Colorado needed to win White House, Dems say

Meeting in Denver expected to attract presidential hopefuls

Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Democratic Party leaders called Denver the "capital of the New West" on Tuesday, deeming Colorado critical to the party's plans to win the White House in two years.

That's behind the thinking to hold a national brainstorming session for "New Democrats" in the Mile High City this summer, which could help Denver land the party's 2008 national nominating convention.

That grand plan was proposed by the founder of the Democratic Leadership Council and echoed by Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, where they announced that the DLC will hold its 10th annual "national conversation" in Denver July 22-24.

"Colorado is a crucial swing state in national elections," said Al From, founder and head of the DLC. "It is a growing and diverse state - exactly the kind of red state we must win to prevail if we are to be returned to national power."

The political strategy-fest at the Hyatt Regency Denver will draw about 300 Democrats from across the nation. It's expected to also attract a bevy of presidential hopefuls with DLC ties: Sen. Hillary Clinton, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

"The DLC's selection of Denver for their national conversation, I think, genuinely highlights the importance of our state on the national and international political landscape," Hickenlooper said, adding that it will only bolster the city's shot at hosting the 2008 convention.

The group, which prides itself as an incubator for pragmatic, reformist ideas, was a presidential springboard for Bill Clinton, a former DLC chairman.

The DLC gathering "is more than just a beauty pageant for presidential wannabes," said Romanoff, who has attended several of the meetings and participated in a DLC leadership training program. "I think the DLC has been able to replace the sort of brain-dead politics of the past with a lot of new energy and new vision, new approaches to doing business."