PHILADELPHIA — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper hired a public relations firm to promote his autobiography as the vice presidential search was under way, despite playing coy at home about his mile-high ambitions.
The revelation came in POLITICO’s tick-tock of Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential search that led to the selection of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. The fact that Hickenlooper didn’t get the nod is no surprise, as it was , even though .
The second term governor — apparently not content, despite his suggestions a year ago — made his intent clear to the Clinton camp. :
“Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper got himself as far as one of the interviews after spending the spring on a book tour. His near constant presence in Washington even put him meeting with former Congresswoman and longtime Clinton supporter Jane Harman at the Wilson Center to talk foreign policy, and hiring a New York-based public relations firm that urged reporters to interview him about gun control and terrorism.
“Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who is still dealing with the fallout from the 2012 mass shooting in Aurora, is disturbed by [Donald] Trump’s comments about Orlando and is available to discuss it,” read one emailed pitch [obtained by Politico].
A spokeswoman for the governor said Tuesday the PR firm was “hired personally as publicists for his book,” clarifying that no taxpayer dollars were used.
Hickenlooper is still considered a top contender for Clinton’s cabinet, a move that would leave the lieutenant governor he appointed earlier this year, Donna Lynne, in charge. He is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this week.
Editor’s note: Welcome to a special-edition Spot political memo from the DNC. More Colorado political news, notes and a look ahead to Tuesday at the convention below.
WHAT TO WATCH: The second day of the Democratic convention starts at 4 p.m. ET (2 p.m. MT). The headline is former President Bill Clinton, who proved four years ago he can still give a rousing prime time speech (though whether the Bernie Sanders supporters will be enamored is less than certain).
Much of the attention will focus on the family members of black men killed at the hands of law enforcement. The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Sandra Bland are expected to speak.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is expected to participate in press conference on Tuesday with the U.S. Conference of Mayors intended to “respond to Donald Trump’s claims of rising crime in cities,” according to the organization. Also on tap: New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
THREE STORIES WE ARE READING:
Michelle Obama’s Speech for the Ages. : Most convention speeches are forgotten almost before they’re finished. But last night in Philadelphia, Michelle Obama delivered a speech that will be replayed, quoted, and anthologized for years. It was as pure a piece of political oratory as this campaign has offered, and instantly entered the pantheon of great convention speeches.
In Hacked D.N.C. Emails, a Glimpse of How Big Money Works. : Last October, a leading Democratic donor named Shefali Razdan Duggal emailed a sweetly worded but insistent list of demands to a staff member at the Democratic National Committee. … Ms. Duggal’s note was among 19,000 internal Democratic Party emails released on Friday by WikiLeaks, setting off a frenzy on the eve of the party’s quadrennial nominating convention and forcing the resignation of the party chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Bernie Sanders moved Democrats to the left. The platform is proof. : Hillary Clinton may have won the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, but Bernie Sanders has still left an outsized mark on its future. Sanders has won a string of concessions on the Democratic Party platform, pulling the party to the left on the minimum wage, environmental regulation, marijuana legalization, and the war on drugs. “I think if you read the platform right now, you will understand that the political revolution is alive and kicking,” Sanders’s policy director, Warren Gunnels, told NBC News, adding that campaign got “at least 80 percent” of what it wanted.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
— Sarah Silverman to “Bernie or Bust” crowd. .
‘UNITY’ IRKS BERNIE SUPPORTERS: The rallying cry of Day 1 of the convention — unity — isn’t sitting well with several Colorado supporters of Bernie Sanders. In the lobby of the hotel where the Colorado delegation is staying, his backers traded hugs and complained about how the word and the effort to quickly bring them into the fold wasn’t sitting well. Skip Madsen, a Denverite who sits on the rules committee, said the only saving grace was Sanders’ ability to make the Democratic platform one of the most progressive in recent memory — an effort that could be used to keep future Democratic candidates and officeholders in line.
COLORADO IN THE WIKILEAKS: The word “Colorado” appears in the Wikileaks trove of DNC emails 196 times. But alas, most are news clippings from #copolitics, including a few Denver Post stories. John Hickenlooper, Rick Palacio, Michael Bennet and others make cameos. But after a good bit of combing through the emails, no major local surprise yet. Let us know if you find one we missed.
IN REVERSAL, DEMOCRATS OPEN THEIR ARMS: Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio closed the opening delegation meeting Monday morning in Philadelphia to the media. The Denver Post sat outside the door as Hickenlooper and other Colorado officials spoke to the 78-member delegation.
.@mkmatthews reports banning him from all DNC delegate meetings. Far worse than
— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank)
Why the closed door? Palacio said in a statement that the breakfasts “serve as a time for us as a delegation to come together and have discussions amongst ourselves as a group.” In prior years, however, they were open, which is common practice in other states. And later Monday, Palacio said he would open other meetings to the media.
https://twitter.com/mkmatthews/status/757713274016149504
In Cleveland, the Colorado Republican Party did the same — closed the first one but later, under pressure, allowed the media to attend two other delegation breakfasts.
In Cleveland, CO holding closed door b'fast mtg. Next door Washington state applauded the great
— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank)
AMID CHAOS, THERE’S BERNIE PEACE: Among the many fashion statements on display this week at the Democratic National Convention is a white hat with a simple message: “Bernie Peace.” The baseball cap — which features a dove wearing glasses and holding an olive branch — was the brainchild of several Colorado Democrats and local artist Albert Stern. .
COLORADO PUTS ITS STAMP ON DEM PLATFORM: Whatap in the Democratic Party’s platform … oh, well, a few additions from Colorado influencers.
A pot provision was championed by Dennis Obduskey of Park County, a member of the platform committee, and it calls on Democrats nationally to support a policy that would remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and set a “reasoned pathway for future legalization.”
Colorado delegates said former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, along with Skip Madsen, a member of the rules committee from Denver, played a role in crafting a plan to create a commission to study the superdelegate issue, which includes a mandate to reduce the number of superdelegates. .
Counter Programming — COLORADO GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE HEADS TO PHILLY: Arn Menconi, the Green Party’s U.S. Senate candidate from Colorado, is headed to his rivals’ convention. From an : “On Thursday, July 28, Mr. Menconi will host an evening event to welcome delegates and voters who are leaving the Democratic Party to join the Green Party for the People’s Revolution. The event will include actions, speeches by Green Party leaders, and community discussion.”
POP CULTURE MOMENT —
https://twitter.com/mkmatthews/status/757701229208281089