Let S. AZ be S. AZ

The Phoenix-based Arizona Democratic Party needs to show more respect for Democrats in Southern Arizona during elections. We've developed some savvy pols down here who understand the lay of the land and have some good ideas about how to win elections, but the state party continues to treat us like slightly dim-witted younger siblings. If we want to gain seats in the State Legislature, the folks in Maricopa need to give us our seat at the table.

It may be that the weak showing of Southern Arizona Democrats in state elections was in the cards. My post earlier this morning talks about the lower Democratic voting numbers in states that went for McCain. But if the state party thinks it's worthwhile to put time and money into picking up seats in Southern Arizona and it wants better results in 2010 than in 2008, it needs to figure out how to do it right.

Here are a few things to think about.

• SOUTHERN ARIZONA IS NOT MARICOPA COUNTY! I'm sorry, was I shouting? Let me try that again.
• Southern. Arizona. Is. Not. Maricopa. County. Just because we're in the same state doesn't mean what makes sense in Maricopa County also makes sense in Pima County — or Cochise County, or the other counties down here.
• Southern Arizonans don't like Maricopa County. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but it's true. It's one of the few things we can all agree on. We think you're bullies who make decisions for the entire state and suck up too much of the financial and environmental oxygen. We think we're underrepresented in political and legislative decisions.
• We're as smart as you are. When you pretend to listen to our ideas, pat us on the heads, then go ahead and do what you were planning to do before you talked to us, we take offense.
• We know Southern Arizona better than you do. We live here. We read the papers every day. We talk to people every day.
• Because we're as smart as you are and know Southern Arizona better than you do, we probably have some very good ideas about what people care about, district by district and precinct by precinct, that could very well win us the extra hundreds of votes we need to defeat Republican candidates.

You might consider some of this when you begin mapping your Arizona's electoral strategy strategies for 2010.