As I mentioned last night, tonight is kind of like having the Super Bowl at Mile High. Actually, it’s bigger than the Super Bowl. But with free tickets.

This morning has kind of like piling a National Convention on top of a National Convention. There is a whole new influx of people into Denver above and beyond the tens of thousands already in town and energized. Indeed, just in the lobby of this hotel, I’ve run into all sorts of people from around Colorado who have come into town for the evening. I almost literally ran into Senator Abel Tapia of Pueblo getting off of the elevator, and we have hosted several folks from around the state in our room today as they prepare to head over to Invesco.

There is definitely a buzz — and a whole lot more “celebrity” sightings this morning than the other mornings. We ran into Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel, of New York, just outside the hotel, and had a quick pep talk from him. Then, while riding the elevator with a fellow wearing a name tag with the last name “Pelosi,” the crowded elevator stopped on a floor where the smiling (and particularly radiant in person) face of Katie Couric greeted us. Seeing the crowd already on the elevator, she politely demurred to the next elevator.

That was my biggest celebrity sighting, but our friends Alain Chamot (Vice Chair of the Fremont Dems) and August Mergelman ran into a pretty big celebrity of their own just outside the Colorado Party office on the second floor of the hotel: Joe Biden. Alain reached out and shaked his hand, and he said he was impressed by how personable Biden was to him. It certainly sounded like a whirlwind brief experience, and very surreal.

If you can’t make it to Invesco today, be sure to watch as much as you can; today might as well be called “Colorado Day” for all of the Coloradans who will be speaking to us. Here’s the schedule right now of Colorado speakers:
3:00 - 5:00:
– Just before the Call to Order by Speaker Pelosi, Colorado state director Ray Rivera will be speaking about the voter registration program.
– Following the National Anthem, Host Committee President Elbra Wedgeworth speaks to the Convention
– After Wedgeworth, come some resolutions, followed by Governor Bill Ritter
– Then, Congressman Ed Perlmutter
– Then, Congressman John Salazar
– Finally, Congresswoman Diana DeGette

5:00 - 6:00:
– A fun hour including Gov. Bill Richardson, will.i.am (from the Black Eyed Peas), and Sheryl Crow
– The hour ends with Ray Rivera apparently speaking a second time for the day

6:00 - 7:00:
– Congressman Mark Udall is the second scheduled speaker of the hour
– The hour ends with Stevie Wonder, followed by Al Gore

From 7:00 to 8:00, I don’t see a whole lot of Colorado-based speakers, and then — of course — Senator Obama speaks in the 8:00 hour.

You won’t want to miss this!!!

Well, each night of the Democratic National Convention just keeps outdoing the previous one. Monday was great — Tuesday was unbelievable. But tonight was even better than the past two.

I sure hope that you all got an opportunity to see most of tonight’s exciting moments. The session began earlier than normal for most of us — we were all told we needed to be there quite early — 3:00 — to see Senator Salazar speak and to be present for the roll call of the states. I even got to be a tiny part of the great evening — the Obama campaign asked me to second a procedural motion at the beginning of the session.

Senator Salazar had a key role early this evening. He was one of the nominators for Senator Obama, and did wonderfully. Right after the nominations, we went straight into the roll call vote. Senator Salazar, Congressman Perlmutter, and Pat Waak announced Colorado’s results — 55 votes for Senator Obama, 15 votes for Senator Clinton. (More on how we voted later.)

Then, there was an interesting dance — when they got to New Mexico, the State Chair, Brian Colon, passed the floor to the Illinois delegation, who then passed the floor to the New York delegation. In New York, Senator Clinton was introduced, and she moved to nominate Senator Obama by acclamation.

The motion passed overwhelmingly.

What came next was an interesting catharsis. I didn’t expect the rush of emotion at that point — I truly enjoy the roll call votes as one of the best parts of these conventions, but I honestly didn’t really give any thought to what would happen when Senator Obama actually received the nomination — I just figured there’d be some celebration.

But this was more than a celebration — it was a release. Several delegates from Colorado were shedding tears of joy. Indeed, I felt a little emotional. I jumped up on a chair and just screamed and cheered. Then, I got back down and gave several folks who I’d seen work so hard hugs and high fives. It was a rather touching moment.

But the convention must go on, and it did. Later in the evening, we heard from President Bill Clinton. There had been some concerns among delegates about what he’d say, but — like his wife — did a wonderful job of working to unify this Party and make it clear: He’s going to work to elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

We also heard a speech from Senator John Kerry. Senator Kerry — well, what can I say but WOW. He laid out about as compelling a case as can be made as to why John McCain is a poor choice to lead our nation, and then did a wonderful pivot and contrasted that well with how Senator Obama represents the values and the judgment needed to be President. He also — in a very ironic way — pointed out how John McCain has changed his position on an unbelievable number of issues.

That brought us to the nomination of Joe Biden as Vice President. We went through the process and nominated him by acclamation. Then, we heard from his son, the attorney general of Delaware. He gave a very moving speech that gave us a glimpse into the personal life and values of Senator Biden. We heard about his commitment to return home to Delaware on the train every night — and how tragedy marked his initial swearing-in to the U.S. Senate, so much so that he almost did not decide to swear in to the Senate. “Delaware can get another Senator. My children cannot get another father.” In the end, he was sworn in at his son’s bedside in the hospital.

And Joe Biden showed up to prove why he’s our Vice Presidential nominee.

He gave a great talk — including introducing us to his wonderful mother in the crowd, and talked of the values that he learned from her. He talked about what kind of race this will be, and also talked of John McCain, who he listed as a true friend, but who is wrong on so many issues important to America today.

That should have been the end of the night. You’d normally have the VP nominee’s family come out, and there would be a celebration. But not tonight.

We usually hear rumors about what is going to happen each night. For instance, I’d heard generally how the vote would be conducted the evening before. We’d heard that Senator Obama was going to be on the video screen after Obama’s speech. But when Joe Biden’s wife came out to the stage and said she had a surprise, it was news to all of us. I expected us to have another video feed.

But there was a slight delay: Biden looked genuinely confused. Then, we in the Colorado delegation saw the curtain to the side of the stage open and out came… Barack Obama. The delegation went wild. Senator Obama told us why he’d wanted to move the Convention to Invesco Field tomorrow night: he wanted to open the Convention to as many as possible.

I don’t know what the best adjective is for the night: “magical” seems trite. Amazing?

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The morning began with another breakfast. We heard from Congressman John Salazar, and the vice president of the United Farm Workers of America. There were a number of other speakers, but I had to leave to get over to Rocky Mountain PBS, where I was a guest on “Colorado Matters,” which is on Colorado Public Radio, but is also showing on PBS this convention week.

I felt like the show went well. I was on with Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who is so energized this week. (As an aside, I sat next to him at the Convention, and I can tell you that he’s about as enthusiastic about Barack Obama as you can be.) The host asked several really good questions and I felt that Congressman Perlmutter and I did a pretty good job talking about the differences Colorado voters will face between John McCain and Barack Obama.

After the show, we went over to a lunch for Western states delegates, and then headed over to the Pepsi Center because of the need to be there earlier than normal.

Tomorrow is the big day. I know many of you will be there — I hope to see so many of you, and I’m so glad that many Colorado Democrats will have a chance to be a part of history. Invesco Field has never seen a Super Bowl, but this may very well be even better than any Super Bowl!

See You There!!!

If there was any doubt about the unity of the Democratic Party, tonight Hillary Clinton squashed those doubts. If you missed Sen. Clinton’s speech, you missed something special. She made it clear that this is a race of clear choices — between four years of the same with John McCain and a fresh new direction for all of the things that Hillary Clinton stood for during her campaign.

Tonight it was definitely Senator Clinton’s night. The Colorado Democratic Party even took the unusual move of assigning the best seats in our delegation — the first two rows closest to the podium — to the Clinton delegates. But the message that we need to all support Barack Obama was not lost on any delegate in the delegation.

The night was an exciting night — Keynoter Mark Warner showed why many consider him a lock for taking over an open Senate seat in Virginia. And if you missed Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer’s speech to the convention just before Hillary’s speech, you missed a speech that truly energized the hall and got the crowd dancing. Former Denver Mayor and Clinton cabinet member Federico Pena spoke earlier in the evening, as well, before coming down to join the Colorado delegation.

