Tag Archives: Wendy Davis

Texas Politics

SB5 Falls: Wendy Davis, Texas Women Still Standing

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American politics is a living, breathing thing. And it is constantly changing. Those changes occur in very small increments… A new people moving to an area, people talking at work, or learning about new neighbors. It’s difficult to actually see that change happening until we take a “snapshot” of it through an election.

But this week in the great state of Texas, we’ve gotten to witness a true political turning point. Like any real movement, it wasn’t cooked up by a couple of money big-wigs, but borne from the concerns of everyday Texans. Texans that were tired of living under the oppression of Perrystan and his minions in the lege. Texans have had enough.

On Thursday night, hundreds of Texans went to the Capitol and staged a Citizen’s Filibuster to slow down the GOP- Dominated House hearing on omnibus anti-abortion bills. After pushing the hearing long into the night, true Republican intransigence prevailed, as Committee Chairman Byron Cook decided that the testimony of his constituents was “too repetitive” and simply shut down the hearing, illegally blocking hundreds of protesters.

That fact was not lost on Texas state House Democrats however. As the Anti-Abortion bills moved to the House floor, Democrats lodged a true fight of their own, challenging Republicans at every turn with amendments to weaken the legislation (and get it caught in Conference. Reps Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson, Dawnna Dukes and others fought valiantly to stall the legislation by keeping the House in session for nearly 15 hours. But true Republican intransigence prevailed, and the bills were finally passed Monday morning and moved to the Senate.

And that’s where this story took an epic turn.

State Senator Wendy Davis, a Ft. Worth Democrat who successfully defended her seat in a majority Republican district, had already proven herself a fighter, and a good politician. But she decided to take up the fight, and defend the rights of all Texas Women by staging a filibuster of the anti-abortion bill… SB5.

And with millions of Texas Women on her shoulders, Wendy Davis took to the Senate floor (in pink tennis shoes), and began one of the most significant 13-hour stands in Texas History. As the last line of defense, she held the floor, reading the testimonies of hundreds of women, including some of those that were originally shut out from that first House hearing. She stood and endured the grueling rules of Texas filibuster, which doesn’t all you to sit or even lean on your desk, and talked all the while. But of course, Republican intransigence once again prevailed, and just after 10pm, they effectively “killed” the filibuster. But with less than two hours to go, Senate Democrats rallied to slow revocation through a slew of Parliamentary Inquiry and Points of Order. As midnight approached, the crowd in the Senate Gallery began to roar with all their might, running down the clock before a vote could be cast. Republicans tried to lie and say that the vote occurred in time, but it was kind of hard to do with the whole world watching. Thanks to the bravery of Davis, Senate Democrats and others in the Chamber, Lt. Governor Dewhurst confirmed this morning… SB5 died.

Thanks to the incessant short-sighted nature of the Texas GOP, that sleeping giant that Democrats have so long predicted in Texas is now awake. Who knows what the next election will hold, but today we celebrate a new political landscape in Texas. Hopefully, as Senator Davis takes a look at that landscape, she’ll want to be sure her next career moves play a prominent role.

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The Texas Lege Dredge 2013

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Now that the Special Session is approaching a feverish end, it’s time to share some thoughts about the 2013 Texas Legislature. I haven’t written much about the Lege on this blog, choosing instead to continue focus on local politics and select national issues for two reasons. The first being excellent coverage from fellow bloggers Texpatriate and Off the Kuff… They have monitored the many twists and turns with careful accuracy, and I highly suggest consulting their work. Secondly, as a frustrated Liberal, I just didn’t have high hopes for this legislative session. I expected some Republican legislators to waste the critical time and money of Texas taxpayers on things like Anti- women’s rights bills, which they did, and for them to continue to cripple our state’s vital educational resources, which they did.

Now don’t get me wrong… I’m very proud of the hard work of Texas Democrats like Senators Wendy Davis and Sylvia Garcia. They fought tooth-and nail to restore most of the massive cuts made to Texas schools in 2011. But across the state schools remain severely under-funded, especially when you consider that the state has roughly 140,000 MORE children than it did two years ago. That means Texas educators are still faced with an array of impossible choices. You’d think for all the boasting Republicans do nation-wide about the so-called “Texas Miracle” they’d want to invest in our children’s future. And you’d be wrong.

