Eye On Williamson is still blogging at our temporary home. The corporate toll road experiment is not going well in Texas. TxDOT can’t pave roads in South Texas, but they can erect signs, do marketing, and subsidies/corporate welfare for a corporate toll road, The road to nowhere.
Looking to stay the right course on a new effort after 6 years writing Texas Liberal, Neil at All People Have Value updated his blog throughout the last week. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says blast from the past Tom DeLay is trying to get in front of the Republican crazy train.
And here are some other Texas blog posts of interest.
Mark Bennett offers a “revenge porn” statute that might pass constitutional muster.
Grits for Breakfast asks if police shootings of mentally ill folks are on the rise.
The Makeshift Academic wrapped up a four-part analysis of the progressive nature of Obamacare taxation.
Nonsequiteuse wants to know why encouraging condom usage isn’t compatible with the principles of demonstrating courtesy and encouraging responsible behavior.
The TSTA blog criticizes merit pay bonuses for teachers.
Texas Vox regrets a missed opportunity for cleaner air in Texas.
Jessica Luther reminds us that Wendy Davis was far from alone during her filibuster.
Juanita suggests a campaign slogan for Ted Nugent.
For all of the buzz that has surrounded Wendy Davis’ candidacy for Governor, eventually Texans are going to have start looking down at the rest of the 2014 ballot. For Democrats, this remains a particularly unsettling task. As Noah M. Horwitz of the Texpatriate blog justly points out, it’s some pretty ‘slim pickins’ thus far.
Todd J. Gillam of the Dallas Morning News voiced the situation appropriately. The root problem for Texas Democrats is that we’re caught in a “chicken vs. egg” scenario. Which comes first… the candidate or the funds to support the candidate? You can’t have one without the other. I’m sure if we had a few mega-rich folks walk up to Trey Martinez-Fischer or Ana Hernandez Luna and say “If you’ll run statewide, I’ll fund every penny”, they’d probably be in with little hesitation. But the problem for Dems right now is we keep asking these people to drink from a dry well. Less than one year ago, former State Rep Paul Sadler decided to walk the plank and run for US Senate, and he did so getting outspent by now Senator Ted Cruz 20 to 1. We see how great a decision THAT turned out to be for the rest of the country, and it all could’ve been prevented with a stronger Democratic apparatus in the state. Did we seriously think Sadler could run a statewide campaign in Texas on less than $1 million dollars?
Part of the reason that Texas is viewed as such a heavily Republican state has much less to do with the low-performing voters, and much more to do with the color of our money. No matter how we may split at the ballot box, our affluent population is deep red. This is the first great hurdle that Texas Democrats face… how to raise enough money to even get close to the Republican coffers. This is why I was pretty sure Wendy Davis would run for Governor after her big June Filibuster. She is the rare exception among Texas Dems that actually has some big-money friends, most notably Ft. Worth oil tycoon Sid Bass. Combine that with a slew of national recognition (and hopefully some national money), and you get a path to viability for Davis’ run. BTW Off the Kuff has done some great writing on this particular subject, so I suggest you check it out.
As mentioned above, the second great hurdle for Texas Democrats is some serious name ID… both inside and outside of the state. You need the outside name ID to generate press attention and money sources. You need the inside name ID so voters will have a clue who to vote for. These are burdens that the GOP side don’t have to bear, as they’ve already got a well-tested apparatus in place. At present, the people possessing this precious resource can all be counted on one hand… Davis, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, his twin brother Congressman Joaquin Castro and Houston Mayor Annise Parker (thanks to the whole ‘1st GLBT mayor of a major American city’ thing). They’re the only ones that CNN will bump a story for.
The final great hurdle? You have to have an army of volunteers in every corner of the state. It’s the only way to connect with the “Silent Majority” in the Texas electorate. Everyone knows that the potential voters are here, but they’re probably not registered, and they likely have no clue that there is an election happening in 13 months, and definitely don’t know why they should care about it now.
I know this all sounds like Politics 101, but to be frank, that’s where the Democratic Party in Texas is right now. While I agree with Horwitz’s sentiment and also hope for a “full-slate” of viable candidates to run in 2014, it’s important to take all of these factors into account before getting frustrated at the lack of movement. Democrats in Texas have to build from the ground up. Even if we were to “sweep” the statewide ballot, there still aren’t enough candidates running just in State House and Senate Districts to actually flip power of the state government, and the filing deadline is approaching fast.
But Wendy Davis’ campaign is a start… and a great one at that. Her election as Governor, even with Republican (possibly even TEApublican) majorities in both Houses of the Legislature could still be a big step towards expanding Medicaid, investing more in Texas schools, and protecting the rights of Texas women to make their own health decisions. So even if we’d have to put all the eggs in one 2014 basket, it’s a lot better than no basket at all.
The Texas Progressive Alliance thanks Sen. Ted Cruz for his hard work making the Republican Party more unpopular than ever as it brings you this week’s roundup.
Off the Kuff connects a flap over reduced tuition at UTSA for same-sex spouses of active military members to the 2014 campaign.
Horwitz at Texpatriate reports on the Houston Mayoral debate, noting that, no matter who you thought the winner was, the real losers were Houstonians themselves.
