Breakfast in Larimer County
(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)
I’ve been rather lax lately about posting to DemNotes — so I apologize beforehand for that. Sadly, that means I didn’t get around to writing about my visit to Boulder County for their Truman Dinner, or about the Volunteer Committee meeting, or about the DNCC “Community Conversation” I attended in Pueblo, or about the Al Gore event a couple of weeks ago. (Note that Pat Waak has written about a couple of those things, if you’re interested, on the State Party Blog at http://blog.coloradodems.org/.) Maybe if I’d not spent Monday and Tuesday bleary-eyed at my computer in frenzied (but unsuccessful) attempts to score World Series tickets, I might have found more time to write….
Anyway, yesterday morning, I woke up early (there was no sun at 4:15 a.m., so I can’t say “bright and early”) to head up to Fort Collins for the Democratic Breakfast Forum, where I was the guest speaker. Several dozen people were in attendance, and when I arrived, Senator Salazar’s new field representative was answering several questions from the attendees. The questions were all very thoughtful, and I was impressed by the respectful tone, even where some people may not have agreed with Senator Salazar’s stand on an issue or bill.
After that was over, it was my turn. I spoke at length about the challenges facing our Party as we prepare for the 2008 elections. I noted one of our biggest challenges was a positive one to have: a huge influx of new faces at the grassroots level. I talked about how we were likely to see maybe three or four times the normal number of caucus attendees on February 5, and how we needed to be prepared for those people, both on caucus night as well as beyond in terms of utilizing this new volunteer base. I also talked about the new volunteers that would come after August from the Convention effort, as well as the natural influx that comes from a heavily-contested Presidential race. I encouraged the breakfast attendees to welcome these new faces with open arms and to find critical volunteer jobs for each of these people.
I also talked about the more negative challenges that will face us — namely, the onslaught of personal attacks that are sure to come from the Republican misinformation ministry. I explained — as many of you have heard — that the Democrats will not back down from these attacks and instead will fight back with issue-oriented comparisons of the candidates, not personal attacks.
Well, its back to work now…. Have to get home before the next Rockies game tonight!