BAR: MY BROTHER’S BAR
My Brother’s Bar, 2376 15th St., could be called My Favorite Bar by its regulars. To many off at college or careers, it’s a first stop upon their return to Denver. To newcomers, its an unexpected delight. The bar you’ve been practicing for. It had been around about 90 years when Jim and Angelo Karagas bought it in 1970 (the 40th anniversary of the purchase was Tuesday) — and gave it its name. My Brother’s Bar is known for four things: It always plays only classical music, serves one of Denver’s best burgers, pours lotsa beers on tap and has no TV.
GRILLED: MICHAEL HUTTNER
Michael Huttner, 40, is Colorado’s loudest liberal and progressive voice. He was born at Rose Hospital, went to Graland Country Day School, Cherry Creek High and then away to Brown. After he earned his law degree, Huttner went to Washington, D.C., and worked in the Clinton White House before returning to Denver. He founded ProgressNow in 2003, and it has grown into the Internet voice of the left in 12 states. He lives in Boulder and is married with two young children. He orders a vodka tonic.
BH: Do people call you a rabble-rouser?
Huttner: People call me a lot of things. I have a pretty big target on my back.
BH: What is ProgressNow?
Huttner: We started it because we got our butts kicked so bad in 2002. The whole state was controlled by right-wing crazies. Like (Tom) Tancredo and (Marilyn) Musgrave and such. A group of us came together, people like Gail Schoettler, Rollie Heath, Jared Polis, and we figured we had to start an operation that goes after the right wing. Not only issues but their ethics, their legislation. Everything. Go after them and destroy their credibility as they have been going after us for years. And at the same time, build up the progressive movement in Colorado.
BH: Why do conservatives do so much better on talk radio?
Huttner: The generation that these people talk to is very segmented, 50-70-year-old white males. The right is losing as its audience is aging — where progressives are growing. This will take a while. The conservatives and Republicans made a big mistake. They wrote off blogs and the new media as a liberal thing. But they’re just tools. Not until Obama did they realize that this is something they have to do, too.
BH: You find politics exciting?
Huttner: Yes. I like the excitement, and I care about the outcome. You can help people on a grand scale.
BH: Did you always see the world as unfair?
Huttner: My brother got me interested in Amnesty International when I was in high school. I was about 14. I cared about human rights and I started working on liberal causes.
BH: You know that expression “If one is under 25 and is not a socialist, he has no heart; if one is over 25 and still a socialist, he has no head.”
Huttner: Sure. I am not afraid of who I am, whether they call me a liberal or a progressive. The stuff that the right puts out is the antithesis of what I believe in. This is just who I am.
BH: Do you think conservatives just aren’t getting the right information?
Huttner: Conservatives are all about me, me, me. It’s the Ayn Rand philosophy, a totally selfish philosophy, which is just appalling to me.
BH: Could you have married a conservative?
Huttner: No way.
BH: What’s in your future?
Huttner: My goal is to build ProgressNow to 25 states. But before I got married I spent a lot of time in India, I went to the ashrams. I am interested in meditation. And if I aspire to anything, it’s just sitting and being simple and not being caught up in politics and other illusions that are thrown at us every day.
BH: How is it having children?
Huttner: We have a 3-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl. We took them trick-or-treating and it was great. And the next day we took their bags of candy and gave them to the homeless. They couldn’t have been more excited about it.
BH: What’s your greatest fear?
Huttner: That people like Tom Tancredo and the right will once again take over Colorado.
BH: Well, they could.
Huttner: I know. The cycles of history, things come back around.
BH: What don’t you like about yourself?
Huttner: I am a little too headstrong. I could be more humble.
BH: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Huttner: I am a big fan of electronic music, and I go out of my way to see the best DJs.
BH: Do you care about food?
Huttner: No. I am not a big foodie. I love Chipotle and the Cherry Cricket and Indian food. But food is fuel to me.
BH: What’s your current state of mind?
Huttner: Content, but concerned.
BH: What don’t you like about your appearance?
Huttner: I used to have a lot of hair, now I have little. But I’m a skinny, bald Jewish guy and I don’t really care. Who am I trying to impress?
BH: What talent would you like to have?
Huttner: The ability to be a DJ.
BH: Where would you like to live?
Huttner: I love Boulder. If not there, Berkeley. If not there, India.
BH: Books?
Huttner: I liked “A New Earth,” by Eckhard Tolle.
BH: You mentioned Ayn Rand before.
Huttner: I hate Ayn Rand. I disliked “Atlas Shrugged” so much I had to buy the CliffsNotes.
BH: TV?
Huttner: Not much. And we try not to let the kids watch much. They don’t realize how little they do watch.
BH: They will. Greatest regret?
Huttner: Regret is not really in my vocabulary.
BH: How would you like your obit in The Denver Post to read?
Huttner: As somebody who looked out for families and kids and the community. My community is Colorado, and I care about Colorado. I care about the country, but Colorado is my passion.
Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Husted: 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com.
