1<!DOCTYPE html> 2<html lang="en"> 3<head> 4 5 <title>Reflections on Assembly</title> 6 <meta charset="utf-8"> 7 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 8 9 <link rel="preload" as="style" href="/assets/built/screen.css?v=QpNBjlSbNzyRyl6s"> 10 <link rel="preload" as="script" href="/assets/built/source.js?v=uMULaSMoSjM4gY5C"> 11 12 <link rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href="/assets/fonts/inter-roman.woff2?v=OecsB5TBLy27FKD2" crossorigin="anonymous"> 13<style> 14 @font-face { 15 font-family: "Inter"; 16 font-style: normal; 17 font-weight: 100 900; 18 font-display: optional; 19 src: url(/assets/fonts/inter-roman.woff2?v=OecsB5TBLy27FKD2) format("woff2"); 20 unicode-range: U+0000-00FF, U+0131, U+0152-0153, U+02BB-02BC, U+02C6, U+02DA, U+02DC, U+0304, U+0308, U+0329, U+2000-206F, U+2074, U+20AC, U+2122, U+2191, U+2193, U+2212, U+2215, U+FEFF, U+FFFD; 21 } 22</style> 23 24 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/assets/built/screen.css?v=QpNBjlSbNzyRyl6s"> 25 26 <style> 27 :root { 28 --background-color: #ffffff 29 } 30 </style> 31 32
32<script> 33 /* The script for calculating the color contrast has been taken from 34 https://gomakethings.com/dynamically-changing-the-text-color-based-on-background-color-contrast-with-vanilla-js/ */ 35 var accentColor = getComputedStyle(document.documentElement).getPropertyValue('--background-color'); 36 accentColor = accentColor.trim().slice(1); 37 38 if (accentColor.length === 3) { 39 accentColor = accentColor[0] + accentColor[0] + accentColor[1] + accentColor[1] + accentColor[2] + accentColor[2]; 40 } 41 42 var r = parseInt(accentColor.substr(0, 2), 16); 43 var g = parseInt(accentColor.substr(2, 2), 16); 44 var b = parseInt(accentColor.substr(4, 2), 16); 45 var yiq = ((r * 299) + (g * 587) + (b * 114)) / 1000; 46 var textColor = (yiq >= 128) ? 'dark' : 'light'; 47 48 document.documentElement.className = `has-${textColor}-text`; 49 </script>
49 50 51 <meta name="description" content="By: Chad and Derek"> 52 <link rel="icon" href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/02/denver_dsa_logo.png" type="image/png"> 53 <link rel="canonical" href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/reflections-on-assembly/"> 54 <meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer-when-downgrade"> 55 56 <meta property="og:site_name" content="Pika Press"> 57 <meta property="og:type" content="article"> 58 <meta property="og:title" content="Reflections on Assembly"> 59 <meta property="og:description" content="By: Chad and Derek"> 60 <meta property="og:url" content="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/reflections-on-assembly/"> 61 <meta property="og:image" content="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/size/w1200/2026/02/sitebanner.png"> 62 <meta property="article:published_time" content="2026-05-11T23:02:46.000Z"> 63 <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-05-11T23:39:06.000Z"> 64 <meta property="article:tag" content="The Pika Press"> 65 66 <meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/ghost"> 67 <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> 68 <meta name="twitter:title" content="Reflections on Assembly"> 69 <meta name="twitter:description" content="By: Chad and Derek"> 70 <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/reflections-on-assembly/"> 71 <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/size/w1200/2026/02/sitebanner.png"> 72 <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Written by"> 73 <meta name="twitter:data1" content="DSA KZRV"> 74 <meta name="twitter:label2" content="Filed under"> 75 <meta name="twitter:data2" content="The Pika Press"> 76 <meta name="twitter:site" content="@ghost"> 77 <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> 78 <meta property="og:image:height" content="463"> 79 80
