Coyote Gulch

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

2004 Presidential Election
Matthew Gross has a Wisconsin wrap-up. It looks like there is still a race for the Democratic nomination. The numbers are Kerry 39, Edwards 35, and Dean 18. So more than 50% of voters did not vote for Kerry. On to March 2nd. Here's the coverage from NHPrimary.com.
Howard dean is going to stop campaigning but leave his name on the ballot. No doubt he is hoping that John Kerry and John Edwards self-destruct opening the door to his nomination. He's doing the right thing with regard to the dems beating President Bush in the fall. They need to settle the nomination soon.
Blogs For Bush is ranting about John Kerry's Chinese campaign donations.
Update: Here's the link to the transcript of Howard Dean's speech today:
Update: Here's the link to John Edwards' statement about Howard Dean.
Update: A recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll shows both John Edwards and John Kerry beating George Bush nationally. From the article, "Political analysts were not surprised at a key finding of the poll: If the presidential election were today, either John Kerry or John Edwards would beat Bush. Little more than a week ago, a match of Bush against either Democrat was so close it was in effect a tie. In early January, Bush held a solid lead over every candidate for the Democratic nomination." Thanks to TalkLeft for the link.
Josh Marshall thinks that John Edwards' website radiates more energy that does John Kerry's website.
6:56:46 AM

Denver November 2004 Election
Here's a story about Mike Miles and his disappointment with the state Democratic party from the Denver Post [February 18, 2004, "Senate hopeful feels spurned"]. From the article, "Mike Miles wants state Democratic leaders to stop acting like he's not there. For more than two years, the Colorado Springs educator has been running for the nomination to challenge Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Republican. Yet party leaders keep courting better- known or richer would-be candidates such as former Sen. Gary Hart or Rutt Bridges, a software entrepreneur who now runs a Denver think tank. 'I have a problem with a process that puts money as the first criteria,' Miles said. 'That's not the way it should be. It may be the way it is, but it shouldn't be.'" Well as Joe Trippi said at last week's Digital Democracy Teach-in, "It's the money." Trippi claims that the media and the party ignored Howard Dean's campaign until the third quarter fundraising reports.
Colorado Luis is wondering whether state Democratic chief is nervous about running a non-white candidate?
Denver voters may have yet another proposal on the fall ballot to help with Amendment 23 and TABOR, according to the Rocky Mountain News [February 18, 2004, "Balanced-budget plan"]. From the article, "King's plan would retain $350 million of the projected surplus from the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in 2005-2006 - $132 for married couples and $66 for singles. It would also halve the amount of money that goes to the state education fund under Amendment 23...King said his plan will help solve the 'ratcheting down' effect created by TABOR, making it difficult for the state to resume its previous level of spending after an economic downturn. It would also take the 'trigger' away from Amendment 23, so it would require less funding during recessionary times. Amendment 23, which requires increases in school funding with an inflation-growth formula, will force massive cuts in other government agencies in future years, King said. King's proposal would also create a rainy day fund, which would give the legislature a pot of money to spend during an economic downturn."
Update: Wired: "But that was before Chandler's campaign turned a $2,000 investment in blog advertising into over $80,000 in donations in only two weeks. Chandler -- who won a seat in the House of Representatives Tuesday evening -- definitely knows what a blog is now, Sauer said. 'It's that thing that brings in money.'"
6:18:43 AM

Colorado Water
If the South Platte river basin experiences normal spring moisture Denver Water is hoping that reservoirs will fill to 92% of capacity, according to the Rocky Mountain News [February 18, 2004, "Denver Water crosses its fingers on reservoirs"]. From the article, "Denver Water expects its drought-stricken reservoirs to reach 92 percent of capacity this summer if spring weather provides normal amounts of snow and rain. A dry spring, along with voluntary watering limits, would allow reservoirs to fill to just 77 percent of capacity, according to a preliminary forecast released Tuesday."
Douglas County is proposing a study to hook into a new pipeline project being built by the East Cherry Creek water district, according to the Rocky Mountain News [February 18, 2004, "Douglas to study pipeline"]. From the article, "Originally, members of the Douglas County Water Resource Authority were exploring the option of paying $10,000 to study the feasibility of hooking into the pipeline. However, at Tuesday's water resource authority meeting, Douglas County Commissioner Jim Sullivan announced that the county would look into the project on its own, and will bear the costs of the evaluation. County officials will report their findings to water authority members within the next couple of months, Sullivan said. If the county, or other water districts, want to piggyback on the roughly $150 million project, they must pay to enlarge the pipeline. They must also pay for their own water rights. Although authority members generally endorsed Sullivan's plan, some said they thought it would be better for the feasibility study to be paid for and pursued by the entire water authority rather than the county acting on its own."
Representative John Salazar's bill to compensate rural areas when cities buy up rural water rights is in trouble if Denver Water's lobbyist is correct in her "Informal Count," according to the Denver Post [February 18, 2004, "Denver Water aiming to sink proposal"]. From the article, "Politically powerful Denver Water is strangling legislation that would make sure rural areas get paid when fast-growing cities buy up their water from local farms and rivers. On Tuesday, the utility's statehouse lobbyist, Sara Duncan, all but promised defeat of the bill, sponsored by Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa. The utility has just enough votes on its side in the House to kill the bill, but if the measure doesn't die in the House it will in the Senate, she said. Salazar said he doubts that Denver Water's support is that firm...Denver Water officials said Tuesday the bill is too vague about which situations would warrant compensation from utilities that get water from rural areas...The attorney general (Ken Salazar) last week told local officials from 13 southeastern Colorado counties that they stand to lose half of the 300,000 acres once used for agriculture. Cities are drying up the farms by buying up their water, he said. When farms dry up, so do jobs, small-town businesses and the local tax base, both Salazars have said."
6:02:21 AM

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