|
|
THIS SATURDAY: The 2020 Obama Political Palooza |
|
NEW: Former vice president Joe Biden and Congressman Eric Swalwell will be joining the honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Stacey Abrams, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, and more! The 3rd Annual Obama Event: Virtual Edition |
|
.png "Image")
|
Have you gotten your pass or purchased a sponsorship yet? The Colorado Democratic Party's Obama Political Palooza is getting bigger and bigger with the additions of former HUD Secretary Julián Castro and Senator Amy Klobuchar to our current lineup of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and the honorables Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Stacey Abrams!
MAJOR DEADLINE ALERT: You have until TODAY to purchase a pass or sponsorship to ensure you get your link to participate in the 2020 Obama Political Palooza! Click here to secure your spot now!
If you have already purchased your sponsorship or pass, you must choose whether you want a Colorado Dems Pride Swag Pack or a Harry and David's Gift Basket. |
|
|
Email Parker Fiske to make your choice! |
|
REMEMBER: The Colorado Democratic Party's annual Obama Event is our single biggest fundraising event of the year. The event is a critical part in funding the 2020 Win Plan -- which, as we've all seen in recent weeks, is even more important than ever to defeating Donald Trump and Cory Gardner.
By purchasing a pass or a sponsorship, you can help ensure Colorado will be able to pay the staff needed on the ground, and that we'll be able to equip them with the technology and supplies they need to out-organize the Republicans! |
|
|
|
The 2020 Obama Event Awardees |
|
|
You nominated, and you voted! We're so proud that with this new virtual format for the 2020 Obama Event, we will have the honor of celebrating these incredible Democrats from all across the state! |
|
|
|
Mail Your Ballot By Monday June 22! |
|
The June 30, 2020 primary election is less than 13 days away, and your ballots have been mailed! Make sure to keep an eye out for them so you can vote in the non-presidential Democratic primary and choose who you want to be your Dem nominees to be in November! |
|
.png "Image")
|
|
|
This Week In Making a Difference |
|
2020 Win Stops -- Virtual Edition! |
|
.jpg "Image")
|
Be on the lookout for your invite! |
|
SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, June 27 at 11:00AM (Montrose, Fremont, Delta, Elbert) Flipping Red Seats in Rural Red Counties!
Tuesday, July 7 at 7:00PM (Jefferson, Arapahoe, Larimer, Adams, Pueblo) Winning in Large Swing Districts!
Saturday, July 11 at 5:00PM Winning in Medium Swing Districts! |
|
|
|
Work for the 2020 Wave Webinars |
|
.gif "Image")
|
SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming "Work for the Wave" webinars! |
|
Monday, June 29, 2020 @ 6:00PM MST Volunteer Recruitment (Hosted by Karin Asensio) Volunteers are the lifeblood of any campaign. Learn from our volunteer coordinator how you can engage with volunteers to get the word out about getting Dems elected! (Keep an eye out for an invite!) |
|
Monday, July 13, 2020 @ 6:00PM MST Down Ballot Races (Hosted by Karin Asensio and David Pourshoushtari) The Presidency and the U.S. Senate aren't the important seats that are up for grabs this November. It's important that Dems win everywhere -- from district attorneys' offices to school board, winning down ballot races is critical to building a permanently blue state. Learn how! (Keep an eye out for an invite!) |
|
Monday, July 20, 2020 @ 6:00PM MST E-Canvassing 101 (Hosted by Karin Asensio and Tyler McDermott) In this era of social distancing, campaigning looks a lot different than it typically does. Have no fear though -- there are still effective techniques to reaching voters! Learn how with our volunteer coordinator and our statewide field director! |
|
|
|
Trainings to be a Better Ally |
|
|
Want to learn how to become a better ally to your neighbors of color and to combat white supremacy? Here's a few trainings coming up! |
|
White Anti-Racist Allyship: Beyond the Basics
Are you someone looking to deepen your understanding of oppression, privilege, and your role in combating racism as a white ally beyond your initial introduction into this subject? Then this training is for you.
|
|
|
|
A History of Race and White Supremacy in the U.S.
How did we get here? How did racism emerge as a such a pervasive social structure in the U.S.? What is the reality of "race"? It's a question many of us have asked at one time or another, and it has a clear answer.
|
|
|
|
Dynamic Allyship Group Conversations
|
|
|
|
HELP WANTED: New Positions to Apply For! |
|
|
We're staffing up in preparation for the 2020 General Election! Colorado is a battleground state, and we're looking for scrappy, driven, politically savvy organizers to join our team! Specifically, we're looking for Field Organizers, Latino Community Organizers, African American Community Organizers, a Deputy Data Director, Deputy Field Directors, and Regional Field Directors.
