DemNotesBlog for Colorado Democrats by State Party First Vice Chair Dan Slater

Well, the DNC meetings are now over. Now the adventure begins: how do we get home?

We SHOULD be on our way to the airport right now. However, as you might have heard, we have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground now. So our flights have been moved to tomorrow afternoon. Still unsure whether we will actually get out, though.

Today, however, was a really great DNC meeting. I sincerely hope some of you had the chance to see it on C-SPAN or on CNN. The President did a great job outlining where we are as a Democratic Party and where we need to go this year. He also did a great job outlining the Administration’s accomplishments of the past year — something we Democrats have not done enough of recently.

The President committed to not give up on health care reform. He also talked about the need for us to continue to work with Republicans — but also for them to do more than just sit in the back seat and complain about the driving.

He talked about the history of our Party and our rich history of fighting for people. And he made me even prouder to be a Democrat.

But that wasn’t all of the meeting. We heard an inspiring message from DC Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton – I instantly became a fan! We also heard from our Chair, Gov. Tim Kaine. Gov. Kaine cautioned us not to get too down — he noted that “the ghost of Harry Truman would kill us if he found out we were complaining about having *only* a 59-vote Senate majority.”

This was also a time for a Coloradan to rise to the spotlight. Because of the weather, the Resolutions Committee Chair was unable to make it. So our Chair, Pat Waak, delivered the Resolutions report to the full body of the DNC.

Earlier this morning, we also had a good meeting of the Rural Organizing Council. The group — which is a relatively new part of the DNC — had a long discussion about improving our new media efforts. A member from each region was appointed to work on this project; I was selected to represent the Western Region on this work.

Finally, the Colorado delegation all marched through the snow to a nearby restaurant to have lunch after the meeting. This snowstorm has effectively stopped nearly all auto traffic; however, foot traffic is still all over the place, and the area around the White House simply look magical.

And I hear a massive 100-person snowball fight just broke out at Dupont Circle. The DNC “Snow-Pocalypse” (as the President referred to it) slumber party continues….

I have about ten minutes before I need to be back downstairs for the Western Caucus meeting, so I want to quickly update everybody on what is going on here in DC.

Last night, we heard from the President. I hope some of you saw his speech on CNN, or at least heard the snippets on the news shows. He did a great job firing up the troops — he really seems to be back in his campaign mode and is such a great speaker. His message to Republicans: we want to work with you, but you need to either lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way! (that’s my paraphrasing, not his words).

This morning, we heard from Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Speaker reaffirmed that the Congress is still going to tackle health insurance reform, and also pledged to end the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemptions. It is always great to have our national leaders address us.

I sat at breakfast with some great folks, including Dennis van Roekel, who is the President of the National Education Association. Our table was diverse, including people from Maryland, Arizona, South Dakota, Hawaii, and Colorado (Anthony Graves, Sharon Bonner, and myself).

On a side note, I want to thank all of you who have emailed me about yesterday’s DemNotes. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten as many responses to a DemNotes post; I think I may have gotten around 60 emails in response, and all but about 2 were positive. I think I hit a nerve.

Now, off to the Western Caucus meeting!

I didn’t make any friends this morning.

Indeed, I don’t really expect to be invited to any White House parties any time soon.

I’m torn about how much I should talk about this morning’s meeting. I’ve always said DemNotes is about opening up the “smoke-filled rooms” and bringing Colorado’s “rank and file” Dems into the loop on what’s going on with their Party. (Wow; how many metaphors can I put in one sentence?) And, this morning, we held a meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC), of which I am one of Colorado’s two members. The “meat and potatoes” of the meeting was closed to the press. So I’m not sure how much I should talk about it.

But I had a part in it, and I think Colorado Democrats need to have answers to their questions. So I’m going to talk about it a bit. I don’t think I’m going to give away any state secrets, but there are some, both in Colorado and here in DC, who probably wish I’d just keep my mouth (and my blog) shut.

Of course, I don’t serve those folks.

Over the past 48 hours, Pat and I have received close to 100 emails from people about their concerns that the President was getting involved in a Democratic primary for U.S. Senate here in Colorado. Every single one I saw asked us to make sure that we expressed ourselves that the White House should not be involved in a primary in Colorado.

So that’s what I did. We were addressed this morning by Jen O’Malley-Dillon, the Executive Director of the DNC. I used that opportunity to tell her that I had a concern that the President’s involvement in Colorado was hurting the State Party. And that it was probably hurting the President.

This is where I think I need to be careful with my reporting. I’m comfortable telling you what I said, but since her words were not in an open session, I want to be careful about the detail I give there. Here’s the gist: the President wants to support incumbent Democrats, and the DNC considers that a key goal of the organization as well. We had some back and forth about the function of the DNC as a whole. Let’s just say I disagree strongly with Ms. O’Malley-Dillon and the White House on this point.

That’s it. It wasn’t a long exchange — maybe five minutes — and it didn’t change anybody’s mind. But I do think that the DNC needs to know how we feel, and I had the opportunity to share that.

On a related topic, the CDP has established a coordinated campaign fundraising effort. The funds will go to help elect all of our Federal candidates in the general election. The funds will NOT go to help any candidate in a primary. Both Sen. Bennet and Speaker Romanoff have been offered the opportunity to help out with fundraising for this campaign by directing maxed-out donors to contribute to this effort. Indeed, part of the fundraising being done by the President when he comes to Colorado later this month for Sen. Bennet will also go to help this effort.

I happen to think that is a good idea. Coordinated campaigns are extremely expensive, and every effort helps.

However, we’ve stirred up a bit of a storm overnight, as invitations to some of the Presidential events on behalf of Sen. Bennet have included a tagline about the Colorado Democratic Party, as required by Federal law. I think the CDP could have done a much better job with a desclaimer that the Party does not endorse candidates pre-primary, and that coordinated campaign contributions will not go to Sen. Bennet’s primary campaign effort; instead, they will help all of our Federal candidates, including our eventual Senate nominee. I’ve spoken to both Pat and Jennie about this, and I think they are in agreement on this point.

That’s just this morning. This afternoon are a couple of committee meetings, and then we attend a fundraiser with the President. I doubt I’ll have the same opportunity to talk to him that I had this morning with the Executive Director, but who knows?

In any event, like I said, I don’t think I made any friends here in DC this morning.

But, then again, that’s not why I’m here.

Tomorrow, we head up to Washington DC for the DNC’s Winter meeting. It promises to be an interesting meeting, full of news and maybe even some real business.

Thursday, the Chairs and Vice Chairs meet at the ASDC’s meeting, followed by some trainings on campaign finance and DNC committee meetings.

Friday, various caucuses meet, including the Western Caucus.

Finally, on Saturday, we hold the actual DNC meeting, where President Obama will be addressing us about the state of the Democratic Party. It should be an interesting presentation and I’m looking forward to hearing what the President has to say about where he thinks the Party should be heading. I’ll be sure to post updates throughout the week to DemNotes, as well as more frequent updates via my fan page on Facebook and @DemNotes on Twitter.

On a completely unrelated topic, Brandy and I went over to Salida last night for a wonderful presentation by the League of Women Voters in Chaffee County. A local high school teacher did an impersonation of Teddy Roosevelt, and answered questions afterwards. While I think his presentation would have been better if it had focused more on Roosevelt’s efforts to preserve our natural heritage, and his split with the Republican Party following the Party’s close ties with corporate interests, we still found it fascinating and a wonderful way to spend the evening.

So, next time I write, I’ll be writing from our Nation’s Capitol!

I have been planning for a while to write about the challenges facing us here in Colorado in this New Year, but something caught my eye this morning, and I can’t get it out of my head. So I’ll write about it.

As most of you know, as the Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, I also serve as a member of the Democratic National Committee (the “DNC”). As some background, the DNC itself is not some amorphous entity — the “C” in DNC stands for “Committee,” a governing organization comprised of representatives from 56 different geographic entities (50 states, DC, 4 territories, and “Democrats Abroad”). Colorado currently is represented by seven very capable individuals on this committee.

At my very first meeting of the Western Caucus of the DNC in 2005 — literally, the moment I walked in the door — I was greeted by a DNC member who was seeking my vote to serve on the “Executive Committee” of the DNC. His sales pitch? That he had fought for more perks for DNC Members at the 2004 National Convention. He didn’t talk about work to bring more resources to the Western states, or to focus more on winning elections in the West. He didn’t talk about anything he had done that would help me win more elections in Colorado. He talked about what he had done for “me” personally.

I did not vote for him, and haven’t voted for him in any caucus elections since.

My mind harkened back to that early conversation this morning, when I was copied on an email from a DNC member back east. This DNC member had written an email to Gov. Kaine (the DNC Chair), complaining that DNC members hadn’t received any invitations to the White House over the holiday season (except for State Chairs). He demanded that the DNC schedule a reception at the White House in conjunction with our Winter meeting in Washington DC at the beginning of February. He noted all of the perks DNC members received under the previous Democratic administration that they were not receiving now.

