The Colorado State Open Thread series is for the fans of our (fairly) stuffy state, whether you live here, have visited, have us on your bucket list, have just heard about Colorado, or are curious about Colorado. This meetup came about within a short time of Leftcandid (left) reaching out to me (right) wanting to reconnect. Leftcandid started this Open Thread series along with Thinking Fella in the Dark Ages, and although the two have retired from the Open Thread series, they still support Democratic candidates (Leftcandid works for the Adams County Democratic Party), and I’ve seen Thinking Fella contribute to several Daily Kos posts, including the daily Cheers and Jeers posts. I wrote the Colorado State Open Thread and am the admin of the Colorado groups because inertia is sometimes hard to overcome.
We recently had a meeting at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg and that led to a request for a meeting in Denver. Coincidentally, Leftcandid contacted me about meeting in my town of Estes Park since he had gotten a reservation to enter the park (pro tip: the non-Bear Lake part of the park doesn’t require reservations if you arrive at the park before 9am or after 2pm). I forgot to ask him what he used his precious pass for.
I couldn’t meet him because I already had plans to leave Estes Park that day, but we agreed to meet at a Daily Kos meeting in Denver. People had recommended a place with a patio where we could enjoy the day, and Recess Restaurant not only had a patio, but there was no limit on the number of dogs in the group. I was hoping we might have a puppy parade, but no one else in our group had brought dogs. There were a few others there who were happy to meet and sniff my dogs.
As you can imagine, our discussion was mostly about politics. Also visible in the group photo is John in Denver, second from left, and justmypiece, second from right, next to me. We had a lovely time, ate good food, and I learned how willing officials in Colorado are to help people vote. I should be able to vote in this election. I just need to contact the official to vote early either at their office or online. We talked about politicians’ personalities – who is genuinely interested in serving their constituency and who is not a good campaigner.
I also learned where to put money in Colorado and nationally to get Kamala Harris a Democratic Congress in addition to her Democratic presidency. For Colorado, Leftcandid was adamant that Yadira Caraveo was the most important race in the state to secure her seat as a Democrat. Other races are not likely to be as close, and it sounded like (ahem, ahem) Boebert made the right decision by both denying the Democrats a win on the Western Slope as Adam Frisch’s opponent and running in the eastern part of the state where she might have an easier time. In both of those two districts, it will take some luck and bad decisions by the Republican candidates to make her a Democratic nominee. The other races are expected to stay as they are.
We talked about what we do outside of work and politics to be happy. Much of what I do is posted here in the Open Thread (Santa Claus, spending time in the beauty of Estes Park, spending hours every day on Daily Kos). If you recall, I went storm chasing on the high plains of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska with Leftcandid a few years ago. It turned into a journal with some fun events. Also, I was asked by justmypiece about a story I hinted at a while back, about something I did at a job that led to my firing. I told that story and judging by the shocked looks on their faces, I don’t think they expected that from me. Many years have passed and I don’t think I would do that today, but I told them that if I had to do it back then, I would do it again. I just would have been more careful.
Anyway, everyone had a great time. We’ve talked about doing it again, and the most popular time to do it seems to be two or three weeks after the election to talk about everything that happened, what lawsuits are pending, and maybe which regimental unit of the Colorado Militia we could join to defend (preserve) our democracy. I doubt it will be an outdoor venue, as late November will be pretty unsafe and some places will have their patios rolled up. Maybe we can find one with propane heaters so we can amplify the greenhouse effect. I’d love to hear what’s going on in your worlds these days. Do you volunteer for campaigns? Do you plan to be out of the country at election time (like me)? Let us know in the comments below. The word is free…