Today was a very busy day. We started with the delegation breakfast. Congresswoman DeGette and Congressman Perlmutter spoke to us. We were also joined by a Colorado native named Kelly Doherty, who is the executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Kelly, an Iraq and Bosnia veteran (and a good childhood friend of Brandy’s), has helped found and now leads an organization of veterans committed to ending the war in Iraq. She gave a great breakdown of the organization’s goals, and the crowd responded with a standing ovation for her.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano also spoke; however, I had to leave the breakfast early to do a taping of a television show, GritTV with Laura Flanders. I headed over to the television studios and taped a segment discussing the “transformative” nature of the Denver Convention with Laura and the Washington editor of The Nation magazine. You should be able to see it at http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/.

After handling the taping, we went down to Civic Center park to take a look at the protests that the media has been reporting on lately. I was rather surprised by how few people were actually there protesting. There were a wide number of different types of protests, but in reality, the park was not filled like I had expected from prior conventions.

We met up again with Kelly, where we got to meet Ron Kopic, who is the individual whose life is purportedly portrayed by Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July”. From there, we headed back up 14th to see some IVAW members participate in some street theater — portraying what it is truly like to patrol the cities of Iraq.

From there, I switched roles and took my turn as Brandy’s guest. We went over to the Denver Downtown Aquarium for a reception honoring the Rules Committee members (Brandy is one). It was a nice break to a busy day, and we got to see the wonderful exhibits at the museum.

From there, we finally headed over to the Pepsi Center, where we saw a great program which was capped by the speeches I mentioned above.

Finally, after the convention, we headed over to the DCPA, where we saw a wonderful performance by Boyz II Men. We ended the evening on the rooftop of the Denver Athletic Club, where Congresswoman DeGette was sponsoring a reception. It was a great chance for Colorado delegates to cut loose — and to cut a rug. Brandy and I even briefly got out on the dance floor, and that’s pretty rare. When I finally get around to posting all of the pictures from the Convention, I’ve got a few of Colorado delegates dancing and enjoying the evening.

Tomorrow is a similarly busy day. I’ll be a guest with Congressman Perlmutter on Colorado Matters, which is both on Colorado Public Radio and on public television in Denver. If you get a chance, take a look! Also, if you’re around C-SPAN tomorrow afternoon, note that Senator Ken Salazar will be speaking to the convention early — probably in the first hour, between 3 and 4.

Of course, I’ll write more when I can!

Last night was an amazingly touching evening in so many ways.

After an unusually long bus ride to the Pepsi Center, we finally got into the arena. Almost immediately, we were greeted by Rob Riggle of The Daily Show frisking random convention-goers. Then, I worked my way onto the floor to the Colorado delegation. Already, the energy and excitement was palpable.

Being on the front of the convention hall the way Colorado is has its obvious advantages. But it also has its disadvantages, as well. I spent most of the evening in the front row; however, I had a few rows of photographers in front of me jostling for the best position. As with attending most of these conventions, it was definitely surreal.

But even those distractions could not take away from the two highlights of the evening: Sen. Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama. Sen. Kennedy surprised everybody by not only showing up, by not only speaking, but also by giving a great speech that reminded so many in the hall of the Kennedy charm and power. His appearance not only reminded us of the fighters that have long been a part of the Democratic Party, it also reminded us of the torch being passed to Sen. Obama.

Michelle Obama concluded the evening, and, boy, did she conclude it! With a speech worthy of her husband’s oratorical prowess, she talked of Sen. Obama as a family man, as a husband, and as an idealistic yet effective public leader. She brought many of us to tears with her stories of Obama’s commitment to his family and how they met and fell in love.

By the end, we were certainly on our feet and cheering wildly. But then, we got to see the Obama children say hello to their father on the television screen in an obviously unscripted moment. It was one of those times during conventions that will likely be replayed again and again, but was real and showed exactly what Michelle had been talking about — Barack Obama has an amazing history and an amazing family.

Tonight, we’re looking forward to hearing from Senator Clinton and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. Based on Sen. Clinton’s speeches so far, I don’t think this is one speech you want to miss!

I’m off to the delegation breakfast, then off to do a television interview on Grit TV (available on the Dish Network, I’m told) with Laura Flanders. I’ll write more later!

After writing my post this morning to DemNotes, we headed over to the Convention Center to attend the Hispanic Caucus meeting. We made it to hear the end of Senator Clinton’s very amazing speech to the delegates there. Everybody I spoke to — whether a Clinton supporter or an Obama supporter — was raving about the speech afterwards. Senator Clinton made it clear that she’s going to do whatever it takes to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden as President.

I saw Blanca O’Leary, a delegate from Pitkin County, right after the speech (and gave a few comments to the Aspen press). Blanca — an Obama delegate — was struck by how hard Senator Clinton worked to build support for Barack Obama’s campaign. She was truly excited, and it was great to run across a fellow Coloradan like that.

After the speech, on our way out of the Convention Center, we ran into former Senator Bob Graham of Florida. He and I chatted briefly as we walked about the Senate race here in Colorado. He was interested to find out what kind of attacks the Republicans were lobbing against Congressman Udall.

Then, we headed up to Coors Field for a reception honoring labor members and veterans for Colorado and other delegates. We saw Pat Waak there, as well as several other Colorado delegates. It was a nice relaxing stop in the middle of a hectic day.

Then we headed back over to the Convention Center for the Rural Council meeting. At the rural council meeting, we heard a lot of great information about how John McCain has consistently voted against rural interests, including his opposition to about every Farm Bill ever written. We were able to pick up some information about messaging for the campaign in rural areas, which should be helpful.

Right after posting, we’re going to head over to the Pepsi Center for this evening’s session. Michelle Obama is the “headliner” — we should hear a lot about Barack Obama the person, the husband and the father. I’m really looking forward to it.

As always, I’ll write more when I can!

This morning, we had our first Delegation Breakfast. We’ve had delegation breakfasts at each convention, but this was something more. To start, the room was at least twice as large — perhaps three times as large — as the rooms where we held our breakfasts in Boston and Los Angeles at the last two conventions. And we filled the room — Colorado’s delegates were only a part of the crowd.

We had some great speakers this morning. We heard from Senator Salazar, as well as Reps. Salazar and Perlmutter. Senator Salazar was bursting with pride at being the host Senator at this convention. We heard from several other speakers, as well, including a great speech from former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Gov. Siegelman was targeted by the U.S. Justice Department and Karl Rove because he was a Democrat in the South they couldn’t beat legitimately. He was even thrown into a maximum security prison before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered his release, with the comment that he was likely to win his appeal.

Siegelman did a great job keeping the crowd energized by his compelling story. He was introduced by CDP Political Director Billy Compton, who got his start when Siegelman hired him out of college in Alabama.

It was a great morning to be a Colorado Democrat. And I’ve seen a list of some of our speakers in the days to come, and it is only going to get better!

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Last night, after we left the star-studded Green Concert at Red Rocks, we headed back into the heart of Denver for the evening soiree for the Young Democrats of America and the Colorado Young Democrats. We arrived just in time to hear CYD President (and Colorado delegate) Crisanta Duran energize the crowd and introduce the YDA President. We also heard an excited and inspiring speech from Congressman Jeff Merkeley — the club was certainly “jumping” with YD energy.

Today, there are a number of events we’re headed out to do before we go over to the Pepsi Center this afternoon. As always, I will try to write to DemNotes as I can. Note that it appears if I post from my cell phone, you won’t get DemNotes via e-mail, so you might want to check online at www.DemNotes.com for the latest reports.

I’m live-blogging from Red Rocks right now; Sheryl Crow has just finished entertaining this capacity crowd here - it is truly an energized collection of delegates and Coloradans joined together in an excitement level for the Obama-Biden ticket like I’ve never seen. They’re showing a great video of Will Ferrell playing the President talking about global warming.

Well, this afternoon, I saw some global warming of my own. State Party Executive Director Sherry Jackson and I had to skip the Colorado delegation welcoming party in order to attend to the last-minute preparations at the Pepsi Center. We joined other state party chairs, vice chairs, and executive directors at the Convention Center for a briefing. After the briefing, we walked over to the Pepsi Center.