Of all of Greg Abbott’s mistakes, one stands out like a sore thumb: he birthed Ted Cruz. Then again, Democrats should really thank “Poop” for what he’s accomplished recently on their behalf. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs knows you have to take a little bad news with the good when it comes to Abbott and his protege’.
Though we often take them for granted, streets are vastly important to our communities. They’re the true lifeblood of any community. Whether we’re are traveling to work, visiting friends, or any reason that we need to get from Point A to Point B, that journey starts and ends with our streets. Which is why Texas Leftist was glad to hear of a landmark initiative for Complete Streets in Houston. It’s been a long time coming.
This week, McBlogger tells the story of a man with no plan, who’ll get no pay because he caused a delay. While others worked hard, his head was filled with lard. And then he tried to hide, so now we get to chide.
Somebody is going to have to do some dirty work if Wendy Davis is going to get elected governor, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs nominates the Castro brothers.
Lightseeker offers another in his continuing investigation of the Education Wars. Check out Three Telling Articles on The Education Wars. Give it a look, I am sure Rick Perry will. [snark]
And here are some posts of interest from other Texas bloggers…
The Texas Progressive Alliance is thoroughly enjoying some Republican slapstick comedy as it brings you this week’s roundup.
Off the Kuff implores Sen. Leticia Van de Putte to run for Lt. Governor. One look at the group vying for the GOP nomination shows how much we need her on our ticket.
Eye On Williamson is having some technical difficulties this week, we hope to be back next week.
Once PDiddie at Brains and Eggs declared this year’s municipal election season in Houston “the most boring ever”, things started to pick up a bit.
Horwitz at Texpatriate discusses the controversy that has arisen in a Houston City Council election after one leading candidate allegedly made some unspeakably offensive comments.
In the wake of both sweeping national changes and historic movement in another Texas city, many eyes are now turning to Houston, and wondering when we will follow suit with a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance. But this debate has been very active in the Bayou City for a while. In fact, Texas Leftist asked Houston Mayor Annise Parker directly about her reluctance to move such a measure back in April. Here’s a reminder of that exchange…
Texas Leftist: During your administration, you’ve tackled some of our city’s toughest issues… Chapter 42, city pensions, etc. and as a result have made tremendous progress. But why has so little been done regarding the LGBT community? With the exception of city government and some other select businesses you can still be fired for being LGBT because we do not have a non-discrimination ordinance for general employment. This lags behind other Texas cities such as Dallas, Austin, and Ft. Worth. When will you work to pass city-wide non-discrimination laws for our city? And even if it weren’t to pass council, isn’t the conversation worth having for the sake of all Houstonians?
Mayor Annise Parker: The conversation is worth having and as an openly lesbian politician, it is clearly not an issue I’m afraid to tackle, but see the answer above. I am unwilling to bring an issue forward when I know there aren’t sufficient votes to pass it. A non-discrimination ordinance would be important, but I am more interested in seeing discrimination removed from our city charter.
The city is prohibited by charter from offering domestic partner benefits or from recognizing the domestic relationships of our gay and lesbian employees. It would require a vote of the citizens to undo. I hope Council will join me in placing it on the ballot at the appropriate time.
Of course, that was then, and thanks to San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and some very brave city council members, this is now. When asked yesterday if a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance is something Houston should do, this was the Mayor’s response, directly from Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle…
“It is absolutely something we should do, and the majority of council members have publicly stated they are in support of a nondiscrimination ordinance,” said Parker, the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. “But this is an issue that requires all of council to be engaged and agree it is time to move it forward. When it happens, we will do that.”
So the Mayor confirms what many in the city have suspected… the majority of Houston City Council is probably in support of a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance. But no one knows for sure because the council members themselves have not been put on record for their stance on equality.
Thankfully though, the day has come. If you haven’t checked out Off the Kuff’s 2013 election page and listened to his interview series, I highly recommend it as an essential voter resource. So far this year, he has asked every candidate for City Council whether or not they support domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples, and as it turns out, the responses are mostly in favor from the data he’s collected at this point. The question is out there, and unlike past years, Houston City Council will have to answer.
Of course he’s asking only about domestic partner benefits, and not about a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance. Which is why I included it in the very first Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire (TLCQ), currently being distributed (via email) to all Houston municipal candidates. If Mayor Parker thinks that “all of council” should be engaged in the subject for political action to occur, then it’s time to help make that happen.
And if you’re wondering where the Mayor’s top challenger Ben Hall stands on LGBT equality, you’re going to have to keep doing so, as he has refused entirely to give an opinion on the issue. Hopefully Mr. Hall knows that whoever stands to be the next Mayor of the City of Houston will not have the luxury of ignoring monumental shifts in the fight for LGBT rights. And if he wants any credible chance of winning this year’s election, he won’t be able to ignore for much longer.
Health insurance premiums may go up in Texas. Not because of Obamacare but because Perry and the GOP didn’t expand Medicaid. WCNews at Eye on Williamson shows that it’s just More of the same from the Texas GOP.
Greg Abbott’s appearances on Spanish language media so early in the 2014 gubernatorial campaign reveal he’s taking nothing for granted, observes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.
