In this issue:

* Governor Dean Is Coming to Colorado
* Colorado Moves to Early Caucus for 2008?
* End of Session Shows Great Progress
* Call for resignation of Secretary of State employee engaged in partisan campaign consulting
* Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee
* Success Training at the Chairs' Summit This Past Weekend
* From the DNC on the Republican Presidential Debate

Governor Dean Is Coming to Colorado

Governor Howard Dean, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, will be the guest at a public fundraiser on behalf of Democrats in the state.

This Thursday, May 10, 2007 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Governor Dean will appear with Colorado Democratic Party Chair, Pat Waak; Speaker of the Colorado House Andrew Romanoff; House Majority Leader, Alice Madden; and other elected officials at a public rally. The rally will be held at the Pipefitters Local 208 Union Hall, 6350 N. Broadway in Denver.

Tickets are $30 per person and admission can be obtained online at:

http://coloradodems.us/events/deanmay

or by calling the Colorado Democratic Party at 303-623-4762.

Colorado Moves to Early Caucus for 2008?

A bill to move Colorado's 2008 precinct caucuses up to February, from March, was approved by the Colorado House of Representatives and Colorado Senate last week. The bill now awaits Governor Ritter's signature.

The CDP urged the legislature to make changes in statute so that we could hold our precinct caucuses on the first Tuesday in February during Presidential years. This movement will put us in solidarity with the other Western states, so that we have a better opportunity to participate in the nomination of the Democratic presidential candidate. It will also ensure that candidates coming West stop in Colorado.

End of Session Shows Great Progress

The Colorado General Assembly concluded its 2007 legislative session last Friday. Some truly impressive reforms were accomplished this year.

For example, the work on Prescription Drugs will increase access and cut costs. Over the past five years, costs for prescription drugs in Colorado have increased at more than twice the rate of inflation.

Nearly 800,000 people in our state are uninsured, 128,000 of them are children. Pharmaceutical companies spend far more marketing their products than they do on researching and developing new drugs. They package their drugs and sell them with high profits. This helps their bottom line, but has drastic consequences for working people. So Governor Ritter's first executive order enrolls Colorado in a multi-state prescription drug purchasing pool. And through Rep. Madden's general prescription drug bill, the state can purchase general drugs directly from manufacturers which will result in lower costs and more options.

You can see a partial list of legislative accomplishments here:

http://blog.coloradodems.org/2007/04/18/governor-ritters-first-100-days

Call for resignation of Secretary of State employee engaged in partisan campaign consulting

The CDP called for the immediate ouster of Dan Kopelman from the Secretary of State's office after it was revealed that he maintains a side business of selling voter lists to Republican political campaigns.

Dan Kopelman has been operating a business called "Political Live Wires" which sells mailing lists, fundraising lists, and other campaign materials. Accusations have been made that he has been using his position in the Secretary of State's office to get data and sell it to Republican clients. The Party is asking whether he purchased the data first. If he did pay for the data, then his side business still brings a taint of partisanship to the Secretary of State's office and Kopelman should resign.

Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee

The Host Committee is looking for 80,000 contiguous square feet of space where the committee will co-locate with the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) for the next 16 months. The DNCC staff will be arriving in July of 2007 to begin the actual planning for the convention.

Volunteer recruitment is still high on the list. For those who have not heard from the Host Committee yet, they are now beginning to contact the more than 7,000 volunteers who have signed up on either the CDP or Host Committee website. The NEA is allowing one of their senior staffers, Sondra Williams, to dedicate herself full-time as the Host Committee's Volunteer Coordinator. Volunteers will probably not be needed until June of next year. So if you have time now, volunteer at the CDP or in your local county.

To sign up to volunteer for the convention:

http://www.coloradodems.org/convention

The Host Committee is publishing a Vendor Directory with emphasis on minority owned, women owned, and persons with disability owned businesses and Labor Organizations. The Directory will be updated quarterly and will be made available on the Host Committee Website by the end of this summer.

Finally the Host Committee is outlining the delegate services program that will care for all delegates from the time they are wheels down at Denver International Airport to the time delegates are wheels up at the end of the convention week.

