It was a good night for Colorado Democrats as well. 800 turned out for the Colorado Democrats' Jefferson/Jackson Day Dinner, held at the downtown Marriot. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was the keynote speaker and delivered a memorable speech. Gary Hart also spoke and gave a great "critique" of the President's Iraq plans. Gov. Howard Dean was there as well.

Bump and Update: Here's the Denver Post report on the dinner and speeches.

Dean didn't have a monopoly on the anti-war message. Hart also spoke, and, as he has done for months, left open the question of whether he will again seek his party's nomination....

Hart...warned that the cost of a war would not only be in dollars. "If our soldiers have to fight Saddam's Republican Guard in the streets of Baghdad, thousands of American soldiers could be killed," Hart said. "And the president has a constitutional responsibility to tell the American people that."

As he has in the past, Hart described going to war as "kicking a hornet's nest" and said the U.S. is ill-prepared to guard against the terrorism a war might spawn.

Although Hart's anti-war stance could steal some limelight from Dean if he were to enter the race, the two men were exceedingly friendly Saturday night. But Hart made it clear that Dean should not count on an easy time in Denver.

"Before you start lining up delegates and slates (for the Democratic National Convention), you may want to wait a few weeks or months to see what happens."

Daily Kos and My DD are out at the California Democratic Party's annual conference in Sacramento. We read an AP article about how Edwards got booed for his pro-war stance and Dean got cheered for his anti-war stance, but Kos' first hand reporting is just so much better. Here's Kos:

Edwards spoke in support of the Iraq war and all hell broke loose. The entire convention hall resonated in boos, the crowd chanting "no war! No war!" It was an amazing sight, and Edwards seemed a bit taken aback. Jerome thought it looked like '68. Edwards recovered with a line about Ashcroft, but the damage was done. The 20 or so brave souls waving Edwards signs were suddenly radioactive.

After a string of California officials, including the radioactive Davis, and our wonderful Boxer and Pelosi (both of them my heroes), it was Dean's turn.

By now, the whole program was running about an hour late. It was noon, and restless delegates milled around wondering about lunch. It seemed like a bad start by Dean. But suddenly, easily over half the delegates (and there were roughly 1,200) started waving Dean signs. And from the first note he didn't disappoint.

He started by blasting Bush's invasion, and the crowd was instantly hooked. It was electrifying. The whole convention center hushed, hanging on his every words (only Rep. Maxine Waters had a similar effect). Dean raised the rhetoric gradually, drawing louder applause each time. People were loving it. He uttered Wellstone's line: "I'm here to represent the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party". People went wild. His speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of "we want Dean!".

But the most amazing part was the finale, with a fiery Dean pounding the podium:

I want my country back!

I don't want to listen to fundamentalist preachers anymore!

When Dean uttered this last line, the whole place went nuts. Utter pandemonium. It was literally one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

On Al Sharpton:

Sharpton was the last speaker for the day, and like Dean, he rocked the house. I'm fully convinced that Sharpton is a positive for the Democrats -- proving wrong initial fears he would divide the party.

Indeed Sharpton is the king of the one-liners.

On the costs of occupying Iraq: "We already occupy 50 states, and we haven't come up with the cost of that".

On affirmative action: The best example of a set-aside program is Bush. How can I say that? The Supreme Court set aside a whole election to make him president."

On religious wingnuts: "It's time for the Christian Right to meet the right Christians."

But most interesting of all? Sharpton never once said "vote for me" or "I'm running for president". He's in the race to move the debate left, and he's doing a beautiful job of it.

Update: Dean spoke in Denver Saturday night, here's the report.

Gary Hart spoke at the University of Colorado in Boulder Thursday night and received a very warm reception. The crowd "...filled the aisles and spilled out all four exits of a mid-sized lecture room in the University of Colorado's physics hall," and chanted "Run, Gary, Run."

Hart refused to say whether he would run for President. He spoke on the topics of national security and "the folly" of war with Iraq.

"We will be attacked again," he said. "I'm here to tell you that if — not if, when — when we attack Iraq the threat to this country will skyrocket." He slammed the Bush administration for overlooking plausible alternatives to war and for failing to answer questions about the cost of war — in terms of both dollars and lives."

