Rocky Ride
The Republicans’ fall from power in Colorado — and how the Democrats hope to replicate it
ROB WITWER
The day before Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field in Denver, a group of progressive activists gathered nearby to discuss what Democrats call the “Colorado miracle.” The story is by now well known. Through a network of wealthy donors called the Colorado Democracy Alliance, Democrats turned Colorado — until recently, a reliably Republican state — a deep shade of blue.
Soon the conversation turned to something less well known: a quiet little project called the Committee on States, through which Democrats plan to export their Colorado success across the country over the next 20 months. “As we know, 2010 is redistricting, there are 35 governors’ races, so it’s going to be a critically important year,” said Rob Stein, founder of the Democracy Alliance, a national Democratic fundraising group. To prepare for 2010, Stein said last summer, architects of the “Colorado miracle” and a lawyer named Frank Smith would be working hard to get progressives in 18 other states “up to Colorado’s level of sophistication and organizational development.”
It wasn’t empty talk. In the past 30 months, the Democracy Alliance’s donors have put over $110 million into 30 state-level groups. “There are a bunch of states,” Stein continued, “where over the next couple of years a lot of development is going to happen.” Later in the presentation, Smith named a few: Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
For Republicans in these states, understanding what happened in Colorado isn’t just a matter of curiosity — it’s a matter of political survival. Read the complete story here.
