Category Archives: Texas Politics

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics, Texas Politics

Why A HERO Referendum Could Be Good for Houston And Texas

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After years of planning, a slew of phone calls, repeated trips to City Hall, organizer trainings, exhaustive blog posts and countless closed-door meetings with Council Members, citizens finally found a voice when the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was passed on May 28th.  The new law instituted an historic new level of protections for all Houstonians, and for many was a cause for celebration.

But today, after being dealt what in their view was an affront to their values, the opposition to HERO struck back, turning in 50,000 petition signatures to City Hall (pending verification by City Secretary Anna Russell).  If at least 17,000 of them are verified as residents of the city, then the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance will be placed on the November ballot, and could even be voted down.  Supporters of HERO will have to work even harder to thwart the litany of lies, and convince voters to keep this critical law on the books.

The referendum is going to be hard work, but it could actually end up being very good, not only for Houston Progressives, but for Progressive causes across Texas.  Here are the reasons why.

For starters, Houston is ready for the referendum.  Long before a non-discrimination bill came before Council, supporting organizations have been preparing for the possibility of a city-wide vote.  The campaign to defend the ordinance is well under way, and has already engaged a broad coalition of organizations and elected officials.  You can learn more about the Equal Rights Committee at the Equal Rights Houston website.

Secondly, as a city-specific referendum, the math is on HERO’s side.  The opposition is asking voters to repeal a law that their elected representatives passed.  In general, that’s tough to do.  But that vote also occurs only in the city of Houston… the same electorate that sent Mayor Parker to office three times in a row.  In every past election, similar argument’s about Parker’s “evil LGBT agenda” have been waged against her, and they have never won.  After seeing Houstonians through a recession, and 4 years of record job growth and prosperity that other cities in the nation only dream of, are Houston voters really going to get enraged enough to vote this down?

As Houstonians like the talented Christopher Busby prove, Equal Rights should NOT be a Democratic or a Republican issue.  Sad though it is, the fight for HERO has become politicized, with most of the opposition’s coalition being Republican (again, not all but most).  Because of this, a referendum will likely serve as a motivator for Democrats to vote in Houston and Harris County.  It could even stand to boost turnout for Democratic candidates.  Again as mentioned in the above, this is specifically the city of Houston, whose electorate has already proven that they vote on the Progressive side.  This assumption could be wrong, but barring some smoking gun to move the issue, it’s not likely.  Giving Houston’s Democrats another big reason to get out the vote is sure to have statewide implications.

Finally, the opposition is built on lies and misconceptions about the law.  The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance isn’t a mystery anymore. It’s a real law, and is available on the city’s website for any and all to read.   Even for the people that are confused, they can go to the link above and actually read the ordinance.  The Mayor said it best in today’s press conference…

“It is illegal today, it will be illegal tomorrow, it will be legal after HERO for a man to go into a woman’s bathroom.”

Like the childhood legend of monsters under the bed, fear dissipates when mom or dad flips the light on.  HERO has been brought to light, and there’s NOTHING scary about it.

There’s still a possibility that the petitions could be invalidated, but for now, it’s time to plan as though the referendum is going on.  HERO needs some heroes again, and I strongly suspect that they are on the way.

 

 

Texas Politics

Van de Putte Launches First Campaign Video

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If you’re a top ticket candidate for an election, it’s pretty easy to grab the spotlight and make your voice heard on the issues.  For that year, your nomination to run for the state’s highest office gets a lot of focus from the press, and is typically accompanied a healthy dose of funding resources.

But for other party candidates, press access and funding can be much harder to come by.  It takes a skilled political team to run any good election, but especially one where your message is often deferred for coverage at the top.

So far though,  State Senator and Lieutenant Governor candidate Leticia Van de Putte is getting her message out there, in part by getting creative.  Since launching her campaign last year, she has excelled at connecting with Texans via social media, and not only has an active website blog, but very active Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.  Make no mistake… Leticia and her team have been on the leading edge of maximizing new tech for her campaign.

Last weekend, Van de Putte took her fight for Lite Gov. to the next level.  Just before a rousing, fiery speech at last weekend’s Texas Democratic Party Convention, she rolled out the campaign’s first major video, meant as an introduction both for her speech in Dallas, but also to introduce Texas voters to her campaign.  Sufficient to say, it’s not your typical campaign video.  Leticia brings us into her home, and we get to meet her whole family (including a gaggle of grandkids), and join them at an old-fashioned Texas dinner table.  And then there’s this thing with chicken and ‘mama ain’t happy’ and… well, you just have to watch.

