My Greyhound bus recently crossed the Colorado state line, putting me squarely back in HCN’s coverage area. So perhaps it’s now time to ask: what did I learn about the West – and Western environmental politics – in my journey away from the region? The main thing I learned about Western Republicans is that they […]
Rnc 08
Posted inRnc 08
To our friends at grist.org
Dear Gristies, You may have gotten the best clean-coal-related video snippet of the conventions. But did you get one of these awesome hats? Will trade for a beer, if by some chance you’re still in the Twin Cities. Rob
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Getting enough outside time?
Sarah Palin loves the environment, at least according to the bio video they just played on the big screen here at the Xcel Center. But she doesn’t seem to be spending too much time outside in it, despite living amidst what’s arguably some of the most beautiful scenery in existence. The video features the requisite panoramas […]
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Palin’s identity politics
Everyone expected Sarah Palin’s speech last night to be long on biography and short on concrete policy proposals. Focusing on herself and her story — with occasional jabs at Obama — was what she had to do to keep from being defined by that gosh-darn liberal commentariat, which doesn’t think she’s qualified to be VP. […]
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Pickens pitches his plan
If you’ve watched TV recently, you’ve almost certainly heard from T. Boone Pickens. He’s the Republican oil billionaire who recently saw the light on the need for alternative energy and has sponsored a flood of windmill-porn TV ads to make sure the rest of America gets the message. Now he’s taking his pitch straight to […]
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The future of the Idaho GOP?
I have seen the future of the Idaho Republican party. His name is Brett Peterson, he’s a 24-year-old student at BYU-Idaho, and he’s in favor of more domestic oil and gas drilling. So much in favor of it that he showed up at the Democratic convention with a group of college Republicans who proceeded to […]
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Ron Paul rallies in the Twin Cities
The West has always had a libertarian streak, and the 2008 election year has proved no exception. Ron Paul, the Republican U.S. house member from Texas who was the favored presidential candidate of his party’s libertarian wing, did an amazing job fundraising in the West. (This may be a better indicator of support than the […]
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Lions and tigers and anarchists, oh my!
“Make sure you put these credentials in your pocket as soon as you step out of the convention center. The protesters are going through the streets looking for people who are here for the convention. Wearing your credentials around your neck will make you a target.” These were the stern words that the man handing […]
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Environmental swing voters? Nah.
New Mexico is shaping up to be one of the most interesting battleground states in the West this year. The presidential polls are starting to look good for Obama, and Representative Tom Udall, a member of the West’s most famous environmentalist family, has a good chance of taking the Senate seat currently held by the legendarily […]
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Guerilla blogging the RNC
If you ask me, HCN did a damn fine job covering the unreported, uniquely Western stories coming out of the Democratic convention in Denver. So what could we do for an encore? Well, one of your fearless correspondents jumped on a Greyhound bus to get the inside scoop on the other convention — the convention of the party […]