Job Descriptions:
|
|
|
|
Local Candidates of the Week |
|
|
Candidate: Lynn Baca https://www.lynnbaca.co/ Office Running for: Adams County Commissioner, D5 Why this matters: Lynn is running to succeed outgoing Democratic commissioner Mary Hodge. County Commissioners have a lot of power and influence on the most local policies that impact you directly. Having a progressive county commission can ensure your community grows responsibly and adopts policies that make all feel welcome.
|
|
|
Candidate: Tony Exum (Incumbent) https://www.tonyexum.com Office Running for: House District 17 Why this matters: State Rep. Tony Exum is currently serving in his third term in this Colorado Springs House District. A former Battalion Fire Chief, Exum is known for his bipartisan record and reputation as an effective policy maker. This session, a notable bill he passed focuses on housing assistance for families struggling under the COVID-19-caused economic turmoil.
|
|
Dems Leading the Way |
|
"Democrats met the Moment" -- Historical Session Ends with Much Progress Made |
|
|
Photo Credit: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite |
|
Dems Deliver in Historic Session! From the CDP Website
In a legislative session that started, stopped, and started again while being described as “an 11 on the weird scale” by Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, Colorado Democrats in the House and Senate carried the momentum from their historically productive 2019 session. In the midst of a global pandemic and the murder of a black man by a police officer that shook our nation to its core, Colorado Democrats met the moment with policies that garnered major bipartisan support.
“The common thread of all the Democratic-led bills we saw passed this year was that Democrats fought for the health, safety, and well-being of all of our communities while holding the powerful and corrupt accountable. At a time when leadership in Washington, D.C. was nonexistent amidst a global pandemic, and when Trump’s botched COVID-19 response drove us into a historic economic and unemployment ditch, Democrats delivered to support our struggling small businesses and working families,” said Morgan Carroll, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party.
“When Donald Trump chose to hide in his bunker while peaceful protestors cried out for justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Democrats met the moment to make Colorado one of the first to pass historic police reform and accountability legislation, with bipartisan support that did not seem possible just weeks ago. These types of results Democrats delivered are exactly what Coloradans voted for in 2018, and I imagine Coloradans will keep these historic results in mind when they elect Democrats up and down the ticket this November,” Carroll concluded.
Also, remember: If Colorado Republicans in the House and Senate had it their way, they wouldn’t have even come back to work at all.
Among the most notable bills passed:
|
|
|
|
"Sometimes We Make History, and Sometimes History makes Us." |
|
|
Photo Credit: AAron Ontieveroz, The Denver Post |
|
After pandemic and protests, Colorado lawmakers close the books on 2020 session
A Colorado legislative session unlike any other wrapped on Monday, with lawmakers having passed a slew of major reforms but shelving others due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sometimes we make history, and sometimes history makes us,” said House Majority Leader Alec Garnett, D-Denver, of the session’s strange circumstances.
The session concludes after just 84 days of lawmaking, well short of the typical 120 days. It also concludes more than a month behind schedule. Both facts are results of the virus’ spread shutting down the Capitol for two and a half months, from mid-March to late May.
Three days after returning to the building, lawmakers shut it down once again for two days as protests against police violence swirled outside.
This was the second year of a new era of total Democratic control of Colorado state government. In early January, when the session began, the majority party laid out some of its biggest priorities for the year, including repealing the death penalty, passing at least two new gun reforms, creating a public heath insurance option, creating a statewide paid family and medical leave program, passing new air quality standards and improving monitoring, passing stricter vaccine exemption standards and finding new money for transportation projects.
About half of that work was accomplished. The session ends with the public option, family leave, gun reforms and transportation all unresolved, among other matters. Some of the bills Democrats didn’t have time for; others they could no longer afford due to an expected $3.3 billion budget hole created by the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Democrats have vowed to continue discussion on a public health insurance option into next year, while family leave may be resolved on the ballot in November.
“This session was nothing any of us could’ve predicted,” said Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo. “Despite our challenges, I’m extremely proud of the work we were able to accomplish together.”
|
|
|
|
Crow, Impeachment Managers: Trump "As Lawless and Corrupt as Ever." |
|
|
House impeachment managers: Trump is as lawless and corrupt as ever
Four months ago, we tried President Trump for abusing the power of his office in ways that undermined our country’s national security, the integrity of U.S. elections and the constitutional structure of our republic. Trump’s efforts to coerce an ally to help him cheat in the upcoming election violated the public trust, went to the heart of his unfitness for office — and revealed that he prioritizes his interests over those of the nation.
The president was not changed by impeachment. He is as lawless and corrupt as ever. But his wrongdoing has far greater consequences given the acute challenges facing the nation, the failure of those around him to curb destructive impulses, and the continued unwillingness of many members of Congress to serve as a meaningful check and balance as the Founders intended.