Hart also spoke on the economy, the environment and health care. Here's what one attendee had to say about Hart and the irrelevancy of the 1987 morality issue. We couldn't agree more.

"What's more immoral — fooling around with a woman or killing thousands of innocent people?" she said. "I think if it's a moral issue, this is pretty low on the list."

How would we describe Hart now? Refreshing, articulate, experienced, knowledgeable, open, smart and filled with leadership potential.

Get ready for the Silence of the Dems. Once the war begins, none of the leading candidates or potential candidates will discuss it.

Democrats have a brand-new dilemma over the looming Iraq invasion: What should they say -- especially the half-dozen or so camped out in Iowa right now, crusading for the '04 presidential nomination -- once war breaks out?
Even some antiwar Democrats are insisting they won't criticize the Bush administration once the fighting begins. Massachussetts Sen. John Kerry, who has staked out a complex pro-disarming Saddam, anti-unilateral-war approach to the mess, says he'll hit the mute button immediately. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a more unequivocal war critic than Kerry, also suggests he'll clam up once the shooting starts. War critics like former Sen. Gary Hart and Florida Sen. Bob Graham may postpone official announcements of their candidacies if war begins, as expected, in the next couple of weeks. Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Sen. Carol Mosely-Braun, who are not given much chance of winning the nomination, have had the courage to tell reporters that they'll stick with their antiwar message come war.

Gary Hart has been clear the past two weeks that while he may decide to run for President, he won't decide until after the war, he won't criticize the war while its going on, and that because politics and war don't mix, he won't announce a candidacy until after the war.

We just heard a long live interview with Hart on Boulder's KBCO radio station and he repeated this. Hart has been very busy this week. Yesterday he gave a speech at the Denver Forum and signed books. This morning he was on the radio at 8:00 am. He's speaking tonight at the University of Colorado in Boulder. If you're in the area, come listen to him. It may be the last chance you get to hear his welcome views on war before he too clams up. Details here.

When asked about his presidential intentions, Gary Hart said today

"he has not set a timetable for making an announcement and has indicated that the looming war would delay any plans.

The former Colorado senator did say he will launch a modest fund-raising effort to help cover travel expenses and other costs for the next two to three months.

''We're not looking for massive amounts of money right now. We'll just play it by ear,'' he said.

Details will be available soon at GaryHartNews.com.

Sen. Gary Hart will be on Larry King Live tonight, CNN, 9pm EST

On Thursday, March 13, Senator Hart will lead a discussion with university students in Boulder, Colorado on the pending war with Iraq.

For the Senator's latest thoughts on Iraq, see yesterday's op-ed in The Washington Post:

And don't forget tonight's CNN appearance:

"Our current government offers military action, spending, immediate consumption, and individual autonomy. Instead, I propose international diplomacy, savings, long-term investment and the common good."

-closing remarks, Gary Hart, University of California, Los Angeles, March 4, 2003

For more Gary Hart news, visit his website.

The Los Angeles Times reports Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart is moving closer to deciding to run for President.

Moving closer to a possible presidential campaign, former Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado said Friday that he intends to begin raising money and hiring a staff to more systematically explore entering the Democratic race. "I think we will probably begin some preliminary fund-raising very soon, just to be able to test the waters," Hart told The Times Friday.

We sat down to our first cup of coffee this morning, opened the Rocky Mountain News, and were excited to see a full two page profile on Hart. It is well-balanced and gives you a good sense of what drives him, why he might run again, why his family (wife of 44 years and two adult children) support him, and best of all, how favorable public reaction has been to him during his past few months giving speeches across the country.

As to the 1988 Donna Rice incident. We say, Get over it. It will be a non-issue, except among Bush supporters.

Getting in the Game today writes a long and thoughtful post on why he has decided Gary Hart is his "candidate." Here's a portion:

So today I declare that I support Gary Hart as candidate for President of the United States. I will in a series of four similar articles explain the path and cycles on the four areas that Senator Hart has spoken on, and why he has developed policy that can both regenerate the Democratic Party and is realistic enough to accomplish. Before those, I will post my analysis of the current field of candidates including George W. Bush tomorrow afternoon. In that I will explain why this strategy I have outlined and Gary Hart puts forth, is not only the right thing, but a winning strategy for the party not only in 2004 but the years beyond.

