Tag Archives: Wendy Davis

Houston Politics

Wendy Davis narrows the field

Leave a comment

Speaking to the National Press Club today in Washington DC, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis answered a significant part of the one question on the mind of most Texas politophiles. Here’s the scoop from Kate Glueck at Politico…

Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator who skyrocketed to national fame after mounting a lengthy filibuster earlier this summer, on Monday said the only statewide office for which she’s considering a run is governor.

“I can say with absolute certainty that I will run for one of two offices: my state senate seat or for the governor,” Davis said after addressing a lunch held at the National Press Club, when asked whether she’d consider running for other statewide positions.

With an answer like this, it seems that Davis is not one to shy away from a fight. And the run at Texas Governor would definitely be just that… given that she is currently at a 20 to 1 funding disadvantage to state Attorney General Greg Abbott. But that probably plays in to the state senator’s choices to speak at the National Press Club luncheon in the first place.

Besides the big news, Davis actually shared a bunch of information at the luncheon. From watching C-SPAN coverage of the event, it sounded like she was at the top of her game. She avoided a fair number of questions, like deciding not to answer who her favorite Castro brother was, but Davis also crafted a very clear case for how and why Texas Democrats can win in the state. When asked what chance Democrats have at a statewide office, Senator Davis gave this response…

“I think the question is, ‘what chance do new leaders have of winning elected office in the state of Texas?’ The best place to start that conversation is to talk about what Texans want to see in their government, and not to talk about it in party frames. I represent a Senate district that many consider to be a Republican one. It’s certainly a swing district at least. And the people that I represent have never wanted to have conversations about party. They [instead] want to have conversations about problems, and what my proposed solutions for those problems are. The best chance that we have of bringing new leadership in Texas, I think, will look at lot like that.”

This is what is so exciting about Wendy Davis. As I’ve written previously, she comes from a Senate district that is in many ways reflective of the whole state… both urban and suburban, a roughly even number of white voters and minorities, and a diverse income bracket. She’s spent 4 years working in this circumstance, and dealing with this diaspora of voters. As a result, Davis is much better prepared to run statewide than someone from a “deep blue” district. Her announcement today may not seem like huge news, but it was important for the State Senator to narrow the field, and send signals to fellow Democrats that may have been considering a run for the big spot as well.

It sounds like she’ll be making her decision soon, assuming we ever get done with these Special Sessions.

Uncategorized

2014: How Texas Democrats Get There

Leave a comment
If you’re like most Democrats in Texas right now, you’re probably disappointed that the GOP were able to win this round of the battle for Women’s Rights. I don’t intend to make light of that fact… this law will be devastating to hundreds of thousands of Texas Women. 

But from a purely political aspect, I also hope that Democrats are a little proud to finally have some battle scars to show for the fight. Sufficient to say, it’s been a long time since the Texas Democratic Party has showed up in full force like they have over the last month. 

So here’s the burning question… How do Dems take what happened in June and July of 2013, and run it right through November of 2014? As we know, the only way to truly win the war is to win statewide, and take back the legislature. 

Here are my thoughts on how to get it done. 

The GOP have become masters of misinformation. They perfect the rhetoric of “conviction” and “moral values” while painting Democrats as scum for trying to be realists. They spend a lot of time and money to craft a compelling narrative, while Democrats try to do this little thing called GOVERNING after the election is over. 

But what Democrats need to do is raise some hell… steal the GOP’s thunder a bit. And unlike years past, Texas Democrats have a plethora of issues to bludgeon them with right now. 

If I were Wendy Davis, Kirk Watson, Marc Veasey or anyone else trying to run statewide, I’d milk this bus tour stuff for all it’s worth. The next place you go? Schools. Go back and interview school teachers about what they’ve had to endure under Perrystan’s (Abbottstan’s?) budget cuts, and then convince voters that even with SOME restoration, it’s just not enough to keep up with the MASSIVE growth of the state’s educational needs. This is perfect for August or September.

