Welcome to Demver

Hundreds of journalists are in town for a Democratic National Convention briefing at the Pepsi Center today, a taste of the thousands who will descend on this city next August. Last night, the journalists got their own taste of Denver at a reception at the Wynkoop Brewing Company, the town’s…

Delegating Denver #17 of 56: Illinois

View larger image Illinois Total Number of Delegates: 185 Pledged: 153 Unpledged: 32 How to Recognize an Illinois Delegate: Since October 12, 2007, Illinois state law requires all children to observe a moment of silence at the start of every school day. This is not some wishy-washy compromise cooked up…

A Party Goes Dry

While Coloradans raised their glasses last September in a coordinated toast to British beer expert and frequent Colorado visitor Michael Jackson, who died on August 30 at the age of 65, they will lower their glasses today to salute Earl Dodge, the six-time Prohibition Party presidential candidate and longtime Denver…

Delegating Denver #16 of 56: Idaho

View larger image. Idaho Total Number of Delegates: 23 Pledged: 18 Unpledged: 5 How to Recognize an Idaho Delegate: Strangeness happens all over the world, but it seems to concentrate in Idaho. Just google the phrase “strange + Idaho” and prepare to get busy reading stories about straight senators seeking…

Delegating Denver #15 of 56: Hawaii

View larger image. Hawaii Total Number of Delegates: 29 Pledged: 20 Unpledged: 9 How to Recognize a Hawaii Delegate: Hawaii has always been considered a paradise on Earth. Not only for its stunningly beautiful landscape, but also for the hospitality of the state’s residents. The descendants of the early Hawaiians,…

Conspiracy Theories

In their Crocktober explanation of the World Series ticket nightmare, the new Colorado Rockies – or at least their managers – sounded a lot like the old Colorado Rockies, bumbling through the suggestion that the mess was created by “an external and malicious attack.” We haven’t heard such a crock…

Delegating Denver #14 of 56: Guam

View larger image Guam Total Number of Delegates: 9 Pledged: 4 Unpledged: 5 How to Recognize a Guam Delegate: Guamanians are gorgeous. Their exotic mix of Malay, Chamorro, Filipino, Spanish, Asian, and American ancestry has produced people who are extremely easy on the eyes. Although the Pacific island is a…

Delegating Denver #13 of 56: Georgia

View larger image Georgia Total Number of Delegates: 104 Pledged: 87 Unpledged: 17 How to Recognize a Georgia Delegate: Everyone hates Georgia, and they always have. That’s why Gone With the Wind has been America’s all-time favorite movie. It tells the story of General Sherman’s attempt to burn the state…

Delegating Denver #12 of 56: Florida

View larger image Florida Total Number of Delegates: 210* Pledged: 185* Unpledged: 25 *The Democratic National Committee has threatened to reduce these numbers by half if the Florida Democratic Party does not move its caucus date from January 29, 2008, to February 5, 2008, or later. How to Recognize a…

Delegating Denver #11 of 56: District of Columbia

View larger image District of Columbia Total Number of Delegates: 37 Pledged: 15 Unpledged: 22 How to Recognize a District of Columbia Delegate: Harry Truman said that if you want a friend in Washington, D.C., get a dog. John F. Kennedy said that D.C. is a town of southern efficiency…

The Tom-Tom Club

Although Florida’s movers-and-shakers may not pay much attention to Tom Tancredo, he definitely has his supporters. Laura Leighton of Tucson, for example, who over the weekend sent Westword a spirited, if out-of-right-field, defense of the Colorado congressman, repeated verbatim below: You’ve got your traitors wrong! Traitors are the people who…

Beating the Tom-Tom

Tom Tancredo will never be president. Shocking, I know, given his spot in the back of the pack of Republican candidates.But in Denver, where the sixth congressional district representative can grab a headline faster than he’d nuke Mecca, we have an outsized view of the impact that Tancredo has had…

Delegating Denver #10 of 56: Dems Abroad

View larger image. Democrats Abroad Total Number of Delegates: 11 Pledged: 7 Unpledged: 4 How to Recognize a Democrats Abroad Delegate: Dems Abroad are the luckiest of all the delegates. They draw their ranks from Peace Corps volunteers, embassy personnel, artists and glamorous Hollywood movie stars. They are the American…

The Donkey’s Ass

Anti-abortion protesters rallied outside the Pepsi Center yesterday, giving Denver just a taste of what’s going to hit this town next August, when the Democratic National Convention convenes here. The city got another preview earlier this month, when CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) filled the Colorado Convention Center…

Delegating Denver #9 of 56: Delaware

View larger image Delaware Total Number of Delegates: 23 Pledged: 15 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Delaware Delegate: The Quakers who ruled Pennsylvania originally wanted to annex Delaware to expand Philadelphia’s southern suburbs, but the Catholics in Maryland refused to let them. While these two states bickered, the Methodists…

Delegating Denver #8 of 56: Connecticut

View larger image. Connecticut Total Number of Delegates: 61 Pledged: 48 Unpledged: 13 How to Recognize a Connecticut Delegate: Prepare to be astonished. Despite the gender-specific clothing worn by delegates from Connecticut, their facial and physical features are absolutely gender-neutral. Connecticut men look just like Connecticut women, and vice versa!…

Delegating Denver #7 of 56: Colorado

View larger image. Colorado Total Number of Delegates: 71 Pledged: 55 Unpledged: 16 How to Recognize a Colorado Delegate: Colorado delegates are hard to see, especially if they’re standing behind a streetlight or a trash can, because Colorado residents tend to be thinner than the average American. Most will boast…

Delegating Denver #6 of 56: California

View larger image. California Total Number of Delegates: 441 Pledged: 370 Unpledged: 71 How to Recognize a California Delegate: If the United States of America was a high school and the residents of each state represented a different clique, Californians would be considered the “cool kids,” and California’s Democratic delegates…

Howard Dean v. The World’s Largest Rubberband Ball

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean blew into Denver mid-day Wednesday to kick off the one-year countdown to the Democratic National Convention. He stood on the sweltering concrete outside the Pepsi Center, along with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Ritter to pump up hundreds of party loyalists, thank…

Dems Come Out Swinging!

With Howard Dean in town today to start the one-year countdown to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I can finally reveal the secret that swung the DNC in this city’s direction: Swingers…

Chile Today, Hot Tomorrow

“When the Democrats finally get around to staging their national convention here next summer, they’ll discover an emerging dining scene long on diversity, short on superstar candidates and eager to shed its reputation as a culinary backwater.” That’s how Jerry Shriver starts his piece “Denver scales new epicurean heights” that…