80<script type="application/ld+json"> 81{ 82 "@context": "https://schema.org", 83 "@type": "Article", 84 "publisher": { 85 "@type": "Organization", 86 "name": "Pika Press", 87 "url": "https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/", 88 "logo": { 89 "@type": "ImageObject", 90 "url": "https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/2026/02/denver_dsa_logo-1.png" 91 } 92 }, 93 "author": { 94 "@type": "Person", 95 "name": "DSA KZRV", 96 "url": "https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/author/dsa/", 97 "sameAs": [] 98 }, 99 "headline": "Reflections on Assembly", 100 "url": "https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/reflections-on-assembly/", 101 "datePublished": "2026-05-11T23:02:46.000Z", 102 "dateModified": "2026-05-11T23:39:06.000Z", 103 "keywords": "The Pika Press", 104 "description": "By: Chad and Derek", 105 "mainEntityOfPage": "https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/reflections-on-assembly/" 106} 107 </script>
107 108 109 <meta name="generator" content="Ghost 6.63"> 110 <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Pika Press" href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/rss/"> 111 112
112<script defer src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/sodo-search@~1.8/umd/sodo-search.min.js" data-key="b3554593099ccea49cad197442" data-styles="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/sodo-search@~1.8/umd/main.css" data-sodo-search="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/" data-locale="en" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
112 113
113<script defer src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/announcement-bar@~1.1/umd/announcement-bar.min.js" data-announcement-bar="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/" data-api-url="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/members/api/announcement/" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
113 114 <link href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/webmentions/receive/" rel="webmention"> 115
115<script defer src="/public/cards.min.js?v=ShRHxgy4po8zN-Wf"></script>
115<style>:root {--ghost-accent-color: #e60b14;}</style> 116 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/public/cards.min.css?v=WwnU9jw5ancNC8Gc"> 117 <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.bunny.net"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.bunny.net/css?family=inter:400,500,600|poppins:400,500,600"><style>:root {--gh-font-heading: Inter;--gh-font-body: Poppins;}</style> 118 119</head> 120<body class="post-template tag-the-pika-press gh-font-heading-inter gh-font-body-poppins has-sans-title has-sans-body"> 121 122<div class="gh-viewport"> 123 124 <header id="gh-navigation" class="gh-navigation is-middle-logo has-accent-color gh-outer"> 125 <div class="gh-navigation-inner gh-inner"> 126 127 <div class="gh-navigation-brand"> 128 <a class="gh-navigation-logo is-title" href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org"> 129 <img src="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/2026/02/denver_dsa_logo-1.png" alt="Pika Press"> 130 </a> 131 <button class="gh-search gh-icon-button" aria-label="Search this site" data-ghost-search> 132 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" width="20" height="20"><path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" d="M21 21l-6-6m2-5a7 7 0 11-14 0 7 7 0 0114 0z"></path></svg></button> <button class="gh-burger gh-icon-button" aria-label="Menu"> 133 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 256 256"><path d="M224,128a8,8,0,0,1-8,8H40a8,8,0,0,1,0-16H216A8,8,0,0,1,224,128ZM40,72H216a8,8,0,0,0,0-16H40a8,8,0,0,0,0,16ZM216,184H40a8,8,0,0,0,0,16H216a8,8,0,0,0,0-16Z"></path></svg> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 256 256"><path d="M205.66,194.34a8,8,0,0,1-11.32,11.32L128,139.31,61.66,205.66a8,8,0,0,1-11.32-11.32L116.69,128,50.34,61.66A8,8,0,0,1,61.66,50.34L128,116.69l66.34-66.35a8,8,0,0,1,11.32,11.32L139.31,128Z"></path></svg> </button> 134 </div> 135 136 <nav class="gh-navigation-menu"> 137 <ul class="nav"> 138 <li class="nav-home"><a href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/">Home</a></li> 139 <li class="nav-about"><a href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/about/">About</a></li> 140</ul> 141 142 </nav> 143 144 <div class="gh-navigation-actions"> 145 <button class="gh-search gh-icon-button" aria-label="Search this site" data-ghost-search> 146 <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" width="20" height="20"><path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" d="M21 21l-6-6m2-5a7 7 0 11-14 0 7 7 0 0114 0z"></path></svg></button> </div> 147 148 </div> 149</header> 150 151 152 153<main class="gh-main"> 154 155 <article class="gh-article post tag-the-pika-press no-image"> 156 157 <header class="gh-article-header gh-canvas"> 158 159 <a class="gh-article-tag" href="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/tag/the-pika-press/">The Pika Press</a> 160 <h1 class="gh-article-title is-title">Reflections on Assembly</h1> 161 <p class="gh-article-excerpt is-body">By: Chad and Derek</p> 162 163 164 165 </header> 166 167 <section class="gh-content gh-canvas is-body"> 168 <p>The Colorado Democratic Party caucus and assembly process just wrapped, culminating in the state assembly on Saturday, March 28th in Pueblo. Thank you to the hundred-plus comrades who participated. Your presence made a palpable difference.</p><p>We learned in Pueblo that Democrats are hungry for material change. Some of the loudest cheers from delegates came when candidates named wealth discrepancies and the purchase that the billionaire class has on Colorado politics. Concrete demands landed with far more force than the vague platitudes so common in stump speeches.</p><p>That energy translated into results. DDSA-endorsed Melat Kiros beat Diana DeGette 158-77, nearly locking the fifteen-term incumbent out of the primary ballot entirely. Julie Gonzales won roughly 75% of delegates, not only securing ballot access but preventing Karen Breslin from clearing the 30% threshold. David Seligman closed the gap to within a percentage point of Jena Griswold for Attorney General. Amanda Gonzalez beat out Jessie Danielson for Secretary of State by a nearly two-to-one margin.</p><p>It is notable that establishment figures of the Colorado Democratic Party, Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, were absent from the assembly. They chose to bypass the democratic process rather than face a base that has moved well past them. That choice concedes that the progressive and socialist base now sets the terms of engagement, and it may cost them more in credibility than an expensive signature-gathering campaign ever could.</p><p>The platform told the same story. DSA members had fought to defend progressive language against establishment attempts to water it down in the lead-up to the assembly. When that language came before delegates on Saturday, they reinstated it by an overwhelming margin. The platform now includes opposition to the genocide of Palestinians, support for their right to statehood, a call to cut off aid to Israel, and support for 340B drug pricing. The Abolish ICE minority report won 92.4% support. While the platform is both imperfect and non-binding, it represents a clear demand by Democrats to move away from establishment politics, and a real opportunity for DDSA to capitalize on.<
168/p><p>Despite these wins, there were hard lessons. In the state treasurer race, two progressive candidates, Brianna Titone and John Mikos, both ran on a public bank of Colorado as part of their platform. They split the vote, each missing the 30% threshold. This allowed Opportunity Caucus-adjacent Jeff Bridges to easily make the ballot and run unopposed in the primary. Mobilizing just fourteen more delegates could have swung that race. When aligned campaigns falter like this, we should study them as organizing blueprints and as the clearest argument yet for Ranked Choice Voting in the caucus and assembly process.</p><p>Electoralism is simultaneously a point-in-time checkpoint where we get to see what people are responding to and an opportunity to build a movement that extends beyond any one campaign. This cycle's wins show that progressives are ascending, and we socialists are the clarion call for that work. We should not turn away from the hard work of electoral campaigns and the piecemeal gains that come with it. Nor should we let our vision of a mass movement prepared for a true rupture atrophy. Instead, we double down and use these results to organize harder between elections so that our skills and influence grow while others wait for the next cult of personality to seize them.</p><p>This is not the end but the beginning. Now that ballot access has been secured for Melat, the work is just starting. Will you join us in ensuring she wins the June 30th primary and is the Democratic nominee for CO-1? Will you help us build lasting power across the metro area to advance socialist values? There are many ways to get plugged in: join our electoral meetings or the electoral Slack channel to learn more.