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Building a "progressive" political machine

editor — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:02:00 -0700

The big gains by Democrats on Nov. 4, capturing the White House and winning big margins in the House and Senate, were due to a historic convergence of forces.

One factor in a number of battleground states was a highly-funded, coordinated effort among wealthy donors, political activists and organizations that have adopted the term "progressive."

A series of articles last month in The Denver Post examined one such coalition, the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA), which the movement considers a model for collaboration in the states. During the week of the Democratic National Convention, held in Denver in August, officials from CoDA, the national Democracy Alliance and others gathered to discuss common goals and plans. The event, which was recorded, reveals a sophisticated, targeted and ambitious agenda. A transcript follows.

Palin won't be at oil-and-gas confab in N.M.

Stephen Keating — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:36:20 -0700

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who continues to draw intense media coverage...

Donohue: "Be calm and go buy something."

Stephen Keating — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:08:34 -0700

Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gave his view of...

Marc Holtzman and the Colorado GOP

Stephen Keating — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:12:03 -0700

The poor showing of the Republican Party in Colorado on Election Day will undoubtedly lead to some retrenchment and perhaps an intra-party struggle leading up to the 2010 governor’s race.

Among the names bandied about as potential Republican nominees for governor are U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who is leaving office, and former Rep. Bob Beauprez, who lost the governor’s race to Democrat Bill Ritter in 2006.

And what of Marc Holtzman, who unsuccessfully challenged Beauprez for the GOP nomination that year?

How Obama fared in a Colo. GOP stronghold

Stephen Keating — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:54:54 -0700

In July, Barack Obama made an appearance in Colorado Springs, part of a strategy of competing in Republican strongholds and for evangelical Christian voters.

Running mate Joe Biden was there less than two weeks before the election.

The strategy apparently worked in El Paso County, where Colorado Springs is based. The unofficial vote total for Obama is 104,670, about 27,000 more votes than John Kerry won there in 2004. (That's more than the 22,571 increase in total votes in the county, comparing 2008 to 2004.) Obama increased his share of El Paso County’s vote to 40 percent, compared to Kerry’s 32 percent.

Meanwhile, the unofficial vote total for John McCain on Tuesday in El Paso County is 155,914, or 59 percent. President Bush's final vote total in 2004 was 161,361, or 67 percent.