Colorado sends the Salazar Brothers to Congress! Colorado voters did the right thing. The Salazars are of the land, both come from the humble beginnings in the San Luis Valley. There is something almost spiritual that comes from their representation of Colorado in Congress. Congratulations to the great campaign team! When Pete Coors said, “You ran a helluva a campaign.” He was referring to you guys and gals. I not only learned how to run a successful campaign, but I learned honor and valor in the process. Don’t forget… Democrats took the majorities in the State Senate and State House, electing Andrew Romanoff and Alice Madden as Speaker of the House and Majority Leader, respectively. The 23rd district is still up in the air, so we’ll have to see how that turns out. As well, Ken Gordon was elected to Colorado Senate Majority Leader. Although many will paint Colorado as a state consigned to the right, I believe it is a state that will continually be dominated by it’s center. Hearkening back to a time when CO voted to send Reagan and Senator Tim Wirth back to D.C. Being a Democrat in Colorado stands for moderation and a steady move toward focusing on those issues that need attention: healthcare, education, economic growth, and environmental protection. As Former US Senator Gary Hart said while I was in Colorado over election weekend, “It is a citizen’s duty to vote, serve when called upon and to pay taxes… I see the room has definitely quieted down now.” Sometimes it is important for us to place trust in our government to correctly manage our union. Perhaps, government may actually be good. Compared with the rest of the country on Nov. 2, Colorado showed signs of voting with “hopes and not fears.” Thank you Colorado for giving me hope that we can move past the divisive politics gripping Colorado and the United States. Let’s solve the fiscal crisis in Colorado, and make our communities stronger and families proud to live in the great state of Colorado. On the national front, my web prediction was a grid-locked Congress and White House. I had expected Kerry to take Ohio because of his lead in polls and the amount of jobs lost. However, I am not surprised like many of my friends. I expected Bush to win, and I guess, the Dems could never have picked up the Senate. I did, however, expect Knowles to win in AK. Go Barack Obama! The Trip to Colorado (742.9 miles times 2) over Election Weekend… obviously turned out to be beneficial. We worked in Grand Junction and around the Mesa County area. Here was our schedule:
Other News: Moreover, the APA community made headway on election night with retention byMike Honda, Robert Matsui, and Chinese American David Wu in Oregon. Increases occurred in New York with Jimmy Meng, and Vietnamese state legislators: “Van Tran, a city councilman who received political support from around the nation, became a Californ ia lawmaker while [Hubert] Vo emerged as legislator in Texas, the homestate of Bush.” (Agence France Presse, 11/4/04) Website updates: Save a tree, view a website… To a great debate judge, who surprised me with his pink stopwatch. Rest in Peace- Winston Miller. The Colorado debate world will never be the same without you.
Although, Ken Gordon may say, “A bird cannot fly with two right wings,” the Democrats never expected to take both arms of the assembly!
12:00 AM- Eat at In & Out in Las Vegas
1:30 AM- Hit black ice, run off the road, get stuck in mud.
1:50 AM- Have man knock on our window yelling in halted English and Spanish for help because he and his cousins were in an accident in the median.
2:00 AM- Call 911 and translate.
2:45 AM- Get towed out from mud and drive to Colorado while thinking that God always has a plan for everybody.
Friday- 10 AM- Arrive in Mesa County, begin canvassing
3 PM- See Former Senator Gary Hart, shake hands and have him thank us for a job well done.
7 PM- Go to the Fromm’s residence where Deb (Maggie’s mother) is awaiting with Chili, cornbread, and… beer (must have heard we were from CMC).
Saturday- Canvassing, with highlights such as “I wouldn’t vote for Ken Salazar if he was the last candidate alive,” “I hate Pete Coors,” “Look at him, honey, he’s aDemocrat, oh…”
8 PM- Proceed back to eat Qdoba, more chili and cornbread, and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Sunday- Saw Ken and canvassed some more. Left around 2 PM because of southward storm along the Utah border. Arrive @ CMC at 2 AM.
This was one of those trips that you could say, “When I was in college…” Special thanks to Deb and Nancy in Grand Junction for their generous hospitality and a special thanks to Maggie Fromm because she rocks too. Always a thanks to my girlfriend Liz for sticking with the trip and Sam Stromberg for having AAA. Although we weren’t in Denver to celebrate, we all did our part. Thank you Claremont Dems for helping out with funding of the trip.
Whatever happened to Bobby Jindal? Well… he is now a Representative in the U.S. House: “Leading the Asian American campaign was Piyush ‘Bobby’ Jindal, who became the first Indian American in 46 years to win a House of Representatives seat. Jindal, who won in his district in suburban New Orleans, made a sweet comeback after his failed attempt last year to become governor of Louisiana.”… Keep your eye out for a possible Jindal v. Obama race for the Presidency.
I have updated the Links and News section with video sources from Colorado:News 4 Colorado (video), The Denver Channel (ABC), and 9 News (video).
Watch some of the best election analysis on the Daily Show’s Stephen Colbert- “Terrorism and Homoism.”
An Ode to Bush from Disgruntled Democrats
Friedman’s opinion after the election
Canadian Immigration Website Flooded by US Citizens
I guess I’m mentioned on the CMC magazine at the end of the summer
The Drudge Retort (much too bloggish, not better than Drudge Report)
The world has a Miss Digital Beauty Queen contest, where the submissions are are all CGI