After that? You launch ANOTHER bus tour in later 2013… maybe Flu season? Go across the state to ERs and talk to hospitals overloaded with uninsured patients. Rail against the Texas GOP for turning down the money that could go to help these folks get insurance through MediCaid expansion. Doctors and hospitals are already upset, so it would be pretty easy to get them to express that frustration on camera and for future Democratic ads. I’d call it the “CrisisCaid Bus Tour.” 

By the time those two things are done, you’ve managed to keep the base ginned up, registering voters, and have plenty of funding built up between Battleground Texas and the State Party organizations… taking Democrats into the “home stretch”– the actual 2014 campaign season. It’s a play right out of the GOP’s play book, and that’s why I know it would work. 

Lastly, Texas Democrats need to spend a little time on YouTube, and look up this guy they used to know… Someone by the name of William Jefferson CLINTON. Nowadays, it just seems that the Democratic Party is ashamed of the South, and really has no idea how to communicate with Southern voters. Even in Texas, we all look up to Ann Richards as our guiding light back to statewide office. So why are we following her in the dark? Listen to her SPEECHES. Notice that neither she nor Bill ever back down from a fight with the GOP, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to be. LISTEN to how she and Clinton talk… how they are able to argue the case not for “big government” but for effective government. It’s a message that has been lost to the Democratic Party, but it’s one that can win in Texas if properly revived. 

Houston Politics

An Orange Rally with Blue Roots

Leave a comment

Yeah ok… As a Democrat and someone who didn’t go to UT-Austin, I have to admit that I would have preferred a different set of colors for the Stand With Texas Women movement. What’s worse is having the Anti-Choice counter attack steal our blue. Not cool.

But the irony of yesterday’s Stand With Texas Women’s Rally in downtown Houston? It may have been orange from the outside, but you could feel some serious energy within to Turn Texas Blue.

The crowd started off reasonably strong… 200 or so people standing by the Discovery Green stage, mostly trying to stay out of the punishing sunlight, signing petitions and rapidly buying their burnt orange shirts. You could tell that the people showing up in Houston had just left work (like me) and were tired from the busy day they had already experienced.

But as soon as the crowd got word that the Stand With Texas Women Tour Bus was pulling up, new life seemed to take over the crowd. They suddenly found a collective Second Wind, and the strength to stand and shout at Discovery Green park. And finally, after another brief delay, the real rallying started. Texas’ newest political rockstar Wendy Davis, accompanied by Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, and State Senators Sylvia Garcia and Rodney Ellis of Houston, Jose Rodriguez of El Paso, and Kirk Watson of Austin. What felt like a few hundred people dispersed around Discovery Green swelled quickly to 1,000 as we condensed near the stage in a veritable sea of orange.

Cecile Richards kicked things off…

“It’s wasn’t just that Gov. Perry and some of his allies in the Legislature ended the women’s health program and cut more than 130,000 women in Texas off of preventive care, but now the Legislature is considering a bill that would force dozens more health centers in this state to close their doors making it even harder for women to get care and ending access to safe and legal abortion.”

The crowd definitely cheered at times, but also listened intently to each person at the mic. Like the above, it “felt” different… maybe because it wasn’t technically a political rally, but because this was a group of Texans that were putting up a fight. But no one was lost to the fact that this was a Democratic affair. State Senator Garcia, with Wendy Davis standing directly behind her, got the loudest cheer of the night.

“Instead of Texas women always having to fight our Governor, maybe it’s time for a Texas woman to BE our Governor.”

Yeah, that was basically all it took to make that group happy. And that’s when it hit me… Texas’ conversion to a swing state is happening right before our eyes. Even a couple years ago, Democrat and Leftist forces would have never put even a dime into something as intricate as a bus tour in Texas. When the 2011 legislature decimated our education budget (Wendy Davis’ first filibuster), most of the media wrote it off as “par for the course” in Perrystan. But now in two short years… who am I kidding… 4 short weeks… We’re standing here rallying and recruiting activists like we’re just west of Florida’s I-4 corridor. This is the stuff that I remember watching all across the country in 2010 and 2012. Every time Mitt Romney or Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi said something even halfway controversial, the other side had a bus ready to go. And for the GOP, they barely need an excuse to wait. But in Texas politics? Complete dormancy.

