U.S. West- Open Discussion

29 Comments

1. 

   BooMan on September 11, 2008 at 6:09 pm

   New western thread.

2. 

   dada on September 11, 2008 at 9:04 pm

   palin will appear monday morning at the jeffco fairgrounds for a pancake breakfast, according to rockymtnews. the appearance will be open to the public but details about ticket distribution hadn’t been announced, campaign officials said… palin “is expected to spend saturday night in denver,” which could mean additional events in co before her monday appearance.

   obama has scheduled events in grand Junction and pueblo…denver post.

3. 

   mainsailset on September 14, 2008 at 8:16 pm

   This is cool
   Anti Palin demonstration in Anchorage

4. 

   Brementown Musician on October 1, 2008 at 2:21 pm

   If you’re in the Bay Area and looking for a Palin/Biden debate watch party, this one at the Albany Library sounds pretty interesting:

   VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WATCH w/ GEORGE LAKOFF

   Join the Albany Library community on Thursday night, October 2, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, for a lively evening of political insight and discussion with noted local authors Susan Griffin and George Lakoff.

   The evening will begin with a live screening of the Vice Presidential debate, with both Lakoff and Griffin in attendance. Following the debate, the two authors will offer their commentary on what took place, and invite questions and discussion from the audience. The night concludes with a discussion of their most recent work.

   Noted poet and social critic Susan Griffin’s new book, Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy: On Being an American Citizen, is her personal exploration of the meaning of democracy. George Lakoff’s most recent book, The Political Mind: Why You Can’t Understand 21st Century Politics with an 18th Century Mind, explores the communication styles of Progressives and Conservatives.

   Alas, drinking and yelling at the TV will probably not be encouraged.

5. 

   BooMan on October 15, 2008 at 11:52 am

   More baked in the cake votes.

   A new SurveyUSA poll in New Mexico finds Sen. Barack Obama ahead of Sen. John McCain by seven points, 52% to 45%.

   These results are essentially unchanged from the two previous polls.

   Interesting: “Absentee voting began in New Mexico six days ago. Among the 10% of New Mexico voters who say they have already voted, Obama leads by 23 points. Among likely voters, Obama leads by 6.”

6. 

   dada on October 16, 2008 at 2:41 pm

   colorado has begun to swing strongly for obama. from the most recent quinnipac poll, via the denver post, Obama on top in Colo. poll:

   Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has a whopping 9 percentage point lead over his Republican rival John McCain in Colorado, according to a poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University.

   …

   In two separate Quinnipiac polls — one taken before the second presidential debate and another after — 52 percent of likely voters here said they favored Obama and 43 percent said they were voting for McCain…

   and, with udall pulling away from schaffer in the colo senate race:

   Udall is up 14 percentage points over Republican Bob Schaffer in a new Wall Street Journal/Quinnipiac University poll and up 11 in a poll by Suffolk University, both released Tuesday.

   that’s being disputed by schaffer’s campaign manager dick wad, but what’s new, eh.

   also, speaking of blue[s], there’s now a short blues tune that’s being promoted by ProgressNow, a local liberal group…from coloradopols:

   “Big Oil Bob”…sings the blues.

   mp3 and lyrics at the link…enjoy.

7. 

   Man Eegee on October 23, 2008 at 3:19 pm

   McCain has lost a chunk of the Goldwater family’s vote

   Myself, along with my siblings and a few cousins, will not be supporting the Republican presidential candidates this year. We believe strongly in what our grandfather stood for: honesty, integrity, and personal freedom, free from political maneuvering and fear tactics. I learned a lot about my grandfather while producing the documentary, Mr. Conservative Goldwater on Goldwater. Our generation of Goldwaters expects government to provide for constitutional protections. We reject the constant intrusion into our personal lives, along with other crucial policy issues of the McCain/Palin ticket. – Huff Post

8. 

   BooMan on November 1, 2008 at 1:39 pm

   From email:

   Here are the early voting figures for Washoe County–the big swing county.

   DEMS: 52.0% of registered Democrats voted
   GOP: 39.1% of registered Republicans voted
   Other: 37.0% of other Party’s voters voted
   All: 43.8% of all registered voters voted

9. 

   BooMan on November 2, 2008 at 12:43 pm

   Republicans are truly disturbed people.

