Boulder
Blogging the Convention
Siegelman Fires Up Colo. Dems
It's not often you get to meet an authentic political prisoner. That was the opportunity the Colorado delegation had this morning at the daily breakfast meeting at Denver's Grand Hyatt. Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, jailed for nearly a year on a questionable bribery conviction that is now being reviewed by the federal court of appeals, spoke to the assembled paty faithful. [more]
Convention Preview
Polishing Its Image, Denver Braces for Dems
I was sitting outside Pekoe teahouse on Saturday morning, sipping a chai, when I overheard a guy at the next table mention electromagnetic radiation, the Book of Relevations and Roswell. He described a scenario in which a race of powerful alien beings swept in from another part of the universe, briefly ruled our world and then determined the fate of our civilization, and disappeared, leaving only a few inscrutable clues to their time among us.
Oh, I realized, he must be talking about the Democratic National Convention!
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DEEP PURPLE
Despite Convention, Colorado Race a Toss Up
The Democratic National Convention won’t exactly be in friendly territory when the curtain rises in Denver on Monday. Colorado is one of the hottest battleground states in the country, and as pundits point to the West as a critical region for the next president to win, the Centennial State, with its nine Electoral College votes, is rising to the top of the list.
“Colorado is the ‘it’ state,” says James Pindell, managing editor of Politicker.com.
“My advice would be that as Democrats gather at the national convention, they shouldn’t be asking where the best parties are, but where the local phone banks are,” Pindell says. "This is an absolute battleground. If they want to help Barack Obama, they should spend some time on the campaign trail.”
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ROADLESS AND RULE-LESS?
Roadless Rule Takes Another U-Turn
The rule protecting millions of roadless acres on public lands across the West and around the country has followed a long and winding road since the Clinton administration put it in place.
Now it has taken another U-turn, and it leaves 58.5 million acres, mostly in the West, in limbo.
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GAG RIDE SHOWS THE CHARMING SIDE OF CYCLING
Most Motorists Courteous, Cautious, Helpful
My cycling buddies wanted me to write about what happened on this year's GAG Ride, which stands for Geezers Around Glacier, but I had decided not to do it.
Until I read all the recent negative news about the escalating conflict between cyclists and motorists on our roadways, that is.
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Western Book Roundup
Western Books I Can’t Wait to Read
Jane Ciabattari at Critical Mass, the National Book Critics Circle's blog, recently interviewed one of my favorite writers, ZZ Packer, in advance of her August 28 appearance at a fundraiser for Katrina victims. They discussed Packer's links to New Orleans, but what interested me most was this tidbit: "The novel I’m finishing (yes, finally, finishing!) concerns the Buffalo soldiers, and the regiment whose storyline I follow were mustered in just outside of New Orleans and the whole first third is set there, so I’ve been NOLA-centered for quite some time."
Packer has been working on this Buffalo soldier novel for a while—when I interviewed her for The Onion back in 2003 during her tour for her story collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, she said she already had written several hundred pages, and she was planning to spend some time in New Mexico writing and researching some settings.
Ever since then, I have been waiting for word of when this novel was going to be published. But, impatient as I am to read it, I respect her for taking all the time she's needed when other writers might have rushed a manuscript in such hot demand through completion. Packer's forthcoming Buffalo soldier novel tops my list of books with western settings that I am most eager to read. Also on my list is the eventual debut book of Daniel Orozco, a short story writer who teaches at the University of Idaho.
Also in the Roundup: A Colorado woman brings libraries to Nicaragua, and an insider's report from this year's Denver Publishing Institute.
[more]
Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter
McCain’s Water Woes
McCain set off a firestorm last week when he suggested that the 86 year old agreement that allocates the scarce resource of the Colorado River among the seven states of the Colorado Basin "obviously needs to be renegotiated" because of "new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource," he didn't mean it should, you know, be renegotiated, really, to make sure that the high growth states of California, Nevada, and Arizona got more of that scarce resource. But that's sure how it sounded to the people of Colorado. [more]
Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter
Colorado to McCain: Hands Off Our WaterIn an interview Friday with the Pueblo Chieftan, McCain committed what could amount political suicide in the state by saying that the 1922 water compact negotiated between seven western states should be renegotiated to give Arizona, Nevada, and California (the Lower Basin states) more water. That's unlikely to make Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico (the Upper Basin states) any happier than it's made Colorado.
There's nothing more controversial in the West than water, and the single water issue that is most pressing is what happens as the Colorado drainage continues to experience drought and demand continues to grow. California's water rapaciousness was the issue in 1922 that brought the seven states' governors to negotiate the compact, and California's huge thirst is still the problem. But massive population growth in and around Las Vegas and Phoenix have the Lower Basin states--and the Republican nominee for president--eyeing a greater share of the Colorado.
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MCCAIN UNBUTTONED
McCain’s Maverick Spirit Emerges
No tie, collar unbuttoned, reclining comfortably in his chair, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain looked like the straight-shooting Western politician his longtime fans adore and his handlers try to muzzle. Appearing in famously-liberal, fabulously-wealthy Aspen, Colo., McCain punctuated his tough talk on Russia and Iraq with wit. When audience members groaned that his $3.75-a-gallon-gas reference was well below Aspen prices, McCain chuckled.
“That’s the classic Democratic approach: soak the risk,” he joked.
Apologizing to the crowd members on the left side of the audience for turning his back to them, he joked they were probably all liberal Democrats anyway. Not so, though. Chatting at the Aspen Institute think tank with its CEO Walter Isaacson in front of a crowd of over 700, mostly supporters, McCain received resounding applause throughout his talk. Despite Aspen’s cachet among left-leaning glitterati, its wealthy second-homeowners are tilting the town rightward, and for many of them, McCain’s maverick style has been appealing for years, even when it wasn’t striking much of a chord with most voters.
For all the talk of that straight-shootin’ Western political model offering hope to the Democratic Party, it is ironic that this Arizona senator long struggled with the GOP using the same sort of approach.
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from the new west blog: column, congressional campaigns
Colorado Congressional Race Could Help Obama
Tuesday’s late primary in Colorado resulted in an interesting matchup: aerospace engineer Scott Starin (R) and entrepreneur Jared Polis (D) will face each other in November for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District seat.
The seat is open because Rep. Mark Udall is running for Senate.
Though Polis is openly gay, the primary campaign didn’t focus on sexual orientation, but the issue may move toward center stage for the general election. Colorado is a November swing state, and the progressive vote in its 2nd District in support of Polis could have national implications.
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