The other event I expected from this years session? For Governor Perry to kill what little bi-partisan cooperation occurred in a massive slew of vetoes. And that’s exactly what he did. Particularly hurtful to Senate Democrats was the Governor’s veto of the Fair Pay Act… a bill meant to tweak Texas laws to be more in tune with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Houston Chronicle reported the following reactions to Perry’s veto…

Davis, along with Sen. Kirk Watson, blasted Perry on Friday in a news conference, likening the veto and his addition of abortion issues to the special session call as a “concerted effort to attack and erode women’s rights and quality of rights.”

“Once again the governor has made women’s health and women’s rights a target in an effort to bolster his own political standing,” Davis said.

Watson added: “These are political decisions that are part of a political war. Women are, at best, the collateral damage in that war.”

No wonder the state’s nickname is Perry-stan.

And of course, no summation of Texas political events would be complete without mention of the deplorable Texas Redistricting drama. After November 2011, when federal judges concluded that the GOP-dominated legislature’s new redistricting maps discriminated against African American and Hispanic voters, three separate interim maps were drawn by a San Antonio federal court in 2012. Though a mild improvement over the lege, the federal maps are still drawn by people that have no input or understanding of the majority of Texas communities they’ve been asked to affect. It’s like you living in the same place for decades, and knowing how to get to the bank, but one day you decide to map it in Apple maps just to laugh at how illogical the computer’s map is. If the GOP can’t have their fantasy map, they’d much rather stick to the highly unfair status quo. So it appears that the kink-ridden, “Apple maps.0” version of Texas Redistricting will be made permanent.

As Rice University political scholar Mark P. Jones reminds us, it could’ve been worse. The Legislature was no where near as tragic as they were in 2011’s Tea-Party tantrum. And sure some of the state’s Democrats actually managed to get a few things done. But comparing the 2011 and 2013 sessions is like comparing Hurricane devastation to Tornado devastation… if it’s your particular house lying in a pile of rubble, you’re still the one that’s out of luck. Texas Democrats can breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn’t as bad, but if they ever want to put a true end to Perry-stan, it’s time to plan for 2014 and 2015 right now. Or else, the state is at risk to have another 2011… perhaps worse.

Texas Politics

Get Schooled: The Truth on Texas Education Funding

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As the Texas legislative session continues to tick away, many people in the state are becoming worried about Texas Schools, which took a $5 Billion dollar funding cut from the 2011 session thanks to the GOP. While some have been pandering to angry voters saying that they would “consider” restoring some of the funds, no significant action has taken place yet… save for a few brave Democrats like State Senator Wendy Davis consistently discussing the issue.

And now, two years later, Texans are bearing the consequences with 10,000 fewer teachers in the classroom, but 64,000 more kids to educate. That results in over-crowded classes and resources that are stretched to the bone for the many districts that were already having to do more with less. Even as Governor Perry boasts about an $11 Billion dollar “surplus”, he hasn’t pledged one penny to restore the cuts he made when the state budeget was at a deficit. Texas families are getting fed up.

Enter the group One Texas PAC… an advocacy group dedicated to electing Latino leaders… with this new video showing the truth at how those 2011 cuts have harmed our state’s children. This is worth watching by everyone just to catch up. You can also sign the petition on change.org.

Texas Politics

30th Time’s A Charm: Can Texas Democrats Win in 2014?

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Before any true goal can be realized, it must first be visualized, idealized, and then actualized.

Over the last few weeks, there’s been a lot of buzz about the Texas Democratic Party… lots of talk about how it’s only a matter of time before Texas becomes a swing state. I’ve certainly done my fair share of prognostication too (See here from before the 2012 election and here for afterwards). But now in February 2013, has anything concrete taken shape to make this goal a reality?