Success Training at the Chairs' Summit This Past Weekend

Seventy-five Democrats gathered at the Shadows Ranch in Georgetown for training, discussion and just plain fun. Each county committee attending received a Chairs Handbook for 2007, DFC's Think Precinct Handbook, updates on rules and VAN, as well as a great field training by Parag Mehta, Director of Training for the Democratic National Committee, and Artie Blanco, Southwest Director for the DNC. For information on the training, check with your county chair or the CDP.

And Finally from the DNC on the Republican Presidential Debate

GOP Displays More Failed Leadership at Debate

The Republican presidential candidates offered no new ideas and only more of the same failed leadership as they debated in California. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement following the debate:

"Tonight's debate confirms that a Democrat will be elected in 2008. The Republican presidential contenders are only offering more of the same failed leadership and misplaced priorities that President Bush brought to the White House," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Americans are looking for new ideas and leaders who will do what's right for America, not politicians who will do or say anything just to get elected. Democrats are offering a new direction and a clear vision for America's future."

Highlights of the failed leadership and misplaced priorities from the debate tonight follow:

Giuliani Contradicts Himself on Choice…During the Debate

Compounding his already confusing record on choice, Giuliani contradicted himself on most basic question of choice during the course of the debate.

"OK" To Repeal Roe. Towards the beginning of the debate, on Roe V Wade he said "It would be OK to repeal." [MSNBC, 5/3/07]

But Would "Respect A Woman's Right" To Choose: Later on Giuliani said "I hate abortion" but then continued to say that "I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice." [MSNBC, 5/3/07]

McCain Flip Flops on Iraq

Now McCain Says Only With The New Strategy Does He Think It's the Right Track. Tonight when asked "Do you need anything beyond what the president has now to win the war?" McCain replied, "Now I think it's on the right track. The war was terribly mismanaged and we now have to fix a lot of mistakes that have been made. We have a new strategy and general and these young men and women are committed to win." [MSNBC, 5/3/07]

But McCain Has Long Said That The War Is On The Right Track And That Bush's Policies Were Working.

2005: McCain Said That Another Year Will Prove "Stay the Course" Is Working. "McCain believes that the U.S., and the cause of Iraqi independence, are moving forward in Iraq, a little bit at a time. 'I think the situation on the ground is going to improve,' he says. 'Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.'" [The Hill, 12/8/05]

2006: McCain Said That Iraq Was "On The Right Track" As The Country Moved Closer To Civil War. Speaking on the "Imus In The Morning" radio show on March 1, 2006, McCain played down the increasing civil violence in Iraq. When Imus remarked that Iraq "already looks like a civil war," McCain responded, saying, "I keep trying to look at the bright side of this because we have to because the consequences of failure are catastrophic. But the gathering of the seven most respected religious leaders the day before yesterday, calling for calm and calling for some kind of reconciliation, I think, was important. I think, at least we're on the right track here." [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning,
3/1/06]

Romney Flip-Flops on Health Care...Again

Tonight Romney Defended His Massachusetts Healthcare Plan: He was asked "A year ago it seemed like you couldn't wait to tell about your health care experiment in Massachusetts. It's been criticized as something Hillary Clinton could be devised. You hardly mention it on your website. What's changed? Tonight Romney answered: "I love it. It's a fabulous program. I'm delighted that in our state we worked together across the aisle to find a way to get health care for all of our citizens, it's affordable and portable" [MSNBC, 5/3/07]

But Earlier This Year, Romney Distanced Himself From Health Care Plan. Mitt Romney distanced himself from his signature healthcare plan after potential hurdles emerged. Romney lowered expectations for the law he championed as governor. The healthcare plan offering near-universal health coverage was the centerpiece of Romney's administration. Romney's attempts to distance himself from the plan underscore how sensitive an issue the plan is with conservative audiences. The Boston Globe reports: "Many conservatives view the concept of requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, and penalizing some businesses that don't offer it, as anathema to their principles." [Boston Globe, 2/3/07]

Last Year, Romney Signed Landmark Healthcare Legislation. In 2006, Governor Mitt Romney signed landmark legislation today that would make health insurance available to every resident of Massachusetts within three years. Romney said, "An achievement like this comes around once in a generation, and it proves that government can work when people of both parties reach across the aisle for the common good. Today, Massachusetts is leading the way with health insurance for everyone, without a government takeover and without raising taxes." [Governor Romney Press Release, 4/12/06]