Now, I don’t necessarily have a problem with the perks we receive as DNC members. I happily attended the barbeque at the exotic animal park near Austin, TX at our last DNC meeting. I’ve received plenty of t-shirts and buttons and pins from the various meetings I’ve attended. I have even worked to provide perks to DNC members as Denver was courting the DNC’s support for the 2008 Convention.

But that, I think, is my problem with this latest e-mail. When I was working to give perks to DNC members, it was out of a desire to help those I serve, by bringing the National Convention to Denver. I fear, though, that there are those that see being a DNC member as some sort of “reward” for a life’s work for Democrats, instead of a way to represent one’s state within the Party machinery.

I hope that I’ve been able to promote a different view of what it means to be a DNC member. Sure, there isn’t a whole lot of debate and discussion in the formal meetings of the DNC. But, behind the scenes, there are certainly plenty of opportunities to make a difference. And that difference should be made for the causes of helping elected like-minded people here at home, and promoting the ideals that make the Democratic Party so great. That’s why I’ve been a vocal supporter of the DNC’s 50-state strategy, and have been among the many who have pressed for concrete commitments to keep that program alive and thriving. That’s why I’ve worked to support the Rural Coordinating Council of the DNC, helping to ensure that our Party not forego the millions of hard-working americans living in small towns and communities across Colorado and the rest of the Nation.

That’s also why, more recently, I’ve worked alongside Party leaders from other caucus states to ensure that the DNC is careful to respect Colorado’s long history of successful party-building through caucuses as they attempt to reform the Convention delegate selection process.

I guess that’s my point: we DNC members face a choice when joining this esteemed organization. We can choose to watch out for ourselves, or we can choose to fight for the ideals and the Party that has made this Nation great. I’m not so sure you can do both.

And I guess I just get a little upset when those of us who are already incredibly blessed with perks as DNC members begin to complain that we don’t get enough perks. Because the average phone-banker out there works pretty darned hard, too. And they don’t have the ability to engage the DNC Chair directly the way we do with their complaints.

So maybe our complaints should count for something larger than ourselves.

*end rant*

We are in Miami this weekend for the Winter meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs. This has definitely been a productive weekend, and there are plenty more meetings today before we conclude this afternoon.

Yesterday, we began with a general meeting of the ASDC, which is comprised of all of the State Party Chairs and Vice Chairs in the country. We spent the morning primarily hearing from the executive staff of the DNC. Important messages we heard during the closed session: the State Partnership Program (a/k/a the 50-State Strategy) will continue as long as Gov. Kaine is the DNC Chair. We also heard about plans to continue with VAN / VoteBuilder under an agreement between the state parties and the DNC. Finally, we also heard about the deliberations of the “Change Commission,” which is charged with examining the Presidential nominating process.

Over lunch, we heard from David Domke, a professor from the University of Washington. Professor Domke gave a great presentation about the evolving nature of the under-30 voting population. His discussion really helped describe how connecting with young people today is so very different from connecting with young people even 20 years ago.

In the afternoon, we had some training on using “new media” as state parties. The focus: Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. We concluded the trainings yesterday with an update of the constantly-changing state of campaign finance law.

Last evening, the Florida Democratic Party treated everybody to a wonderful reception at the Miami Seaquarium. We enjoyed networking next to playful dolphins.

This morning, I got up early and enjoyed a breakfast with Party leaders from other caucus states. We held a lively conversation about possible changes to the caucus process to be proposed by the “Change Commission.” There are a lot of concerns that the Change Commission’s recommendations will create mandates for states like Colorado more drastic than may truly be necessary. We will continue to monitor what comes out of this group to ensure that Colorado’s caucuses are fairly considered by the DNC.

Today, I’m headed down for sessions on coordinated campaigns, reaching out to youth, and redistricting. Should be another good day. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to post about it to DemNotes, as we are headed out on a cruise later this afternoon, after the conclusion of most of the training sessions. I’ll continue to post contemperaneously to Facebook and Twitter. (Note that I’ve made a decision that I’ll post about political business to my Facebook “Fan” page, while I’ll use my personal page for, well, more personal observations. The Twitter account (@DemNotes) will mirror the Fan page on Facebook.)

I spent this past weekend in Denver, and all on Party business.

We came up on Friday night to begin the planning process for the State Assembly in Broomfield. We had a great meeting in Denver, with representatives from the Broomfield, Denver, and Boulder County Dems present. State Party Secretary Carolyn Boller was there, as was Mike Weissman.

We had a long and productive conversation about what needs to be done as we prepare to welcome Colorado’s Democrats to Broomfield. There are several hotels bidding to become the “host hotel,” and lots of opportunities at what will become a newly-remodeled venue in Broomfield when we arrive next May. The Broomfield Dems are incredibly excited about the opportunity to host Colorado’s Democrats next year, even though the task seems a bit daunting for a Party representing such a relatively small county.

Saturday was also about State Party business. Before the State Central Committee met at the IBEW Hall in North Denver, a small group of Democratic leaders from around the state spent some time discussing how to better and more effectively communicate with the public. It was a productive meeting, and I think we will see a better grassroots press operation come from our discussions.

But the big event of the weekend, of course, was the State Central Committee meeting Saturday afternoon. Attendance was good — folks came from around the state to give voice to the issues we discussed. Catherine Carson, the Routt County Chair, joked that Steamboat Springs was in the state playoffs, and playing that afternoon in Aurora — she felt she was the only Routt County resident on the front range who wasn’t in Aurora that afternoon!

The Party heard from a number of elected officials, including Governor Ritter. Gov. Ritter took the campaign straight at his Republican rival, Scott McInnis, echoing an old quote: “You are entitled to your own opinion; you are NOT entitled to your own set of facts!” He talked of the Republican Party’s “Contract on Colorado” as their “manifesto” — a “bridge to the 1980s … or, really, the 1930s”. In the end, though, he promised that we would overcome a “challenging year” and “defeat a fear-based and cynic-based campaign from the other side.”

Congresswoman DeGette received raucous support when she talked about her leadership in fighting for a woman’s right to choose in the health care debate.

Speaker Carroll, on his way to vacation in Las Vegas, where he said he was headed to watch the National Finals Rodeo, talked about how important it was to keep the majorities in the State Legislature; Senate President Shaffer echoed those words after Speaker Carroll spoke.

Cary Kennedy gave a great speech talking about the importance of the Treasurer’s office, and what we had been able to accomplish there since she took office.

Former Speaker Andrew Romanoff received a warm welcome from the crowd as he began by pointing out that he had not been the one to “TP” the Governor’s Mansion. He got serious by saying that “The point of getting power is not to keep it … it is to use it!”

Sen. Bennett’s wife, Susan Daggett, spoke for Sen. Bennett, who was in Washington debating health care. In the middle of her talk, Sen. Bennett called in to the meeting, and after some technical issues, he was able to address the group via telephone from the floor of the Senate. He talked about the importance of getting health care reform passed this year.

Finally, Ed Perlmutter gave a rousing and energetic talk about what is going on in Congress.

None of that, though, was the real point of the meeting. So here are the real things we accomplished:
– We formally elected Margaret Atencio as the Party’s Second Vice Chair, ratifying a vote of the Executive Committee in October.
– We adopted the delegate selection plan to be used in the caucus and assembly process, including adopting the delegate numbers for each county, and designating the U.S. Senate race as the race to be used in the caucus preference poll.
– After a fair amount of discussion on a number of issues, we adopted all rules changes proposed by the Rules Committee.

It was a good meeting, which allowed for a fair degree of debate on a number of issues within the delegate selection plan and the rules changes. I took some heat for a few decisions I made from the chair during the debate, but I’d stand by those decisions — and, while some wanted to spend more time debating issues, I think there was a fair and open discussion that allowed issues to be addressed without bogging down too much in procedure.

We went ahead and spent the night Saturday night, too, getting some Christmas shopping done. We awoke to an unexpected snow storm (why don’t we listen to the local news???), and headed up to Central Denver for a brunch reception with Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland. He was in town to raise money, and despite the snow, a fair crowd showed up, including Governor Ritter and the First Lady. Gov. O’Malley, who has been named the “Best Governor in America,” impressed the group with his vision and success as Governor. He faces stiff opposition next year in one of the hottest Governor’s races in America.

Then, we finally headed back home to Canon City. It was a productive and good weekend.

—————-

Tomorrow (assuming we can get through snow-packed roads to DIA), we head to warmer climates. We’re off to Miami Beach, where the Association of State Democratic Chairs is holding its Winter meeting (yes, this Vice-Chair business can be brutally tough, I know). I’m told our hotel room has a computer; I will try to post regularly to DemNotes updates of what is going on in Miami. At a minimum, if you track my Facebook Fan page and/or DemNotes on Twitter, you should get a good feel for what is going on.

