6 thoughts on “Election Night Take-aways”

1. People do not like “outsiders” telling us what to do. While there was a lot of outside money for all DPS candidates, the winners had strong roots in their districts.

   Sirota took her campaign nationwide…big mistake.  And, as I have been posting for more than year, if you don’t live in Denver, at least announce that fact before you weigh in with your opinion about DPS.

   Nan, you and I went round and round on this.  You simply discounted my opinion.  You did not understand. That is one reason your candidate lost.

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   1. is why I did not opine re DPS except for the large sums being spent. I don’t live close by and I am very unfamiliar with the DPS issues though I care deeply about education

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2. We had major ballot issues that were defeated as well as many city council seats decided last night.  

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3. Back on the school board race.

   First, a disclosure. I don’t live in Denver anymore. I can’t vote there. I’ve never met any of the school board candidates (including Rowe and Sirota). Never contributed to any. Didn’t follow it that closely.  Yadda yadda.

   I sort of followed David Sirota’s comments about the race only because I sort of follow David Sirota. I read him on Salon, etc.

   Sirota is a good writer and I often enjoy reading him. But my impression is that Sirota is a guy who a lot of progressives (of which I count myself as one) don’t like. He is a grenade-thrower and, let’s face it, a guy who is paid to be provocative. So far so good. But he throws grenades at the wrong folks too often, it seems. Hickenlooper becomes “King Hickenlooper.” (Wrong target, bud.) Bennet is bought and paid for because he accepts contributions from PACs (just like Sirota’s favored candidate did, until he stopped).  (Wrong target, bud.)

   Sirota shills for his spouse – I’d do the same! But in Sirota’s world it becomes a war of good and evil with his wife’s opponent consorting with devils funded by George W. Bush. In Sirota’s world, a true statement conveying that his wife hasn’t ever had kids in DPS becomes a completely unfair attack on his toddler son. No, it isn’t. And a true statement that they relatively recently became moved into the district becomes a personal attack on their ability to own a home. No, it isn’t.

   Going on Laurence O’Donnell didn’t help. Seeming to make this a national referendum didn’t help. Etc. I’m not sure this ever would have been close, but my impression is that Sirota didn’t help Sirota here.

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   1. Good to see you here. 🙂

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   2. It’s also that he didn’t help Denver. He injected a ton of toxic politics into the schools with his reckless rhetoric and false negative attacks.  

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