In just the few months since the impeachment trial, more than 110,000 Americans have perished from a pandemic, tens of millions are unemployed, the world has turned away from America, and protests over police brutality and systemic racism have erupted nationwide. Yet Americans looking for leadership find none in the White House. Instead, this president and his administration take actions that rend the foundation of our democracy.
After the trial concluded, Trump focused on undermining institutions that could provide accountability and transparency. He fired or removed five inspectors general for simply doing their jobs: including reporting on shortages of personal protective equipment and other gear in hospitals and investigating potential misconduct by the secretary of state.
The president has made clear his interest in turning the traditionally independent Justice Department into a political arm that can punish enemies and protect allies. In Attorney General William P. Barr, Trump has an enabler of that corrupt mission. Barr allows the president to intervene in criminal cases with implications for his personal interests, and Barr carries out Trump’s orders in shocking fashion.
Under Barr’s leadership, the Justice Department withdrew a sentencing recommendation for Trump political adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness intimidation. Barr’s Justice Department has moved to dismiss its case against Michael Flynn — Trump’s former national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Barr’s attacks on the department’s independence, over the objections of career federal prosecutors, have drawn widespread condemnation. Thousands of former prosecutors have called on Barr to resign.
Meanwhile, Trump has targeted an even more foundational element of democracy: the right to vote. The president has repeatedly sought to discredit voting by mail. Mail-in ballots are a safe and secure way to vote and are necessary during a viral pandemic.
We believe his attacks seek to undermine confidence in the results of the November elections.
Trump doesn’t even attempt to hide the political motivation for forcing Americans to choose between their health and their vote. He fears that if more Americans vote, his reelection will be imperiled. So instead of being more responsive to the will of the people, the president and his enablers seek to disenfranchise millions.
Trump’s destructive actions do not stop at undermining the rule of law, elections or democracy itself. He targets U.S. citizens, too.
In the days since the horrific murder of George Floyd, hundreds of thousands have marched against police brutality and systemic racism, and peacefully protested for justice and change. In response, Trump called in troops and sought to use the military against peaceful Americans, betraying those in uniform and endangering public support for an institution that must be apolitical. His cronies have ordered protesters gassed and targeted with rubber bullets — all for a photo op. Trump has endorsed and encouraged violence. He has amplified false claims that protesters are “terrorists.” His words and actions have divided citizens and inflamed tensions just when the country needs to come together and address racism.
The president cannot carry out his malignant agenda alone. He needs the help of willing accomplices in his administration and in Congress. And he needs the silence of many others. Our country long ago passed the point where silence is complicity. History will not be kind to those who remain mute.
We applaud those who speak out. Former defense secretary Jim Mattis rebuked Trump last week and warned of the threat the president poses to democracy. Former secretary of state Colin Powell has said he cannot support Trump for reelection because “the president has drifted away from” the Constitution.
In February, we wrote about the need for moral courage to help save our Constitution and democracy. This is as true as ever. Elected leaders, past and present administration officials, and conscientious citizens still have a chance to defend our republic.
Now is the time to stand up and be heard. The nation we all love needs your voices, more than ever.
During his trial, we observed that a man with no moral compass will never find his way. Trump never will. But it is not too late for those leaders who have enabled Trump’s destruction of so much we all hold dear to find theirs.
Adam Schiff (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Tex.) and Jason Crow (Colo.) were the Democratic House managers in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
|
|
|
|
Neguse Talks Justice in Policing Act, Trump's Juneteeth Misstep |
|
|
Rep. Neguse: Policing bill will address issues in a 'systemic way'
Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) joins Ayman Mohyeldin to discuss a bill he is sponsoring, the Justice in Policing Act, which is expected to be brought to the house floor later this month. Neguse says he hopes the bill, which advocates for more police oversight, will be supported by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
|
|
|
|
Trump, Gardner, & GOP Watch |
|
Trump Tanking in the Polls |
|
|
Trump's favourite pollster puts him 12 points behind Joe Biden
Donald Trump has been hit by a rash of polls showing Joe Biden pulling ahead of him – and now, a new survey by Scott Rasmussen for website Just the News shows him falling behind Mr Biden nationally by 12 points.
According to Mr Rasmussen’s results, Mr Biden would win 48 per cent of the national vote to Mr Trump’s 36 if there election were held today. It would worry any sitting president to poll at less than 40 per cent at this point in the election, but Mr Trump is especially invested in his own numbers, which he regularly shows off on Twitter.
The latest poll will be particularly galling for the president given it comes from Mr Rasmussen, founder of Rasmussen Reports. The company is one of the only pollsters whose results Mr Trump routinely cites when celebrating his own numbers. frequently writing that it was an outlier in predicting he would win the 2016 election.
