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Colorado Democrats Saturday officially nominated Rep. Mark Udall for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Senator Wayne Allard. In accepting the nomination:
Flanked by his family on the floor of the World Arena, Udall, a congressman and fifth-generation Westerner, touted his self-described independence, innovative thinking and his ability to work with others as must-have credentials for the next senator serving Colorado.
Get ahead of holiday shopping this year!Gift 12 issues of 5280 magazine for just $16 »And he promised to continue building upon Colorado’s quest to find energy alternatives and creating “green” jobs in the state. “It’s not about right or left, Republican or Democrat. It’s about your future,” said Udall, who is serving his fifth term representing the Second Congressional District.
Udall took a shot at his challenger, former congressman and oil company exec Bob Schaffer:
We can’t afford another year of an energy policy written by the oil industry,” he said. “And we can’t afford to send another politician to Washington who stands up for the oil companies instead of the people and the future of our state.
You can read the full text of his comments here.
How did the final delegate count turn out for the presidential nomination? No tally yet, but from news reports, Sen. Clinton’s campaign honcho Terry McCauliffe, received less than a hospitable reception:
Though he drew wild cheers when calling for a united party, McAuliffe’s version of the primary popular vote drew boos and a long shouting match between the camps shouting “O-Bam-A!” and “Hill-AR-EE!”
A local blogger, obviously pro-Obama, writes:
[McCauliffe] closed with we have 2 great candidates, but we need to elect Hillary because she has a uterus. Repeated again that the primary will be over in 2 weeks. And once again that Colorado is the greatest state in the country. I don’t know how this guy every got to be chair of the DNC. It definitely was not for his speech-writing or presentation skills. Thank god it’s over. Wellington Webb was much much better.
Another live-blogger goes on and on about how the convention was a very disorganized, lengthy, unpleasant experience.
Yet another writes,
Judging by the chaos at the Doubletree in Colorado Springs last night, this is still true. If Colorado Dems don’t get their act together in the next three months, the national convention’s going to be a disaster of epic proportion.
I’m glad I missed the state convention. But I think predictions of chaos at the National Convention in August are premature and misguided. I attended the DNCC party Friday night at the JW Mariott in Cherry Creek. It was for convention workers, to celebrate being 100 days out from the convention. I had a lovely time. It was friendly, a little dressier than a work event, with a host bar and a dance band.
DNCC co-chair Steve Farber was on hand, greeting people as they entered. Rep. Ed Perlmutter was there, positively glowing about how much he loves being a Congressman. He got to be Speaker pro tem of the House for a day this week. and described in great detail a speech by California Congressman Dan Lungren. He flies home every weekend and doesn’t complain a bit about it. It’s great to see an elected official who really loves his job.
The DNCC press people were there as well as the IT folks, even DNCC Director Lea Dougherty. I introduced myself to her and she too was friendly, happy and optimistic.
So all I can say is whatever problems went down in Colorado Springs, from mingling among a hundred or so of those responsible for putting the Denver convention together, I have high hopes. There wasn’t a “Henny Penny the sky is falling” person in the crowd.