Well, most of the way, anyway.

Because of protests, the Pepsi Center’s perimeter security was placed on lockdown, locking us out of our last-minute walkthrough. In the heat. And, important for my pasty-white flesh, in the sun.

After about an hour and a half, we were able to get in. But the damage to my head was already done. So look for a reddish-pink glow toward the front-right of the stage in following days. That will be my balding and now burned head.

When we did get in, though, it was truly breath-taking. The stage and Pepsi Center are unbelievable up close. You are truly in for a visual treat when you watch this thing on tv in the days to come.

We tested out the microphones and the voting equipment and they are in great working order. And our seats — oh, man! They are as good as they get: right on the edge of the stage in the first few rows.

After we finally got out of Pepsi Center, we went back to the delegation hotel. I had heard from Brandy that the hotel was on lock down - apparently, there was a moderate-level security threat to the hotel. We were hearing that nobody was being allowed in or out, but the situation was resolved by the time we returned.

After a quick bite at the hotel, Brandy and I headed out to another delegation event at a private home in South Denver. There, we heard energetic speeches from Gov. Ritter and Sen. Salazar - who broke the news of a poll in the 5th CD showing Hal Bidlack leading incumbent GOP rep Doug Lamborn by a point! Both Bidlack and Hank Eng (6th CD) were there, joining Reps. Perlmutter and Salazar. It was an outstanding show of energy for Democrats in Colorado!

We then rushed over here to Red Rocks for the “Green Concert”. Sen. Salazar just finished giving a rousing speech, and country band Sugarland is now entertaining the crowd. We’re anxious to see Dave Matthews next.

Well, that was about all for today. Tomorrow is the big day. I’ll try to write more after the delegation breakfast — and hopefully I won’t be writing this from a BlackBerry then. Signing off from Row 21 at Red Rocks…..

“Are You Ready to Get This Party Started? That has two meanings this week!”

And thus, the Flobots truly defined in short and simple terms what this week is about.

Oh, yeah. Let me first explain who the Flobots are. The Flobots are a musical group dedicated to civic action and making change in America. They’re a Denver band that is sweeping the nation. And important to this discussion, they headlined the Media Party that kicked off the 2008 Democratic National Convention tonight.

Brandy and I have been listening to the Flobots for a couple of months now, but seeing them in concert was truly revolutionary. They challenge their audience to get involved — to become activists. They’ve even started a nonprofit organization whose goal is to engage youth and register them to vote across American.

Tonight, approximately 15,000 members of the media joined together to enjoy the opening event of the National Convention at Elitch Gardens. As a member of the Host Committee Board of Directors, I was lucky enough to join the crowd at Elitches. Beyond the amazing concept of being able to ride the Mind Eraser without any line, the evening was truly a night to celebrate Denver’s week in the limelight.

Senator Ken Salazar kicked off the night as we enjoyed traditional Native American dances. Then, we heard a few words from Governor Ritter and Mayor Hickenlooper before the Flobots kept the energy of the night moving. The evening ended with a fantastic three-level fireworks display that was, in a word, breathtaking.

The day began over at the Convention Center, where we attended the Rules Committee meeting. Brandy is one of Colorado’s representatives to the Rules Committee. The Committee rather uneventfully adopted the permanent rules that will govern the National Convention this week. The Clinton and Obama campaigns worked hard to ensure that both sides were satisfied with the outcome. The Rules Committee also adopted a proposal to create a commission to review the timeline and caucus / primary process for the nomination, which will start up next year. I had some discussions with campaign officials out of concerns that out of state interests would attempt to dictate how Colorado runs our caucuses; I’m confident we will have our voice heard when this Commission forms next year.

After the Rules Committee, we headed over to the Grand Hyatt to check in to the Colorado delegation hotel. Interestingly, this is also the DCCC hotel, where many members of Congress are staying. Security here is rather tight; it is a rather surreal experience.

On the way over to the Media Party, we stopped at a reception for State Party Chairs, Vice Chairs and Executive Directors at Tamayo on Larimer. It was great to see so many of our colleagues — they all seem to be enjoying their stays here in the Mile High City so far.

Tomorrow, there are a lot of things going on, including a couple of Colorado Delegation events. I also may have to do a walk-through of the Pepsi Center, missing the key Colorado reception. As with tonight, I will try to write when I can.

We now know the name of the individual to be nominated this week in Denver for Vice President: Joe Biden of Delaware. Senator Obama announced the pick early this morning.

From nearly every perspective, this seems to be an excellent choice. Senator Biden will be a key and knowledgeable advisor to a President Obama. He knows the world, the world leaders, and the complexities of international relations. Added to that foreign relations expertise is Sen. Biden’s knowledge of finance and banking law. In times like these, Sen. Biden makes a perfect partner to the Obama Administration.

Of course, I’m a little disappointed that we don’t have a Westerner on the ticket. Some of you may recall that I set three goals in August of 2005 at our State Central Committee meeting for national priorities. Those were:
1) Include the West in the pre-window nominating process.
2) Bring the National Convention to the Intermountain West (i.e., Denver).
3) Press to put a Westerner on the national ticket.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad. We were able to add a state with an important Hispanic presence in the West to the pre-window nominating process by adding an early caucus in Nevada. Of course, this week we will see the fruits of our labors since then in this Convention in Denver. And I will tell you that when I first met with Sen. Obama, I brought up the need for him to choose a Westerner as a running mate. (As an aside, I made the same pitch to Joe Biden when I met him the same weekend.)

In the end, though, the choice of Biden makes sense. As I mentioned, Joe Biden knows the world and will be an effective campaigner on the trail between now and November. I’m quite certain that we will have the opportunity to get to know Sen. Biden much better in the weeks and months to come, because I’ll bet he’ll be in Colorado quite a bit between now and November 4.

If it was possible to become even more excited about Senator Obama as a Presidential nominee, this pick certainly does that. Make sure and watch for Senator Biden’s speech here in Denver Wednesday night!

I’m in Denver now for the week, and I’m getting ready to head over to the Convention Center to watch the Rules Committee meeting. I’ll try to write about that this afternoon.

Today’s post to DemNotes feels like the original DemNotes. For those who don’t remember, or who weren’t involved with the Party back then, DemNotes began during the 2004 election cycle as an e-mail newsletter from me as State Party Secretary to everybody on the then-small State Party e-mail list. After 2004 — where I first blogged during the Democratic National Convention in Boston — I turned it into the blog demnotes.com that is in use today. In any event, when it was a newsletter format, there were several posts all at once, and there’s so much to report today that it seems a lot like that again.

D Minus Three Days. Or two days. Or one day. Depends on your point of view. Tomorrow, Saturday, is the first day for official convention-related activities in Denver. The Rules Committee meets in the morning, and the Media Party is in the evening. Sunday is the first day for delegation events, with an Interfaith Service and all-delegation party during the day, and the Green Concert with Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews at Red Rocks in the evening. But the gavel doesn’t officially come down to start the convention until around 3:00 Monday afternoon at the Pepsi Center, so that’s why I say “three days”.

We saw today the first public look at the Pepsi Center’s interior, and it looks fantastic! If you haven’t seen it, go online to the Denver Post or Rocky, or CNN, or any other news site and take a look. It is colorful, bright, and stunning. If you’re looking at this by e-mail, I’ve put a picture up on the website at www.DemNotes.com.

If you’re not going to be able to get into the Pepsi Center, don’t worry. There will be PLENTY to do in Denver without getting into the Pepsi Center. I’d encourage you to attend the Caucus meetings during the day at the Convention Center if you can. Here is the schedule of caucus meetings. On Monday and Wednesday, the following caucuses will meet from 10 am to Noon: African American Caucus, Asian / Pacific Islander Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Native American Council, and the Ethnic Coordinating Council. From Noon to 2 on Monday and Wednesday, the GLBT Caucus and the Senior Council will be meeting. Finally, from 1 to 3 on Monday and Wednesday, the Rural Council will be meeting.

