Oh, Hick.
Leading off, Hick is a good person, like most of our elected Dems. Just because they have Stockholm Syndrome and identify with their corporate abusers doesn’t mean they are indecent; they’re just nervous af all the time because they don’t want to get the campaign finance version of the sock with the bar of soap in it. They have been conditioned and trained to avoid that over decades, and the courage to snap out of it and face the abusers doesn’t sprout in them overnight.
It first sprouts in those who have never been so conditioned; those who either don’t know better, or those who recognized what was happening, & have every since spoken out against & fought those abusers from the get go. Only if there are enough of those courageous activists will that courage reach up into our elected officials.
So I don’t really hold it against Hick that this was his stammering response to the question of whether, if circumstances called for it, he’d shift his superdelegate endorsement to Sanders:
"Who knows?"
Oh, the fear. It’s hard to tell if this is more fear of stepping out of line with respect to the Clintons, or fear of stepping out of line with respect to the fracking industry, or stepping out of line with respect to TEH DREDDED SOCLIASM in the Seriously Purple state of Colorado. But when a charismatic and self-confident Governor stammers, you know he’s nervous, and he’s nervous because of the positions he may have to turn left to take to remain relevant. Our job isn’t to blame him for that, but to build that left turn for him to take, and plant a big ROAD CLOSED sign on any right turns he might wish to take.
What Hick & other CO supes would do well to consider is that Colorado is, to date, the ONLY state with Democratic primary turnout exceeding that of 2008 in actual numbers--one could argue that adjusted for population growth, participation didn’t meet that threshold, but still, in every other state primary, the actual number of participants is DOWN. And, THAT must take into consideration a few relevant facts:
* Despite Unaffiliated voters constituting the plural majority here, Colorado makes it difficult for them to participate in primaries: the eligibility requirement is party affiliation for a minimum of 60 days prior to the primary. Despite our outreach efforts, many of Bernie’s independent supporters did not pay attention during the socially busy month of December, when re-registering as a Democrat needed to happen (final day was Jan. 4) and consequently, they weren’t eligible to attend caucus.
* Even if they were eligible, the inability of the state and county parties to properly manage their caucuses kept many eligible voters from participating. Half of my relatives weren’t able to attend caucus because of failures to properly ID polling places for precincts, and waiting/walking requirements for those with physical disabilities. In my own precinct, a woman suffering terminal illness, confined to a wheelchair, was brought to our cramped area of a gradeschool library by her caregiver as her LAST WISH… but how many more like her had no dedicated caregiver to provide transportation, and hold up her arm during the preference polls?
Colorado went 59-40 for Bernie despite the barriers to turnout, despite the insufficient polling places and management, and despite the support of our supes for Clinton. We did have several State legislators join our campaign and activist supporters to endorse Bernie:
The CO campaign is over but for delegates processing through our various county, CD, & state meetings, and we have sent a message. Colorado is a critical state in November, and we are engaged. Our grassroots are deep, growing, and are shaking the ground. If you support Bernie, it is VERY important that you get involved in your own state, or elsewhere if your state has already cast its vote. I know that so so many Berners are struggling just to get by in their daily circumstances, and find it hard to find time to make calls or knock doors, but that’s what works. And you need to find others like you, and get them to join you.
Colorado delivered for Bernie by building many communities of volunteers. I love Daily Kos primarily for its community building potential. This community is REQUIRED to deliver for Bernie in the upcoming states. So if you haven’t joined those communities on the phone and on the street yet, NOW IS THE TIME.
It's the only way to get Gov. Hickenlooper to Feel The Bern.