New Democrat Update

PETER COORS - BITTER BEER MAN

Attempting to do an extreme makeover in record time, Peter Coors wants Coloradans to believe that he is a pragmatist and consensus-builder. On the day before his announcement for the U.S. Senate, he was quoted in the Denver Post, “I would characterize myself as a peacemaker. I’m good at bringing people together to solve problems.”

In the Rocky Mountain News that same day, criticizing past boycotts of Coors beer, he said, “Listen, I’ve been fighting boycotts all my life. And I find boycotts really come (for) two reasons. First of all, people need something to rally around to support their own cause. And secondly it’s because they’re unwilling to sit down and discuss and try to figure out common ground for you to actually work together on something and solve problems.”

Voters should not and will not be so easily fooled. Without question, Coors’ money speaks much louder and more sincerely than his mouth. As documented by the Rocky Mountain News, his political and “charitable” contributions fund right-wing extremists including U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the Heritage Foundation and the Free Congress Foundation. No reasonable person could ever characterize any of those candidates or organizations as pragmatic problem-solvers seeking to build consensus.

On the first anniversary of 9/11, the Colorado DLC e-mailed a New Dem Daily, entitled “Never Forget: We're Still Under Attack.” The commentary focused “on the work still to be done to secure our safety as a nation.” In the spirit of bipartisanship, it went on, “We still have to show resolve and unity on a continuing basis, so that our enemies do not again make the mistake of believing we will surrender to their demands the moment any sacrifice is required.”

Incredibly, that unifying message caused Coors to lose his partisan temper and spew wildly, inaccurate accusations. On the same day he contributed $25,000 to the Colorado Republican Committee, his email response to the DLC included, “It’s your party that has continually tried to reduce the defense budget. It was leaders in your party who demanded that the FBI and the CIA not cross communicate. It was leaders in your party who prevented the FBI and the CIA from hiring the type of ‘unsavory’ individuals who might have uncovered the plot against our country. It was your (?) President that had not the courage to react aggressively to continuous assaults on U.S. assets and individuals around the world.”

After thanking Coors for his feedback, the Colorado DLC responded with three specific examples of national security policy disagreements that New Democrats have had with the Bush administration. (See the full transcript of the emails). It concluded by requesting a meeting to discuss these important issues.

Coors replied, “I doubt that it would be very constructive for us to meet. We have way too many fundamental differences... You believe that George Bush stole the presidencey (sic). I believe the democrats (sic) stole the Senate leadership. We'll just have to see what happens in November.”

One must have a very vivid imagination to see how Coors could have come to those conclusions about the Colorado DLC’s views on the disputed 2000 election and U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords’ defection from the Republican Party. Of course, his reply is really indicative of how he sees the world - polarizing, irreconcilable differences that cannot be overcome. In his mind, what is the point of discussing? The Colorado DLC sent still another conciliatory message reaching out and requesting a meeting, to no avail.

Voters will recognize that the real Peter Coors is a right-wing, polarizing, all-or-nothing partisan who sees the “other side” as illegitimate, unreasonable and yes maybe, even evil. The best advertising agencies on Madison Avenue will no be able to change that simple reality. Soon enough, it will become clear that he lacks the flexibility, imagination and intellectual agility so desperately needed right now.

For Coloradans who want more of the same, old, bitter partisanship that so destructively dominates Washington and the U.S. Senate today, they should support Peter Coors. For the sake of America and Colorado, the rest of us should look elsewhere.

MENENDEZ TOUTS NATIONAL CONVERSATION

At a breakfast meeting last month, U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) urged over 30 Colorado state and local elected officials and other DLC supporters to attend the 2004 National Conversation on May 6-8 in Phoenix, Arizona. Menendez is the conference’s national recruitment chair.

You can still RSVP for the National Conversation but time is running short! For details, contact Jim Gibson today at jgibson@coloradodlc.org or 303-860-7183. U.S Senator John Kerry is delivering the keynote address. The DLC helps all elected officials with travel expenses.

The Congressman also provided an interesting and insightful update on the presidential and congressional races. His views on the upcoming challenges facing our party and New Democrats specifically were very thoughtful and insightful.

Rep. Menendez is Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and is the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House, the highest ranking Hispanic in Congressional history, and the only Hispanic ever elected to a leadership position, in either chamber, by either party. In addition to being the first Democratic House Member from New Jersey elected to a leadership post, he is also the youngest member of the elected Democratic Leadership.

The Colorado DLC sincerely thanks Congressman Menendez for his great presentation!

FIGHTING CRIME, FIGHTING THE LEFT

State House Democratic Leader Andrew Romanoff is working hard to plug the state’s leaky criminal parole system. Under his proposal, inspired by Joe Cannata, whose pregnant daughter was stabbed to death in 1987, first-time violent offenders would have to serve at least 75 percent of their sentence, doubling the current minimum time now required in prison. The bill should be on its way to the governor’s desk sometime soon.

State Rep. Romanoff’s initiative makes a lot of common sense. Tougher sentencing deters would-be violent criminal behavior - and it spares members of the victims’ families from the pain of repeated parole hearings.

Unfortunately, some on the traditional left are raising objections, falsely alleging that the bill robs schools to fund more prisons. In fact, it only adds an estimated 3½ prisoners a year.

Through a lot of work at all levels of government, Democrats have recently established a new degree of credibility on crime issues. It has been done by strongly supporting tougher sentencing, implementing state-of-the-art crime-fighting technology and putting more police on the streets.

Despite some progress over the years, violent crime is still way too high. Today’s Americans, especially the inner-city poor, are victimized by violent crime at rates at or above those that would make our parents and grandparents wince. Besides, citizens think about crime in terms of their personal safety, not in abstract statistics.

Romanoff is right, both substantively and politically, to stand up to those in our party who are more focused on excuse-making rather than real crime-fighting. The traditional left should never forget that making our streets, neighborhoods, and public places safe for law-abiding citizens is a fundamental responsibility of government, a critical measurement of our quality of life, and key to reviving our urban areas.