This is the second time I’ve run for elective office. I’ve counseled numerous candidates on what they need to know and do to be effective candidates. I’ve been to some of the best political trainings in the nation. So I know what it takes to be a winning candidate in a tough race.

And, after just two and a half weeks of this race, something has become all too clear: I don’t have it.

In 2002, I had it. I had a “fire in the belly” that could only be quenched by knocking on doors, by dialing for dollars, and by talking to groups, winning votes one person at a time. It was my top priority — winning that state senate seat. It was exciting. It was invigorating. It was such a high — from the very first day until that election night when I delivered a concession speech.

Those feelings are feelings I just don’t have this year. I thought I’d have them. I thought I’d be burning up the phone lines raising money.

I could definitely fake it. I could keep going, putting on a good face. And if I truly were the “sacrificial lamb” candidate many have alleged, I would probably do that. But I truly think John Suthers has done a horrible job as Attorney General, and we Democrats have a clear opening to beat him in 2010. I just don’t think I have what it takes to do it.

I recognize that this “in and out” campaign will certainly open me up to ridicule. That’s fine. I’m just not ready to put my family, and my finances, under the strain that a 13-month statewide campaign would mean. I spent the last several days with my kids in Oklahoma. I want to spend the majority of Christmas break and Spring Break, and next summer with them, not out on the campaign trail. And I also don’t want to miss our twins’ soccer games and school functions and key moments just because I need to be out talking to voters. At one point in my life, I was willing to make that sacrifice. In looking at how I feel this year, I don’t think I can make that sacrifice for this election cycle.

Finally, my work as First Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party — a role I take very seriously — was suffering from the campaign. I have been the chair of the 2010 Site Selection Committee, yet this campaign forced me to drop the ball at a critical time in the site selection process. Thankfully, we have a great committee who — under the leadership of El Paso County Chair Jason DeGroot, who assumed a leadership position without any warning — did a site visit yesterday, and should have a recommendation next weekend for the State Executive Committee. But my putting Jason in the position where he had to lead the committee is inexcusable. You should expect better from you State First Vice Chair, and I expect better from myself. So I will spend the next 12 and a half months working as your Vice Chair and speaking out when things need to be said.

So that’s it. I won’t be a candidate for Attorney General — or anything else, for that matter — in 2010. I greatly appreciate the hundreds of you out there who offered your support, both morally and financially, to start this campaign. In the end, we made just enough money to pay most of the campaign’s initial expenses. So for those of you who contributed, I thank you for your vote of confidence, and I’m just sorry I let you down.

I’ll still post to DemNotes and I’ll still fight for our Party. See you on the trail!

You may not have heard this, but I’m running for Attorney General. I’m running because Colorado deserves an Attorney General who will wage battle against those who would harm our land, our water, and our people.

If you share my vision, here’s what you can do:
1. Help organize a county steering committee. We are going to need people at every level of help in this race. I’m looking forward to spending significant time in every county in Colorado, and I need to have committed volunteers at every level. If you’re interested in helping, e-mail Brandy at brandydem@gmail.com.

2. Write a check and mail it today. DemNotes has never been about fundraising — of the nearly 500 posts I’ve sent to DemNotes, fewer than a dozen have been explicit fundraising pleas. That’s not going to change, but I do need to have people invested in our vision for Colorado’s future. We will soon have the ability to donate online, but for now, send your checks to: Slater For A.G., 1415 Main Street, Suite A, Canon City, CO 81212. While the donation limits are $1050 per person, send what you can — $100.00, even $20.00 goes a long way toward seeding the startup of this campaign.

3. Host a fundraiser, and let us know when we should be spending time in your community. Everybody in Las Animas knows about Santa Fe Trails Days in April. Not so many people outside of Las Animas know about it, though. Tell me when I should be stopping by — I’ll try to be there! And don’t forget to help share our vision of Colorado with your friends and neighbors and host a small fundraiser — I’ll get out for those, too!

The support I’ve gotten over the past week has been so heartening and immense. I am excited to be running as a Democrat for Attorney General!

As most of you know, I went on a whirlwind tour of Colorado on Thursday and Friday, announcing my candidacy for Attorney General. A copy of the first announcement speech is up on YouTube — well, kind of, as the translation into YouTube somewhat garbled the video. It’s in two sections — check it out for yourself:
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/dbslater

The tour started on Thursday morning in Colorado Springs. I was honored to have Rep. Buffie McFadyen and El Paso County Chair Jason DeGroot there, as well as local television media from Southern Colorado. It was a good group, and very energetic. From there, we went to Denver, where both Rep. McFadyen and Sen. Morgan Carroll introduced me. Again, very humbled by the kind words and the reception I received in both places.

We finally headed up to Greeley late Thursday afternoon, doing a brief radio interview on the way up. The first two events on Thursday had been indoors, but Greeley was slated for the front steps of the Weld County Courthouse. The winds were biting and cold — and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that we had a good turnout for Greeley – even if we did have to huddle inside the archways of the courthouse to stay warm through my announcement speech.

We then drove for a few hours up to Steamboat Springs, where we spent the night. We woke to frost, but a bright sunny day. Mind you, a sunny morning of 20 degrees, but sunny nonetheless. To be honest, I didn’t expect much in terms of a crowd when I arrived at the Routt County Courthouse at 8 am — who shows up to see a candidate for an election 13 months away in 20 degrees for an outdoor announcement?

I’ll tell you who shows up: Routt County Democrats!

As 8:00 approached, it seemed people were coming from all corners to hear the announcement. Who knew that one of my warmest welcomes would come in twenty degree weather??? Catherine Carson did a great job rounding up folks and letting them know I was going to be there, and Ken Brenner gave a very nice introduction. After the speech, we crowded into a local coffee shop a block away to warm up and talk about the issues facing the Attorney General’s office. It was a very energizing start to my second day.

We rushed out of Steamboat Springs at 9:00 — not because I tired of the company; I could have stayed there all morning talking policy — instead, we had to get to Grand Junction by 1:00, and the BlackBerry mapping software told me it was a 4-hour drive.

Thankfully, the mapping software was a bit off, and we arrived in Grand Junction in plenty of time for the announcement there. That was a good thing, as the turnout in Grand Junction was the best of all of the announcements. All three television stations, and two newspapers, showed up to cover the event, and the crowd was standing-room only because of how many people showed up. There is a hunger for change in Colorado — and the folks in Grand Junction clearly understand how important the Attorney General’s office is to effecting that change. Mary Beth Pyle and Martelle Daniels did an outstanding job of letting folks know about the event, and it clearly showed.

We then headed down to Durango, in one of the most magical drives one could conjure in Colorado. The “Million Dollar Highway” has some of the most awe-inspiring views in Colorado, especially this time of year. Even though we were racing to make it to Durango by 6:00, Brandy still hung out of the window taking picture after picture of mountain vistas that grew more and more breathtaking around every turn. I love this state!

We arrived in Durango to another great crowd — this time, we had a discussion about the politics and policy involved in running for Attorney General. Again, I was so heartened to have such intelligent and eager support from people who share my vision for Colorado.

It was bittersweet to leave the La Plata County Courthouse Friday night. I had such a good time talking with people all across Colorado about so many different topics. It was nice to be on the road home, but I can’t wait to get out on the road again very very soon. We have several events scheduled for the coming week, so I’m excited about the opportunity to share our vision for Colorado with so many more people.

Thanks to you all for your support in these efforts!

I want you on DemNotes to be among the first to hear what this campaign for Attorney General of Colorado is all about, and what I’m planning to do both as a candidate for Attorney General and as your Attorney General. Here’s the speech I’m gave across Colorado today and will give tomorrow — I hope to have video posted online before I hit the road on Friday morning:

I am announcing today that I am a candidate to be Colorado’s next Attorney General.

It’s been said in a number of races for Attorney General across this country, but it bears repeating: when the Attorney General of Colorado stands before a court, the very first words from his or her mouth are these – “I’m so-and-so, For the People of Colorado.”

For the People of Colorado.

That’s pretty powerful. It is a huge responsibility to say you are For The People. Well, it’s not so much a huge responsibility to say it; it IS a huge responsibility to mean it, to live it, to do it. Anybody can say it.

In Colorado, we’ve come to expect much from the people we elect to serve as our Attorney General. Indeed, the nation has come to expect much from Colorado’s Attorney General. That’s why the incumbent’s two predecessors – one Democrat, one Republican – have both risen to become Secretaries of the Interior in the Presidential Cabinet.

Sadly, though, the leadership we’ve come to expect from that office has not emerged in the last five years. And that’s why I’m running. Because The People can no longer afford to have the doors of justice shut in their faces because of ideology.

The differences between myself and the incumbent could not be more clear. For him, being Attorney General is about putting his ideology into practice. What is his ideology? That we Coloradans should not have an “activist” Attorney General. He’s risen to become the national spokesperson for this radical movement that says activism has no place in law enforcement.

An Activist Attorney General.

