| We all knew Mike's campaign was a long shot, but if that was a long shot, then Hank's odds could have been measured in light years. Colorado Pols had it handicapped at 50 to 1. After having the rug pulled out from under me twice this year already, I just did not have the heart to go through another guaranteed loss so when I got the call to join Hank's team, I respectfully declined. I'm just not much on Quixotic quests.
It wasn't because I did not agree with Hank on policy, but my sense of pragmatism got the better of me. Hank, a former peace corps volunteer was running against an Iraq war vet in one of the reddest districts in the country, I mean, we are talking about the district that elected and maintained Tom Tancredo for 5 terms.
Note: My apologies to Hank Eng, his campaign staff, and the never speak ill of a democrat crowd for the passage that follows, but I'm part of the reality based community. I believe in telling it like it is even when it hurts.
To say Hank Eng was a lackluster candidate would frankly grant him more credit than he deserved. Hank was uniquely boring on the stump, giving speeches that were often too long, overly pedantic, far too intellectual for the knuckle-draggers in this district, and totally devoid of any hint of populism which meant he had no appeal to the working class voters of Aurora either. He was a candidate so utterly without charisma that he could have brought much needed relief to any insomniac who's Paxil proscription had run out.
If a democrat was to have even the slightest hint of a chance at this seat he would have to have at least some kind of appeal to the extreme right wing contingent based in Littleton (of Columbine fame), Highlands Ranch, and the regions bordering on the Colorado Springs (home of Focus on the Family) metropolitan area.
Mike Collins was a disabled and decorated vietnam vet who gave part of his body in service to this country. I felt that would give him some kind of an "in" in this reddest of god fearin', gun totin' districts. As previously mentioned he was a long shot to be sure, but at least he had a shot. My judgment (recently borne out by a 60-40 loss in a state that went 54-45 for Barack Obama) was that Hank Eng effectively had no real shot at all.
So when Mike dropped out of the race, I was dispirited but far too engaged to just drop out of the game altogether. Having been elected to the state delegation, I had an opportunity to hear Betsy Markey speak at the state democratic convention.
She was smart without coming off as pedantic, she spoke with real vigor without being preachy, and she had an aggressive populist manner that reminded me of Joe Biden when he get's into pit bull mode. When she spoke she did so with real conviction, she was not just rattling off talking points, she delivered her speech with gusto. I don't mean just a forceful presentation, I mean damn nearly as energetic as the fire and brimstone lectures I'd often heard in my youth growing up in the rural South.
There were other good speakers there too, Janet Napolitano, Wellington Webb, Mark Udall, Ken Salazar did his schtick (and believe me, if you've ever heard him give a speech to constituents, it really is all schtick, no substance to it), and Terry McAulife was there too (though he was practically booed off the stage). Betsy Markey clearly stole the show.
Well, I was hooked! Not just hooked, I was fired up. Here was a candidate I knew was going places. First thing Monday I called her office to ask if she was hiring any campaign staff or could at least use an experienced netroots consultant on a volunteer basis.
However, although I had been wowed by her performance at the convention, I still had my wits about me. I knew that she had been a protege of Ken Salazar and was worried she might have too much of a centrist bent for me to be able to support. So I asked a single question about her politics. I wanted to know her stand on FISA.
The campaign staff were friendly but unwilling to answer the question, however they did ask me to leave my telephone number. Now at this point, they had no idea who I was. To them I was just another democrat interested in her campaign. I figured I had just gotten a brush off from an overworked volunteer and that would be the end of it.
About half an hour later, my phone rang, much to my surprise it was Betsy herself. No campaign staffer with a canned answer, nor even one to introduce her. She just picked up the phone herself to call a potential supporter and give her position. I was very impressed with that. I knew how busy and chaotic her office must have been, and did not expect to receive a call directly from the candidate, but I sure got one. I really appreciated the fact that she took time to call some completely unknown person with no filters and directly answer a question about a political issue.
Clearly, she is someone who is not "above" her constituents, I believe she will be a very effective advocate for her district, the state of Colorado, and this Nation. Additionally, she gave me her take on FISA, she was dead set against it. Another point in her favor, although she had significant ties to Ken Salazar, she differed from him on a key issue of real importance. It means that she is her own woman, she is not just another hack reaping the benefits of Washington cronyism.
Add to that the fact that she absolutely crushed uber wingnut Marylin Musgrave in a traditionally red district and it's clear to see that she is and will be a force to be reckoned with. Although she has been more or less ignored by the netroots this cycle, I truly believe she is one of those better democrats we have been striving to send to Washington.
Epilogue:
By the way, I imagine if I don't mention this here it will generate questions. As it turned out I never did end up working for her campaign. The 91 mile commute from my home was just too much of a stretch for me to do with any frequency. I ended up volunteering for Barack Obama instead and gave some consulting advice to state house and senate candidates instead. Most of that turned out well enough for me!
|
RSS Feed
