‘Wild West’ opening to Denver convention

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:53:23 -0700

DENVER - Today at the Denver Convention Center, top Democratic officials declared the West to be a crucial battleground region in the upcoming presidential election.
 "I really believe that the road to the White House runs right here through the state of Colorado to the state of Nevada to the state of New Mexico – Arizona as well," Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar said. "There's a yearning for change and practical common sense solutions."
 According to Salazar and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Sen. Barack Obama has what it takes to beat out Sen. John McCain and win over the electoral votes needed to secure the presidency.
 "Democrats fit very well with the new West and we intend for this area not only to be a battleground but to be a margin of victory for the next president of the U.S.," Napolitano said.
 Nevada in particular has the potential to play a deciding factor in the upcoming race. The Silver State is largely considered to be a swing state as it has chosen the president over the past four elections.
 As the fastest growing state in the U.S., it's no wonder that both Obama and McCain have made numerous stops along the campaign trail throughout Nevada.
 Although the state has tended to lean toward the right in the past, with a majority of Nevadans voting for President George W. Bush in the previous two presidential elections, trends now seem to be shifting to the left.
 According to Project New West's Andrew Myers, Democratic registration in Nevada increased 17.6 percent between 2000 and 2004 and has gone up by 39 percent between 2002 and 2006.
 Since 2006, Democrats have held the edge in registration with 40.6 percent to the Republicans 39.3 percent.
 "The Republican Party has been captured by kind of an angry far-right group and they haven't been dealing with the issues that westerners are concerned about," Napolitano said. "[Americans are] concerned about the economy, energy [and] health care. They're concerned about their future, their concerned about having a real immigration policy."  Napolitano said that while Republicans have been coming up with "bumper sticker solutions" the Democrats have been working hard for American families.
 "We need common sense leaders that are willing to transcend the toxic place of partisan politics and get us to the practical solutions that the people of America want," Salazar added.
 Because of the large Hispanic population in several western states, both politicians see immigration as an important issue to many western voters.
 "[Republicans have] been so focused on … [building] a wall, they haven't offered Americans what a real solution is," Napolitano said. "Building a wall is not going to be the answer. You show me a 14-foot wall; I'll show you a 16-foot ladder. That's the way immigration works."
 Instead, she advocates visa reform at the national level, streamlining of the immigration process and stricter law enforcement at the border – all of which, she says, are solutions westerners favor.

Democratic National Convention Coverage

‘Wild West’ opening to Denver convention