Democrats are an endangered species across most of Cascadia, with little party organization and mostly ineffective candidates outside metro areas. That's why the new national "50-state strategy" of building Democratic operations even in mostly Republican areas is so important.
There are only 20 or so states where Democrats have a competitive organization, from the state level down to precincts. Most of the rest (Alaska, Idaho and Montana come to mind) have been written off by the national party. Building an organization in places where Democrats haven't been able to compete means less money for toss-up races like Darcy Burner's challenge to Rep. Dave Reichert (R - WA, 8th).
There's plenty of criticism that the party hasn't invested enough this year in order for Democrats to retake Congress. But the focus for Democrats needs to be on winning over the long-term and refocusing political debate around progressive values. There's limited value if, for example, Burner wins and is swept out in 2008 or 2010. Far more important is building a wave of support values that would carry any Democrat to win in that district.
The 50-state strategy has already been paying off in Idaho, where new staffers are able to respond to Republican talking points. Now Democrats need to field good candidates to challenge incumbents like Doc Hastings (R - WA, 4th), who face only token opposition now.