Coyote Gulch

Thursday, July 29, 2004

2004 Presidential Election
TalkLeft "Edwards shines."
Blogs for Bush "Is this the best they got?"
13 Coloradans voted their "conscience" and joined 54 other Dennis Kucinich supporters, denying Senator Kerry a unanimous vote last night at the DNC, according to the Rocky Mountain News [July 29, 2004, "Colorado Dems split votes"]. From the article, "'My feeling is, by voting for Dennis Kucinich we can show people on the edge . . . that there is room in this party for progressive platform ideas,' said Mark Benner, an art teacher from Hugo and first-time convention delegate. Colorado Democrats split their presidential vote 50-13 for Kerry, and gave Kucinich, the populist Ohio liberal, his largest vote tally of any state. At the end of the night, Kerry had 4,255 votes to Kucinich's 37...Unlike many states, Colorado picked its delegates through a state caucus and convention process that led to 14 of the 63 delegates being pledged to Kucinich, an outspoken Ohioan who has a passionate following of political newcomers and some who voted for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [July 29, 2004, "13 Colo. delegates faithful to Kucinich"].
Mike Littwin sets the stage for tonight's acceptance speech from John Kerry [July 29, 2004, "Littwin: Kerry's task a formidable one"]. It's been a long road, Coyote Gulch started covering this race over a year ago with news that Gary Hart - then a potential presidential candidate - was going to be interviewed by Aaron Harber.
Taegan Goddard: "The Bush White House has made clear that Republicans must raise their support among Hispanic voters from what was achieved in 2000, 35 percent of the vote, to at least 38 or 40 percent this year to insure re-election. There is no higher priority. But based on the latest Democracy Corps survey of Hispanic voters, Bush is not only failing to reach that goal, he is failing to hold on to what he had - with his support dropping to just 30 percent."
Just in from Opinions you should have, "Opinions You Should Have has learned that John Kerry will be unable to deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday night as planned. Just moments after Barack Obama delivered what some, even Republicans, are calling 'one of the best convention speeches of the past twenty-five years,' Kerry developed 'a bad case of laryngitis.'"
Taegan Goddard: "Why did Ron Reagan end up speaking at the Democratic National Convention? Here's what he told the National Journal: 'John Kerry kept calling me. We played phone tag, but I finally caught up with him on a bus in Wisconsin.' In additon, Reagan said Kerry promised that 'his first act' as president would be to sign an executive order reversing Bush administration policy on stem cells."
6:34:04 AM

Denver November 2004 Election
Initiative 100, on the August 10th ballot, received some support Wednesday, from Members of the Fund for Animals, based in Washington, D.C, according to the Rocky Mountain News [July 29, 2004, "Circus acts or ax circus?"]. From the article, "The national attention has raised the profile and stakes of what was once a little-known initiative. Denver has been thrust into a national debate surrounding the use of exotic animals in traveling circuses and shows. The initiative was placed on the ballot after Heather Herman, 15, of Arvada, gathered enough signatures to place it there. On Wednesday, the Fund for Animals shared a 241-page report titled, Government Sanctioned Abuse. The report was written and released last year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Fund for Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute. The report was culled from 10 USDA investigations and other documents."
The Denver Post editorial staff is urging voters to reject Initiative 100 [July 29, 2004, "Vote "no" on Denver circus ban"].
Here's an editorial from the Denver Post looking at Peter Coors and Bob Schaffer [July 29, 2004, "Schaffer vs. Coors: Shades of difference"].
From the Rocky, "Even as Pete Coors' campaign vowed to withdraw a new attack ad from the airwaves, a group supporting Bob Schaffer, Coors' opponent in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, is unveiling a new attack message of its own in the next couple of days.", [July 29, 2004, "Schaffer backers unveil new ads blasting Coors"].
6:25:56 AM

Colorado Water
Denver Water may end all watering restrictions on August 31st, according to the Rocky Mountain News [July 29, 2004, "Denver Water may end restrictions"]. From the article, "An average of 3.45 inches of rain was reported in the past 30 days at monitoring stations, including the reservoirs and Denver International Airport, (Ed) Pokorney said. The rain prompted Denver Water's customers to use 35 percent less water than normal between May 1 and July 25, he said. Discussion of relaxing the water rules and surcharges will resume at Denver Water's Aug. 11 meeting. David LaFrance, Denver Water's vice president of finance, said eliminating the surcharges would have economic consequences because surcharge revenues have offset lower-than-expected water sales. He said 31 percent of the customers haven't used enough water to trigger a surcharge, and 70 percent of the customers who did pay a surcharge paid $16 or less." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post.
6:19:36 AM

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