As an officer of the Mesa County Democratic Party, I knew about and attended the Assembly on Saturday.  It seems that other than the precinct captains, who are the party’s most active members, few others knew that an assembly was held.

The Sentinel’s opinion piece on Sunday was written by Jim Spehar about the lack of news coverage on either the Republican or Democratic meetings. Spehar is an old news hound, so for him it was personal that there was a dearth of coverage in his old stomping grounds. Then blogger Ralphie took Spehar to task for expecting him to report on the DEM assembly.

To be fair, Gary Harmon wrote his piece about the Republican assembly, although Laura Bradford and her challengers weren’t mentioned. Gary did describe his eyes popping out at the fiery red dress worn to the Republican assembly by Rose Pugliese. I’ve never heard him mention the attire of any of the male candidates, so that was quite the news scoop.

So, for those of you who missed hearing about the Democrat’s Assembly, here goes:

It started with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner performed by a CMU student. Then we all pledged our allegiance to the flag. As soon as the meeting was gaveled to order, Sal Pace told us why he is running for office, followed by Jessica Garrow telling us why she is running for office. Do any of you know about Jessica Garrow? She’s running for CD3 CU Regent. Locally nobody knows about her because she’s a stealth candidate running in a stealth party. If any reporters had been in attendance at the assembly they would’ve had a real scoop!

For me the most fun part came before the Assembly was called to order, and just before it was gaveled to a close. I can’t stand the fact that there is no Democrat running in House District 54. When a woman I know, who happens to live in the district, emerged from her car I grabbed her and asked if she had ever considered running for office. I told her that we might even draft her from the floor.

Then I spent the rest of the time between meeting her at her car door and the opening gavel trying to convince this woman to run. I introduced her to every person I could find at the assembly, always pointing out that she’s a retired Air Force Officer, really smart, and quite easy on the eyes. Bernie Buescher tried to talk her into running. Sal Pace even spoke privately with her when he finished speaking. I sent Paul Brown to talk to her. I sent Martelle Daniels to talk to her. I sent Co-Chairs Karl Castleton and Arn McConnell to talk to her. I even got some delegates chanting “Run, Mary, Run.”

As the last order of business, I stood up and asked the Assembly Chair if there was any truth to the rumor that there was a woman willing to throw her hat into the ring and run for House District 54. The Chair decided we should ask. Mary stood up and said that she hadn’t decided to run, but would take some time to consider it.

For the record, after the Assembly, I got all of the paperwork together to get our candidates Dave Edwards and Dan Robinson on the ballot. We got our business done, and we had a good time doing it. Too bad that you all missed the fun! See you in two years. Run, Mary, Run—it isn’t too late to get on the ballot, and there are a lot of people willing to get you elected.

Homework

Google Search of DEM Assembly

Jim Spehar Couldn't Read about the Assembly

Junction Daily Blog Responds to Spehar

Dear Reagan Girl,

Don’t get too excited about Konola posting public notes to Sal Pace on ColoradoPols. You mistook constructive criticism from one nit-picky individual for the attitude of an entire party.  Democrats are not going to abandon Sal Pace in his race against Scott Tipton. We know that Pace has the ability to up his game on the campaign trail; we’ve already noticed him making great progress. Democrats are supporting Pace, even this Democrat. Check out his fundraising results and compare them to your darling Tipton. It isn’t Pace that comes up short.

There is no way Democrats are going to vote for Scott Tipton, especially after he signed on to a bill that extends the Affordable Care Act exemption for Catholic Bishops to all employers and for any objection they may have.  We aren’t going to vote for him after he and his staff refused to understand that there is more to Planned Parenthood than abortions; that in fact, poor women depend on them for birth control and pap smears and mammograms. Even men visit Planned Parenthood for birth control advice and advice on avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.

Tipton’s lack of support for women’s health issues probably drove away quite a few Republican women in Grand Junction and most independent voters at the same time. You see, Grand Junction is an award winning regional medical center, so included in our voter base are lots of doctors and nurses and physical therapists and research scientists. They understand the need for women’s health care, and laugh at Tipton’s lack of understanding.

