What will it take to accomplish the following things for Colorado?

[coloradodem2005]

*Hold onto the majority in the houses of the State Legislature in 2006
*Regain the Governorship in Colorado
*Gain the seats for the 4th and 7th congressional districts
*Make sure that the TABOR amendment that the Dems are proposing goes through?

What do we need to do?

[rockymountaindem]

1. A miracle.

I fear the retaking of the legislature may have come 2 years too early. I think the Republicans, who still outnumber us, will really be thirsty to get it back. I still think we're one of the reddest states in the union, but the Republicans just got lazy.

I'm willing to admit my view might be skewed from living in Colorado Springs, however.

[coloradodem2005]

2. It will be hard.

But you live in the worst place in the state. Possibly the worst in the country.

[DenverDem]

3. We can start by electing REAL Democrats to the Senate.

I am shocked and furious at salazar's voting record.

I gave him a hundred bucks and telephoned to get his sorry ass elected and he's voting the same way coors would have.

[MissMarple]

4. We can nominate Democrats who strike a cord with the people of Colorado.

Posturing coming from the right or from the left is getting old. The state has big problems, we need to elect people who are serious about addressing them. And I'm tired of the National Republican Party dictating what goes on in this state.

We need a consistent, intelligible campaign informing folks what their votes get for them in their everyday lives. What are the problems with the bankruptcy law, what is a better solution. Colorado is underfunding Medicaid and what does that do for rural hospitals, for their local doctors? Transportation infrastructure is underfunded, so, why are the local bridges unstable, highways crumbling? How about Internet access for rural Colorado? Can you do two loads of laundry while you are waiting for something to download? That is just a start. I'm sure you all can think of quite a few more examples, like CSAP. Do you know that kids in high school here not taking that test this week have very few classes? What is that all about?

It boils down to what has the Republican Party done for us, and what can the Democratic Party do to ameliorate that?

All this insistence on ideological purity....it's ...not helpful. Pragmatic progressivism has helped this country before, and it is past time to start employing it in Colorado today. I don't care about touchy feely bills that are aimed at huge problems, but are practically window dressing. One is the bill about Colorado not doing business with companies that outsource. I'm sure they mean well, but it just doesn't get to the core of the problem.


Sorry if that sounded like something of a rant... but I guess it was. :-)

[Damien]

5. a lot, but here's a few ideas

1) make it clear to voters that the dems are doing good things with the control. then they won't be inclined to give it back to the right. Personally, I see this tied to number 4. If that passes, with the right message, people will realize that dems are the ones that can solve problems here in colorado.
2) Show that Owens blocked every good idea that came before him (reforming TABOR, light rail, fast-tracks, etc). Then, present a candidate with fresh ideas that wants to work to fix the economy AND has at least one new idea to present. I have no idea who that person is though.
3) I always get districts wrong -- 4th is Muskrat right? I wish I knew how to get rid of her -- showing how incompetent she was didn't seem to work too well. I think running a bright new face (not too liberal, though I hate to say it) who will actually do something might work. Voters up here might realize that Musgrave is worthless, I think many knew it last time, but didn't like matsunaka -- it's the old idea that running again after losing is harder.
I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with the 7th.
4) Show how 1) it will stimulate economy, and 2) people will actually get more money back (at least in the long run). If this has to be rammed through, so be it. It's what we need to spend "political capital" and other buzzwords on.

That's my ideas.

[coloradodem2005]

6. Well, Musgrave did not do as well in 2004 as in 2002.

I think the anti-Musgrave ads hurt Matsunaka. They turned people off to him.

[DaveinMD]

8. Stan not raising money

is what hurt Stan. He ran about a week of ads and did no direct mail. You can't win a campaign that way. And he still came close to winning.

[MissMarple]

7. One thing that underlies your suggestions is communication.

For instance, I posted above a comment on limiting contracts with companies that outsource. Well, I didn't understand that very well, and I couldn't see the sponsors' point. They have since done some explaining in our local paper, but have removed the bill. Apparently they believe they can show that these contracts are not financially beneficial for Colorado, and are even detrimental. That's good, but, I think it would have been helpful if some informational ground work could have been done beforehand. Republicans are quite adept at this. Make folks aware of a problem, fan a few flames, then offer a remedy. Of course being intellectually honest isn't a part of their formula.

And regarding intellectual honesty, yes, I think those ads hurt Matsunaka. The odd child cowboys trying to help with soft money need rein themselves in and maintain focus on progressive goals. We all need to play hard, but play fair. :evilgrin:

[Damien]

9. you're right

a lot of it is simply making people understand (a wide variety of stuff). Work on that needs to start yesterday -- letters to editors, just talking with friends, making sure that an expanding web of people understand.

Then progressives can be the ones responding with a solution this election.