The Bus Tour is evidence that Texas Democrats are beginning to put the puzzle together. If the GOP continues to suppress and oppress, then it’s up to Democrats to not sit silent, but stand up and fight. Keep shining the light on GOP atrocities and tie these events into voter registration. Work hard to wake up the massive group of disengaged people out there. And if that can happen, they’re going to roll right through the orange patch, and turn Texas blue.

Houston Politics

Rule Number 1– Never Underestimate Wendy Davis

Leave a comment

Until one week ago, most people in the United States had never even heard of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis. I’ll even wager that most Texans didn’t know who she was. But they’re sure starting to find out now. In that 168 hours, her Twitter account skyrocketed from 1,200 follower to upwards of 127,000. She’s been interviewed by every national news network under the sun, and even gotten major write-ups in international papers like the Guardian and Le Figaro. It’s sufficient to say, that over the last week, she became a Democratic superstar and a national sensation.

I guess that’s what a well-publicized 13 hour filibuster can do for you. When you get #StandWithWendy trending on Twitter, your name becomes known. And sure, I agree with Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post… Wendy Davis shouldn’t be praised solely because of one filibuster. But it seems that the national media has done what they typically do.. focus on the event to build the person, instead of starting with the person to build the event. And as the national media’s attention shifts, they have started to sour on Davis’ prospects, partly due to a new PPP poll that predicts a slim chance of her making it to the Governor’s mansion. Luckily the GOP is going right along with them on this, and that will prove to be a big mistake. People need to know that Wendy Davis isn’t your bargain basement politician… she’s a real political fighter, with real guts.

Wendy Davis is someone that has beaten the odds her entire life. She was a poor, single mother at the age of 19, with no college education. But even then, Davis saw that her life could be more that her immediate surroundings. She put herself through community college, earned a scholarship to Texas Christian University, graduated with High honors, and went on graduate from Harvard Law School. All the while, raising a family. When she finally decided to run for State Senator of District 10, Davis once again faced a tough road. As a Democrat in a solidly Republican district, she beat the male, Republican incumbent Kim Brimer in a nail-biter race. Also worth noting, her former City Council seat is currently held by the wildly popular LGBT politician Joel Burns.

So that’s how Davis became a State Senator in 2008. Most GOP operatives blamed her victory on the “Obama wave” (eventhough John McCain clearly won her district) and saw Davis as a novelty that would be easily beaten in 2012. They of course thought wrong. Senator Davis won reelection in 2012 from a during a bitter campaign battle. Here’s an excerpt from the Texas Tribune’s 2012 election night article…

State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, narrowly clung to her seat on Tuesday night, fending off Republican state Rep. Mark Shelton in the most-watched legislative race of the Texas election…

Her win kept Republicans from coming within one vote of the two-thirds majority needed to render Democrats virtually powerless in the upper chamber. And it gave hope to Texas Democratic Party officials, who see Davis as a rising star and a potential a statewide candidate.

The Tarrant County district was hardly a certain bet for either candidate. It has traditionally leaned Republican: Gov. Rick Perry won the district in the 2010 gubernatorial race; U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., won the presidential vote there in 2008.

“I think it’s really a reflection of people wanting a bipartisan voice,” she said. “People rose above partisanship in the way they voted tonight. They voted for integrity, for a fighter.”…

Clearly with Davis, HD10 has started some new traditions.

But what happened with the previous races is critically important for Texas Democrats, and national Democrats to understand… thanks to the make-up of HD10, Wendy Davis is well-practiced for a statewide race. Her district is virtually a microcosm of it, and she has figured out what Democrats need to do in order to win there. That’s why you’re not going to see her spewing hardcore “left-wing” ideology. Instead Davis carefully speaks about Texas values, and limited, but effective government. She has carefully crafted a message that allows her to appeal across party lines and political philosophies. This is exactly why I wrote back in February that Davis is the top Democrat prospect for a statewide victory. She’s a pro at this stuff.