This video was a huge success at the Convention, and could very well be a huge success with voters.  The genius here?  It’s not a very political video, but meant to show how much Leticia shares in common with other Texans.  In a few minutes, she’s able to escape the political world, and show all of the hard-working women and moms of Texas that she cares about their issues, and that if elected, they will be the ones with a voice in Austin.  If she can get the word out, this video can advance her candidacy much further.

Watch now, see for yourself, and leave a comment below with your first impressions.

Texas Politics

Would Greg Abbott Ban Birth Control in Texas?

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Greg Abbott is against birth control, and he’s not trying to hide it from anyone.

After yesterday’s SCOTUS decision ruling that Hobby Lobby did not have to sponsor contraception healthcare for its employees, the Republican Gubernatorial candidate immediately rejoiced at the notion of a legal company gaining the right to discriminate against women on “religious grounds”.  Per the tweet above, here’s his comment on the decision…

Great day for religious freedom & protecting life in the Hobby Lobby decision.

In case you’ve forgot, this guy is running for Governor, with the election to be held on November 4th of this year.  If he support this decision that strongly, what does that mean for women’s healthcare in the state of Texas?  If Greg Abbott considers denying contraception to women as “protecting life”, then would he be willing to sign a bill banning  contraception across the state??

At this point, we just don’t know the answer to that.  Abbott has been very careful to never reveal his true thoughts on a range of women’s health services, including contraception and abortion.  Here’s more from KHOU…

Abbott — a disciplined, on-message campaigner — dodges questions about just how far his opposition to abortion goes.

Questioned about whether he would support or oppose legislation banning abortions for rape or incest victims, Abbott avoids the question.

“Well, I’m pro-life,” he said during an interview after a campaign appearance in Houston. “And even under the laws that were passed by the Texas Legislature in this session that will be signed by the governor and that I’ll be defending in court, a woman is going to have five months to make a decision about having an abortion regardless of how that child was conceived. We’re working for a day when we’re actually protecting both the lives of the innocent unborn but also to protect the lives of the women who carry those children.”

When pressed again to directly answer the question, he dodges it.

“I support the legislation that was passed by the state Legislature during this special session, that the governor is going to sign into law and that I will be defending in court,” he said. “The battle is moving from the statehouse to the courthouse. And this is a law that is going to do even more to protect life in the state of Texas.”

Abbott’s precise position on abortion has been difficult to pin down. No question he’s very much on the pro-life side of the political spectrum, but it’s hard to determine exactly where on the spectrum his beliefs lie.

On the day after he declared for governor, the Houston Chronicle published a column in which veteran political reporter Peggy Fikac asked Abbott whether he would allow an exception in anti-abortion legislation to save the life of a mother.

“In a way, but you’re in a way kind of mischaracterizing the word,” he said. “It’s not like an exception. What both the medical community needs to do, and the pro-life community supports, is doing everything we can to protect the life of the mother.”

It’s hard to make sense of such vague platitudes, which should serve as a red flag to voters this November.  If Greg Abbott supports a SCOTUS decision where Hobby Lobby essentially bans contraception, would he support banning contraception in the state of Texas?  Could the use of birth control become a crime in the Lone Star State?  These are questions that we are going to need answers to, and we better start asking them before it’s too late.  He shouldn’t be allowed to run for Governor and also run away from these issues.

Texas Politics

How ‘The People’s Filibuster’ Changed Texas Politics

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Everyday on this planet, people experience a defining moment in their life… a marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, starting college, a new job… these events are significant to that individual, and the close family and friends around them.  Then there are even rarer occasions where we experience a defining moment as a collective, like the tragedy of 9-11 or Barack Obama’s election in 2008.  Once the moment happens, things as we know them are different.

That defining moment in recent Texas politics was not an election or a tragedy, but was generated from one state legislator taking a stand.  One year ago, State Senator Wendy Davis stood on the floor of the Senate for 11 hours in an epic filibuster against SB 5… a bill to severely limit access to women’s healthcare.  In a pair of pink Mizuno sneakers, she stood and talked while the world watched the dastardly GOP senators did everything they could to take her down.  That in fact is how Davis’ filibuster ended… claiming that she had failed to stand up properly 2 hours short of running out the clock on Texas’ legislative session.  But rather than give up, Texas’ Democratic Senators unleashed a slew of tactics to keep the delay going.  Finally at the end of the night, with 15 minutes left on the clock, one insult to Senator Leticia Van de Putte unleashed a fire from the gallery… Hundreds of women’s rights supporters cheered, and stomped and clapped until the Legislative Session ran out.  Davis’ original Filibuster was completed by the people of Texas.  To the Republican plans to harm women’s rights, the people said NO.