On Tuesday and Thursday, there are more caucus and council meetings. From 10 am to Noon, the Women’s Caucus — the largest DNC Caucus — will be meeting. From Noon to 2 on Tuesday and Thursday, the Disability Caucus, the Faith Council, and the Youth Council will be meeting. Finally, the Veterans and Military Families Council will be meeting from 1 to 3 on Tuesday and Thursday.

If you’re not a delegate, you can definitely attend any of these caucus meetings, but you need to pre-register online for the caucus meetings BEFORE 5 PM ON SATURDAY! You can pre-register for the caucuses at:
http://www.demconvention.com/caucus-meeting-preregistration

I will try to keep DemNotes updated during the week with the activities; however, I’m not sure yet how regular that will be. The calendar is already looking pretty packed each day from about 7 am to about 2 am, so I’m not sure when I will find a computer to write, but I promise to try. I will say that it seems like there are an awful lot more things to be done as a superdelegate than when I was a pledged delegate in 2000 and 2004.

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Folks are already arriving in Denver for the Convention, as you may have noticed if you’re in Denver. Governor Dean is here — and if you get this e-mail in time, you can attend a rally with Governor Dean at Noon today (Friday). He will be at a “Register for Change” event at the Auraria College Campus, St. Cajetan’s Chapel, Lawrence Way in Denver. There are sure to be other key Colorado leaders there, so stop by during your lunch hour if you get a chance.

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Looking for a yard sign? Tired of waiting for the campaigns to get your own in? There’s a great promotion out there that we as Democrats should take advantage of before the other side does: a sign-making company is offering free signs that you can design yourself. Go to www.buildasign.com/vote and you can design your own sign that they will make for you for FREE. They’re giving away 100,000 of these signs as a promotion of their services.

Note that these signs are NOT union-made, so I would not endorse you buying their services, but if you can get a sign for free, I’m not sure how you can complain. I’ll also make a caveat that I only heard about this site on the radio yesterday, so I don’t really know much more about it than I’ve already indicated.

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Last Saturday, we headed up the road to a great event in Coaldale. For those who don’t know, Coaldale is in the heart of the mountainous portion of Fremont County, and the more sparsely-populated area of Fremont County. It’s also historically been a heavily Republican area. When I was county chair, we tried to do a couple of events out there, and the best turnout we had was maybe 20-30 people.

Saturday did not look good for an outdoor rally for Democrats. It was raining. It was a bit chilly. Parking along Highway 50 could get dicey. And did I mention that this was a heavily Republican area?

About 150 people showed up.

150.

Last year, we had a traditional summer picnic for Fremont County Democrats in Canon City, the population center of the county. It was a beautiful day — sunny but not too hot. No rain in sight. We didn’t see even close to 150 people there.

It was a truly great event — people huddled under umbrellas and tents to hear great candidates like Hal Bidlack (5th CD), Cal Cali (HD60), Gloria Stultz and Walt Myers (County Commissioner). Even Rep. Michael Merrifield came down from Colorado Springs to speak for Mark Udall. The wet crowd was enthusiastic — and did I mention it was a large crowd? Even State Chair Pat Waak briefly stopped by to say hello and deliver Invesco Field tickets to the county chair.

Change is in the air in Colorado — even in the most Republican of areas of our state!

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Last night, I drove down to San Luis to attend and assist with the Costilla County Dems’ Central Committee meeting. They were filling some officer vacancies, including that of the county chair. Congrats to their new chair, Ubaldo Padilla, who was elected last night. In addition, Natalie Cisco was elected Treasurer, and Raphael Maestas was elected the Second Vice Chair.

After the elections, the central committee — along with several guests — had a great discussion about how they can help out in the local and state races. It was an enthusiastic and inspiring session of people understanding how important it is to get out and walk and help all of the candidates on the ballot. I told them it was a wonderful way to kick off convention week, as I head for Denver this afternoon.

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Finally, this morning, I was on the radio in Sterling to talk about the Democratic Party, our candidates, and the National Convention. The half-hour interview went well, I think, and I worked to make sure that folks in Northeast Colorado understand that Republicans like Marilyn Musgrave are not standing for Colorado values and issues that are most important to Eastern Colorado. I hope to be on again in the near future.

Well, that’s enough for one post. Hopefully, I’ll see you around Denver in the next week!

The Pueblo Chieftain today has quite an interesting piece on John McCain that — in one article — gives reason enough why Coloradans can’t afford to support John McCain. In the Chieftain, McCain supports opening up the Colorado River Interstate Compact to renegotiation:

The water compact that Colorado and other upper basin states have with California and Arizona should be renegotiated, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Thursday.

In a telephone interview with The Pueblo Chieftain, the presumptive GOP candidate for president said the water sharing agreement reached in 1922 between seven Western states doesn’t take into account increases in population and the changing water needs.

Here’s the folly with that argument: renegotiating likely means less water for Colorado and more water for thirsty growing downstream states like Nevada and California. Right now, the Interstate Compact truly provides protection for upstream users in Colorado. A renegotiation would only diminish those rights.

If Ken Salazar knows anything, he knows water law. Ken Salazar probably understands water issues better than any elected official in the United States; indeed, it was his work with water law and negotiating water agreements that was key to electing him as our Attorney General in the 1990s. And Senator Salazar knows exactly what McCain’s water proposal would do. Here’s Salazar’s response:

“Senator McCain’s position on opening up the Colorado River Compact is absolutely wrong and would only happen over my dead body,” Salazar said. “It’s an anathema to the fundamental principles of Colorado’s water rights and our compacts.”

The senator said that when the state’s compacts with the lower basin states were negotiated, everyone knew at the time that those states would grow in population faster than Colorado. As a result, the upper basin states’ water rights needed to be protected.

“We did not want California to gobble up all of the water supply on the Colorado River, and they would have done that under the doctrine of equitable apportionment,” Salazar said. “In my view the compact is sacrosanct. I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that it is not opened up.”

I know a little about water issues myself. And from my travels across this state, I can also tell you that Democrats and Republicans alike are highly distrustful with politicians like John McCain that play fast and loose with our water. The phrase, “Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’!” has much truth for it in Colorado — especially in parts of rural Colorado McCain needs to win heavily in order to compete in Colorado.

John McCain either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care how important water is to Colorado voters. Either way, that is reason enough for many to vote for Barack Obama in November.

UPDATE: Here is the statement from Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak. Her words speak for me, as well:

Chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party Pat Waak issued the below statement in response to the loss of her Arkansas counterpart, Bill Gwatney.

“We are deeply sorrowed by the death of the Arkansas Democratic Party Chair, Bill Gwatney. While we do not know the motive of the assailant, we do know that a dedicated public servant lost his life today.

“Under the Association of State Democratic Chairs, the chairs, vice-chairs and executive directors of each state form a close bond. We are a family.

“Today we lost one of our members. We send our condolences to Bill’s family and to the people of Arkansas which were long served by him.”

For those of you who have not heard, Arkansas State Democratic Chair Bill Gwatney was killed today by a lone gunman at the State Party headquarters in Little Rock. Gwatney was a colleague of our Chair, Pat Waak, and myself on the ASDC. Here are the details as they are known now by CNN:

The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, hours after a shooting at the party’s headquarters, police said.

Chairman Bill Gwatney died at 3:59 Wednesday afternoon after a gunman entered his Little Rock office and shot him several times in the upper body, Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

Authorities confirmed the news shortly after former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton released a statement expressing their condolences.

“We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away,” the former governor and first lady of Arkansas said. “His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him.”

I’ve sent a personal note of our thoughts and prayers here in Colorado to my colleague, Arkansas Democratic Party Vice Chair Karla Bradley. Please keep the Arkansas Democrats, their Party leadership, and Mr. Gwatney’s family, in your thoughts as we move into this Convention period. I’ve offered my help to Arkansas Democrats as they are less than two weeks from arriving in Denver; I’m sure everybody will be wanting to do what we can to help Arkansas Democrats through this horribly tragic time.

Somebody screwed up. You see, they included me in a distribution list when they sent around an e-mail that included some pretty blatant falsehoods about Sen. Obama’s tax policies versus Sen. McCain. I’m sure they’d forwarded this e-mail several times, but from their response, nobody had bothered to call them on it.

