"My observation was that once a person actually completed a play or a novel, he was well on his way to getting it produced or published, as opposed to a vast majority of people who tell me their ambition is to write, but who strike out on the very first level and indeed never write the play or book. In the midst of the conversation, as I'm now trying to recall, I did say that 80 percent of success is showing up."
- Woody Allen (1935- ), comedian, actor and director (Letter to the New York Times, August 13, 1989)

... about our party's serious and pervasive turnout issues. To that end, we really need to educate our own voters that every single election is important, from local school boards to city councils, county commissions, state legislatures and Congress -- not just the race for the White House every four years.

In that regard, it should further be noted that in most states (but not all), the state legislature has sole authority to determine electoral district boundaries for all state legislative and congressional races, an important process known as either reapportionment or redistricting, depending on one's locale.

That's why any election year ending in the digit "0" is particularly important, because those elections correspond with the decennial U.S. census count, which in turn requires all states to redraw electoral district lines to reflect the most recent population counts.

So, the conspicuous failure of Pennsylvania Democrats to show up at the polls in significant numbers during the 2010 election enabled the GOP to seize control of that state's legislature, whereupon the new Republican majority then dutifully redrew the PA congressional map in their party's favor.

Thus two years later, even though 52% of the 5,281,540 congressional ballots cast by Pennsylvania voters were for Democratic candidates, the Republicans were still able to prevail in 72% of the state's 18 House districts.

On the walk, I saw someone with his dog across the street; the person had once been chief of staff for a former Dem governor in CO. Naturally, we both remarked about the 6-year-itch and the generally fearful atmosphere in recent times and more.  Another area of agreement: Gardner schnookered/out-maneuvered the Udall campaign not only by confronting the "personhood" et al issue early and somewhat forcefully, but he also "kept on smiling" "deflecting the issue" and being generally upbeat & positive.  It is the old "Morning in America" positivism that Reagan acted in so well. It often works.

Now for a blunt bit: My husband & I, who spent many sessions knocking doors and participating heartily in a number of Udall campaign events, had been troubled by the contrasting "dour" presentation of Senator Udall for the past few months ... realize that we think very highly of Udall (and his wonderful environmentalist spouse, Maggie Fox and that we believe he has been a very effective Senator in his one-term ... yet, also realize that something was missing, as if the campaign got stuck for too long on a slice of a bigger issue.  Please do not be offended when I say that it is difficult to make the campaign predominately about the "War on Women" when your opponent adeptly wriggled out of it.  Gardner wasn't an oblivious Ken Buck ... and all the repetition in the world wasn't going to make that happen.  It may have been the mistake of going to the well once too often.

Our Colorado campaign needed a definable, coherent, positive purpose.  (Frankly, I believe that--even with the more expected red-state losses--we, as a party, could not really "localize" this election.  It is a lesson often re-learned that a candidate hides or runs from the party leader at his/her peril; so, best reinforce the best parts of the connection and frame the issue before it frames you.) It is not enough to assert that the votes are there; yes, the votes are there to be had in Denver, Boulder, more often Jefferson County, and a number of central mountain counties. But, the votes will stay put no matter all the technology of precision targeting if and until there is a genuinely personalized connection.  We need to refine our purpose in a positive way so that these Denver voters will find something to move toward and not simply something to move from or fear.