I simply could not disagree more. Just as I want my county sheriff to root out crime; just as I want my police chief to find criminals and put them away, I want my Attorney General to actively search high and low for those who would do harm to Coloradans!

We may not always like the Highway Patrol officers who sit on the side of I-25 with their radar guns actively looking for those breaking our traffic laws, but we are a heck of a lot safer with them there. But that’s activist law enforcement, make no mistake about it!

And when local police departments here in Colorado conduct sting operations on the Internet to expose child predators, I’m damn happy to see that activism in our law enforcement community as the father of a 13-year old girl.

Don’t tell me that the people we pay to put their lives on the line to keep us safe should not be activists. Don’t tell me that we aren’t safer when law enforcement looks for criminals high and low. The people of Colorado know better – and I know better!

My opponent argues that activism in the AG’s office could harm our economy. But the reality is very different. Enron. Worldcom. Bernie Madoff. Subprime lending crisis. All of these could have been avoided with better activism by regulators and law enforcement.

Today, we take that debate to the incumbent. Colorado deserves better.

And I plan to deliver.

You see, I’ve been delivering my entire life as an attorney. I’ve spent my entire legal career opening up the doors to justice to ALL Coloradans.

A big chunk of my practice is work as a Court-appointed Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children. I’ve seen the real effect of poverty, of drugs, of abuse, in the eyes of real children. This isn’t theoretical to me – this is real life.

When we talk about the continuing need to coordinate law enforcement’s efforts to battle against meth, it isn’t theoretical – time and time again, I’ve seen parents choose meth over their children in one of the saddest addictions around.

When we talk about the need to catch those who would lure children into sexual abuse, it isn’t theoretical – time and time again, I’ve seen the aftermath of the effects of sexual abuse on its victims and the mental health issues that simply never go away from such a violation of the trust held in young eyes.

And when we talk about the need to stop the cycle of domestic violence, that isn’t theoretical either – time and time again, I’ve seen children who love unconditionally in homes with parents who don’t know what love means.

I’ll say it again: This isn’t theoretical to me – this is real life!

But I don’t see things only at this level. The other biggest part of my career as a lawyer has been spent battling against insurance companies on behalf of those who, most often, couldn’t afford a lawyer otherwise. Too often, the only thing standing between a company choosing profits over people is a lawyer standing up for the side of the people.

It’s time we had an Attorney General who forces companies to choose people over profits, too.

I will be that Attorney General!

Now, I know that there are already some folks out there who are saying that some “small town attorney” can’t win this thing. That we need to have a lawyer with a fancy big firm 17th Street pedigree in Denver out there running as a Democrat.

I grew up in small-town Southern Colorado. And when I became a lawyer, I chose to come back to Colorado. And I made another choice: instead of the canyons of steel and concrete on 17th Street, I chose the canyons of rock and pinon pines in the foothills of Southern Colorado.

We Coloradans live here for a reason. We live here because of the generosity of the people. We live here because of the frontier attitude and nature of the American West. But as much as anything, we live here because the natural beauty of Colorado cannot be matched anywhere in the world!

That love for our natural beauty will inhabit my every thought as I serve as your Attorney General. Instead of gutting the natural resources division of the AG’s office, as my opponent has done, I will fight to ensure that a new message is sent loudly and clearly to anybody who would damage our natural beauty: You. Are. Not. Welcome. Here.

So the differences are clear. But how do we get those differences in front of Colorado’s voters?

First, understand this: I once made a pledge to myself that I would never run for an office I did not think I could win. I am keeping that pledge today. I am in this race to win. I’m in this race to change the office of Attorney General.

I’ve been in politics for a while now. One thing I’ve learned is the importance of talking directly to the People.

And that’s what we’re going to do with this campaign: we’re going to take this fight directly to the People of Colorado. I’m going to take this debate to the streets of Colorado.

Here’s my pledge: I will knock on doors in every single county in Colorado. Let me repeat that: I will knock on doors in every single county in Colorado. Not just visit – walk the streets of Colorado’s communities and knock on the doors of The People.

So, if you live here in Colorado Springs, tell your neighbors: Dan Slater’s on his way. If you live in Denver, I’m on my way. If you live in Fort Collins, I’m on my way.

But that’s not all: If you live in Sterling, I’m on my way. If you live in Antonito, I’m on my way. If you live in Leadville, I’m on my way!

When I’m done, the People of Colorado will know who I am and they will know about the differences between the two candidates in this race.

Taking the message to the People will also cost money. And I know that this race will take hundreds of thousands of dollars. I need the help of every person here – Democrat or Republican – to make my vision a reality and to send the vision of my opponent into the dustbin of bad ideas by the right-wing that have been rejected by the voters. I ask you to open your checkbooks and donate today, and to work to find friends and neighbors who share our vision for the future of Colorado who are willing to open their checkbooks, as well.

This campaign is going to be a great opportunity – a true debate of two different visions for Colorado. When I sent out an e-mail last week telling folks I was looking at announcing today, I said that my opponent lacked vision.

In retrospect, I was wrong. He doesn’t lack vision. He has a clear vision for this office, and he’s put that into practice. He may be a nice guy – I don’t have a problem with the incumbent personally, but the vision he has is horribly, horribly wrong for Colorado.

That’s the debate we’re going to have.

We’re going to be talking about the need to fight for the People. He’s going to be talking about the need to protect the powerful. The People of Colorado will decide.

We’re going to be talking about real life. He’s going to be talking about the theoretical. The People of Colorado will decide.

And we’re going to be talking about the need to take an activist role in fighting those who would harm Coloradans. He’s going to be talking about the need to hold off and let the “free market” regulate these harmful entities. The People of Colorado will decide.

Those are the differences. I’m happy taking that debate to the People of Colorado.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Dan Slater. I’m running for Attorney General.

For the People of Colorado.

Thank you!

While I certainly hope to see as many of you as possible out on the “trail” tomorrow and Friday, I do want to make sure that all of you are aware that I will also be interviewed by David Sirota on AM 760 just after 8 am tomorrow morning (Thursday). If you’re in the listening area, I encourage you to listen in and get a taste of what I’ll be saying at the campaign announcement events across the Centennial State.

See you tomorrow and Friday!

As a follow up to last week’s post, we’ve finally nailed down all of the event sites for my campaign announcement Thursday and Friday. As most of you know, I will be announcing on Thursday and Friday, via a six-city statewide tour, that I will be running for Attorney General of Colorado. It would be so great to see each of you there when I announce — I’ve got some exciting plans and ideas, and I think the distinction we will be drawing with the incumbent will be very clear when I speak on the 1st and 2nd.

Here are the finalized plans and locations:

Thursday, October 1
9:00 AM – Colorado Springs, Penrose Library, Carnegie Room
1:00 PM – Denver, Pipefitters 208 Hall, 6350 N. Broadway, Denver
5:00 PM – Greeley, Weld County Courthouse, front lawn

Friday, October 2
8:00 AM – Steamboat Springs, Routt County Courthouse, front lawn
1:00 PM – Grand Junction, Traders Coffee and Tea
6:00 PM – Durango, La Plata County Courthouse, Anasazi Room

I hope to do some exciting things, including posting video of some of the events, and keeping updates going via DemNotes, Facebook, and Twitter. But the most important thing you can do right now is to be there!

If you’ve been following DemNotes for the past month — or especially if you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook lately — you’ve seen all sorts of cryptic messages about my plans for the future. If you attended some of the events where I’ve spoken or been introduced in the last couple of weeks, you’ve heard about what I’ve been considering doing.

But if you haven’t, I want you on DemNotes to be among the first to know: On October 1, I will be announcing my candidacy to be Colorado’s next Attorney General.

So save that date (if you’re on the Western Slope, save October 2 instead).

Let me be clear: I’m not a candidate today. I can’t accept any contributions until October 1 — that’s when I will be a candidate.

I’m not going to spend this post talking about all of the reasons I am going to run — we’ll save that for the Announcement Tour. But I think it is time — past time — for us to have an Attorney General who truly fights for ALL of the people of Colorado, and who isn’t afraid to go out and root out those who would prey on our most vulnerable citizens.

So if you have the time, please set aside time to stop by one of our Announcement Tour stops. We are still finalizing all of the details, but here are the plans, most locations TBA:
Thursday, October 1:
– 9:00 AM – Colorado Springs – Penrose Library, Carnegie Room
– 1:00 PM – Denver – TBA
– 5:00 PM – Greeley – TBA

Friday, October 2:
– 8:00 AM – Steamboat – TBA
– 1:00 PM – Grand Junction – Traders Coffee & Tea Co.
– 6:00 PM – Durango – TBA

I’ve got some exciting things planned for this race, and I’m looking forward to getting to every community in Colorado and talking about my vision for the Attorney General’s office in Colorado — and the incumbent’s lack of vision.

Let me know what you think. If you want to help out with any of these events, drop me an e-mail. Otherwise, I hope to see you all next week!

