The El Diario reporter and I are still gathering more information about this anti-immigrant ballot initiative (# 100) that passed just days before the convention (after Denver's City Council approved the vote in June), which would force police to impound the cars of driver's caught without a license and require proof of lawful presence to recover them. As was the case in Hazleton and other locations on our trip, local lawmakers appeared to have been taking their cues from the anti-immigrant apparatus. Our partners at the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, who we will meet at tomorrow morning's rally played a big role in trying to defeat the proposal in collaboration with vocal backing from local religious groups.
Also on Day 2, from Box 320 in the Pepsi Center we watched so-called governors night at the convention, leading up to the keynote speech by Hilary Clinton. The energy level for most of the late afternoon and evening speeches felt low, but anticipation slowly built as Hilary signs were passed through the crowd and the 8:30 speech time approached. Most of the speeches of the night were variations on the same themes, highlighting the Democrat Party's agreed upon policy platform, pushing the Bush-McCain comparison, and praising Obama. The most memorable part I suppose was the thunderous reception for Hilary, with much of the crowd wiping away tears, reminded no doubt of the roller coaster primary season that spanned half of 2008.
Finally an observation from the street: I've found that values issues have percolated up and down the 16th Street Mall by far more than any other, mainly abortion and homosexuality. I suppose these are the issues that do tend generally to evoke more emotions, but even in terms of numbers and presence, they have dominated. In fact, I think its safe to say that the right has out-vocalized the left so far. Very little focus on immigration, health care, or the economy so far at that level. Looking forward to what Bill has say tonight and to tomorrow's rally. That El Diario video interview is taking a little longer than I expected, but hang tight.
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