The Whirlwind of the Week
Or should I say weeks? Wednesday and Thursday of last week, Margaret Atencio, Christine Pokrandt and I went down to Pagosa Springs, where we were hosted at Stage Under the Stars. First Lady, Jeannie Ritter, held a conversation with about 30 local Democrats on the work she is doing. She had met that morning with members of the Southern Ute and listened as they outlined the challenges for mental health in their area. We are so lucky to have her as our First Lady and really committed to this long overlooked area.
On Friday, Dan Slater, Sherry Jackson and I were off to the Association of State Democratic Chairs meeting. Many of you will have seen Dan’s notes from his blog, so I won’t repeat anything he has covered. My only comment will be that we are seeing new chairs from Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arizona and other states. They are excited about coming to Denver for the convention. Most important, the exchange of ideas about the challenges of fundraising and organizing is an essential part of these meetings.
Last night I flew back and changed my jacket, shoes and purse so I could attend the Jefferson County Eleanor Roosevelt dinner. Dick Barkey is doing a superb job as chair, and the turnout was grand. Introducing the elected officials took quite a while. And Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was a terrific speaker for the event.
Today, I attended the Aurora Economic Development Corporation’s A-list luncheon with former President Bill Clinton as the speaker. He later attended a fundraiser for Senator Clinton’s presidential campaign. His remarks at each event were similar.
Jim Lyons introduced the President. Pres. Clinton paid tribute to Jim saying that the resolution of conflicts recently in Northern Ireland were the result of Jim’s early work there.
He went on to say that the best term to describe what is happening today is “interdependence.” We face three huge problems: Persistent inequality, in income, education and health care; what we are doing is not sustainable, resulting in climate change and depletion of natural resources; and Insecurity, as we are seeing in terrorism, religious/political/social conflicts, avian flu, etc. We need to get away from the idea that our differences are more importatnt than our common humanity or what we have in common.
I was particularly pleased that he talked about population growth, since this was my field for many years. In 43 years the global population will grow from 6.5 billion to 9 billion. With that growth will be an increased need to look at an unequal, unsustainable and unsecure world.
Pat