So I have to agree with Andrew Kaczynski over at BuzzFeed… winning statewide is “not likely” for a Texas Democrat…

But thankfully… Texas is a state that never cared for “likely”. Senator Davis, the ball is in your court.

For more opinions, check out Off the Kuff and Texpatriate on this.

Uncategorized

Myth EXPOSED: How Texas Democrats Nailed GOP on Abortion

Leave a comment

For forcing a Special Session and protecting Women’s Rights, State Senator Wendy Davis is now a bonafide Texas hero. But as the bright spotlight has focused most of the attention on her, another huge part of the story has been overshadowed. As we head into a second Special Session, it’s critical to get this part of the story out to the world. And for this, you have to go over to the Texas House of Representatives, and their proceedings leading up to the bill’s arrival in the Senate. This is truly where the most important part of the fight happened, and it’s where to watch as the next round begins.

A big portion of these issues that’s getting muddled up in the national media coverage? These bills are not about a 20-week abortion ban. They are about closing health facilities. That’s why they set impossible goals for the facilities and doctors to meet. A Doctor’s office is not a hospital. If you have a cold or the flu (assuming you have health insurance), the first place that you go to is NOT going to be the ER. We have these places as separate facilities for a reason. But under the guise of HB60 and other TRAP laws, all facilities where a Doctor would give basic women’s health care have to be upgraded to “ER” status, Ambulatory Surgical Centers. This leaves Doctors with a nearly impossible choice… either spend Hundreds of Thousands of dollars to turn their small clinic into a full-fledged, fully staffed hospital, or close up shop.

Here’s an excerpt from an ABC News article, written by Emily DeRuy…

Republican Gov. Rick Perry says he’s fighting to protect the lives of unborn children, but he stands to hurt living, breathing Texans in the process.

Both men and women, particularly low-income minorities who are more likely to lack health insurance and medical-care options, rely on the “abortion clinics” for services like contraception, STD testing and even cancer screenings. One in four women in the state are uninsured.

“That is part of the concern that’s getting drowned out in the abortions versus pro-life soundbite,” Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D) said during a Monday phone interview.

Right now, Texas has more than 40 clinics that not only perform abortions but also offer birth control and condoms. All but a handful will be prohibited from operating under the proposed bill. Those that could remain open are in a few urban areas, which would leave rural women with few options.

The restrictions “would represent a significant step backward for the health status of Texas women,” Dr. Lisa Hollier, chairwoman of the Texas District American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, wrote in testimony before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

Lawmakers in the Lone Star state barred Planned Parenthood from the state’s Women’s Health Program several years ago because the organization funds abortion clinics. The organization estimates that 130,000 women in Texas now go without preventive health care due to the state’s 2011 cuts to women’s health care funding.

Abortions make up just three percent of Planned Parenthood services in Texas, according to a spokeswoman for the organization. Thousands of women visit the organization’s clinics all over the state to receive STD treatments and other services. The organization also runs education programs to teach men and women how to avoid HIV and unwanted pregnancies.

Clinics not affiliated with Planned Parenthood provide similar services. The proposed law could force them to shutter their doors: In addition to banning abortions later than 20 weeks into a pregnancy, the bill requires abortion clinics to meet unusually high surgical standards and mandates that doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic.

Many of the clinics don’t currently meet such standards and would have to either remodel, relocate, or shut down if they perform more than several dozen abortions in a year. This is despite the fact that few people suffer complications from abortions in current clinics.

So even after being opposed by Texas ACOG, Republicans have continued to push the omnibus bill. Thankfully, House Democrats had plan to at least expose the lie that the bill has anything to do with women’s health or safety. The Democratic caucus submitted a slew of amendments to weaken the bill. But in the process, they forced the House to vote on each issue, instead of just rushing the whole thing through. Take a look at some of the amendments…

Rep Naomi Gonzalez offered this amendment to strike “medical evidence” and substitute “evidence, defined as the great preponderance of published peer-reviewed and scientifically based medical literature, knowing that the science surrounding fetal pain in support of the bill is inaccurate.

