Indulge me with a personal story at the outset. Trust me, it relates. 

Years ago, when our kids were young, we briefly had a small jalopy for a babysitter’s use. One morning, I discovered that the battery on this poor excuse for a car was dead. Our driveway sat on a bit of an incline, so I needed to push the vehicle to the bottom where I could jump-start it from my car. 

My wife was sick at the time and urging patience on this particular project. But I was headstrong and determined to get it done. In something short of a genius moment, I enlisted Katrina, our then nine- or ten-year-old daughter, to be my right hand. Or right foot. 

I put Katrina in the driver’s seat; showed her the brake pedal; and told her to push it as I gave the car a shove down the small hill. As the car picked up steam, I started hollering at her to hit the brake. She was coming out of her seat, trying to do so. In a few seconds, there was a big thud as the car struck the tree beside the driveway. 

It turns out my daughter had been pressing with every ounce of her being on the clutch. I had neglected to note that the clunker came with a manual transmission and had showed her the wrong pedal.  

Better to hit the tree than roll out into the middle of the street or strike a neighbor’s nice wheels. Admitting the obvious, this was a total parental fail. A quarter-century later, I still hear about it at family gatherings. 

The point of this anecdote is to serve as a testament to the importance of brakes. Phil Weiser, Colorado’s governor-elect for all intents and purposes, if not formally, is about to come to this realization.  

The headline story on the first of July centered on Weiser’s stunningly large victory over Michael Bennet, the early front-runner and presumptive nominee for much of the political establishment. 

But buried on the inside of those papers was news of one contested Democratic legislative primary after another being won by the more polarized, farther left, “progressive” candidate, often endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party representing the party’s outer perimeter. 

These activist winners include Iris Halpern and Gabriel Cervantes, both of whom handily knocked off Democratic incumbents, along with Kenny Nguyen, Jamie Jackson, Chela Garcia Irlando and Consuelo Redhorse. 

It was close to a clean sweep of those battleground races and a wipeout for One Main Street, the political arm of the party’s long-dominant, centrist interests. 

Most of these nominees come from largely Democratic districts and can be expected to take their seats next January. They will join plenty of other Democrats of similar persuasion and with a few years of legislative tenure. 

Of course, these progressive wins go hand-in-hand with Melat Kiros’s ouster of Denver’s congresswoman in perpetuity, Diane DeGette. Kiros is sure to be a lightning rod and the media will seek to draw Weiser into the fire even though she will be off in Washington doing Washington things. 

The progressive caucuses in both the State Senate and House will have unprecedented numbers and power in coming years. This coalition will go from being a sideshow to occupying the main legislative stage. Their policy demands will be felt on economic and regulatory matters as well as a range of issues under the heading of “social justice.” 

To the surprise of many who had categorized Gov. Jared Polis as some sort of Boulder leftie, he emerged, particularly in latter years, as a backstop against legislative excesses. His veto pen was inked up and ready to go. 

While Weiser ran a bit to Bennet’s left, that was mainly due to political opportunity. It was the available lane. In this political climate, it was advantageous to sit outside the established order. Though many of the campaign differences between Weiser and Bennet seemed manufactured. Both of their ideological orientations fit comfortably in the party’s mainstream. 

Weiser will hardly be a replication of Polis. He will have his own agenda and style. But like his predecessor, Colorado’s governor-in-waiting understands that the state cannot prosper without a robust business sector and that the most progressive types within his party’s ranks are hardly representative of the broader population. 

Moreover, Weiser gets that the majority of constituents he will soon serve are unaffiliated and disgusted with both parties and polar extremes. He may have set his sights on the governorship with an expansive agenda. But the nature of whom will accompany him into office will require him to pump the brakes as much as he punches the gas. 

Weiser’s role model and honorary campaign chair is former Gov. Roy Romer. Though the circumstances of their leadership could not be more at odds.  

Romer, 98 in October and going strong, was a sturdy, forceful executive during his 12 years without his party ever controlling either legislative chamber. At the time, that seemed a burden and obstacle. Weiser may soon envy the relative ease of reining in the opposition party instead of his own. 

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at [email protected]; follow him at @EricSondermann