Dec 21, 2007 6:01 am US/Mountain
Sen. Salazar Excited To Show Off Colorado In 2008
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Sen. Ken Salazar is looking ahead to 2008 with plenty of anticipation, once he gets his to-do list for 2007 done. Salazar was one of the key figures in bringing the 2008 Democratic National Convention to Denver, lobbying party chief Howard Dean then joining Gov. Bill Ritter, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Congresswoman Diane Degette on the host committee.
Salazar said getting the convention in Denver took a lot of effort. "I knew it was an uphill battle but I knew that we could get it here," he told CBS4's Brooke Wagner. "I knew that Denver could deliver."
He said he knew Denver could handle a convention because of it handled World Youth Day and other large events.
Salazar also said Colorado and the West has the right attitude for setting the stage for the final push for the White House. "There's a sense of pragmatism and rugged independence of the West that is important to this national convention."
A catch-phrase making the rounds during the bid and after Denver won the convention is "The road to the White House is through the West." Salazar said the reasoning is simple.
"The electoral votes of New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado will probably determine who the next president of the United States is. The Democrats have done well in those states especially in the last four or five years. I think that's why there's such a sense of emergency and importance about these three states."
But like other Colorado officials involved in staging the convention, there is concern about making sure the federal government pays its share of the bill, especially when it comes to security. Salazar said the Senate has passed bills to make sure the money is allocated but those bills have hit snags in the House of Representatives.
"We have to work through that but we have assurances from the leadership of both the Senate and the House that we will be able to get something through and we will have those security moneys."
Salazar said getting the money is a priority because the convention is a national security event. "You have former presidents of the United States ... you have the leadership of an entire country and if you were a terrorist and you were going to attack, you probably do something around that convention."
Getting that funding is just one item on Salazar's very full agenda. He's also pushing a bill on energy efficiency through Congress, hoping to have it approved before the holidays.
He's spent two years working on a farm bill he said would put fresh fruit and vegetables to school children in Colorado.
Salazar has also backed following through on the recommendations made by the Iraq study group but he said the problems in that region stretch outside of Iraq's borders.
"We have a world problem and an American problem in terms of finding a way to bring our troops home and salvage the possibility of peace, not only in Iraq, but in the MIddle East."
"The Iraq study group is the only set of bipartisan coherent recommendations that combine the diplomatic, international offenses with regional diplomatic offenses with our military power to bring that result about."
"We need a globabl response to the issue of terrorism and rogue regimes like in Pakistan or Iran. In order for us to succeed it cannot be an America alone effort."
(© MMVIII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