There is no way Democrats are going to vote for Scott Tipton, since we know he voted in favor of the Ryan plan. Democrats are not going to let Social Security and Medicare be gutted so that you can trickle up more money to the wealthiest people on the planet. In case you haven’t noticed, Mesa County has lots and lots of senior citizens, and they vote regularly. Mesa County doesn’t have a bunch of rich white men making money with other people’s money on Wall Street.

There is no way Democrats are going to vote for Scott Tipton, since we know he is in the pocket of Texans in the oil patch. Democrats don’t mind careful development of Colorado’s natural resources, but we want that development to be regulated. We like drinking Colorado wine that comes from wineries along the Colorado River, just downstream from the Piceance Basin. We like eating Colorado peaches grown in the soil along the banks of the Colorado River. We like being able to breathe air that isn’t polluted with gas flares in the oil patch, especially when winter inversions trap stinky air in our valley. We like being healthy. We enjoy meeting the tourists who come here to enjoy our wine, peaches, and natural beauty. Quite a few of us work in tourism.

If you want to keep quoting Konola in support of your candidate, you may want to check out other things she has written about your darling Scott Tipton. Did you know he touted a bill as creating jobs when all it did was allow banks to recognize losses over seven years? I’m an ex-banker, and I’ve never figured out how changing an accounting practice at a bank was going to create jobs. I mean, they aren’t going to have any more money to lend—it went out the door with the bad loan.

Homework

Bullshit Blog

Yesterday I attended an event to raise money for Sal Pace, the 3rd District’s Democratic candidate. Sal keeps improving as a candidate, but he is still stumbling on occasion.

One example, a few days ago PBS ran a story about health care in the U.S. Because Grand Junction has a very unique health care system, it has been receiving national attention for years. It has even drawn President Obama to town. Dr. Michael Pramenko, who has been an advisor to Obama, and several other locals were featured in the television production. Given our national prominence, one would think that the candidate who is seeking to represent us would know something about our local system.

When mentioning health care, Pace attempted to compare Grand Junction with his hometown of Pueblo. You could feel the room atmosphere change when he said that in Pueblo you see billboards advertising hospitals all over town because there were two hospitals competing for business. He said that because Grand Junction has only one hospital, we don’t see that here.  For the record there are three hospitals in Grand Junction: Community Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital, and the V.A. medical center. We frequently see both billboards and television advertising for the two private hospitals.

I had the privilege of driving an 85 year old man home from the event because he no longer drives. This is no ordinary 85 year old man. He has taught at university hospitals for years. In fact he is still on the teaching staff at a hospital in Chicago—one affiliated with a major university. He has been an executive in a company that makes medical implements. He knows medicine and the problems facing the health care industry. He said that he left a rather nice check for Pace, but that someone needs to get to Pace to tell him to dig a bit deeper into the things he is talking about.  The good doctor said that I should “sell” myself to Pace for that purpose. So, Victor, this note to Sal is for you.

The good news is that Pace noted several times that he is a Catholic, but is able to separate his religious beliefs from public policy. When pressed on that point, he said that he would call himself Pro-Choice. He got a lot of applause from the women in the room when he said that. John Salazar could never bring himself to say in public that he was Pro-Choice. A lot of women, who had previously supported Salazar, dropped their support for him in 2010 because he wouldn’t stand up for women’s issues.

The most important thing on the minds of Colorado’s GOP is repealing the Affordable Care Act. That was their first order of business yesterday, according to a report by Charles Ashby.  The vote passed along party lines, evidently for the purpose of getting Sal Pace on record as supporting Obama Care. (Please note that Obama said he didn’t mind having his name associated with caring.)

Then in a bizarre statement Pace went on to say, “ We look a little bit too much like Washington, D.C., and I’m reconsidering my future plans if this is what it’s going to be like.” So what does that mean? Pace hasn’t even been elected in one of the most watched races in the nation, and already he’s having second thoughts? Geez that gives me a lot of confidence.

Just to make this story even juicer, Laura Bradford was the only Republican who voted against the bill. She later said that it was a mistake.  We have a Representative who doesn’t know the difference between yes and no on a resolution? Oh, she said she was “distracted.” That makes me feel better! Not good.

But get this: the resolution went even further than calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. They want to hold a constitutional convention in order to repeal it. The last constitutional convention was in 1787 and we need another one now because a bill passed that was designed to stop abuses by the health insurance industry, and make health care more affordable for all? Or do we need a constitutional convention just in case Sal Pace figures out whether he wants to run against Scott Tipton?