Last night, we drove up to Golden for the Jefferson County Democrats’ annual Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner. It was a very well-attended and well-staged event to support the JeffCo Dems.

I found myself in an unusual, but intriguing position — sitting between the two Party leaders with possibly the most thankless jobs in the Democratic Party. To my left, of course, was my wife, who also serves as the Chair of the 5th Congressional District Democratic Party. To my right, though, was Paula Noonan, who is the Chair of the 6th Congressional District Democrats. (For those scoring at home, those two districts are represented by Republicans Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, respectively — the only two Republicans left in Colorado’s Congressional delegation.) Its a tough job when your five other colleagues all of Members of Congress who show up at the district assemblies now.

Paula and I had a great conversation about the lack of attention given to the Democrats in South JeffCo. I promised to make a trip down there to meet and work with Dems in that area to help build more morale and win more elections.

Beyond my table mates — two of whom spent the entire evening in the hallway monitoring their silent auction bids (they take silent auctions seriously up in JeffCo!) — there were a number of celebrities in attendance. Congressman Ed Perlmutter spoke and was incredibly well-received. Former Speaker Andrew Romanoff was there, and although he did not speak, he received the most sustained applause of any of the politicians introduced. Governor Ritter spoke, as did Sen. Bennet’s wife, and did a great job talking about the challenges ahead.

Longtime JeffCo volunteers Bob and Marilyn Young received the Eleanor Award, the annual award by the JeffCo Dems. I met both of these wonderful folks many years ago, and they have such a long and proud history of helping fight to bring more Democratic victories to Jefferson County over the years.

Probably the longest part of the night was the introductions of elected officials and party dignitaries. That is the curse of success in Jefferson County. About a decade ago, Jefferson County’s Democratic legislators would have all fit in a phone booth. Now, the vast majority of Jefferson County’s legislative delegation are Democrats! It is a refreshing problem to have, indeed.

Finally, we heard from William Rivers Pitt, who is a nationally-known author. He has written for the New York Times, and is best-known for his webiste, www.truthout.org. He spoke passionately about the right-wing revolt and the stoking of the winds of insurrection by those who speak for the right. It was an interesting speech — and a refreshing change from the politician-led speeches normally seen at dinners like this.

In the end, the JeffCo Dems can be proud of a night well-done. They continue to be leaders in making Colorado blue!

———————-

Saturday, we were also active — we helped staff the booth at Florence’s Pioneer Days for the Fremont County Democrats. I spent the time soaking my hands in watermelon juice, slicing watermelon for the massive crowds in attendance. (I still bear a scar on my hand from cutting watermelon in 2002 at Pioneer Days that went awry.) Fremont isn’t particularly Democratic, as many of you know, so it was really nice to see such a good response for the Democrats here.

——————–

Finally, watch for a VERY SPECIAL DemNotes tomorrow — I’ll be making an “announcement about an announcement.” Yes, that’s cryptic, but you’ll find out more tomorrow.

There has been quite a buzz in Democratic Party circles — not only here in Colorado, but nationally — about the possibility that we Colorado Democrats will have a primary in the U.S. Senate race. Yesterday, former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff made it official: he’s seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Michael Bennet.

Now, I know a number of folks are wringing their hands in concern over the thought of a primary for Democrats in Colorado. But when you step back and take a better look, I think you’ll find that Colorado’s Democrats are not going to fare poorly because we have a choice. But we do need to figure out what this primary means for our Party.

First, let me be very clear: Nobody should read anything into anything I write on this post. As an officer of the State Party, I am standing with my fellow officers in agreeing to remain neutral through this primary process. I did lend my name to Speaker Romanoff’s quest to be appointed by Governor Ritter, and supported him in that effort. Similarly, I’ve been very impressed by the work that Senator Bennet has been able to do in just a few short months in office. Colorado’s Democrats could not ask for a better choice, because I don’t think there is any wrong answer to the ballot question of who you support in this race.

So here is what it means to the Colorado Democratic Party in the months to come:

1. We will likely see another well-attended caucus. I think it is safe to say we won’t see the kind of numbers that we saw in 2008 — we’ll probably never see 130,000 people again at caucus — but we could see 40,000, and that would be twice what we normally see. County parties should plan accordingly.

2. We will see a vigorous debate of the issues between our candidates. Having two well-qualified candidates means a good debate about what being the Democratic Nominee for the U.S. Senate means in Colorado. As long as we stay focused on the issues, that debate can only be healthy for our Party.

3. We will see folks take sides. While we have made decisions as State Party Officers to remain neutral, it is natural that local activists will want to pick one side or an0ther in this primary. There is a lot of confusion over this point: State Party rules prohibit the Party from taking sides. County parties cannot endorse one candidate over another. But individuals, in their individual capacity, most certainly can endorse either of the two candidates now running. We have already seen a number of county chairs and elected officials endorse Sen. Bennet or Speaker Romanoff. That will likely intensify, and there is a lot of potential for hurt feelings in doing so. If you feel you need to announce your support for one candidate over another, I strongly encourage you to focus on the positive aspects of why you are making such a decision. This primary in particular does not have to be a “lesser of two evils” primary. Indeed, just the opposite is true.

What will not happen because of yesterday’s announcement?

1. We won’t necessarily lose the General Election. There is a fear among many that a primary will bloody and weaken our nominee for the General Election. Empirically, though, that just isn’t the case. This seat itself is good proof of that fact: the last time this seat was up for election, we had a primary. Mike Miles even received the topline status at the State Assembly in 2004. But Ken Salazar won the Primary, and went on to win the General Election handily, even while George W. Bush won Colorado statewide the same year. Some are still sore about the divisions that erupted in our Party during last year’s Presidential caucuses in Colorado; however, we were able to win our 9 electoral votes for our nominee unusually easily last November. We will still have to fight like heck to beat the Republicans, but they have their own primary issues to sort out themselves.

2. We won’t see a massive decrease in involvement. We Colorado Democrats come together very well after a primary. We can do that again in 2010.

3. We won’t see the national Democrats abandon Colorado. Yeah, I know, the DSCC is making all sorts of threats. But the reality is that they cannot afford to lose this Senate seat. It is a competitive state, and the Senate Dems NEED two Coloradans in the U.S. Senate. When combined with a heavily targeted 4th CD race, and a Governor with a GOP-painted bullseye on his back, the DNC and their committees must continue to invest in Colorado.

Those are my thoughts. Again, we can debate whether we should have a primary for this seat in Colorado, but that has now become an academic debate. We now have to work under the reality that there will be a primary in Colorado. And we should plan accordingly.

This afternoon has been about caucus meetings here at the DNC Fall meeting in Austin. While the leadership of the DNC generally is pretty pre-determined, the leadership of the various caucuses of the DNC is much more freely selected by their members.

Shortly after the General Session ended and everybody had a chance to have lunch, the regional caucuses met. The DNC is divided into four caucuses: West, South, East, and Midwest. There were no contested races for the Western Caucus officers (we elected officers from California, Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming). The contested races were for our four representatives to the DNC’s Executive Committee.

There are two male and two female positions on the Executive Committee for each region; in the West, we had three men and three women running, obviously requiring an election. I must say, it was the toughest vote I’ve ever had on the DNC. All six of the candidates were eminently qualified and deserving of being on the Executive Committee. In the end, we elected two individuals from California, a Washingtonian, and a New Mexican to represent us on the Executive Committee.

After the Western Caucus, the constituency caucuses held their meetings. I spent the first half of this period in the Hispanic Caucus, where I observed the caucus elect an energetic new chair, a State Senator from Illinois. The Hispanic Caucus elected two Coloradans into their leadership: Debbie Marquez was selected to be the Caucus Secretary; Mannie Rodriguez was selected to be the Finance Committee Chair.

I then excused myself and stepped into the Black Caucus meeting. There, we heard from two Members of Congress — Rep. Maxine Waters of California and a Representative from Dallas. Both emphasized the importance of getting health insurance reform passed, and passed now. The Caucus then moved into elections, where they elected Coloradan Anthony Graves to serve as a member of the Caucus’ Executive Board representing the West.

Tonight, we are headed to an “exotic animal ranch” for authentic Austin Salt Lick BBQ. Should be an interesting reception.

————–

One more note that I found interesting: Yesterday, Brandy was having her nails done at a local manicure place, and Christine Pelosi was also there getting her nails done. Brandy and Christine spoke for a while, and Brandy noted that Christine’s mom (you may remember her as the person behind the President Wednesday night not named Biden) shot quite a stare at Rep. Wilson’s outburst during the President’s speech. Christine Pelosi’s response? “Yeah, I recognized that glare from my years as a teenager.” Nice.

Mid-day in Austin today has been dominated by the DNC’s General Meeting. We’ve heard from a number of speakers about the future of the Democratic Party, both here in Texas, and nationally.

