Still in question is exactly what kind of change nonprofit director Pat Waak (RPCV - Brazil) of Erie will bring after edging out chairman Chris Gates by three votes in the Democratic State Central Committee



Still in question is exactly what kind of change nonprofit director Pat Waak (RPCV - Brazil) of Erie will bring after edging out chairman Chris Gates by three votes in the Democratic State Central Committee

Progressive "jihad" stirs upheaval at the top

Caption: Post / Brian Brainerd
Pat Waak traveled the state in her apparently successful bid to oust Chris Gates and lead Colorado’s Democratic party. Photo: Denver Post / Brian Brainerd

By Susan Greene
Denver Post Staff Writer

[Excerpt]

Still in question is exactly what kind of change nonprofit director Pat Waak of Erie will bring after edging out chairman Chris Gates by three votes in the Democratic State Central Committee.

Waak pledges to follow former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's model as the new national chairman, shaping a more technologically savvy party that better trains candidates, turns out voters and communicates core values about health care, education and jobs.

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"I'm going to build a grassroots-up party that can deliver votes in every election in Colorado," said Waak, who is little known in statewide political circles.

But some Democrats fear Waak and her liberal backers don't have the political pragmatism to pull off a gubernatorial win in 2006 and keep the party relevant in this age of campaign-finance reform.

"If they're trying to take the party in a leftward direction, it's self-destructive, and it flies in the face of what we accomplished this past cycle," said Jim Gibson, president of the moderate Colorado Democratic Leadership Council.

Colorado's junior senator Salazar - now the titular head of the state Democratic Party - warned that winning in Colorado requires a careful walk in the political center.

"Colorado Democrats need to understand their reality. Republicans outnumber us by 180,000, and it's the independents who control the state. I would hope that the future of the party is one that appeals to that spirit of independence," he said Sunday.

Wave of activism

Waak was careful over the weekend to reach out to Salazar and distance herself from Miles, whom she supported for Senate and who pushed her to run for chair.

Miles and his devotees have bitterly blasted Gates for dismissing his underdog Senate candidacy in 2004.

"My election is not about Mike Miles and bad feelings about all that," Waak said. Rather, it's part of a national wave of new Democratic activism, spurred largely by Dean's presidential run and now his leadership of the party, she added.

Waak pointed to Arkansas and North Carolina, where Democrats recently picked insurgent newcomers like herself rather than more establishment candidates to chair their party.

The difference is that Democrats in those states suffered losses in November. But in Colorado, the party enjoyed its biggest wins in a generation with the takeover of a U.S. Senate seat, a congressional seat and both chambers of the legislature.

"It's a curious time to change leadership when you've had the most stunning successes arguably since Watergate," said Tom Strickland, who lost his bid for U.S. Senate in 2002.

Some Democrats worry about Waak's ability to work with traditional Democratic groups such as teachers, trial lawyers and labor unions.

"Talk about a case of wanting to self-destruct," said AFL-CIO president Steve Adams, whose members are credited largely for recent Democratic wins. "I worry we had this team together that worked together so well, and suddenly that wasn't good enough. Now we're reinventing the wheel again."

Former Democratic chairman Tim Knaus said he first doubted Gates' re-election chances when he glanced at the names of Jefferson County Democrats voting Saturday. After 32 years of party activism, he said, he barely recognized anyone among the progressives newly added to the list.

"This is a fascinating example of underestimating the power of the people," Knaus said.

He lauded Waak and Miles for bringing new energy to the party.

But he cautioned against turning off moderate voters in Jefferson, Arapahoe and Larimer counties who were crucial to the party's legislative wins.

"If this is a change to take the party to the left, that could be disastrous," he said.

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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March 5, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Senate FR Committee approves $345 M PC budget 4 Mar RPCV's "Kennedy's Kitchen" records second CD 4 Mar Sam Farr asks Army to reconsider burial policy 3 Mar Bayanihan jewelry designed by Philippines RPCV 2 Mar Todd Vetter receives calling during PC service 2 Mar Sargent Shriver still on Washington's A-list 2 Mar Photographer Bill Owens publishes new book 2 Mar Crisis Corps to open new program in Sri Lanka 28 Feb PC wants new stories for "The Great Adventure" 28 Feb Ukraine PCV asks "Is Bush right on Iraq?" 28 Feb Carol Bellamy defends "feminism" in aiding children 28 Feb John Bridgeland discusses role as Bush assistant 28 Feb Paul Theroux recalls high times with Hunter Thompson 28 Feb Elaine Chao Leads Delegation to Uruguay 28 Feb RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years 27 Feb Kay Muldoon-Ibrahim's photography on exhibit 27 Feb Jim Doyle displays political brilliance on tax cuts 26 Feb

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Coates Redmon, Peace Corps Chronicler Coates Redmon, a staffer in Sargent Shriver's Peace Corps, died February 22 in Washington, DC. Her book "Come as You Are" is considered to be one of the finest (and most entertaining) recountings of the birth of the Peace Corps and how it was literally thrown together in a matter of weeks. If you want to know what it felt like to be young and idealistic in the 1960's, get an out-of-print copy. We honor her memory.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Read the stories and leave your comments.