Western Democrat has a simple list of three suggestion from Dan Slater, Colorado Democratic Party First Vice Chair, on how the DNC can start winning the West.

a. Support the Concept of a Western Regional Primary.

As Colorado Luis rightly points out, as long as the folks in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are culling the field for us, Western issues will get short shrift. We need to agressively press for a regional primary here in the West, to be held very early in the process. Not only will Western candidates (from both parties) benefit, but issues important to the West, including land use, the environment, and individual rights issues, become a lot more important to Presidential candidates.

b. Bring the National Convention to the Interior West.

We need the national spotlight on the Democratic Party with a Western backdrop. Of course, I would love to see that backdrop be the skyline of Denver and the Rockies, but I'd be happy with the convention in Phoenix or another city in the interior West with the capacity for this event. What is frustrating to me is that there is some sort of inferiority complex when it comes to Denver as a convention site. We have too many pessimists saying "it can't happen." If we work hard enough, of course it can happen. If we can host the Pope, the G-8 summit, and the All-Star games for the NBA, MLB, and the NHL, of course we can host the Democratic National Convention!

c. Demand a Western Vice Presidential nominee.

Even if we end up nominating somebody from out East as our Presidential nominee, we MUST demand that we be given the appropriate consideration as a geographical region. There are plenty of incredibly competent stars within our Party in the west -- including several governors and U.S. Senators -- who would make extraordinary Vice Presidential nominees.

In the end, we in the West have got to demand that our Party take action to include our region -- talk is cheap. It is one thing to talk about how important the West will be in the future years. It is quite another thing to make the investments -- in time, in money, and in political capital -- to guarantee the West's importance to this Party for the next generation and beyond.

Devolution of federal transportation policy is one pet issue of mine. Doing away with the public lands that are currently being used for private industries like logging, ranching, and mining are another. Let's keep the lands that truly qualify as natural and national treasures, like the national parks, and are in need of environmental protection. The remaining public lands are often operated for the benefit of big business and are harmful not only to our national budget, but our national environment. Enough is enough.