10. 

    dada on November 2, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    colorado’s Swinging Obama’s way:

    Democrat Barack Obama has solidified his base and picked up a majority of unaffiliated voters in Colorado, giving him a 5 percentage point lead over Republican John McCain, according to a new Denver Post poll.

    Obama leads McCain 49 percent to 44 percent. Colorado unaffiliated voters, the critical voting bloc making up more than one-third of the state electorate, are backing Obama 57 percent to 32 percent. Four percent of those polled, however, were still undecided.

    denverpost

    the undedided’s are down from 10% from mid october, and barr continues to poll around 4-6%.

    coloradopols has the lines set here today:

    

    things are looking real good here…if it comes to pass it’ll be the first time since 1992 co’s gone for a dem prez candidate…clintons’ 1st term.

11. 

    Teacher Toni on November 3, 2008 at 11:23 am

    I will be in Phoenix very soon for a union leadership school and I’m wondering what there is cool to do in downtown Phoenix.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

    • 

      Man Eegee on November 3, 2008 at 12:40 pm

      hi Toni!  let me see what I can pull together for you.

      • 

        Teacher Toni on November 3, 2008 at 1:29 pm

        Thanks.  I really appreciate it.  You can send it to my e-mail if you want.

12. 

    dada on November 9, 2008 at 4:12 pm

    woohoo!

    here’s a brief synopsis of what we’ve accomplished in colorado in past six years folks:

    following the mid-term elections in 2002, we had a RATpublican gov, in fact the entirety of the state govt, except for AG, was RATs. they also held majorities in both legislative houses. additionally, both our sens were RATs, as well as 5 out of 7 of our reps.

    following the nov 4 election we now not only have a dem gov, but every major state officeholder, except AG, is, or will soon be, dems. we maintained our majorities in both state houses, and have completely reversed the senate representation …both are now dems….or 1 dem, and one left leaning DINO [salazar] if you want to be picky…and 5 of 7 of our reps are dem, including the very progressive freshman, jared polis….and we dumped the odious marilyn musgrave in the process.

    this didn’t just happen without one hell of a lot of hard work. if that’s not a positive “change you can believe in”…it’s a pretty damn good imitation, imnsho. kudos to everyone!

    ps: salazar’s at the top of the list for a challenger in 2010…and he knows it. l’d posit that he’s hoping like hell for a cabinet position, and he has been “mentioned” as a candidate for interior sec according to the denver post, because he’s very likely to be one and done as a senator.

    we shall see.

    • 

      ask on November 9, 2008 at 4:40 pm

      That is very encouraging, dada!
      I did not realize how far you have already come – keep it up, and use that power to reverse the RAT-made disaster. You’ll soon be the most progressive state.

      • 

        dada on November 9, 2008 at 7:28 pm

        thanks…it’s been a struggle, and we’re looking for a good challenger for salazar, as l speak.

        plus, we went BLUE in the pres race for the first time since 92!

        l’m real proud of the state right now, and that doesn’t even address the disastrous reich wing amendments that went down the tubes.

13. 

    BooMan on November 10, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    Stay classy, Musgrave.

    • 

      dada on November 11, 2008 at 2:07 pm

      yeah, she’s a class act…keeps good company too…like the dynamic duo:

      

      

      won’t be missed.

      • 

        dada on November 20, 2008 at 4:48 pm

        more musgravfreude

        via newsweek: THE DIGNITY INDEX:

        Nobody Likes a Sore Loser. Even in Washington.

        Despite losing her re-election bid by 12 points, Colorado GOP Rep. Marilyn Musgrave refuses to congratulate her opponent or even concede the race.

        Score: 78

        and she’s been re-assigned to the “transitional suite”

        har!

14. 

    dada on December 3, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    classy to the end:

    Soon-to-be-former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, neither seen nor heard in the four weeks since her thumping loss to Democratic challenger Betsy Markey, finally made that phone call. Thing is, it wasn’t a concession call to Markey, and it wasn’t a call to thank her supporters. No, the lame-duck Republican lent her voice to a robocall for the Georgia Senate run-off election on Tuesday, blaming “leftist special interests” for her defeat.

    “They overwhelmed us with money,” Musgrave says in the call. “And they smothered the truth with vicious attacks and lies,” The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported online Tuesday. It gets better.

    It’s the first evidence the three-term congresswoman survived her Election Day trouncing. Musgrave’s robocall supporting Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss is part of “Team Sarah” — yep, that’s Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — organized by the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund. The conservative group claimed Monday it’s “contacting over 200,000 Georgia households with a Get Out the Vote phone message recorded by Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO).”

    colorado independent

    it’s too bad chambliss won.

