Mountains have always been blue

Ah the vast, mysterious significance we attach to specific events such as Democrats winning in the Mountain West. Especially if "we" are from places like San Francisco. Many of the problems with this fascinating tale are listed here, but there are more. It is not as though Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have never elected Democrats. Quite the opposite. Rock Springs Democrat Teno Roncalio served as Wyoming's sole U.S. Rep. for two stints, 1965-67 and 1971-78. Wyoming has an interesting habit of electing Democrat governors who tend to hold on to their jobs quite comfortably, thank you. Utah named its newest federal courthouse for a Democrat, Scott Matheson. Colorado has had over the last four decades, Democrats have had all but eight in the governor's mansion. True, the Legislature went Democrat two years ago, but on the strength of largely pragmatic candidates triumphing over principle-over-practical types from the R side of the aisle. So the notion that the mountains are just now turning blue is a bit uninformed. Perhaps the more interesting question is why national Democrats haven't looked more frequently to high vantage point of the West for guidance.