Winter-Warner event: Part 2

As many have pointed out, this blog doesn't dole out praise and blame in equal measure. It's mostly blame. Never lies or slander, but certainly blame.

Our environment is falling apart. Our country is less safe. The longterm outlook for our economy is sour. We aren't positioning ourselves to compete globally. Our healthcare system is a mess. And our government is monitoring more and more of our private lives.

What can I say? There's a lot of blame to go around.

In 83 days, we can change that. This year, the CDP worked hard to find visionary, positive candidates that provide a credible alternative to six years of Republican incompetence. And maybe the most visionary, the most positive among them is CD6 Democratic nominee Bill Winter.

Not too long ago, a bunch of activists, including myself, took it upon ourselves to help get Winter the recognition he needed to win CD6. We worked Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund. And stayed up late begging our friends and family to vote for Winter at Mark Warner's Forward Together.

Tonight, we got to enjoy some of the fruits of our labors as Warner, a likely 2008 presidential contender, visited Colorado to raise money for Winter's campaign.

Winter isn't one to hog the spotlight. He asked all the Colorado Democrats running in tight congressional races to join him for the fundraiser. And so the evening was transformed into a celebration of what the future could be if we all put the hammer down over the next few weeks.

Imagine a world where our scientists had the tools they needed to save the lives of sick Americans. Where the executive branch wasn't allowed unfettered access to the private lives of American citizens. Where Colorado got to decide what to do with its own land. Where every American citizen had access to efficient, effective healthcare. Where we could save our economy and our environment at the same time. And where we focused on defeating terrorists, instead of wasting more than a trillion taxpayer dollars creating an Islamic government in Iraq.

It's not wide-eyed idealism. It's optimism. It's believing in America. And tonight, I got to meet some of the people who I think can make it happen.

Photo, from left: Bill Winter, Diana DeGette, Angie Paccione, Ed Perlmutter and Jay Fawcett.