The meeting began with a welcome by Austin’s mayor, who described himself as a “Dyed-in-the-wool, yellow-dog Democrat!” We then heard about the Texas political landscape from the leader of the Texas Senate’s Democratic caucus. Sen. Vandeputte declared, “Texas is comin’ back! Texas is turnin’ blue!” In the 150-member State House, Democrats have been able to narrow the gap to within one race of erasing the GOP Majority. It is now a 76-74 Republican majority. In 2008, Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio all voted Blue. Texas is a lot closer politically than you might think at first glance.

We then heard a tribute to Sen. Ted Kennedy (the same one shown at the Democratic Convention in Denver), and passed a resolution honoring his life. Governor Kaine gave a Chair’s report next, talking about how the Republican Party continues to be against nearly everything, and they don’t seem to stand FOR anything. He discussed the state of this year’s important elections in New Jersey and Virginia (the GOP candidate for Governor in Virginia apparently opposes contraception even for married couples!).

We next heard from the White House Political Director Patrick Gaspars. Gaspars talked about all of the challenges the President has faced, but also pointed out that there have been numerous times over the past two years when people have said that Barack Obama would fail — and every time, he’s come through successful!

Finally, we took care of some business. We approved Gov. Kaine’s slate of nominees for committees and At-Large DNC appointments (including two new DNC Members from Colorado, Sharon Bonner of Pueblo and Blanca O’Leary from Aspen). We adopted a number of other resolutions. And there were a number of references to the great job Colorado did hosting the Democratic Party last year.

I’ve got to run down now to the Western Caucus meeting, where we have a few contested elections to handle. I’ll be updating via my Facebook fan page and Twitter, as will Anthony Graves. And, of course, I’ll update with another post to DemNotes a little later on today.

This morning kicked of the Democratic meetings here in Austin, Texas. This morning was all about the Association of State Democratic Chairs, which met for a few hours — some in a closed session — this morning.

The morning began with a welcome from Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Ritchie. He talked about the advancements and opportunities that Democrats have made and are making in Texas. While the perception is that Texas is solidly Republican, the reality is that it is moving in the direction of Democrats a lot faster than most would think. You might even see Texas become a Presidential battleground sooner than you’d expect — and without Texas, the Republicans cannot possibly win any kind of national election.

We then heard from the staff leadership of the DNC. DNC Executive Director Jen O’Malley-Dixon spoke, followed by the DNC Political Director and the Executive Director of Organizing For America. What was particularly useful was the feedback / Q&A session that followed, where state party leaders had an opportunity to interact with these DNC leaders about what is working and what isn’t working in the DNC’s / OFA’s relationship with the state and local parties.

We also heard about the evolution of the voter file, and our agreement for the DNC and state parties to work together to continue our partnership and make VAN / VoteBuilder even better than it was in 2008. We finally heard about the timeline for the Census and redistricting and the need for state parties to ensure that plans are in place to count every person in every state.

Finally, we broke out into our geographic regions for a short meeting among ourselves. The Western Region had a great discussion about recent meetings and advancements, and shared our goals for the coming months ahead.

The ASDC meetings are generally the most useful part of these larger DNC meetings, and this week in Austin has proven to continue that truth. It is so great to see old friends from around the nation, and to meet our newest chairs and vice chairs. If this morning was any indication, the DNC meetings here in Austin should be a great event for continuing to help Democrats in every state!

This afternoon, there are just a couple of committee meetings, so I think Brandy and I may go out and explore Austin before the reception at the LBJ Ranch hosted by the Texas Democratic Party tonight. I’ll write more later!

I’m in Austin, Texas tonight, for the DNC and ASDC meetings that begin here tomorrow morning. Tonight, though, the President did a pretty good job explaining why we need change in our health care system.

I normally write pretty non-controversial stuff on DemNotes. Well, non-controversial if you’re a Democrat. But I’m afraid what I have to say tonight will make an awful lot of folks I know and respect upset. I’d even bet I’ll have a lot of folks “unsubscribe” from the DemNotes e-mail list.

Here’s the gist: It’s time to close ranks.

So many of us would love to see a “single-payer” health system in America. Even more have been arguing lately that any health care plan without a “public option” is not acceptable. The Republicans — indeed, the insurance companies — are counting on the Democratic Party to divide over this issue. That division, along with the hardcore Republican opposition to this plan, is what the insurance companies and the Rush Limbaughs of the world are counting on to kill any hopes of health care reform once again.

It has happened before. There’s no reason for them to believe it won’t happen in 2009.

I support a public option. I believe it is a very important part to health care reform. But, I also believe that it is much, much, more important to get significant health care reform passed in 2009. If it can’t pass without a public option, it still needs to pass. Over the next few years, we will have plenty of opportunities to add and fix what passes in 2009.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t continue to provide your opinion as a voter to our Members of Congress. They need to hear from us, and I know for a fact that they appreciate hearing from us about our support for meaningful change to the health care system (well, the Democratic ones, at least). But do so in a respectful and intelligent manner. Threats do nothing to help us, and they don’t help your cause.

And losing faith in this political system doesn’t help our cause for change, either.

We will have a very tough election next year. We will need every voice of support we can get. And it becomes a lot tougher if we do not get significant health care reform passed this year. Our goal should be simple: Get It Passed.

The fact that we have come this far and this is still a very real possibility is amazing. Historically, we have not come this close in a long time — perhaps the debates over Medicare in the 1960s is the last time we’ve come this close. I refuse to wait two more generations for the next opportunity because some on our side have ideological blinders on.

So it’s time to get on board. Close ranks. And get this reform passed!

I’ll write more from Austin this week. Tomorrow begins with the Association of State Democratic Chairs meeting in the morning. I saw Pat Waak briefly this afternoon, and Brandy and I flew over here on the same flight as Utah State Chair Wayne Holland (Utahns are excited about the opportunity to elect a statewide Democrat in their Governor’s race next year). It’s a good atmosphere here in Texas.

Well, except for the humidity.

Every four years, the DNC elects a new Chair. In January, the day following the Inauguration in Washington, DC, we elected Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as the new DNC Chair. Each time a Chair takes office, he or she has the ability to nominate 75 people to serve “at-large” on the DNC. He or she also appoints a handful of DNC Executive Committee members, as well as members to four committees: Finance, Credentials, Resolutions, and Rules & Bylaws.

During Gov. Dean’s term as DNC Chair, we had two Coloradans appointed to the DNC At-Large: Maria Handley and Ramona Martinez. However, I’m not sure that we had any Coloradans serving on any of the four committees mentioned above.

Last night, Gov. Kaine announced his appointments for his term. We will be voting to confirm his appointments on Friday at the DNC’s Fall Meeting in Austin, Texas.

And Colorado has two new faces on the Democratic National Committee: Pitkin County Vice Chair Blanca O’Leary and Sharon Gomez-Bonner.

Just as eventful, we now have a significant presence on one of the DNC’s committees; Gov. Kaine announced that the following Coloradans have been appointed to the Resolutions Committee: Anthony Graves, Pat Waak, and newly-appointed member Blanca O’Leary.

Our delegation to the DNC has changed quite a bit in the past year. I’m looking forward to serving with these new folks, and seeing the leadership of our committee members in action. Of course, we also owe a great debt of thanks to Ramona and Maria for their service to Colorado and the DNC over the past many years.

I’ll post often from Austin, in a number of forms. Of course, I will continue these updates on DemNotes. But if you’re on Facebook (and, yes, I realize many of you are not), I will be updating my “Fan Page” much more often with short descriptions of what is going on. If you are on Facebook and aren’t yet a “Fan”, I’ve put a box on the left side of the DemNotes website (www.DemNotes.com) where you can see the “feed” and even add yourself to the Fan Page. I’ve even set it up now where posts to Facebook will be simulcast on Twitter.

Again, though, don’t worry if you don’t bother with Facebook, or Twitter, or anything like that. DemNotes isn’t going anywhere.

Last night, I drove down to Las Animas for an incredibly well-attended Bent County Democratic Party picnic at City Park.

As I said there, this was the “epicenter” of my childhood. Not Las Animas — the Las Animas City Park. I grew up a block away from the Park, to the East. I was baptized at the church across the street to the West, where my father was the music director. I swam on the local swim team for several summers at the swimming pool adjacent to City Park to the South (Alex Netherton, the current Bent County Chair and a former teammate of mine on the swim team, noted last night that I was a “good talker” on the swim team — as for swimming ability, eh, not so much). And the yard across the street to the North of the park was where the annual community easter egg hunt was held when I was a child.

So it’s always like going home whenever I get back to Bent County. This was the second year I’d attended their picnic, and I think the crowd this year was substantially larger than last year — which is quite a rarity for an off-election year. Well over 60 people were there — by the time all was said and done, I think there was close to 75 people there. Several surrounding counties were represented, including Prowers, Otero, Crowley, and Baca. It was very good to see.

