Julian Castro, Women of Color, and Texas 2020

AUSTIN -- Every seat in the house is taken at Tamale House East on a steamy Saturday morning, almost all by women of color. Some are there to quietly translate for their monolingual tablemates (both English and Spanish) the proud claims to power from the nationally known activists onstage, the calls to action from the women in the crowd, and the promises from Julián Castro, the man who would be president. Others are there to represent: local advocates and activists from Workers Defense Project, Austin Justice Coa­lition, Planned Parenthood, and elsewhere. The women who own Tamale House are there too, making their own statement on an East Sixth Street that has changed so much around them, with white hipsters all about. There are enough tacos for everybody.

All have been convened here by Super­ma­jority, which has brought its star power and its giant orange-and-pink bus to the Eastside on a national kickoff tour to bring women – especially these women – to the center of the political stage. The advocacy group's rollout is designed to highlight its five "Majority Rules" as the planks of an accountability agenda: 1) Our lives are safe, 2) our bodies are respected, 3) our work is valued, 4) our families are supported, and 5) our government represents us.

These are bound together by "the Super Rule": "The lives and experiences of women – particularly women of color – are front and center in addressing all of our nation's challenges. From climate change to immigration to criminal justice reform, the people most impacted must be at the forefront of the solutions." While Supermajority is a long-term effort, this organizing and educational push, building on the 2018 momentum that sent the first two Latinas from Texas to Congress, has a pretty good head of steam right now. If you're running for office – especially if you're running for president – you should try to be on the bus rather than under it.

"Our expectation is that women are going to decide this election," says Supermajority co-founder Cecile Richards, hometown hero and former president of Planned Parenthood and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "And if you want them to support you ... if you want to govern, you need to understand what's on the minds of women."

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