This cute puppy says: Get out and vote on Tuesday! Vote for Saira Rao! Vote for Cary Kennedy! We can have better Democrats, starting this fall, and continuing the blue wave in 2020. But it starts this Tuesday, June 26, here in Colorado, when we have the privilege of voting for some pretty amazing progressives:

• Saira Rao

• Cary Kennedy

• Julie Gonzales

• Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez

• Stephany Rose Spaulding

• Hazel Gibson

• Ashley Wheeland

These women are our future.

Remember all those times you held your nose and voted Dem because wtf they’re better than the alternative and, you know, The Court! The Court! I feel like I’ve voted for a lot of centrist mediocrity on those grounds. Bill Clinton. Al Gore. John Fucking Edwards fer pete’s sake. And Hillary Clinton, too. And here in CD1 in Colorado, I would dutifully check the box for Diana DeGette every two years because, well, why not? A reliable D vote and no viable alternative, but also no discernible fucks given about the communities I give a fuck about.

And I spent a lot of time trying to talk my more progressive friends out of doing dumb things like voting for Ralph Nader* or Jill Stein. Those things remain dumb, and I remain right, but I also felt that they had a point; that we had a lot of entrenched, white, privileged, mediocrity** carrying the D flag year in year out. At worst, this silences and alienates voters of color, voters with disabilities, and other marginalized voters; even at best, it bores the crap out of everyone, until our eyes glaze over and we . . . just . . . don’t . . . vote.

No más! Throughout Colorado and the nation we are getting the opportunity to elect better, more progressive, more enthusiastic Dems. Dems unafraid to call bullshit. Dems willing to call out racism, sexism, cronyism, and mediocrity. And then do something about it. Here are just some highlights:

• Saira Rao is calling for the elimination of student debt, unleashing the resources and creative power of a generation and jumpstarting our economy.
• Cary Kennedy will lead Colorado to universal health care coverage.
• Julie Gonzales has spent her career fighting for immigrants and other underrepresented folks and will work her ass off to protect our civil rights.
• Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez will fight to end the pay gap for women and especially women of color.
• Stephany Rose Spaulding will fight gun violence as a public health crisis.
• Hazel Gibson is fighting to ensure all kids have access to highly trained teachers and early childhood development programs.
• Ashley Wheeland stands by workers and will fight for paid family leave, collective bargaining, and employee rights.

But none of this happens — our bright future of a more progressive, more grassroots, more activist Democratic Party doesn’t happen — UNLESS YOU VOTE!

This is our future!  Let’s all get out and
VOTE! THIS TUESDAY!

******

*Love you, Robin. Miss you, Laura.

** Into which category Nader and Stein emphatically and ironically fall.