Coyote Gulch

Friday, September 12, 2003

Johnny Cash
Back in the eighties I got to sing backup for Johnny Cash at Mile High Stadium. Of course I was singing with a few thousand other people in the choir at a Billy Graham get together.
The photo below, and post, is from Ed Cone:

RIP, Johnny Cash. Thanks for the music. We broke the kids in on "A boy named Sue," of course, but over time "Will the circle be unbroken?" became a staple of family car trips. What could be more American than four Jews in an imported car singing along to a tale of rural poverty and heavenly grace? (Thanks to Mr. Sun for the photo.)
[EdCone.com]
7:26:58 PM

Denver November 2003 Election
A pre-election water war is underway between the proponents and opponents of Referendum A according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 12, 2003, "Sides clash on water referendum"]. From the article, "Two Denver lawmakers who oppose Referendum A - Democratic state Sens. Dan Grossman and Peter Groff - warned it would reopen past wounds in fights over water ... The exchange came as the two Democrats held a news conference at the Capitol to let voters know it isn't only the Western Slope that opposes a $2 billion water bonding plan on the November ballot. Twenty-four Front Range lawmakers voted against it, they said." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [September 12, 2003, "24 Front Range Dems oppose water proposal"]. From the article, "In a contest many are describing as the latest showdown over water between Colorado's rural communities and fast-growing cities, 24 Front Range legislators, all Democrats, joined many of their Western Slope counterparts Thursday in opposition to Referendum A." Check out the Post article. It includes poll results from August 16th on all 3 statewide ballot issues.
The Rocky [September 12, 2003, "The Stump, September 12"] is reporting that, "Save Colorado's Water has launched the first radio ads backing Referendum A, a ballot initiative that would allow Colorado to borrow $2 billion to build water projects."
You won't get a chance to go to the polls in Denver county on November 4th. The City has decided to hold an mail-in ballot only election according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 12, 2003, "Most metro counties choose mail-in ballots"]. I wonder if how will this effect the vote for Charter Changes. I think there will be a very low voter turnout this election.
The Rocky Mountain News [September 12, 2003, "Why take a chance with Wembley?"] editorial staff does not want the state to jump into bed with Wembley according to an editorial published today. They wanted to weigh in on the controversy around the indictment of two Wembley officials in Rhode Island and affirm their opposition to the Amendment.
5:34:59 AM

2004 Presidential Election
According to the AP [September 12, 2003, "Clark Poised for 2004 Presidential Race"] former general Wesley Clark is about "to enter the presidential race as the 10th Democratic candidate." Fans of Clark have been urging him to run for quite a while now, even building a grassroots movement draftwesleyclark.com and at draftclark.com. I haven't reported on this because he was not a declared candidate. Up until a couple of weeks ago he hadn't even declared if he was a Democrat or Republican. He recently assured voters that he is, in fact, a Democrat.
This really makes the race interesting. Most of the current crop of Democratic candidates would love to have Clark on board as the potential vice president. Being an ex-military man will be both an asset and liability for Clark. From the article, "Clark has a resume that unnerves potential rivals - Rhodes scholar, first in his 1966 class at West Point, White House fellow, head of the U.S. Southern Command and NATO commander during the 1999 campaign in Kosovo. Dean's effort to solidify his front-runner status might suffer from the distraction of a Clark candidacy. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts would no longer be the race's only decorated combat veteran. Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Bob Graham of Florida would face another Southerner. If he enters the race, Clark would benefit from the support of a legion of Arkansas Democrats who helped Clinton get to the White House, including Skip Rutherford and Bruce Lindsey. Clinton has not taken sides in the nomination fight, but his glowing assessment of Clark in private talks has been noted by his oldest allies."
"Clark believes his four-star military service would counter Bush's political advantage as a wartime commander in chief, friends say. The retired general has been critical of the Iraq war and Bush's postwar efforts, positions that would put him alongside Dean, Graham and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio as the most vocal anti-war candidates. Clark is scheduled to deliver a speech at the University of Iowa on Sept. 19, but is expected to make his decision before that, with an announcement likely in Little Rock, Ark."
Here's a story from the Washington Post [September 12, 2003, "Clark Stays Noncommittal on White House Run"] about Clark's hesitancy in entering the election. From the article, "By entering the campaign at such a late stage, Clark would have to run a nontraditional campaign, say some Democrats, and would have to develop quickly a clear rationale for his candidacy. Clark gave some hint of what that might be yesterday in his CNN interview, citing stories about the latest tape from Osama bin Laden, deteriorating relations between the United States and its European allies and President Bush's request to expand the Patriot Act."
My hope is that the presidential candidates continue to run against President Bush and keep the campaign as free from negativity as possible, not unlike Denver's recent Mayoral campaign. I'm sure it won't happen that way but one can wish.
5:21:22 AM

e-mail John: