November 05, 2008 07:19 PM UTC

Change

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• by: SouthDem

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

Today, the sky above the Sheraton in downtown Denver is overcast, but even so, it seems a bit more sunny today; people are walking around a bit more cheerily today. Yes, change is on the way.

Last night was surreal. I’m still not sure it has sunk in. The crowd gradually worked itself up until darned near every person I saw after Senator Obama’s speech was dancing – really dancing. Then, there was literally dancing in the streets. The crowd here at the Sheraton spilled out onto the side streets along the hotel and streets were blocked with the celebratory reveling of Americans who had just elected a President.

Just think how far Colorado has come. In 2003, when I first became a state party officer, Colorado looked very different. We had a Republican Governor – heck, we had Republicans in every major statewide office except for Attorney General. Both of our U.S. Senators were Republican. Five of our seven Members of Congress were Republican. Republicans held majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

Now, everything we knew in 2003 has been stood on its head and reversed. Literally reversed. We have a Democratic Governor; indeed, after Mike Coffman resigns, all but the Attorney General will be a Democrat. Both of our U.S. Senators will be Democrats. With the addition of Congresswoman Betsy Markey (that sure sounds nice, doesn’t it?), we will have five of seven Members of Congress who are Democrats. And we have kept our Democratic majorities in the State House and the State Senate.

Indeed, change is coming.

Thanks to the hard work of so many of you out there, making phone calls, knocking on doors, talking to friends and neighbors, donating your time and your money, change is coming.

Thanks to the leadership of our State Chair, Pat Waak, and her close collaboration with Ray Rivera and the Obama campaign, alongside Mike Melansan and the Udall folks, change is coming.

Thanks to the audacity of hope, change is coming.

Thanks to every one of our Democratic county chairs, who dealt with unique challenges in 2008 from February 5 on to last night, change is coming.

Thanks to every one of the nearly 130,000 people who showed up at the Democratic caucuses on that historic February 5 eveninig, change is coming.

Thanks to Hank Eng, Hal Bidlack, and the hundreds of other Democratic candidates who were unsuccessful last night – whose sacrifices over the past few months may never be truly known and will never be truly honored, but whose hard work paved the way for statewide Democratic victories – change is coming.

Thanks to Congresswoman-elect Betsy Markey, change is coming.

Thanks to Dennis Apuan – now the SECOND Democrat representing El Paso County in the State House (and the third representing the county in the legislature, along with Rep. Michael Merrifield and Sen. John Morse), change is coming.

Thanks to PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama, change is coming.

Thanks to the over 100,000 people who showed up in Denver on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in October for the largest political rally in American history, change is coming.

Thanks to over one hundred million Americans who voted in this historic election, change is coming.

Thanks to the tens of thousands of volunteers who put together the best political convention in the history of the Democratic Party in August here in Denver, change is coming.

Thanks to our troops abroad, who are putting their lives on the line to protect the freedoms we enjoyed to speak out, to campaign, and to vote, change is coming.

Thanks to the hundreds – maybe thousands – of people who left their families, their friends and their homes in locations across the nation to come help us here in Colorado, change is coming.

And again, thanks to all of you who put your own lives on hold for the past few months, who made sacrifices that will never be properly documented or appreciated, change is coming.

Change is coming.

Yes. We. Did.