On Saturday at the Democratic State Assembly, Michael Bennet left the Blues behind. Don't believe me? Check this out.
The picture is of Bennet's supporters and their signs at Saturday's Democratic State Assembly. But it went farther than the signs. Bennet supporters were decked out in new tee-shirts, hats, and buttons, all of them red (see picture below). It is striking, to say the least.
One State Assembly participant was heard to ask a group of Bennet supporters, "Hey, what's up with that? Democrats are supposed to be blue." Like the guys above, the Bennet supporters looked confused.
Most of us understand there are big differences between Blue and Red. Since 2000, when electoral maps became a prevalent part of election coverage, Democrats have been associated with the color Blue. That's why, when the good guys win, we call those states "Blue States."
Blue makes Democrats happy.
- Blue means you fight for the little guy, the guy without health care, the guy who needs a hand to get things on track, whose kids need an education, who all-to-frequently is taken advantage of by big business and its interests. Blue is about making sure everyone has a pair of boots so they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
- Blue is about people being responsible to one another. It's about a country that is bigger than you or me, us and them, the haves and the have-nots. It is about working together for the future rather than next quarter's profit.
Ultimately, it comes down to respect for one another, and Blue is the color of mutual respect.
Remember that map we all hoped for in 2008? You know the one that would be all Blue, where every state in the United States would be, for once, united? We were almost there. Barack Obama got us as close as we've come in a long time.
Along with a house full of friends and family, some of whom had marched with Dr. King, others of whom had been part of the ERA movement and Title IX, most of whom had worked for this moment since 2004, many of whom never thought they'd see a brown-skinned anyone in the White House during their lifetimes, and, for a few of whom, it would be the first presidential election they remembered, I cried that Tuesday night in November. We were united, even in our differences.
We were and are Blue.
Then we have Red.
- Red equals Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, two Bushes, and tens of thousands of people who care for nothing other than themselves and the money they've accumulated.
- Red stands for drill baby drill.
- Red is for torturing prisoners.
- Red is about increasing spending while decreasing taxes.
- Red is about deregulation so Wall Street can rob us all blind, industry can pollute the planet at will, and pharmaceutical companies can make massive profits on our illnesses.
- Red is about a person's value being equal to his/her credit score.
- Red is Phillip Anschutz and Bruce Benson.
- Red is for "privatizing" nearly everything, most importantly education.
- Red is for taking away a woman's right to choose under the guise of "Right to Life" while believing in executing our prison inmates.
- Red is for sending our kids across the seas to bleed and die based on false information drummed up by people who are, well, Red.
Red doesn't even care about Red. Red is always happy to cannibalize itself when BIG RED can profit by eating a group of smaller reds, many of whom were fooled into showing up at the Red party in the first place.
Are we clear about the differences between Blue and Red now?
I really don't like red. I don't like the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Oklahoma Sooners, or the Ohio State Buckeyes, but I love these red guys compared to the Red Menace, aka the Republican Party and its many factions, the Dick Cheney Gang, Big Oil's Buddies, Ronny's Corporate Raiders, the Religious Wrong, and, now, the Tea Baggers.
I have often joked that Michael Bennet wears blue suits with red boxer shorts. Not anymore. I might have to go back on my promise to vote for Jane Norton over Bennet because Jain is plain spoken. Bennet is now speaking quite clearly.
Bennet is Red.
I am glad Bennet decided to come out of the Blue and into the Red. His shameless e-mails asking Red supporters to buy him things like staplers and pads of paper with big Red graphics on the top are more fun. But what he really needs most are those new Red signs, buttons, tee-shirts, hats, and the like.
It's important to look Red when you're at parties with your Red friends from Wall Street, and Red is always a good color at any of this year's Privatize Education balls. Most important, though, Red helps keep you awake during those all-night, Screw-the-Working-Man sessions Bennet so enjoys while he's back home in DC.
As for me, I need something that's true Blue, the refreshing, right-out-of-the-tap Blue of the real Democratic Party.
Yeah, this kind of Blue.