Like typical Texas Republicans, Governor Perry called a Special Session and they passed their heinous bill anyway.  But even as the GOP won a fierce battle, they simultaneously started a war with Texas voters on both sides, flooded Democratic coffers with new money sources, and elevated Senators Davis and Van de Putte to national stardom.  That’s the main way that Texas politics has changed since June 25th, 2013. Democrats now have real press power.  Gone are the days when a Democratic candidate would be wholly ignored by statewide media, or when someone like Rick Perry could laugh off the notion of a general election debate.  Republicans may still control Texas politics, but the sense of Absolute Monarchy has been “Magna-Carted” off to the ol’ dusty trail.  Now, at the very least in Texas, Democrats MUST be heard.

So the question remains… can Democrats use that bully pulpit effectively?  On this front, the results have so far been mixed.  Certainly not an indictment of Top-Tier candidates, but a clear sign that they’re still much newer to the statewide game than their GOP counterparts.  Much to the dismay of her supporters, Davis has run into trouble about how to immortalize this moment’s history herself, running away from the abortion issue almost as fast as her opponent runs from all the legal cases he files and then forgets about in public.  (By the way… whatever happened to the safe, legal and rare argument that BOTH parties used to support? Seems pretty reasonable to me.)

Ultimately, this new position of strength for Democrats must be utilized for one primary directive… turning out voters.  That is more important than anything the Davis or Van de Putte could yell from the rooftops.  Has Texas changed enough to swing some statewide offices blue?  Check the Senate clock… it’s still tickin’.

 

 

Texas Politics

Remember Sussudio: Phil Collins Donates Alamo Treasures To Texas

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What do a legendary British pop singer and over 26 million proud Lone Star State dwellers have in common?  A deep love of a defining moment in Texas History. From the Houston Chronicle (via the AP), check out what happened this week in San– San Antonio!

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Remember the Alamo? Phil Collins sure does.

The British 1980s music icon was at the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and Texas Revolutionary shrine in downtown San Antonio on Thursday, announcing the donation of his collection of related artifacts — one so vast it’s considered the world’s largest such private collection.

Collins, the 63-year-old Genesis singer-drummer, joked he’d spent “all the money that I made from music” on 200-plus pieces related to the battle where 1,500 Mexican troops laid siege to 200 Texans. He said he wanted to ensure the collection was better cared-for in the future.

“Some people would buy Ferraris, some people would buy houses, I bought old bits of metal and old bits of paper,” Collins said. “It’s at my home, in my basement in Switzerland. I look at it every day, but no one else was enjoying it.”

Collins has been an Alamo aficionado since growing up in London and watching actor Fess Parker portray Davy Crockett in a 1950s Disney miniseries.

“I’ve had a love affair with this place since I was about 5 years old,” said Collins, who sweated in a button-down shirt and spectacles before a cheering crowd of dignitaries and tourists who gathered in front of the Alamo for the occasion. “It was something that I used to go and play in the garden with my soldiers.”

Collins said his favorite artifact was also his first, purchased for him in the 1990s by his then-wife: a receipt for the sale of the saddle of John W. Smith, an Alamo messenger who rode through Mexican lines and pleaded for reinforcements before the battle.

The collection also includes a rifle owned by Crockett, his leather shot pouch and a pair of powder horns Crockett is believed to have given to a Mexican officer before his death — as well as muskets and musket balls that belonged to Mexican soldiers.

It’s not everyday that that someone so devoted to a cause gives a lifetime’s work of collection and acquisition back to the people.  Equally amazing is the reminder at just how profound and special Texas history truly is… this extraordinary state has fans all over the globe, whether they are from here or not.

The Alamo site is beloved by most all Texans, and Collins’ extraordinary gift this week should serve as a clarion call for us to once again “Remember the Alamo” and establish a firm plan for its future.  Recent debates about how to improve the historical site have become quite heated in its home city.  Some want to restore the site to its original 1836 landscape, which is hard to do in the epicenter of the 7th most populous city in the United States.  Either way, it’s a debate worth having, and hopefully Texans can come to an agreement soon.  As we move farther in time from the fateful, the Alamo’s significance as a world treasure will only continue to grow.

Politics, Texas Politics

Texoblogosphere: Week of June 23rd

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The Texas Progressive Alliance managed to tear itself away from watching the World Cup just long enough to bring you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff sets a standard for success for Democrats in the fall elections.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos is not in the least bit surprised to learn Texas Republican politicians are playing red meat politics with the Texas/Mexico border crisis. The Texas GOP: Now it’s IMMIGEDDON.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson on the Texas corporate toll road headed for a state bailout, I Hate To Say I Told You So…But.