Until now.

I think it is vitally important that each one of you out there work hard to respond to false e-mails as you receive them. One of the most insidious things about this campaign has been the ability of underhanded characters to affect public opinion behind the scenes without any accountability. They do this by drafting e-mails that attack Sen. Obama through every falsehood imaginable, from his patriotism to his religion, to his policy proposals. The only defense we have to this tactic by the Republican misinformation machine is to attack these things head-on when they see them.

How do you respond? With the truth, plain and simple — and don’t be afraid to use the “Reply All” function; indeed, that’s the most important part of this response. You’re often not going to get anywhere with the sender, but you’ll at least present the truth to those affected by the e-mail.

There’s a couple of key places to go to check out the veracity of e-mails. The first one is:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obama.asp
Snopes has been around about as long as the World Wide Web, and it is an impartial site devoted to debunking urban legends often circulated by e-mail. The link above is to the Obama page, where a number of anti-Obama e-mails exist. (As an aside, you should also check out Snopes if you have an e-mail about John McCain before forwarding it — they have pages devoted to McCain, Bush, and several other common topics. This works both ways: don’t forward something you don’t know to be true without fact-checking it.)

The second place you should check out is the Obama campaign’s “Fight the Smears” page:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome/
This page is filled with the campaign’s official responses to a number of Internet rumors and smears, as well as responses to the smears from more mainstream sources, such as John McCain’s television advertisements.

Use those to build a response. The e-mail to which I responded today talked about how John McCain was going to lower taxes, while all of Obama’s plans would massively increase taxes across the board. Here’s my response:

I wanted to take a moment to respond to this misleading and factually inaccurate e-mail.

This e-mail is thoroughly debunked as another one of those “urban legend” e-mails akin to those suggesting that Sen. Obama is muslim or that you’ve just won the Canadian Lottery, or that you’ve got a wealthy relative in Africa waiting to deposit money in your bank account. Here’s the link to Snopes, which is a site devoted to debunking Internet myths, without regard to politics; it takes this e-mail apart and fact-checks the inaccuracies of this e-mail piece by piece:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp

Below is a chart of what each candidate’s total tax impact is on different income levels. As you can see, it is in fact Sen. Obama’s plans that more appropriately direct tax relief where it is needed – middle income Americans, while Sen. McCain focuses his tax policy on those making the most money. This chart is based on an independent analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.

If you’ve forwarded the prior e-mail in error to friends and acquaintances, I’d ask that you forward this correction indicating the true facts as opposed to the urban legends proposed in the previous e-mail.

– Dan

Now, some folks may appreciate that kind of response. If, for instance, your kindly old grandmother just forwarded this because she was alarmed, she may thank you for setting the record straight. However, some are fully aware of what they are doing — and that’s what happened today. Shortly after sending that e-mail, here was the response from the original sender:

you need to be enlightened, you better read THE OBAMA NATION, this is not a myth this is the truth how dare you send to these people you are in for a rude awaking. perhaps you like the fact that he is a follower and believer of louis farakan etc. believe me all the disenfranchised democrat’s will definitly vote for Mccain. at least we know what his record is and he is not A muslim from kenya. read how much your taxes will go up under obama get entlightened

Note no factual response. Just emotion. And poor grammar.

Now maybe I went a little overboard — and I wouldn’t recommend necessarily doing this — but I had to respond. That’s who I am. Here was my simple response to the above diatribe:

Wow. You seem awfully upset that you were called out on factual inaccuracies. Simply because you say it is true doesn’t make it true. Simply because you throw out the name “Farakhan” doesn’t make it fact. The facts are right there – confirmed by independent sources who have no axes to grind. But folks like you simply aren’t interested in facts, are you – you’re interested in smears. That’s why you have the audacity to send me and several others an unsolicited e-mail, but respond “how dare you” when somebody actually bothers to check out the facts.

Anyway, be sure and respond. Be sure and check the facts and respond with the facts. Don’t let this election be decided by e-mails that aren’t tracked in the media. Don’t let them get away with this kind of hateful and deceptive practice of false e-mails.

————————————-

On a brighter side, if you’re in Denver tomorrow, you have an opportunity to be a part of our “Town Hall” national convention. Stop by the 16th Street Mall with your questions, and you could be “center stage” at the National Convention! Here’s some of the press release:

As part of its commitment to throw open the doors to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today announced that Coloradans will have the opportunity to videotape questions for elected leaders and national experts on the 16th Street Mall in Denver tomorrow Wednesday, August 13, and have their questions answered live from the Convention floor or online through “America’s Town Hall,” an interactive dialogue designed to bring more people into the Convention.

“As Barack Obama has said, this is not our Convention – this is America’s Convention,” said Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “And now, at a critical moment in our history, Americans will have their concerns addressed, challenges listened to and their questions answered live by our country’s leaders. We want Americans to be at the center of this Convention, and ‘America’s Town Hall’ will allow us to do just that.”

The “open call” where Coloradans can record their questions and individual stories in-person will take place on the 16th Street Mall at the intersection of 16th and California Streets in Denver from 11:30 AM – 5:30 PM MT tomorrow Wednesday, August 13. Text and video questions can also be submitted online at DemConvention.com/townhall beginning today and through Wednesday, August 27, though participants are encouraged to submit their questions as early as possible.

Then Monday through Wednesday of Convention week, the Convention program will feature a nightly segment in which elected leaders, national policy experts and other Convention speakers will respond to voters’ questions live from the Convention floor in front of thousands of delegates in the Convention hall, millions of Americans watching the Convention at home on television and millions more watching online. In addition, elected leaders and policy experts will also answer questions online during Convention week at DemConvention.com.

So take a few minutes and either stop by or go online! Denver is one of only a handful of cities where you have this opportunity, so make sure and take advantage of this!

For a few of you out there (i.e., the Second CD, and a few Denver districts and Pueblo county), you already know what today is. But for Democrats in most parts of the state, today hasn’t been hyped so much. But it is election day, and it is important to get out there today and show your support for Democratic candidates — even if none of the races are contested.

Mind you, if you have contested races, it is even more important for you to get out and vote for the Democrat of your choice. We have several hotly-contested primary races with very tough choices; our “bench” is so incredibly good that it is getting a bit crowded.

In any event, this is just a short public-service DemNotes reminder: Get Out and VOTE!!!

I had planned to write this morning on the details of getting credentialed to attend Sen. Obama’s acceptance speech at Invecso Field. Indeed, we only learned of the details for requesting such credentials Wednesday afternoon — and when I say “we”, I mean everybody; State Chairs and Vice Chairs only learned of the details Wednesday as well.

I suppose I should have anticipated the World Series-like enthusiasm for the event; we’ve seen record crowds and interest all across Colorado for our Democratic nomination process; why should it stop now? But the reality is that we have seen unprecedented interest — the response has been so overwhelming that about 24 hours after announcing the phone lines for requesting credentials, the DNCC had to shut down requests and allow only “waiting list” applications. Here’s what a press release from the Obama campaign has to say:

The Colorado Campaign for Change announced this afternoon that more than 60,000 Coloradans from across the Rocky Mountain state have requested community credentials to take part in the historic final night of the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field.

“This incredible response and excitement shows that there is a huge appetite for change in Colorado,” said Anne Filipic, the General Election Director for the Campaign for Change.

Due to demand, which has exceeded community seating capacity, the campaign will now place Coloradans who request community credentials on a waitlist. Coloradans can request to be placed on the waitlist online at co.barackobama.com/invesco or by stopping by a Campaign for Change office.

Wow. Now, even though 60,000 requests were received in one day from Coloradans, remember that we don’t even have that many seats allocated to Colorado. We’re extraordinarily fortunate that about half of the “community credentials” will go to Coloradans (and about 2/3 will go to the Rocky Mountain states, including Colorado), but every state will have an allocation of these community credentials. If you’re fortunate enough to get a Community Credential, you’ll be rubbing elbows with Obama supporters from Maine, Alabama, American Samoa, Montana — every corner of this Nation.