This amendment caused bill Sponsor Jodie Laubenberg to openly question studies from both the American Medical Association and Harvard Law Review regarding fetal development. The one study she produced to counter the claim had already been debunked. Voted DOWN by the GOP

Rep Senfronia Thompson submitted an amendment to create an exemption to the 20-week ban for victims of rape and incest. Given how emotionally traumatic the situation, a woman may need more time to make a very difficult choice. Voted DOWN by the GOP

Rep Mary Gonzalez offered an amendment to exempt abortion facilities that are located more than 50 miles away from the next nearest provider. Given how large of a state Texas is, and how few options currently exist for comprehensive care, this helps to protect the rights of women in rural Texas, and actually anyone living West of San Antonio. If a woman is going to seek an abortion, surely the GOP legislators would want her to have at least one safe option near her, correct? Why discriminate against women and make them travel up to 500 miles just because you don’t agree with their decision? Yep, you guessed it… Voted DOWN by the GOP

Rep Donna Howard offered several amendments to change the strict codes regarding upgrades to an Ambulatory Surgical Center, citing that state law already requires any abortion performed after 16 weeks to be done in an ASC. She asked to create exemptions to the space and height requirements, and exorbitant construction costs. Voted DOWN by the GOP

Rep Eddie Rodriguez offered several amendments to give clinics, at the very least, six more months to adjust to a slew of expensive new regulations. The bill, if signed by Governor Perry, would be effective immediately. That means any clinic not already in compliance has to shut its doors. Even the most ardent supporter of the bill would have to assume that any business needs time to transition, right? Voted DOWN by the GOP

The other amendments and record of the full vote are available here.

All throughout the amendment process, House Reps Jessica Farrar, Dawnna Dukes, Trey Martinez-Fischer and others debated GOP members on why changes to the bill were needed. So there you have it… the GOP caucus doesn’t truly care about what’s best for Texas women, and they proved it through their votes. They don’t care how many Doctors have to get put out of business, or how many people lose critical reproductive care. If so, then they would have passed any of several amendments to make the legislation more realistic. The above affirms that for the GOP, this bill is all about ratcheting up the religious Right flank so they can stay in office. Be on the lookout for more amendments in the next round.

Also important to note… What was formerly HB60 and SB5 in the first Special Session have been renamed HB2 and SB9 for this session.

Uncategorized

The 1st Stand With Texas Women Rally

Leave a comment

In case you haven’t heard, the fight over Women’s rights in Texas is far from over. Like the summer in this state, it’s just now heating up.

From the Burnt Orange Report…

Here in Texas, Republicans are waging an all-out assault on women. After the close of the regular legislative session, Governor Rick Perry called a special session to fast-track severe abortion restrictions that would close 37 of the state’s 42 abortion providers. This comes on the heels of vicious cuts to women’s health and family planning in 2011, which slashed 75% of the budget for what is primarily preventative care and access to birth control. Oh, and Perry also vetoed the Texas Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that passed with bipartisan support in 2013.

During the regular legislative session in which female legislators from both parties stood up against further attacks on women’s health — though let’s be honest, there wasn’t much left to dismantle. However, Perry decided to add abortion restrictions to an initial special session that was initially called to pass redistricting maps. (The maps suck and are intentionally discriminatory against minorities, but that’s a topic for another time).

Texas women stood up against the abortion restrictions. Planned Parenthood organized women to stand in the Senate dressed in 1950’s garb, while NARAL sent “tangerine vagilantes” in orange shirts to silently display their opposition. The movement grew when several of the abortion bills were heard in a State Affairs committee — pro-choice groups and the Democratic Party organized hundreds of women to attend to tell their stories about why they oppose the bill. When Committee Chair Byron Cook silenced the women by cutting off testimony, he tossed gasoline on a long-smoldering anger of women who had long ago grown sick and tired of Republicans’ endless chipping away at reproductive rights.