We’ve got the picture. GOP politicians don’t like the Affordable Care Act. The constitutionality of the bill is already making its way through the courts, with Colorado signed on to the side that is claiming it is unconstitutional. We can’t wait for a court ruling, instead we want to throw out the U.S. Constitution and write a new one?

Homework

Grand Junction Sentinel Story About GOP & Health Care

Denver Post Story About GOP & Health Care

Constitutional Convention

The first time I met Sal Pace was in Denver, when I was running for a seat in the state Senate. The second time was at the Mesa County Democrat’s annual fundraiser, the Spring Fling. The third time was at Main Street Bagels in downtown Grand Junction, where a group of malcontents meet each Friday to discuss current events over coffee. The fourth time was at the library in Parachute, where town leaders were invited to express their opinions. Most recently I met him again at Main Street Bagels, where he met with Mesa County Democrats.

I believe he is improving as a candidate, but he still has room to grow. He’s sincere when he says he wants to hear what people have to say; he even takes notes in those conversations. But he doesn’t own the room at his own events. Generally he sits down, avoiding the center of the table, and thus the center of attention. Pace is soft-spoken, and talks about working together to solve the problems facing his constituents. I wish he had more spark, more charisma.

The Pace/Tipton race is going to be one of the most highly watched in the nation. The district is one that could go either way. The new maps added a few registered Democrats to the mix, but it is still possible for a candidate from either party to win. Tipton has made lots of mistakes in his freshman year, not the least of which is irritating women by not supporting any of their issues. I haven’t been sure that Pace had the spine to stand up to Tipton.

But I finally saw him under attack on Thursday, and was pleased with his response. In the meeting with local Democrats, a local challenged his stated desire to work across the aisle, by suggesting that the only thing Obama achieved with compromise was moving the center to the right. The challenger then launched into a barrage, as much aimed at Obama as at Pace, expressing the frustration that many of us have with the constant obstructionism of Republicans in Washington.  I finally saw the spark I’d been looking for in Pace when he responded with “You don’t start negotiations with a bombing raid.”

Pace also shared with us that when Tipton was in Colorado’s state legislature, he frequently wore a tea bag pinned to his lapel. Pace lamented the fact that nobody seemed to have photographic evidence. What particularly amuses me about Tipton sporting a tea bag is his lack of support from the Grand Junction Tea Party. From what I’ve heard from them, Tipton is not their guy. I know that the local Tea Party did not endorse Tipton during 2010 primaries, and one of the founders of GJResult tells me, via posts at my blog, that they aren’t likely to endorse him in 2012 either.

Homework

Pace For Colorado

Dear reader, I’m sure you expected me to comment on Obama’s speech to the nation last night. Sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t watch the speech because I was deep into some files digging up names and addresses for a mailing that is supposed to go out today inviting people to the Spring Fling.

If it isn’t already on your calendar, make sure to note April 9 is the Spring Fling. This is the annual meeting of the general membership of the Mesa County Democratic Party. It will be held at Two Rivers Convention Center, starting at 5:30 for drinks and a silent auction. Dinner is at 7:00, and as a preview of coming attractions, I’ll share the menu: Chicken Piccata followed by cream puffs. It happens to be one of my favorite meals and one of my favorite deserts, so I’m sure you figured out that I had something to do with picking it.

To make your reservations, send a $50 check for every person attending, made payable to Mesa County Democratic Party, to P.O. Box 2361, Grand Junction, CO 81502. That may distract me a little from current events also, since I’ll be picking up that check and making sure that you are on the list of attendees and get a name tag when you arrive.

The theme is “Standing Strong, Standing Together” and we’ll hear speakers from the Latino community, from local unions, and from the legislature in Denver. Sal Pace, who is the current Minority Leader in the House, will be our keynote speaker. Rumor has it that he is considering a run for the seat currently occupied by Scott Tipton.

I did notice a couple of important stories about fracking, civil unions, and the EPA. Maybe you can read them (linked below) and tell me what I missed while being distracted.

Homework

Spring Fling

Chicken Piccata

No Fracking in Maryland

Colorado Debates Civil Unions

Power Generators Must Protect Fish