Wednesday was the day for us to skip work and head on up to Denver, where Governor Dean, Governor Ritter, and Mayor Hickenlooper helped set the stage for the “one-year” mark at the Pepsi Center. One year from now, we’ll be right in the middle of Convention Week in Denver, where Democrats are going to be gathering in fevered excitement over the prospect of nominating our next President.

We celebrated this mileston with a great rally with hundreds of supporters just outside the Pepsi Center in Denver. We were joined by the DNCC staff, led by CEO Leah Daughtry, the Denver 2008 staff, led by CEO Mike Dino, several legislators, Congressman Perlmutter, and even state party leaders from over 20 states who were in town to view the convention plans and tour potential delegation hotels.

Everybody did a great job, and the crowd was truly enthusiastic, but the day was Gov. Dean’s. His speech was an eloquent reminder of just how important it is that we elect a Democrat in 2008 to replace Bush, and further a reminder that the West will be the critical battleground in that fight in 2008. Here’s what the Rocky had to say:

“Every single one of the Republicans running for president thinks we ought to stay in Iraq, maybe for as long as 50 years,” said Dean. “Every Democrat thinks we ought not to be there.”

The gathering was held to mark the one-year countdown to the 2008 convention.

“The road to the White House goes through the west. That’s why we’re in Denver,” Dean told the crowd. “We can win these states, but we have to work hard to do so.”

And the Post:

Dean spoke before a crowd of a few hundred during a sunny gathering outside the Pepsi Center, site of the convention next Aug. 25-28. He touted recent Democratic victories in the Intermountain West and repeated that, “The road to the White House leads through the West.”

Quickly advancing his remarks to the presidential primary races, Dean asserted that “any Democrat is better than any Republican running.”

Joined by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Ritter, Dean hammered at the war in Iraq, knocking the Republican presidential field for wanting to “stay the course,” and praising Democratic candidates for seeking a withdrawal.

Dean also criticized Republicans for a “culture of corruption,” alluding to ethics scandals that plagued the party and contributed to Democrats’ takeover of Congress in 2006.

It was truly a great chance to get to see so many of the people with whom I’ve spent the last two years working to make the Convention a reality. It was September of 2005 when I worked to set up a meeting with Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, Mayor Hickenlooper, his staff, and myself to discuss how we could possibly make this dream a reality. Since then, that dream has become a reality, and so many wonderful people with whom we worked were there on Wednesday. I haven’t been as active over the past month as usual, for a wide variety of reasons, but seeing all of these great hard-working Democrats has put me back in the frame of mind I need to get out and get more Democrats elected!

We’re headed up to Fort Collins on Sunday for the annual Larimer Dems’ picnic. Ordinarily, this is a great event — I’ve been to at least two or three in the past. This year, though, promises to be even better — its at the New Belgium Brewery!!! I think tickets are still available online at:
http://www.larimerdems.org/

Hopefully, I’ll see you there!