As we get closer to this Convention, we’re starting to get more and more clarity on what each day will look like. In one word: Busy. The Post estimated that something like 1000 different events will be occuring during Convention week in Denver. And, no, contrary to what some of you have inferred, they’re not all parties. Indeed, the days will be filled with all sorts of issues conferences, forums, and trainings. While the official website lists a lot of entertainment events (http://www.denverconvention2008.com/index.cfm?page=events), just check out the Rocky Mountain Roundtable for some pretty high-level discussions of all sorts of pressing issues:
http://www.2008rmr.org/

Whether you can get into Invesco or not, you certainly don’t want to miss out on the excitement of the Convention — there will be plenty of events around Denver (and the state) for you to attend during Convention week.

They’re whistling past the graveyard down at Republican headquarters in Colorado Springs. They’ve got themselves convinced that the Fifth Congressional District is theirs, and there is no way the Democrats have a shot. Heck, they’ve even been successful in convincing some in the media that’s true, too. They’re so convinced, they may be about to nominate Doug Lamborn for a second term in Congress, even though he’s proven to be about, oh, 435th on the list of most effective members of Congress.

Don’t be surprised, though, if you hear the name “Bidlack” shouted out in anger by those same folks at GOP headquarters after November 4. Jay Fawcett certainly paved the way for a Democrat to be competitive here, and let me tell you, Hal Bidlack can win the 5th CD.

Friday night, we came up to Denver to attend a fundraiser for Hal, which I co-hosted. The primary host of the fundraiser was Senator Ken Salazar, and Senator Salazar was introduced by Mayor Wellington Webb. Senator Salazar was clear and unequivocal in his support for Bidlack, and pledged to raise several thousand more dollars to help Hal Bidlack win. The room was packed with several key funders from the Denver area (and beyond), and it was an impressive showing for Hal’s campaign. He even had several folks drive from Canon City and Colorado Springs to attend, including El Paso Democratic Chair John Morris and Canon City Councilmember Pat Freda. State Chair Pat Waak was on hand to show her support, as was the Chair of the State Party’s Finance Committee, Frances Koncilja.

Hal gave a stirring and wonderful talk about his values and the key issues in the race — and while I’d heard much of what he said just a couple of nights before at a campaign forum in Canon City, it never gets old. His support for the Constitution alone (he does give President Bush credit for preserving the 3rd Amendment to the Constitution — none of us has had to worry about British soldiers quartered in our homes… yet) is reason enough to support Hal Bidlack.

I want to take this moment to encourage you to stop what you’re doing and donate what you can — even if it is only a few dollars — to Bidlack’s efforts. Here’s a few reasons why your doing so will help Hal win:

The 5th CD is Winnable in 2008:
The winds of change in 2008 are even stronger than in 2006. Just look at the results a couple of months ago in Mississippi, where a special election in the First Congressional District resulted in a lopsided Democratic win. In Mississippi’s First CD, President Bush beat John Kerry by a 62-37 margin — not too different from the margin of victory for the Republicans in Colorado’s 5th CD. More importantly, the victory in Mississippi wasn’t even close; Childers won handily by a 54-46 margin.

Fifth CD Voters Were Malleable in 2006:
In 2006, a couple of key independent polls about a month before the election showed Jay Fawcett and Doug Lamborn in a dead heat. And the internal polls of the Republican Party showed that, too. That’s why the RNCC — the national arm of the Republican Party focused on winning Congressional races — spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Fawcett during the last month of the election. They even sent in Vice President Cheney to help prop up Lamborn. In the end, that effort worked primarily because Fawcett did not have enough money to respond to the grim attacks on him by the Republicans; while he’d raised more money than any Democrat before him in the Fifth CD, the RNCC simply drowned him with their ability to spend in this cheap media market. But I don’t think anybody doubts that the polls showing a tight race were real, and reflected that voters in the Fifth CD had serious doubts about Doug Lamborn.

The GOP Won’t Be Able to Buy This Race in 2008:
In 2006, the Republican Party had a lot of money to throw at last-minute races like the Fifth CD. This year, the Republicans have had immense difficulty keeping their heads above water financially, and are facing some pretty serious financial abuses in their organization that are under investigation. Meanwhile, their counterparts, the DCCC, have had an amazingly good cycle raising money, and will be able to protect last-minute attacks on challengers in a way they simply were unable to do in 2006. Just as important, a hard-fought Republican primary will leave Bidlack as coming out of August with more cash on hand than his Republican opponent (likely to still be Lamborn). In fact, when you count the loans and debts owed by campaigns, of all of the candidates for the Fifth CD, Hal Bidlack has the MOST cash-on-hand of anybody. His Second Quarter haul of over $100,000 surprised nearly every political observer in Colorado and across the nation, and people in DC are starting to whisper about the 5th CD as a possibility. Here’s the cash-on-hand of all four candidates (minus loans and debts), as of July 23 (the last reporting period):
Lamborn: 64,752
Crank: -20,588
Rayburn: -43,880
Bidlack: 68,368

Of course, if he can’t keep up that financial steam, it won’t matter. That’s where you come in. Go, right now, to Bidlack’s website and donate:
http://bidlack2008.com/contribute.php

If you’re still not convinced Hal can win, think of this. Even if Hal doesn’t win, every dollar spent in his race will result in a rate of return that helps everybody. It means that more Republican money has to go to help Doug Lamborn (or whomever is the GOP nominee). And it means that money won’t be going to people like Marilyn Musgrave, Bob Schaffer, or Republicans running for key State House and State Senate races. It also means that more money goes into organizing a field campaign in the 5th CD — a district where, if Barack Obama or Mark Udall can pull just 40%, it pretty much becomes mathematically impossible for the Republicans to win statewide. By motivating more Democratic-minded voters in El Paso County and the other counties in the 5th CD, it helps build a base that guarantees Democratic victories across the board.

So, once again, I implore you to head over and help Hal:
http://bidlack2008.com/contribute.php

——————————–

One other quick note: I want to welcome Matt Farrauto to the Colorado Democratic Party family. I’ve known Matt for a few years now; he’s been the Executive Director of the New Mexico Democratic Party for several years. His joining the CDP is quite a coup, and we are honored to have him with us. I’ve always been impressed with how Matt thinks and what he has done in New Mexico; his handling of our Communications duties is going to help put us over the top in November. Here’s some of the CDP press release announcing Matt’s new position with the CDP:

“Because Colorado is hosting the Democratic National Convention and has become a competitive battleground state, we are enjoying a new degree of media attention. I am pleased that we could find someone like Matt Farrauto, who brings a unique set of qualifications and experience to the job of Communications Director,” said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak. “He has steady hand and a passion for Democratic politics.”

Matt Farrauto comes to Colorado from New Mexico where he served as the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico from 2005 until late 2007. Prior to being promoted to Executive Director, Farrauto served as spokesman for New Mexico’s Democratic Coordinated Campaign.

Welcome aboard, Matt!

Last night, had we not had to take the kids to a babysitter, we could have walked to the event we attended. I don’t know that I have ever really been able to say that. But last night, we went less than a half-mile from home, to Merlino’s Belvedere Restaurant, to attend a forum for the Fifth Congressional District race.

You’ll probably get a few posts from me on the 5th CD race in the next few days, as I’m a co-host for a fundraiser for Hal Bidlack tomorrow night in Denver. Last night, though, was apparently the first time Hal Bidlack, the Democratic nominee, had been invited to a forum to speak with the Republican candidates for that office.

The forum had promised to be a good one. It was sponsored by the Canon City Chamber of Commerce, who had sponsored the memorable debate in 2006 between Doug Lamborn and Jay Fawcett (you may remember it from YouTube: that was the one where Lamborn stammered through most of his answers, except when he was yelling at audience members to “shut up!”). To refresh your memories, I wrote about it here:
http://demnotes.com/?p=201

Anyway, we were told Lamborn would actually be there last night, so folks were excited to see how he’d improved his debating skills in two years. Folks were interested to hear his take on the economy, on the War in Iraq, and on other critical issues of the day. Folks were intrigued to see how he’d hold up against all of his opponents, including even a Democrat.

Folks were disappointed. Lamborn was a no-show.

