The day after: Part two
I'm supposed to be happy today.Across America, voters chose responsible, ethical government over divisive cultural bickering. Rumsfeld is out for good; Nancy Pelosi is in for now. In Colorado we held on to the state house and the state senate. We passed a minimum wage increase. And most importantly, we elected Bill Ritter governor of Colorado.
More than a dozen people have stopped me today to say, "Congratulations." Or, "You won." Or, "I bet you're happy."
What can I tell them? Yes, I'm happy. But it's not like I'm doing cartwheels down the 16th Street Mall. As partisan as I am, for me yesterday wasn't only about D's and R's. About likely pickups and tense recounts. About red and blue graphs on a TV screen.
It was about people who I've come to like and respect.
Today is the day after Bill Winter and Angie Paccione and Jay Fawcett and Angela Engel and Keely Marrs and Mollie Cullom and Fern O'Brien and Paula Noonan lost. After a wretchedly managed system in Denver may have cost Ken Gordon and Steve Ludwig the election. After hundreds of voters walked away from crowded polls without casting ballots.
Politics is not a football game. Nothing is ever black and white. I am happy. But I'm also tired, sad and a bit hungover.
In the newspaper stands around Denver, I see big headlines. They say that this is my day. It's just not that simple.
Photo courtesy of Colorado's governor-elect, Bill Ritter.
9 Comments:
Bill Winter didn't do the work to deserve to win. He lost 60-40, which was almost as bad as Conti lost in 2004 and she didn't have the benefit of a Democratic wave sweeping the state.
I think you show him too much blind faith.
I really loved the candidates as well. I only worked for Winter, but I really loved Paccione. Amazing not even she could win that district.
Winter's a rook, the commenter above should have some leniancy. Yes, he made LOTS of mistakes and never had a solid platform, but he DID work hard for it.
If he ever chooses to run again, he would almost certainly improve upon the mistakes of this campaign.
As for you, Matt, very nice to finally meet ya. I have a pic of you with Jay Marvin on my blog. No one would think it's you though because I had no way of taking a pic from the other side without getting arrested by 9 News. :-)
http://zablanc.blogspot.com/2006/11/jay-marvin-of-am-760.html
Anon, when you say I show Winter too much bling faith, you're not wrong. I felt - still feel - that Winter is an inspirational guy who would have brought some dignity to the district where I was raised. I made sure everybody knew that while I am a "political commentator," I'm first and foremost an "advocate." You're not ever going to catch me bashing Dem nominees just to make myself look smart. I'm not sure who I'll support if there is a Democratic primary in CD6 in 2006. Still, it was a pleasure to meet and volunteer for Bill Winter.
John Blanco, nice to finally meet you as well! Nice job on all the killed photos of last night. When I update my links, I'll make sure to blogroll you.
I am an idiot who needs some sleep. When I wrote "bling faith," I meant "blind faith." And when I wrote "killed photos," I meant "killer photos." Whoops.
"Bling Faith" - you talkin' about New Life?
Anyway, great analysis.......
Matt,
Don't feel down about what wasn't accomplished in this election cycle. So much was accomplished, and there will always be more to do to make Colorado and our nation better. You, personally, made a difference - a big difference. I watched it play out on your Web site and your unselfish volunteer efforts. Hold you chin up. Be a little smug in your contributions. You did great!!! I personally admire all that you did.
Thanks, Zap and anon. As DemNotes wrote, "Now the hard work begins."
It's natural to feel let down over the great candidates who didn't win but we accomplished so much, both here and on the national level, and we couldn't have done it without dedicated, passionate bloggers like you! You can be sure you helped many people get involved by providing the latest info and great links. You made it easier for people who hadn't volunteered before to give it a try. You helped push people to stay with it through the end to fight the Republican GOTV with our own best mid-term GOTV ever. Thanks for everything you do and be happy. We have an almost ALL Dem state government, a Dem congress in Washington and the Bush administration is finally willing to get serious about a real search for a better plan for Iraq. Two years ago, who could have imagined this much progress?
I think Bill Winter did the best he could with what he had...or rather, what he did not have - ie money. He WAS a noob and you have to take that into account.
What Bill did have going for him was honesty and integrity. If he does run for the same seat in 2008 I will be the first volunteer that offers to help.
I'm still convinced that Bill was the right candidate for the seat. We missed this time. If there is a next time, I'll go on record as saying that Bill will win.
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