Bay Area Houston has a picture of the face of the Texas Tea Party.

PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has a roundup of news from the Rio Grande “boarder”.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme knows that the Texas Republicans are anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic. And, they lie about it.

Neil at All People Have Value speculated about the meaning of a Texas license plate he saw with both the Don’t Tread On Me Flag & the word “Glock” on the plate. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

It’s a scenario that is almost unimaginable as a parent. The joyous day comes when your twin babies are born, and after welcoming them into the world, and caring for the young ones every minute, a court invalidates your biological rights to your precious kids. It may sound like a nightmare scenario, but Texas Leftist has discovered one Fort Worth gay couple that is enduring that pain right now.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

The Texas Election Law Blog criticizes a state law that allows for elections featuring unopposed candidates to be cancelled.

Offcite declares that now is the time to save the ecosystems ringing our city.

TransGriot reviews the next steps in the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance fight.

Denise Romano documents the cost of lies about the Affordable Care Act.

Lone Star Q examines a bizarre pro-diversity campaign by the Metroplex Republicans that nobody else seems to know anything about.

Happy Pride Houston!!  

Texas Politics

Texas Democrats Utilize Heinous GOP Platform

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So this is how it normally goes in Texas Politics… Republican candidates will run for office, and throughout the campaign they will do a bunch of stupid, even atrocious things which are virtually ignored by the media, and then finally sail into elected office in November.  Meanwhile the few brave Democrats that were willing to run for office or willing to call out GOP candidates can barely turn any attention their way.  Like trees falling in the forest, those that are not seen and not heard, are also not elected.

But 2014 is proving itself to be a very different ball game. Suddenly, Texas Democrats have new levels of support through networks like Battleground Texas and  the Latino Victory Project. Instead of being totally ignored, Wendy Davis, Leticia Van de Putte, Steve Brown and other statewide candidates have regular press coverage of their ideas and views on state politics. Texas politics ain’t a ‘one-horse town’ anymore.

As a result, when the 2014 platform for the Republican Party of Texas comes out, you can be sure that Democrats have lots to say about the horrendous  document. And this time, people are taking notice. Several prominent Texas Dems lambasted the platform on MSNBC.

Texas Democrats are criticizing a controversial policy platform

The platform calls for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act, endorses sham “conversion therapy” that seeks to change the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians, and puts forth a harsh anti-immigrant policy plank that calls for the repeal of a law signed by Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

“The GOP platform isn’t worthy of Texas. It is shameful and disgusting,” the state’s Democratic Party Executive Director Will Hailer said in a statement Wednesday.  “If Republican candidates have even a shred of integrity they will turn their backs on this disgraceful platform and join Texas Democrats in support of true Texas values.”

The beauty of this approach? No one of significant prominence on the Republican side is actually defending their party platform, even though they JUST voted for it at the state convention. Greg Abbott has evaded questions on the document at every turn, and even the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas Steve Munisteri is saying he doesn’t agree with the endorsement of reparative therapy!! This is par for the course for the Texas GOP… Do one thing in the dark, but then try to change your story when things come to light.

For Democrats, the release of the GOP platform might as well be Christmas in June. It is literally the gift that keeps on giving. We know that any same GOP candidate is going to evade these extremely false and harmful positions. So the next step is to use it against them, and stretch this fight clear into November.

Some in Texas have immediately taken notice. Houston Democrat Lane Lewis, chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, sent out this great mailer in response to the GOP platform’s endorsement of ex-gay quackery…

You have probably heard about the Texas Republican Party’s platform by now.

Among other offensive positions, they have endorsed “reparative therapy” for LGBT people. Rick Perry added insult to injury by comparing being LGBT to being an alcoholic saying, “I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue that way.”

Yes, they are serious.

While Republicans are pushing junk science and trying to “fix” LGBT people, Democrats continue to embrace equality for the LGBT community.

This year, there are more openly LGBT candidates running on the Democratic ticket than at ANY point in history. And we don’t think those candidates need to be fixed, we think they need to be elected.

In Texas, there is sleeping giant of disengaged, disaffected voters. They are living their everyday lives, working hard and are dissatisfied with the current state of government. But even the most politically inactive people will have a reaction to the falsehoods and terrible ideas in the Republican Party platform. They may even think of themselves as Republicans, but they cannot support all of these “beliefs” of the party. If Democrats can make enough hay about this heinous document, they can ride that hay to surprise victory this November.