</p> 169 </section> 170 171 </article> 172 173 174</main> 175 176 177 <section class="gh-container is-grid gh-outer"> 178 <div class="gh-container-inner gh-inner"> 179 <h2 class="gh-container-title">Read more</h2> 180 <div class="gh-feed"> 181 <article class="gh-card post no-image no-image"> 182 <a class="gh-card-link" href="/denver-dsa-endorses-shontel-m-lewis-for-mayor-of-denver/"> 183 <div class="gh-card-wrapper"> 184 <h3 class="gh-card-title is-title">Denver DSA Endorses Shontel M. Lewis for Mayor of Denver</h3> 185 <p class="gh-card-excerpt is-body">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 186August 25, 2026 187 188Contact: 189Susie & Katie 190Co-chairs, Denver Democratic Socialists of America 191[email protected] 192 193DENVER, CO, August 25, 2026 â The Denver Democratic Socialists of America are proud to announce their endorsement of Councilwoman Shontel M. Lewis for Mayor of Denver in the 2027 election.</p> 194 <footer class="gh-card-meta"> 195<!-- 196 --><!-- 197 --></footer> 198 </div> 199 </a> 200</article> 201 <article class="gh-card post no-image"> 202 <a class="gh-card-link" href="/a-call-to-any-action-not-sure-what-to-do-just-do-something/"> 203 <figure class="gh-card-image"> 204 <img 205 srcset="/content/images/size/w160/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 160w, 206 /content/images/size/w320/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 320w, 207 /content/images/size/w600/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 600w, 208 /content/images/size/w960/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 960w, 209 /content/images/size/w1200/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 1200w, 210 /content/images/size/w2000/format/webp/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg 2000w" 211 sizes="auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 980px" 212 src="/content/images/size/w600/2026/03/DSA_feature_img.jpg" 213 alt="A Call to (Any) Action: Not sure what to do? Just do something!" 214 loading="lazy" 215 > 216 </figure> 217 <div class="gh-card-wrapper"> 218 <h3 class="gh-card-title is-title">A Call to (Any) Action: Not sure what to do? Just do something!</h3> 219 <p class="gh-card-excerpt is-body">By: Craig Skinner</p> 220 <footer class="gh-card-meta"> 221<!-- 222 --><!-- 223 --></footer> 224 </div> 225 </a> 226</article> 227 <article class="gh-card post no-image">
228 <a class="gh-card-link" href="/socialist-book-report-the-origin-of-the-family-private-property-and-the-state-by-friedrich-engels/"> 229 <figure class="gh-card-image"> 230 <img 231 srcset="/content/images/size/w160/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 160w, 232 /content/images/size/w320/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 320w, 233 /content/images/size/w600/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 600w, 234 /content/images/size/w960/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 960w, 235 /content/images/size/w1200/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 1200w, 236 /content/images/size/w2000/format/webp/2026/05/book-report.png 2000w" 237 sizes="auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 980px" 238 src="/content/images/size/w600/2026/05/book-report.png" 239 alt="Socialist Book Report: The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Friedrich Engels" 240 loading="lazy" 241 > 242 </figure> 243 <div class="gh-card-wrapper"> 244 <h3 class="gh-card-title is-title">Socialist Book Report: The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Friedrich Engels</h3> 245 <p class="gh-card-excerpt is-body">By: Bryant P</p> 246 <footer class="gh-card-meta"> 247<!-- 248 --><!