No State for Bearded Men

Clayton Cramer has taken the plunge against State Senator Tim Corder (R-22), moving from blogger to candidate. I think he should find it an exciting experience.  As a recovering politician who was tempted to fall off the bandwagon this year, I really wish him all the best and we need more of these primaries not fewer of them.

However, Clayton Cramer was advised to shave his beard because Idahoans don’t elect bearded men. Looking at the State Senate, I see that of 29 male members, 3 have beards. In the House, there are 51 men, and 2 have beards. So, of  a total of 80 male legislators, only five have beards, equaling 6.25% of the Male Legislators. I’d say that greater that a good 10-12% of men around these parts have beards (though I have no studies to back this up due to the failure of the mainstream media to report on the facial hair of Idaho men, so this is about what it seems like to me based on the people I’ve seen around town.) So, I think we can say that the beard is a detriment.

Mustaches seem to fair better.  On the bright side, at least I know why I lost in 2004…