Bennett letter: Political demographics
Your recent article concerning the change in political demographics in Idaho over the last 50 years ignored one of the largest causes of this change. When I lived in the Coeur d’Alene area in the ’60s, it was predominately Catholic and Democrats. This made sense as both the Catholic church and the Democratic Party were very concerned about the welfare of the underprivileged. Then in 1973 Roe v. Wade happened. The Republican operatives pounced. If they could be the party of the pro-lifers, they could turn Catholics and conservative religions toward the Republican Party. And that is exactly what happened.
LaVonne Bennett, Boise
This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Bennett letter: Political demographics."