15. 

    BooMan on December 14, 2008 at 11:28 am

    Did someone torch Sarah Palin’s church on Friday Night?

16. 

    dada on December 15, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    according to reuters, the denver post, and colorado pols he’s, once again, at the top of the list.

    according to the post:

    A source close to Obama’s transition team told The Denver Post late last week that Salazar was under consideration for the Cabinet position.

    The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak, said at the time it appeared that it was all but up to Salazar as to whether he wanted the post.

    frankly, it’s be a pretty good fit for him, and may offer the opportunity to get a more progressive senator appointed from colorado, and there are several viable candidates, but it would mena we’d have two freshman senators.

    an interesting reversal of the conventional wisdom from the prior rumour.

    we shall see.

    • 

      BooMan on December 15, 2008 at 1:25 pm

      I thought it was John Salazar under consideration, and he just won a seat on the Appropriations Committee.

      • 

        dada on December 15, 2008 at 1:40 pm

        john was rumoured to be a candidate for sec agriculture, ims. that’s pretty much out the window with the appropriations slot.

17. 

    Brementown Musician on December 16, 2008 at 3:43 am

    And that plum will keep her from running for governor. I’m just not sure what’s worse, but the nation’s loss is definitely California’s gain.

18. 

    dada on December 16, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    here’re the latest lists for consideration/speculation. first, from the denver post:

    Michael Bennet, Denver Public Schools superintendent: early obama supporter, rumoured to be in line for possible as ED sec byt will not get that position.

    U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver: chief deputy hse whip, vice chair of energy and commerce comm, stem cell research advocate.

    Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper: likes being mayor and may not want it. appears more comfortable in an executive role and is looking ahead to running for gov, imo.

    U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden: serves on the financial services committee and homeland security committees. well thought of statewide, would be in a good postion to win election in 2010.

    Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff: term limited, fianlist for co SoS appointment.

    U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa ken’s brother…would leave a very vulnerable seat for challenge in 2010…nuff said.

    Tom Strickland:  former u.s. attorney for colorado…long shot, as he’s now  executive vice president for UnitedHealthGroup Inc. in Minneapolis…for all intents a purposes a lobbyist. also lost badly to allard in the 1996 and 2002 senate race. very unlikely.

    additional names from coloradopols:

    Cary Kennedy: who? elected colo state treasurer in 2006, that’s it. a very long shot.

    Joan Fitzgerald: lost a vicious and expensive race to jared polis. long shot as colo SoS replacement. she claims she’s retired from public life…l believe her.

    also mentioned:

    Albert Yates again, who? another real long shot.

    federico pena: rumoured to be under consideration for a return to transportation sec. early obama supporter. clinton retread. l hope not.

    and ritter could always appoint himself.

    interesting group so far.

    • 

      dada on December 17, 2008 at 8:13 pm

      via coloradopols:

       

      

      click the link above for article and analysis of ratings.

19. 

    dada on December 18, 2008 at 8:20 pm

    want to weigh in on salazars’ replacement? the gov has set up an e-mail address so you can do just that.

    E-mail your thoughts to: ussenate.comments@state.co.us.

    • 

      dada on December 19, 2008 at 5:21 pm

      Below is the latest ranking of the candidates to replace Salazar from our statewide online poll:

      Andrew Romanoff – 1st
      Diana DeGette – 2nd
      John Hickenlooper – 3rd
      Ed Perlmutter – 4th
      John Salazar – 5th
      Federico Peña – 6th
      Alice Madden – 7th
      Mike Miles – 8th*
      Joan Fitz-Gerald – 9th* NOTE: has officially put her name in the hopper
      Peter Groff – 10th
      Bernie Buescher – 11th [NOTE: was just appointed co SoS]
      Tom Strickland – 12th
      Bill Ritter – 13th
      Cary Kennedy – 14th
      Michael Bennet – 15th
      Bob Schaffer – 16th*
      Jared Polis – 17th*
      Ken Gordon – 18th*

      * – denotes write-in candidate-we have added these to our poll
      Total unique voters so far: 6,658

      We will deliver results and all of your comments to Governor Ritter and his staff on Monday.

      Please forward this email to your friends and neighbors and ask them to vote:
      http://progressnowaction.org/SenatePoll