Ken G., one of our frequent commenters, writes in (see the comments section here for his remarks in full):

Personally, I am re-energized politically at the thought of the amazing guerilla campaign that can be run for a progressive with great name recognition that doesn't owe anyone a thing. Although I am a fan of many of the current Dems in the race, none of them have the ability to ignite the idealistic beliefs that got me involved in his earlier campaigns.

Keep in mind Hart has not said he will be a candidate. He is still considering whether to run. We hope he does make the decision to run, and if you want to express your support for him directly, you can do so at his website Gary Hart News.Com

Fox News, Thursday, March 6, 2003, The Factor
Bill O'Reilly, Host and Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart
_______________________________________

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the world fails to confront the threat posed by the Iraqi regime, refusing to use force even as a last resort, free nations would assume immense and unacceptable risks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Continuing now with the presidential press conference. Joining us from Santa Monica, California, one time Democratic presidential contender and former senator of Colorado, Gary Hart. Senator, the three most important things you heard this evening?

GARY HART (D), FMR. COLORADO SENATOR: Well the president took justifiable credit for the capture of Shaikh Mohammed, which is a significant development. He did say that Iraq is in non-compliance. And, finally, he said they are a direct threat to us.

What was more interesting to me is what he did not say or refused to say. He did not clearly state what our objective is in Iraq. Second, he did not deal candidly again with the issue of cost and human lives and capital. And, third, he did not deal with what is perhaps the most important question, and that is, are we prepared for the inevitable retaliation against this country? And there I think he did not do well.

Here's the latest on which Democratic contenders are taking public financing for their campaigns.

Those that accept public financing are limited in what they can spend. Those that forego it, like Bush in 2000, can spend whatever they want.

Bush spent $100 million in 2002. "With an increase in contribution limits under the nation's new campaign finance law, some of Bush's fund-raisers think he can raise $200 million or more for the primaries, money he could spend through the spring and summer to take on the presumptive Democratic nominee."

"The presidential campaign fund is financed by taxpayers with a $3 checkoff on their tax returns. In 2000, those who accepted public financing, including then-Vice President Al Gore, were entitled to up to $16.9 million in matching funds. In exchange, they had to abide by spending limits; Gore could only spend $40.5 million in the Democratic primaries, for example."

Howard Dean, Al Sharpton, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich are taking public financing. Kerry is up in the air. Edwards most likely will take it. Graham hasn't gotten around to thinking about it yet, he's still assembling a campaign team.

A Qunnipiac University poll finds voters prefer any Democrat to Bush in 2004.

By a 48 -- 44 percent margin, American voters say they would vote for the as yet unnamed Democratic party candidate for President over Republican incumbent George W. Bush, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Hampered by Americans' dissatisfaction with life in the U.S. and concerns about war and the economy, President Bush has a 53 -- 39 percent approval rating, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

[link via Cursor]

[comments now closed]

Gary Hart spoke today in Los Angeles, outlining his plan for investing in America's future.

...he accused the administration of favoring the wealthy and of employing "market radicalism, a form of economic extremism that deceptively uses these tax cuts to shred the social safety net in the name of fiscal stimulation."

...In his prepared remarks, Hart distanced himself from his own party. Democrats, he said, are guilty of "nebulous centrism -- featuring more streetlights and school uniforms -- that too readily devolves into a least-common-denominator outcome."

Hart... called for tax law changes to increase eligibility of earned income and child care credits. "A rich nation can provide health care, high quality education, protection and supervision for every child -- and a civilized nation would do so," Hart said.

Hart ...condemned an "immoral" U.S. energy policy that, he said, relies on foreign oil and on fighting if supplies are threatened. "We are using our military, our sons and daughters lives, as the guarantor of our wasteful lifestyle," he said.

We have to say, once again, that Gary Hart is not only very smart, but he is the only one who comes to the table with defined goals for America at home and abroad. He doesn't generalize or speak in platitudes. He has well-developed and concrete proposals that may just offer us the solutions we need.

We still don't know if he's planning on running for President. But at least read his speeches at Gary Hart News. com and listen to what he has to say. Instead of chasing campaign funding and watching poll numbers, he's been thinking, writing, and presenting original ideas on how to restore America and keep it safe--and free.