-- 249 --></footer> 250 </div> 251 </a> 252</article> 253 <article class="gh-card post no-image"> 254 <a class="gh-card-link" href="/rage-bait-manufactured-anger-online-keeps-the-proletariat-exactly-where-the-bourgeois-wants-them/"> 255 <figure class="gh-card-image"> 256 <img 257 srcset="/content/images/size/w160/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 160w, 258 /content/images/size/w320/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 320w, 259 /content/images/size/w600/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 600w, 260 /content/images/size/w960/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 960w, 261 /content/images/size/w1200/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 1200w, 262 /content/images/size/w2000/format/webp/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg 2000w" 263 sizes="auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 980px" 264 src="/content/images/size/w600/2026/03/anger-online-624x360.jpg" 265 alt="Rage Bait: Manufactured anger online keeps the proletariat exactly where the bourgeois wants them." 266 loading="lazy" 267 > 268 </figure> 269 <div class="gh-card-wrapper"> 270 <h3 class="gh-card-title is-title">Rage Bait: Manufactured anger online keeps the proletariat exactly where the bourgeois wants them.</h3> 271 <p class="gh-card-excerpt is-body">By: Kaysie</p> 272 <footer class="gh-card-meta"> 273<!-- 274 --><!-- 275 --></footer> 276 </div> 277 </a> 278</article> 279 </div> 280 </div> 281 </section> 282 283 284 <footer class="gh-footer has-accent-color gh-outer"> 285 <div class="gh-footer-inner gh-inner"> 286 287 288 <div class="gh-social-links"> 289 <a href="https://x.com/ghost" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="X"> 290<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg> </a> 291 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ghost" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="Facebook"> 292<svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" fill="currentColor"><path d="M23.9981 11.9991C23.9981 5.37216 18.626 0 11.9991 0C5.37216 0 0 5.37216 0 11.9991C0 17.9882 4.38789 22.9522 10.1242 23.8524V15.4676H7.07758V11.9991H10.1242V9.35553C10.1242 6.34826 11.9156 4.68714 14.6564 4.68714C15.9692 4.68714 17.3424 4.92149 17.3424 4.92149V7.87439H15.8294C14.3388 7.87439 13.8739 8.79933 13.8739 9.74824V11.9991H17.2018L16.6698 15.4676H13.8739V23.8524C19.6103 22.9522 23.9981 17.9882 23.9981 11.9991Z"/></svg> </a> 293 </div> 294 295 <div class="gh-footer-bar">
296 <span class="gh-footer-logo is-title"> 297 <img src="https://pikapress.denverdsa.org/content/images/2026/02/denver_dsa_logo-1.png" alt="Pika Press"> 298 </span> 299 <nav class="gh-footer-menu"> 300 <ul class="nav"> 301 <li class="nav-sign-up"><a href="#/portal/">Sign up</a></li> 302</ul> 303 304 </nav> 305 <div class="gh-footer-copyright"> 306 Powered by <a href="https://ghost.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ghost</a> 307 </div> 308 </div> 309 310 </div> 311</footer> 312 313</div> 314 315 <div class="pswp" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-hidden="true"> 316 <div class="pswp__bg"></div> 317 318 <div class="pswp__scroll-wrap"> 319 <div class="pswp__container"> 320 <div class="pswp__item"></div> 321 <div class="pswp__item"></div> 322 <div class="pswp__item"></div> 323 </div> 324 325 <div class="pswp__ui pswp__ui--hidden"> 326 <div class="pswp__top-bar"> 327 <div class="pswp__counter"></div> 328 329 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--close" title="Close (Esc)"></button> 330 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--share" title="Share"></button> 331 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--fs" title="Toggle fullscreen"></button> 332 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--zoom" title="Zoom in/out"></button> 333 334 <div class="pswp__preloader"> 335 <div class="pswp__preloader__icn"> 336 <div class="pswp__preloader__cut"> 337 <div class="pswp__preloader__donut"></div> 338 </div> 339 </div> 340 </div> 341 </div> 342 343 <div class="pswp__share-modal pswp__share-modal--hidden pswp__single-tap"> 344 <div class="pswp__share-tooltip"></div> 345 </div> 346 347 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--arrow--left" title="Previous (arrow left)"></button> 348 <button class="pswp__button pswp__button--arrow--right" title="Next (arrow right)"></button> 349 350 <div class="pswp__caption"> 351 <div class="pswp__caption__center"></div> 352 </div> 353 </div> 354 </div> 355</div>
356<script src="/assets/built/source.js?v=uMULaSMoSjM4gY5C"></script>
356 357 358 359 360</body> 361</html>
Line numbers count LF bytes from the start of the resource, as the search results do. Vendor segments are library code the classifier recognised; they are stored but not indexed. Bytes are shown as Latin1 characters, one per byte.