In our view: Welcome, Dems!

Changing a welcome mat from red to blue does not change the level of hospitality. With the same glad hand extended two weeks ago to Republicans, The Columbian offers the same two messages to Democrats and family members who attend this year’s convention in Vancouver: 1. Welcome! 2. Now go spread the word! Vancouver is a great place to have a convention. You could hardly pick two more disparate groups than Democrats and Republicans, yet both saw the wisdom in holding state conventions here this year.

In several ways, this week’s meeting of Democrats is different than the GOP gathering:

That convention was three days; this one will be two days.

Republicans concentrated major events at the Hilton Vancouver Washington; Democrats will meet at the Hilton on Friday, then move to the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds for the actual convention. Some Democrats will return downtown for a wine, cheese and chocolate reception hosted by Clark County Democrats at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Enchanted Gift Shop and Tea Room, 502 Washington St.

Democrats on Saturday will formally nominate U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and other Democratic candidates for Congress, whereas Republicans decided not to endorse candidates at their convention. We’re not sure this difference is as monumental as it might appear to some. As The Columbian has repeatedly pointed out with our own endorsements, they are snapshot opinions only, interesting perhaps but highly subject to rebuttal, and voters are fully capable of making up their own minds based on their own research. Whatever Democrats and Republicans decide to do at their state conventions is certainly within each party’s rights.

Democrats not only will be here for fewer days, but also possibly in fewer numbers. Republicans brought about 1,600 delegates. As of Tuesday, more than 900 delegates had registered for the Democrats’ convention. However, more crucial than delegate counts to local merchants is the number of visitors overall, and there’s no disputing the fact this week’s convention will significantly boost the local economy. In fact, June has brought five conventions that are expected to pump more than $2 million into the local economy.

Even if fewer Democrats show up this week, party officials will hasten to point out that the number of Democratic voters in the Aug. 17th primary and the Nov. 2nd general election is what really counts. And when that criteria is applied, many more donkeys than elephants appear to be roaming the state, especially on the more heavily populated west side of the Cascade Curtain.

This numerical advantage was explained in a column by H. Stuart Elway in Tuesday’s edition of The Seattle Times. According to Elway (president of the longtime, nonpartisan The Elway Poll), “In June, more Washington voters identified as Democrats than as Republicans and by a margin of 40 percent to 29 percent in The Elway Poll. Over the last three months, the average has been 41 percent Democrats to 28 percent Republicans.”

This could be what keeps 2010 from resembling the “Republican Revolution” of 1994, when our state recorded a wider swing to the right than any other state. Here’s how Elway sees 2010: “Unlike 1994, however, Republicans are heading into this midterm election with a decided disadvantage in numbers. … In the comparable three months in 1994, Republicans had a 31 percent to 28 percent advantage,” while Democrats lead this year 41 to 28.

Of course, none of that matters as much as getting voters to the polls, and many surveys nationwide show heavier enthusiasm this year among Republicans than among Democrats. No doubt that enthusiasm gap will be examined closely by Democrats in Vancouver this week.