Idaho. Republicans force them to live in the small enclaves of Boise's north end, the Sun Valley/Ketchum millionaire zone and within the twelve blocks surrounding the state universities in Moscow and Pocatello. Survival in such a conservative atmosphere is of the utmost importance, and Idaho Democrats dress in what can only be described as Cabela's drag. Women prefer the popular broomstick skirt topped with a Ransom Canyon 3/4 sleeve tee and a blazer. Men's conservative camouflage consists of the classic twill shirts and Huntsman flat-front chinos. Hairstyles for both sexes will be sensible wash-n-wear styles that require little or no product and/or attention.
Famous Idahoans: America's greatest explorer, Sacagawea; America's most treasonous poet, Ezra Pound; performance artist (and Björk's boyfriend) Matthew Barney; Walt's wife, Lillian Disney; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson; WWE Golden Thong winner Torrie Wilson; Super-G Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street; Metal Slug gamer Marco Rossi; Built to Spill guitarist Doug Martsch; Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess.
Famous Idaho Democrats: Senator Frank Church; former governor and Carter administration Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus
Famous Idahoans With Denver Connections: Former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer; Tuff Shed founder Tom Saurey; author Kathleen Epelde.
State Nickname: The Gem State, Famous Potatoes (official), the Big Potato, the O.C. North, Joe Albertson's State of Idaho (unofficial) Population: 1,466,465 Racial Distribution: 88% white, 0.6% black, 1% Asian, 1.4% Native American, 9% Hispanic Per Capita Personal Income: $25,911 Unemployment: 5.4%
Recommendations for Idaho Delegates
Most Idahoan Denver Neighborhood: Platt Park
Most Idahoan Bar: Tryst Lounge 1512 Larimer Street Everything an Idahoan would want in a bigger-than-Boise-yet-smaller-than-Seattle-sized nightclub.
Most Idahoan Restaurant: Club 404 404 Broadway Denver, Colorado The perfect restaurant to feel Idaho-outrageous while staying within your Gem State cuisine comfort zone.
View larger imageBest Day Trip: Idaho Springs The word "Idaho" was invented by eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing as a name for a new territory in the Rocky Mountains that was being organized by Congress in 1861. When word got out, the residents of Jackson's Diggings quickly changed the name of their town to Idaho Springs and waited to cash in on the notoriety. The town's name stuck, even after the new territory was named Colorado, and the Idahoax was perpetrated on another territory carved out of eastern Washington State in 1863. Today, Idaho Springs, Colorado, will immediately appeal to the Idaho delegates. Not only do they share some history, but the demographics of the town and the state are remarkably similar. Idahoans will feel right at home in this small town where every resident is a bit of an oddball, men still wear those ’70s mustaches and all services are delayed so the locals in the line can gossip about how busy they are even though business is down. Don't hurry them! Remember, they’re handling the food, which ravenous Idahoans will need after a swim at the Indian Hot Springs Pool. Relax and enjoy. This is the best place to take the healing waters and absorb all that Colorado has to offer without getting soaked.