However, the company has previously been criticised for its methodology, which some say tends to produce Republican-tilted results, and the data analysis website FiveThirtyEight has rated it only C+ for quality.
And while the company’s prediction for that election was indeed one of the closest among the major pollsters, it did not in fact predict Mr Trump would win the popular vote – and nor did he, instead losing it to Hillary Clinton by one point.
Mr Biden’s numbers, meanwhile, are holding up steadily across numerous polls, and not just nationally. Recent surveys show him almost tying Mr Trump in Iowa, which Mrs Clinton lost badly, and trouncing the president in Michigan, one of Mr Trump’s most important and narrowest victories.
Across the board, Mr Biden is now polling slightly better against Mr Trump than Mrs Clinton was at this distance from election day. However, the comparison is somewhat muddled by the advent of the coronavirus pandemic and knock-on recession and the relatively early and smooth end to the Democratic primary; at this point in 2016, Bernie Sanders had not yet conceded the race.
|
|
|
|
Gardner's Greenwashing Elicits Groans |
|
|
In An Election Year, 2 Vulnerable GOP Senators Are Suddenly Conservationists
Public lands activists and a handful of lawmakers have long pushed for full, permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program established in 1964 that uses offshore oil and gas revenues to establish and protect parks, wildlife refuges, forests and wildlife habitat.
But anti-federal-land conservatives, appalled at the thought of more money being used to expand and improve the federal estate, have always stood in the way. The program has been funded at the full $900 million allowed by law only twice in its history.
Now two vulnerable Republicans are among those championing a bipartisan conservation bill that would permanently and fully fund the LWCF, as well as allocate $9.5 billion to address the mounting maintenance backlog at America’s national parks. Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), co-sponsors of the bill, are claiming credit for the win after the bill advanced by an 80-17 vote this week. A vote on final passage is expected early next week.
“We are on the cusp of passing the most historic conservation legislation in 50 years,” Daines said during a Tuesday news conference on Capitol Hill. “And isn’t it ironic that it will take public lands to bring a divided government and a divided nation together.”
In March, Daines and Gardner announced they had secured an about-face from President Donald Trump, a longtime foe of the LWCF who has worked to weaken safeguards for nearly 35 million federal acres. The Trump administration’s budget proposal for 2020 called for all but eliminating funding for the LWCF, from $156 million down to just $7.6 million.
During a meeting at the White House in February, Gardner told Trump that passing a public lands bill would be the biggest conservation win since President Theodore Roosevelt established national parks, refuges and forests across the country in the early 1900s, The New York Times reported this week. Invoking Roosevelt was apparently all it took to get the president to change his stance. Trump’s Interior Department has said it is creating “a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt;” a bold claim that simply does not match reality.
|
|
|
|
Volunteers of the Week |
|
|
|
|
Meet Mara Abernathy -- one of our new interns here at Team CDP! We checked in with Mara so she could introduce herself, and explain why she's excited to work at the CDP!
Hello! My name is Mara and I’m an intern with the CDP. I am almost a Colorado native, having spent all but three years of my life in Colorado Springs. I love exploring my beautiful home state, I’m an avid hiker with a passion for exploring Colorado’s public lands! Currently, I’m a student-athlete at Northern Arizona University, where I’m studying Philosophy, Politics and Law and playing Division One volleyball. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to play the game I love while furthering my education.
I’m excited to intern with the CDP and have the opportunity to further conservation in Colorado and support conservation-minded candidates in our state. |
|
Do you want to intern or volunteer with the Colorado Dems? Reach out to our volunteer coordinator Karin Asensio at [email protected], and see how YOU CAN GET INVOLVED! |
|
Join the Elbow Bumpers Club! |
|
.gif "ELBOW BUMP!")
|
What's the Elbow Bumpers Club (formerly known as the High Fivers Club), you ask? It started with a simple idea: There are nearly 1.2 million registered Democrats in Colorado -- what if every single one of them gave just $5 a month to the Colorado Democratic Party (CDP)?
Answer: The CDP would be the best-funded state party in the country -- with zero dollars from corporate PACs and plenty for flipping red seats to blue!
Here's the reality -- the Colorado Dems are working in overdrive to keep the wheels of democracy moving forward, and now is a time when we could really use your help! If you haven't joined the High Fivers Club (temporarily known as the Elbow Bumpers Club now) -- please consider a few reasons to give!
Click the gif below to join the Elbow Bumpers Club! |
|
The Funnies! |
|
|
Share the Dispatch |
|
If you know someone interested in receiving our weekly newsletter, they can sign up here! |
|
|
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic Party of Colorado are not tax deductible |
|
|
|