The big attraction, of course, was a visit by Senator Michael Bennet. He showed up with quite a motorcade; reporters from Denver were trailing him across the Eastern Plains. He spent the bulk of his time talking about health care and the need to get something passed in Washington. He reiterated his support for the “public option,” which I think was good for many of the local Dems to hear. The other big topic of discussion was Pinon Canyon. His stance there — which he says he’s held across the state — was also pleasing to Southeast Coloradans: the Army has not made a good case for expanding Pinon Canyon.

The Senator was preceded by State Chair Pat Waak. Pat wanted to assure folks that we are paying attention to the rural areas as a state party. She also wanted to thank folds for all of their hard work in the previous year.

I spoke a little after Sen. Bennet. I talked about the need to mount a statewide campaign that is not only defensive, but also a little offensive, in nature. In other words, we need to win some Republican seats and not only fight to keep what we have. Bent County is part of the sprawling Senate District 2, which is held by a term-limited Republican, and is the most Democratic seat in the State Senate still held by a Republican. In other words: it’s prime takeover territory for us.

State Representative Wes McKinley was also there. I made a wonderful foot-in-mouth faux pas (not unusual for me) early on, when I went over to talk to him. I had spoken to somebody a couple of days earlier in southeast Colorado, whose word I trusted, that told me Rep. McKinley was term-limited. So, my first words to Wes were, “Hey, have we found a replacement for you yet?”

Wes informed me, politely, that he thought he’d give this seat another run.

He’s not term-limited. Oops.

Have a great Labor Day weekend — be sure to remember at some point during your three-day weekend that this was a holiday created to remember the great and awesome sacrifices of the men and women of organized labor. If, for instance, you are driving down I-25 to Santa Fe or Albuquerque, and you see a sign for an exit between Walsenburg and Trinidad that says “Ludlow,” take it. Drive about a half-mile west of the Interstate to a small memorial. And remember the men and women who died for better working conditions and a say in how they were treated.

Then, think how far we’ve come because of their struggles.

Have a great and safe Labor Day!

Yesterday, we headed up to Denver for the one-year anniversary celebration of the National Convention. It was also a celebration of one hundred years of tourism promotion in Denver, and there sure were a lot of folks key to the success of Denver 2008 there. After the reception, we stopped by a meeting of Highlands Ranch Dems to say a few words before heading back down to Canon City for the night.

The reception was held at Invesco Field, at the United Club Lounge. I’ve never been blessed enough to be in that fancy section of Invesco, but it was rather impressive, indeed! There was even a nice surprise: we were joined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar! It was nice to see Secretary Salazar again, although it seemed odd to see him milling about without his trademark cowboy hat on.

Mayor Hickenlooper spoke first, and reminded folks of how far we had come since the beginning of the bid process several years ago. Governor Ritter talked about the phone call he received from Gov. Howard Dean just before heading off for vacation, asking whether Gov. Ritter thought we could move the last night of the convention to Invesco Field. There seemed to be a lot of nostalgia for that decision, as it was made very late in the process, and there was a lot of concern behind the scenes about the ability to pull off something so big.

There was also one theme that rang universal, whether from Gov. Ritter, the Mayor, or Secretary Salazar: that the people of Colorado made that Convention a success. From everybody around the nation who has talked about what a wonderful Convention Denver 2008 was, they’ve always talked about the amazing people of Colorado. That remains a big point of pride.

As I mentioned, there were a number of great Colorado leaders there: Elbra Wedgeworth, who led the Host Committee; Mike Dino, who was the day-to-day leader for the Host Committee, especially when it came to raising the massive amounts of money necessary; even Ray Rivera, who led the Obama efforts in Colorado, took some time to join his new boss (Secretary Salazar) at Invesco. It was a nice reunion.

After our time at Invesco, we braved the Denver traffic and headed down to the Highlands Ranch Library to join the Highlands Ranch Democrats at their monthly meeting. Since we were heading home, it was really more of a brief stop than anything else, but I did have a chance to talk to the group about the challenges that lie ahead for Colorado. I talked about the impressive gains that the Douglas County Democrats have made over the past few years — gains that could not have realistically been imagined just a few years ago. The success of Douglas County’s Democrats has not really been reported too widely, but they have been able to turn a heavily Republican county into just a somewhat Republican county — and that success has been felt by our candidates statewide, to be sure. I also talked a little bit about what might lie in the horizon for me personally in the next couple of months. It was a good chance to talk to a dedicated group of Democrats in Highlands Ranch.

I had been hoping to get over to Pueblo this morning for a fundraiser for the House Majority Project, but work interfered with those plans. Anyway, I’m now working and waiting to see what kind of bids for the 2010 State Assembly come in tonight!

Whatever happened to the old addage, “You can disagree without being disagreeable.”?

I was having a debate at last week’s Drinking Liberally here in Canon City with an officer of the local Democratic Party. He argued that public discourse had fallen off in the past couple of years and become increasingly nasty. I pointed to the unbelievably nasty (even by today’s standards) back-and-forth between supporters of John Adams and supporters of Thomas Jefferson in the early stages of our republic as proof that our Nation has always had a degree of vitriol in its political debate.

But that doesn’t excuse what happened in the wee hours of this morning at 777 N. Santa Fe.

This morning, a cowardly thug — there really isn’t much better phrase to describe this guy — decided to pound holes in the windows of the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters in Denver with a hammer. Thankfully, one of Denver’s Finest was driving by at the time and chased the guy down, arresting him. But the damage was done — at least $10,000.00 in damage, with nearly every one of the windows broken.

Now, being the easy-going guy I am, I might be willing to attribute this guy’s actions to a drunken rage fueled by love for the San Francisco Giants and anger at the last-minute beating they took at Coors Field around Midnight. But doing that would ignore the facts that the strikes of the hammer and shatters of the glass came right at every poster and symbol in the window of health care reform and our President. And it would ignore a poster apparently contemporaneously glued to a post comparing the President’s attempts to provide health care opportunities for all Americans with Nazi Germany. (And, yes, this guy is apparently not a student of history and what happened with Kristallnacht, and the eerie similarity to his own actions.)

Everybody on our side should realize that the vast majority of people who oppose the President’s efforts to change our health care and health insurance system are hard-working Americans with genuine beliefs about where this country should go. And they express their views in a calm, reasoned manner. But we should also no longer ignore that there is a segment of the Republican hierarchy that is doing everything it can to stir up anger and emotions in a way that they cannot control.

America voted for Change last November. We can debate that change without shouting at one another. We can debate that change without name-calling. And we can debate that change without breaking windows when we don’t agree with somebody.

Can’t we?

Yesterday, I had a truly unique opportunity: I was able to tour the most secure prison in the United States. Known to outsiders as “Supermax,” the ADX at the United States Penitentiary in Florence has been dubbed the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.” Indeed, right after you go through the metal detector, there on the wall is a picture of Alcatraz itself.

My father in law is the director of facilities at the ADX, and yesterday was the “staff appreciation day” at the ADX, where families of staff could come inside for tours and demonstrations by the men and women who work there. Some of the “worst of the worst” live at the ADX, including the Unabomber, OKC bomber Terry Nichols, and the “20th hijacker” from 9/11.

I don’t want to give away too many details from the tour, but we were able to see all sorts of measures that are taken to ensure that the prisoners housed at the ADX are the most securely-placed in the nation. We were able to tour several of the facilities, including the exercise facilities, medical facilities, processing facilities, and various cell block areas. It was an incredibly engrossing journey into a place only a few miles from my house geographically, but light-years away from my own daily life.

What impressed me most: how happy and proud the staff at the ADX seemed to be at their jobs. These are truly the finest men and women in corrections, and they generally seem to get a lot of satisfaction from the professionalism of their jobs. There was not a single staff person working there who seemed to be treating it like “yet another day” of drudgery like so many people treat their daily work elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong: they weren’t happy to be around such a criminal element in cells — it wasn’t a sense of schadenfreude. Instead, it was a true sense of professionalism and pride in the quality of their work. That was refreshing to see.

And, yes, these were government workers.

That just stuck in my head, and I wanted to write to DemNotes about it. Oh, and the photograph of President Obama on the wall as I entered the facility (along with the Attorney General, Director of the Bureau of Prisons, etc.) — an added point of pride!

I’m in Burlington, Washington tonight. We just arrived, after a very long journey back from Northern Idaho.

But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a lot to talk about today in Idaho. We began with a welcome from the Idaho AFL-CIO. We heard about the latest efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, and the challenges that legislation still faces. We also heard from a forestry professor at the University of Idaho about new opportunities for using biomass from our forests as an alternative energy source. That sparked a spirited debate between his proposals and those who felt that it would result in harming our forests even more than presently.

We were joined for lunch with a presentation from Project New West, which is holding a summit next week in Denver. Project New West was created to study and help progressives win in the Intermountain West. It is headquartered in Denver, but it helps Democrats throughout the region, including places like Idaho and Utah, where Democratic victories have historically been scarce.