Three candidates were there — joined by an empty chair with a “Doug Lamborn” name tag. That seemed fitting, since Doug Lamborn has essentially been an empty chair for the past two years in Congress, anyway. Hal Bidlack was joined by Jeff Crank and by Bentley Rayburn (whose own name tag in front of his chair was misspelled “Bently”).

All three were allowed brief opening remarks. Bidlack went first and mentioned what was an incredibly impressive national security resume. He said the three issues the new Congress needs to focus on for the 5th CD were fiscal discipline, taking care of veterans, and honoring the Constitution. Crank talked about his resume of working in DC for 8 years. He said, “I’m running for my children.” He cited the national debt and said both parties were out of control. He opposes earmarks. Finally, Rayburn said we needed to focus on the threat from “radical islam”. He pointed out that it was typical for Rep. Lamborn to not be there; Rayburn said that Members of Congress need to get out and listen to the people.

Then, the forum moved into a number of questions; I’d note that it appears that the candidates were given the questions beforehand. (That fact alone makes Lamborn’s absence even more egregious — he KNEW THE QUESTIONS BEFOREHAND AND STILL REFUSED TO SHOW UP!!!) The first question was on the “Healthy Families Act,” which apparently gives employees of businesses with 15 employees or more a minimum of seven sick days annually. Both Republicans, predictably, opposed the law. Crank said that this was another “federal mandate” and that “what might be good for Intel might not be good for the cigarette shop down the street.” Rayburn agreed, stating that we should “keep the free market free and unencumbered by government.” Bidlack said he thought the 15 employee threshold was too low, but would be willing to look at something like this if the employee number were higher.

The second question was about mortgage foreclosures. Gen. Rayburn went first, and somehow turned that question into a question about oil, and said we could drill responsibly in ANWR and off the coast. He also said he supports oil shale development and efforts to turn coal into liquid fuel. He finally got to the question and said that it was wrong for the government to assist Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; that it was “encouraging bad behavior.”

Bidlack said that something like 20 families a day are losing their homes in El Paso County due to foreclosures. While he’s not fond of the bill the President signed yesterday, Bidlack said that the failure of the two mortgage giants would simply have too much of an effect on our national economy and economic structure for us to let it happen without some government intervention. He also talked about the loss of Intel’s plant from Colorado Springs to China. “Our biggest export to China today is empty shipping containers … but those containers are not empty — they contain our jobs.” He finished with a great quote about leadership: “Leadership is about being a compass, not a weathervane.”

Crank agreed with Rayburn that “it doesn’t make any sense to bail out a problem caused by the government.” He said that a bail out to the two mortgage giants was unfair to the companies that made good decisions (he apparently doesn’t understand the mortgage market too well, as the failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would also decimate smaller mortgage companies regardless of the quality of their decisions, but hey!). He said the bailout would encourage bad decisions later in other industries. He also said we needed to radically change our system to a “fair tax” system.

The next question was about energy, especially nuclear and energy development, and part of the question was focused on uranium mining. Candidates that had done their homework would have known that uranium mining has emerged in Fremont County as a major issue as there are proposals to mine in some pretty pristine areas with no guarantees of safety or reclamation.

Apparently, only Hal Bidlack had done his homework.

You see, Bidlack was the only one of the three candidates who actually answered that part of the question (and, remember, these folks HAD THE QUESTIONS BEFOREHAND!). Hal said that he would oppose the uranium mining in Fremont County until the companies proposing the mining could prove that they can “fix what they break.” The crowd loved that response. Bidlack also said that an energy policy will take a mix of technologies to be effective — and that we don’t solve the energy crisis by poking more holes in ANWR and the outer continental shelf. He concluded by talking about how embarrassed he was at President Bush having to unsuccessfully beg the Saudis to “turn up the spigot” recently.

Crank talked solely about drilling, and blamed Sen. Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not allowing drilling. Rayburn pretty much echoed Crank, adding that neither surface rights or mineral rights should supercede each other. He said that drilling can be safe and responsible.

I’d note that, especially when answering the oil question, General Rayburn exhibited a lot of the same mannerisms you often see in President Bush. He had the head bob down; he had the hand extension with the shrug of the shoulders down. I even thought I heard a little Bush-like snicker once or twice. Very eerie.

The next question was on universal health care. Jeff Crank went first and said something pretty amazing. He said that the “worst systems in America to be on are those that are government-run”. Really? Like the system you were on when you worked for Congressman Hefley? Or the one you’ll get if you’re elected to Congress? It was a breath-taking statement. He concluded with another very breath-taking statement (after bashing lawyers for a couple of minutes): “We have the best system in the world if you have access to it.”

Rayburn showed an even bigger disconnect from the issue. First, he spent most of his time blasting lawyers (by the way, trial lawyers have very little to do with the costs of health care in America, according to pretty much every independent study, but they do make good bogeymen for Republicans). He said that universal health care would drive a wedge between the patients and the doctors, and with single payer, you get “what the insurance company wants, not what the patient needs.” (I think he’s confusing managed care with single payer, which presumably doesn’t have an insurance company, but what do I know?) He concluded that Canadian health care is bad because he once met a nurse with a very distinct accent who told him that it was bad. Seriously. He said that.

Hal Bidlack gave a more humane answer. He said while he didn’t think we were looking at “single payer” health care, we were looking at a national health care system. “You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to be healthy.” Hal talked about his experiences with the health care system when his wife died, and finally pointed out that people who are not wealthy have health care — but it is more costly and less efficient, because it is via the emergency roon. Hal insisted that we must do something about health care, because “we are our brother’s keeper.”

The final question was about caring for our veterans. Rayburn said he hoped the new director of the VA would be more responsible, and that the community has a responsibility, not the government, to care for veterans. He also argued for more agressive treatment of PTSD for returning vets. Bidlack began by agreeing with Rayburn that a veteran should represent the 5th CD, drawing laughs from pretty much everybody except for non-veteran Jeff Crank. He continued by stating that the government had made a sacred promise to veterans, and that the abdication of that promise has been “an obscenity.” He said we had an obligation to people in combat duty (he pointed out that he only had one day of combat duty; September 11, 2001, when he was stationed at the Pentagon). He said America was awfully good at making veterans; just not so good at taking care of them.

Crank said that the “excess of the Federal government” is taking away from the ability to care for our veterans. He said that the Administration has not done a good job taking care of veterans. Then, he said something interesting: he said we needed to get rid of “whole agencies” (yes, plural) to find the money to deal with veterans’ issues. Really, Jeff? Whole agencies? Which ones? Department of Education? Department of Housing and Urban Development? FEMA? Which ones, Jeff?

Then, the candidates moved into closing arguments. Again, Bidlack went first, and his closing argument was what clearly sealed the deal for many in the room. In fact, I think it was the only one that truly sounded like he belonged in Washington representing us. He talked about the American Revolution, and how unusual it was in the history of humanity — how it was an amazing concept; that we were all “the equal of the king”. He said that he was immensely troubled by the last seven years, and how our Constitution had been ignored and trampled upon in that time. He said this was the most important election since 1932. He cited the fact that Americans are naturally optimistic, but that eating away at our fundamental liberties is dangerous. It was a pretty nice little speech.

Jeff Crank said he felt like he was “fighting a phantom” for the last several months. He then launched into a talk about conservatism and the need for small government. He ended with a quote from Tom Tancredo (yes, he really did): “Don’t waste a moment in Congress.”

Gen. Rayburn used his time to talk first about the absence of Doug Lamborn. He said that Lamborn needed to be with the people to represent the people, and he did not think that Lamborn understood that. He talked about how commanding a military base was like being a mayor of a small town, and how he was committed to rural and mountain communities, even though that will have no meaning to Colorado Springs.

In all, it was a good introduction to the crowd assembled in Canon City. Afterward, in terms of the responses each of the candidates received, it seemed like Hal Bidlack was more well-received than one would have expected at a conservative chamber of commerce event. Neither Crank nor Rayburn seemed to inspire anybody in the room, and there was really no enthusiasm beyond the enthusiasm there for Bidlack.

Tomorrow, I’ll write about the fundraiser for Hal in Denver. If you’re interested, you can find out more about the campaign (and donate) here:
http://bidlack2008.com/

This afternoon, we headed a short distance up the road to Colorado Springs, where I introduced Speaker Andrew Romanoff at a fundraiser for Dennis Apuan.