Hundreds of Texans thronged the Capitol for the second reading of the bill on the State House floor, during which Democrats valiantly offered sane amendments and sharp commentary on the bill in an effort to slow its passage. Eventually the bill made it out of the House and back to the Senate, but a mandatory 24-hour waiting period — which Dewhurst tried to out-maneuver due to the absence of Democratic Senator Leticia Van de Putte, who was attending her father’s funeral — put the firm Tuesday, June 25 midnight deadline within reach of a valiant last stand by the Democrats.

The first session ended with the now-famous filibuster by State Senator Wendy Davis, who read testimonies cut off by Cook and others submitted via email and engaged in debate with her colleagues on the Senate floor for over 11 hours, until she was silenced by Republican points of order. Her Democratic colleagues debated those points of order until with less than 15 minutes to go, the Senate Gallery erupted into shouts and screams against the bill and the gross abuse of Senate rules that was facilitating its passage. The clock ran out on the special session, and after it was ascertained that the bill did not pass, Perry called everyone back to do it again.

So that’s where we are: back for a second special session to pass unwanted abortion restrictions that a galvanizing citizen-led effort helped shut down the first time.

The first Stand With Texas Women rally begins at noon in Austin at the state capitol. But other events are also being held for those that cannot make it to Austin, but want to stand in solidarity with the protesters.

Texas Politics

Will She Run? Wendy Davis Answers

Leave a comment

Texans, if you’re not watching the new MSNBC program All In With Chris, then you missed some serious breaking news for the state of Texas last night. As I read this morning’s blogosphere, there’s a lot of prognostication about State Senator Davis’ next role in Texas politics. Will she run for Governor, or won’t she??

In an exclusive interview with Chris Hayes last night, she answered the question point blank….

Hayes: There is a Gubernatorial election in 2014. Your state has not elected a statewide Democrat for quite some time. Are you going to run for Governor?

Davis: You know, I would be lying if told you that I hadn’t had aspirations to run for a statewide office. I love this state and it’s been an incredible opportunity to represent it in the Texas Senate. I think the real story will be… will the sentiment of people hold? Will they demonstrate their desire for new leadership in this state? If yesterday was any indication, I think chances are good that is going to be the case.

Here’s the clip.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

An interesting answer which sounds quite familiar. In fact, I discussed this same issue with HCDP Chairman Lane Lewis a few months back. After suffering two decades of defeat for statewide office, Texas Democrats have been caught in a particular political conundrum. Here was Lane’s answer when I asked him about the possibility for statewide candidates…

If we expect a Senator, Mayor or State Rep to put their name out to run for state-wide office, the first thing they will look at is their ability to raise money. The second thing they’re going to look at is capacity for voter turnout. Now the problem is this… the only way they can raise money is if the answer to the second question is already there. The big money isn’t going to contribute without knowing voter turnout and engagement (the answer to the FIRST question) is already in place. So when people ask me “who have we got running for Governor?” my question to them is “How many calls have you made today? How many doors have you knocked on today?” Because if the answer to my question is ZERO, then the answer to their question will most certainly be ZERO. The money will come… the candidates will come when we’re doing our job. That job is to raise a dollar, knock a door and make a call.

Luckily, we know that things are beginning to change in the state. Shifting state demographics are in our favor, even if aggressive gerrymandering and voter suppression are not. Battleground Texas has already made a visible difference with rapid fundraising, organization and training to increase voter turnout. County Democrats across the state are working hard to line up new initiatives and stay active before the 2014 campaign season even begins. And let’s just admit the facts… with Governor Perry waiting less than twenty-four hours to call another Special Session (this time with his Anti-Choice agenda a top priority), the GOP is giving Democrats plenty of fuel for the fire.

Senator Davis has issued Texans a clarion call. Are we ready for new leadership in the state? If so, it’s time to get our act together and work for it. We have to keep raising money, keep knocking doors, and keep speaking out against Rick Perry’s abuses. Don’t let any bad deed be forgotten, or get swept under the rug. There’s 495 days left until the 2014 election. I say we go ALL IN.