After an introduction during lunch, we headed into a more in-depth session about the future of political opportunities and challenges in the West, especially the Inter-Mountain West. I moderated the session, which included Project New West as well as the Senate Minority Leader from Utah, who gave us some background and opportunities within the LDS faith community. Again, we had some lively discussion about the differences between being a Democrat in places like Utah and being a Democrat in the more traditionally liberal West Coast cities. Both places offer their own opportunities for our Party, but both also offer some unique challenges.

That was mid-afternoon, and it was time for me to leave. We had planned this trip under the assumption that it would be formatted similar to other DNC meetings, which generally begin Wednesday evening and go through mid-day Saturday (that is how the meeting next month in Austin is planned, for example). However, there was one more session today, and a couple more session tomorrow morning. Our plans, however, had already been set: we are sea kayaking in Washington’s San Juan Islands in the morning. And I’m looking forward to that.

So we will head back to Colorado on Tuesday, after a couple of quick days exploring Vancouver British Columbia. Looking forward to getting back to work in the Centennial State!

PS – Congrats to Bruce Whitehead of Hesperus, who was selected today to fill the vacancy of Senator Jim Isgar to become Colorado’s newest Democratic State Senator! I don’t know him too well, but I do know most of the folks on the vacancy committee, and I truly trust their judgment that they’ve picked the best person to represent the area and take up the Democratic banner in 2010!

This afternoon, we heard from the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, who leads the progressive efforts to monitor ballot efforts nationwide and help prevent bad ballot issues and promote progressive issues. And there was a lot of talk about Colorado.

It seems that Colorado has shown to be the proving ground for ballot politics. And we’ve done a pretty good job shooting down bad ideas. For instance, our successful efforts to shoot down the “personhood” initiative last year — by a huge margin, give a lot of hope to the over a dozen states now facing the same initiative next year.

We’ve learned a lot in Colorado during our efforts to beat back bad initiatives. Indeed, when we started looking at the massive fraud that goes on around initiative circulation (which is ironic, since those same promoters are the first to complain about bogus charges of voter registration fraud), we saw some pretty egregious examples of things going on that were not necessarily illegal. Our legislature and Governor have done a great job sealing loopholes, and now Colorado is the best state in the nation when it comes to petition security. You can check out the national report card of Ballot Security here: http://www.ballot.org/pages/initiative_reform

There are going to be a lot more efforts around the West in the next year to get bad ballot issues on the ballot. We have to continue to be vigilant about protecting Colorado’s ballot. Make sure you know what you’re signing, and pay attention to both what people are saying AND what is written on these petitions.

Then get out there and work for the good ones, and fight like hell against the bad ones!

I’m on a break right now, and we’ve had a full day of sessions at the DNC Western Caucus meetings in Idaho. If you’ve been following @DemNotes on Twitter, you’ve seen up-to-the-minute reports from the rooms. (And rest assured, folks, I’m planning on keeping up with DemNotes online here — thanks, though, for the e-mails making sure that I stay up with the posting on DemNotes and don’t go all-Twitter.)

The day began with a breakfast where we heard more from Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick. He did a good job explaining where his sense of fiscal conservatism fits into the need for our Federal Government to do a better job planning for the future.

Then, we went into a session with Jennie Blackton, who is an Emmy-Award winning consultant who helps Democrats understand how to better communicate with people. She had several of us (including me) get up and give spontaneous “stump speeches,” along with lots of critique and advice, from both herself and the crowd here. It was very helpful, and pretty entertaining, too.

Debbie Marquez is here now, which makes me feel a little better that I’m not the only Coloradan at this Western Regional meeting.

Then, we had lunch and heard from a family doctor here in Idaho who is also a wonderful proponent of change in the health care system. He did a good job describing where legislation is now in Congress. He also made a good point about the need for some kind of reform to pass, and the fact that whatever does pass will be tweaked and re-tweaked over the next two decades to make it better. Above all, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and we have to work at home — in Colorado — to fight for health care reform and let our leaders know that we won’t accept failure from Congress as an option.

Finally, I just left a good meeting with representatives from the DNC and Organizing For America about the future of the DNC and OFA. Colorado has been a good example for the rest of the Nation, hitting our OFA goals so well that they actually increased our goals. Colorado continues to be a shining example — across the board — of Democratic organizing abilities and successes that other states are looking to for guidance and inspiration.

Headed back now to hear about where we are with midterm ballot measures and how the Party is working with those issues. Later, we have a seafood buffet sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene tribe. I’ll write more later!

I will say one thing about Idaho: their Vice Chair is given a much nicer residence than Colorado’s Vice Chair.

Tonight, we joined well over a hundred other Democrats at the home of Jeanne Buell, the Idaho Vice Chair, about four miles south of our hotel. It was a wonderful country home, and the weather was perfect: overcast, yet the rain waited until we were done to arrive.

We were treated to a BBQ hosted by the Coeur d’Alene tribe of Idaho, and heard from a couple of very important Idahoans: Congressman Walt Minnick and DLC Chairman Bruce Reed.

You may recall Walt Minnick: his success in Idaho provided hope for a similar Congressional District in Colorado: the Fifth CD. Both have about the same Democratic performance numbers, and Minnick came close to winning in 2006. His return in 2008 proved more successful, and he became just the second Democratic Member of Congress from Idaho since the advent of color television.

Congressman Minnick joined us at our table for dinner. It was a great honor, and we discussed Colorado politics — he pointed out that a fellow freshman was proving to be very impressive and effective: Betsy Markey. His staff distributed an article on Minnick from the Wall Street Journal (which was a little awkward, as it was critical of Speaker Pelosi ignoring his importance to keeping the majority, and Pelosi’s daughter was at the BBQ).

Minnick spoke briefly to the crowd, which was apparently quite impressive for a Northern Idaho Democratic audience. Many said it was very, very rare to have this kind of crowd of Democrats in this area of Idaho. Local Dems attended, and appeared very proud to share their community with so many Democrats.

After Minnick came Bruce Reed, who worked for the Clinton White House, and has made his name in working to ensure that the Democratic Party appeals to the middle of the political spectrum as well as the left. Reed spent a lot of his time talking about the example Colorado provides to the nation about the potential of the West. He spoke glowingly about Senator Bennet, and about the amazing win shown by Betsy Markey in the Fourth CD. He even quoted former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who said in the 1980s, “We Democrats need to do three things to win back the White House. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what those three things are.”

I think we figured ‘em out in 2008.

So far, this has been a good start. I’m not sure who else from Colorado will be here — I know Pat has been busy working with the DNC in DC this week, and is preparing to welcome the West herself for the New West group in Denver next week, so she will not be able to attend. I’ll do my best to represent Colorado well here in her absence — indeed, my buttons were busting with pride tonight after the accolades we received from the speakers at the event this evening!

I posted several posts to Twitter during the dinner; however, there appear to be a number of problems with Twitter today that have not yet been fixed, and I don’t think the posts actually went through. I’ll continue to try to update through both Twitter and DemNotes!

Those of you who have been following me on Twitter know that I’ve been making the trek to Northern Idaho for the past couple of days for the DNC Western Caucus meeting. We are now here, and are getting ready to go to the opening event of the meeting, a barbeque at a DNC member’s ranch near here.

“Here” is Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. (I’ve spent the last couple of days learning how to spell this place.) To be technically correct, “here” is at the Coeur d’Alene Casino and Resort 20 miles south of Coeur d’Alene. Over the next couple of days, we will hear about all sorts of things, including lots of message development workshops, updates on health care reform, the DNC, Organizing For America, new media, and even alternative energy. It promises to be a great session, lasting until Sunday (even though I will have to leave a bit early, late on Saturday, due to my own schedule).

We flew in to Seattle on Tuesday, making this a family exploration of the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday morning, before leaving Seattle, we stopped to see Pike Place Market in Seattle, which was a feast for the eyes, indeed! After the DNC meetings, we’re going to try some sea kayaking on Washington’s San Juan Island before heading up to Vancouver, British Columbia.

DemNotes has been fairly silent lately (when I’ve been active, I’ve found Twitter a lot easier to keep updated than DemNotes). We have had an eventful last month or so. At the beginning of July, I traveled up to Edwards to speak to a small group at the Eagle Dems’ monthly luncheon. I truly love summertime driving in the Colorado Rockies — it was an awe-inspiring trip! That trip was followed the next week with a similarly amazing journey over Independence Pass to Aspen, where I joined Chair Pat Waak in welcoming DNC Chair Tim Kaine to Colorado for a fundraiser.

More recently, I’ve been working as the Chair of the Party’s Site Selection Committee. The Committee has put together a RFP that has gone out to the county parties to solicit bids for the 2010 State Assembly. I’m really looking forward to seeing the bids that come in this year. The folks at the State Party office are getting ready for the Project New West summit next week in Denver. And we are getting ready for the next full DNC meeting, to take place about a month from now in Austin, Texas.

I’ll post regularly tomorrow about the sessions on Twitter, and I’ll try to keep up with more detailed updates from Idaho here on DemNotes.