The current answer is… kind of. The biggest news out of Texas’ blue prospects is the creation of Battleground Texas, a left-leaning money group that is meant to help revive Lone Star Democrats. The group has pledged to put big money into the efforts, and have an aggressive media presence. If that is their true intent, it seems that they are off to a slow start. There is a website up, but it hasn’t had any activity since January 29th, and the site still lists as “Under Construction. Same for the Facebook page… no updates or activity. Of course, 2013 is not an “election year” in Texas, at least not for state-wide offices, but make no mistake that this is a critical time for political mobilization in the state. The Legislature is convened from now until June, and local elections will be held all over the state this November in cities like Houston. Without a Presidential or Gubernatorial race, it may seem like an off-year. But in my opinion, it’s anything but.

Of course it’s not like a true Texan to wait around for someone else to get a job done. Texas Democrats are working hard to get ready for 2014 right now. Groups like the Harris County Democratic Party (Houston) and the Dallas Democrats have launched new websites geared for social media organizing, and are off to an impressive start in fundraising. In Harris County, the party is focused on holding year-round events and community efforts, to not only raise money for Democrats to stay competitive, but to keep voters actively engaged year-round.

These are the types of cues that the national Democratic party should take in Texas. In order for this state to turn blue, it’s going to take serious grassroots organizing, just like we typically see in Ohio, Florida and the other “traditional” battleground states.

The other essential factor for blue state success in Texas? Strong candidates. Thankfully, the Texas Democratic bench is looking stronger than ever before. 2014 will bring state-wide races for 3 critical offices… Governor, Senate and Lieutenant Governor. Eventhough some candidates like Julian Castro have decided to sit out 2014, there are still some very capable Texans that can compete in a state-wide race.

One person to definitely watch is State Senator Wendy Davis from Ft. Worth. In a swing district that voted for McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012, Senator Davis defeated a Republican Incumbent for her first trip to the Senate, and won again in 2012. A tireless advocate for Texas public education, she has garnered much attention by mounting aggressive opposition to Republican lawmakers. If Ms. Davis were to run for either Governor or Senator, she has a serious shot, and is my TOP contender for 2014. Make sure to put her on your radar!!

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has garnered an impressive record in her nearly two terms leading the nation’s 4th largest city. She has taken bold steps to help Houston weather the economic downtown, and now public sector employment is being restored. Houston has also been a national leader in job growth during the Recovery, and all signs point continued prosperity for the city in 2013 and 2014. Not only jobs, but Mayor Parker has also worked hard to improve the quality of life for Houstonians through massive investments in the city’s infrastructure, parks and bike trails. She’s managed to do it all through meticulous work on the city’s budget, and partnering with local business leaders. Though Mayor Parker has already committed to run for a third term, Texas Democrats can expect big things from her in the near future.

Equally impressive at the local level is San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. He garnered national attention last year after delivering the keynote address for the Democratic National Convention. Thanks to that, more Americans now know his name. But what they may not know is how hard he’s been working on behalf of the great city of San Antonio, whose voters not only re-elected Castro by a whopping 82 percent in 2011, but approved a landmark new early childhood initiative in 2012. Pre-K for SA establishes city-wide Pre-Kindergarten for all San Antonio kids, and is funded by city taxpayers. It’s sure to be a national model not unlike what President Obama mentioned in the 2013 State of the Union speech. Thanks to Mayor Castro’s leadership, San Antonio is getting is done. Texas Democrats… don’t be surprised if President Obama shows up in Texas soon. And if he does, expect Mayor Castro to be in the vicinity. For the moment, Castro has again committed to run for a 3rd (and final) term as Mayor of San Antonio. With such hearty commitments to Texas’ children, Wendy Davis and Julian Castro would make quite a team on a state-wide ballot.

Mayor Castro’s twin brother is U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro. Though he’s a freshman in Congress, Joaquin is no slouch to Austin politics having just finished a 10-year run in the Texas legislature. He’s built his political career on a solid record of bi-partisan accomplishments, and has lately become a very popular commentator with the national news media. As Immigration reform continues to be a hotly- contested issue on Capitol Hill, we should all expect Congressman Castro to be a key figure. That alone would be enough to put him on the radar for a state-wide office.

I’ll be looking at more candidates later.