Dennis who?

Dennis Apuan is our candidate in House District 17, which is a good chunk of southern and eastern Colorado Springs. Most folks outside of the Springs think that our best districts in terms of Democratic performance are already taken by Rep. Michael Merrifield and Sen. John Morse. In fact, House District 17 is at least as Democratic as those districts, if not more Democratic. HD17 represents a prime opportunity for a Democratic pick-up in the State House.

For the past several years, the Republicans have had Mark Cloer as a “moderate” incumbent, and he’s been tough to beat in this moderate district. He’s gone now, and the Republicans have a primary where each candidate is trying to out-conservative the other in a mainstream open-seat district. Ideal conditions, indeed, for a Democrat like Dennis Apuan.

And Dennis Apuan is a great recruit for that seat. Apuan has a long record as an activist and community organizer, and is well-known in the community. And after hearing him speak today, I’m a believer, too. Dennis is an accomplished public speaker, and he knows what will energize and move audiences to volunteer — which is exactly what this audience did when they were done. Nearly every person who left the house where the fundraiser was located had signed up for a time to walk precincts with Dennis.

It was also great to see the level of support from Speaker Romanoff and State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, who both spoke glowingly about Apuan and the importance of this race. One person commented about how hard it used to be to get people in the Springs out to events like this, but the standing-room only crowd of several dozen in this Southeast Colorado Springs residence was a testament to the fact that things have certainly changed in El Paso County. Democrats are winning, and those victories are spawning new opportunities like this one.

If you’re interested in helping with this critical election opportunity, you can donate to Apuan’s race by sending a check to his campaign at:
Committee to Elect Dennis Apuan
PO Box 17611
Colorado Springs, CO 80935

He doesn’t yet have online donation capabilities, but his website can be found at: http://www.dennisapuan.com/

So drop him a few dollars and help win another seat in the county where Republicans think we have no business winning!

This morning, there was gnashing of teeth and rending of garments in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Canon City.

You see, while my lack of long, full, locks of hair and my portly belly have belied this fact, I’ve been a Young Democrat throughout my activism in this Party. Today, however, I turned 36. Today, I did something all Young Democrats fear: I “aged out”.

Under the rules of the Young Democrats, the organization is open to all Democrats age 35 and under. Throughout America, the YDs have been critical at keeping a new generation of Democrats active and involved.

However, the reality is that, at the higher levels of the Democratic Party nationally, the air is thin for folks in the 35 and under age group. Only in 2005 did we get our own presence in the DNC — a “Youth Coordinating Council” — the level just below a “caucus” in the DNC. Yet the number of DNC Members actually in the Youth Council is pretty low: only about 10 DNC members who are not members due to their positions within the College Dems or Young Dems (each organization has three members of the DNC) qualify as “youth.”

I guess we should make that 9 now.

That number is out of the 430 or so DNC Members total. One thing I am proud of, though, is how Colorado will soon still have a DNC Member who is a member of the Youth Council: Anthony Graves will be sworn in the day after the National Convention, and he will serve us well, I think, on the DNC.

There will be a few events during the week hosted by the Youth Council. On the Monday of the National Convention, the Youth Council will host a press conference about youth issues. Tuesday will feature a “Youth Voting Panel” with some key national figures discussing youth voting issues. Wednesday evening, the Youth Council will host a Youth Watch Party in Denver for those unable to access the Pepsi Center. Thursday, the Youth Council will host a “youth luncheon” featuring key national speakers to be announced. These events are generally free and open to the public, but folks under age 36 (in other words, not me) can get priority reserved VIP tickets to these events and the acceptance speech at Invesco Field by donating $150 to help cover the costs of these events. If you’re interested (note that higher-level packages are also available for sponsorships), e-mail the Youth Council at: youthcouncil@dnc.org.

I’ll try to make it to some of these events myself; until they physically boot me out, I’m still going to remain active in the Youth Council — if only because I think it is important that the DNC continue to work to attract and listen to young voters. I am the Democratic activist I am today because of the Young Democrats and College Democrats; I can do nothing less than continue to support those who have come after me in these great organizations.

The College Democrats and Young Democrats are both critical parts of our Party’s organization, and are going to be critical to our elections in 2008. Remember, many of our future Party leaders will come from being tested in these organizations; I got much of my experience in politics working in the Young Democrats.

And both organizations will be hosting meetings next month in Denver that, in any other year, would be a highlight for any Colorado Democrat. Both the YDA and the CDA will be hosting their annual conventions in Denver to coincide with the Democratic National Convention.

The Young Democrats of America will be meeting the week and weekend just prior to the National Convention. I don’t have too many details, and they have yet to announce the details on their website; however, you should occasionally visit www.yda.org to find out more information.

The College Democrats will be holding their annual convention August 22-27 in Denver, at the Convention Center. They do have an online registration and information page already set up; you can find it at:
http://partybuilder.collegedems.com/page/s/cda08

From that page, you can see the tentative agenda, filled with trainings and other exciting items throughout the week. You can bet some big-name speakers will stop by both conventions, so if you can, you might want to register for either or both conventions.

Finally, it isn’t just the youth arms of the Democratic Party holding their national conventions in Denver next month; the Stonewall Democrats are also holding their national convention August 21 through August 24 at the Renaissance Hotel; for more information, go here:
http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/events/convention08

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On a similar note, many of you may have noticed that we’re starting to see some idea of what the Thursday evening event at Invesco Field at Mile High will look like in terms of access. The Denver Post has a story out today with some small details (hint: you’re going to need to agree to work for our Party and our nominee to get in):

In a half-hour interview Wednesday with The Denver Post, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, said he wants to use the ticketing process as a massive recruitment tool meant to bring in supporters from all 50 states and energize them to carry the campaign into the final 60 days of the general election.

“We’re going to ask those 80,000 people in that stadium to march out of there and go with very specific instructions and goals to register millions of new voters,” Hildebrand said.

…

As a battleground state hosting the convention, Colorado will have access to the largest percentage of public tickets, but Hildebrand wants to draw significant support from neighboring states, such as the other Intermountain West battleground states of New Mexico and Nevada.

Also, Kansas, though not a battleground state, remains important to the campaign, as Obama’s grandparents lived there and he visited the state often as a child.

…

Hildebrand said that to ensure that the campaign fills the stadium, the application process becomes in and of itself a recruiting tool.

“Every single person is going to be a level of seriousness,” Hildebrand said. “You know, ‘Tell us how you’re going to get there from Maine. Tell us how you’re going to get there from Florida. Give us a sense of whether or not you’re really serious about this. If you’re not, we’re going to provide someone else with this.’ ”

Those who want a seat will begin the process at their local Democratic Party office. While demonstrating their ability to attend, they also will be encouraged to sign on to the campaign as volunteers.

“They fill out a form; there’s a conversation,” Hildebrand said. “We ask them and encourage them to register voters and to get out the vote and those activities that are important to us. It’s not a requirement, but it’s going to be an encouragement.”

Another use of the Aug. 28 speech meant to leverage public support is to use a technique popular with the campaign to hand out names and phone numbers during its events and ask participants to use their cellphones to make get-out-the-vote calls.

It’s going to be quite a night at Invesco! Hope to see you there!

One of the main purposes of my writing DemNotes has been to open the curtains of the Democratic Party at all levels: local, state, and national. I’ve wanted to bring people in Colorado a little closer to the way things work within the DNC and CDP, as well as to share how things are working in counties all across Colorado. This concept of opening this Party up and breaking down fictitious walls has been very important to me.

That’s why I’m so excited at a couple of new developments over the past two days that have really shown that the leadership of this Party — and of our presumptive nominee — are in tune to the same kind of thinking.

When Governor Dean announced that the national convention would be coming to Denver, he also made it clear that he wanted this convention to be rather un-conventional. The DNC’s announcement yesterday that the final night of the Convention would be at Invesco Field at Mile High certainly fits that mold. As opposed to another night in the Pepsi Center — which would have been a fantastic night itself — Senator Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for President in front of a crowd of over 75,000 just across I-25. What is even more fantastic is that th