The Nation: How Democrats Could Turn Texas Into the Blue Star State WOOHOO.

Just read it. Read the whole thing. It's SO DAMN GOOD! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:


http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080721/moser

Even though I supported Hillary, I did it while continuing to be infuriated at how the Clintons have always used Texas as an "ATM". But they weren't alone. I've been disgusted to the point of apathetic about the state party. I've had that attitude ever since the all fluff Bill White (who was very close with Bill Clinton) overthrew Bob Slagle claiming how he was going to take the party in a new direction and do all these great and wonderful things. I personally saw how Slagle devoted untold hours of personal time fighting pro bono the lawsuit against Republican gerrymandering from 1991, and he won. So Bill White's messianic intentions didn't sit well as I wondered, "who the hell is this guy who came down from DC from being some under sectetary, out of nowhere and claiming he's going to "save" the party. White did nothing but initiate the accelerated decline of the party. But he didn't care. He wanted to be mayor of Houston and if it took trashing the TDP, no problem. The party was on a down slide when White took over, but he gave it a shove downhill. I never did like the guy.

Then came a steady stream of TDP chairs who I can't even name now and I knew all of them up to White starting with Calvin Guess. Now this new generation is coming in with new enthusiasm, being led by Obama and I think it's great. Maybe 2 years from now my precinct convention won't return to the pre-Obama/Hillary days where it was just me and my wife holding the convention. Maybe people here will have finally had enough. And hopefully with a president that looks like America, things will finally change.

This effort really had roots in the Dean campaign in 2004. That year we supposedly had the largest number of new delegates to the Democratic State Convention ever. Until 2008 that is. Probably everyone of those people from 2004(like me) stayed involved in politics. We have been making steady gains in Texas ever since then. In the Texas Legislature.

Dean implemented the 50 state strategy and it helped us in Texas. In fact it was crucial for that line of communication to the DNC. It helped us when we took Ciro Rodriguez seat back in Congress. Texas was important again.

Then Obama took the national stage and if anyone learned what the power of grassroots means, it was the Obama campaign. He's pretty much self financed his campaign with small donors. Not to mention the millions of volunteer hours his supporters have put into his campaign. His contested primary race in Texas was a huge tsunami force for change. And it wasn't just our own echo chamber - the numbers proved it. Texas does have a lot of Democrats that we can turn out to vote.

Yes Obama deserves kudos as well as all the volunteers in Texas working the grassroots. The time is right now. Si se puede!

:appaluse:


Sonia

IMHO, that was a watershed year in that it marked the first time in history that the Internet played a significant part in the election. Not only was the Internet instrumental in Dean's historic campaign, it played a huge part in the record GE turnout.

And, it was important in Ciro winning. Yes, Ciro was dragged along to victory, kicking and screaming all the way after his campaign was pried loose from him and Carolina. Ciro and Carolina had a hard time letting go of the notion that if you knock on every door in the district you can win. That's hard to do in a district the size of several states put together. The coalition put together then can never be put together again. That was a one time thing. It's up to Ciro now.

However, Ciro and Carolina have a lot of fences to mend with the Obama people. Right now, there's not one Obama delegate in San Antonio that would lift a finger for Ciro in November because of the way Carolina handled the 19th SD and took everything for Hillary. Carolina, Choco Meza, et al really don't have a damn thing to show for the draconian way they handled the 19th and Bexar County's Hillary delegation in general. I don't know what the junior senator from New York will be doing for them now. I don't think anyone is going to be an under secretary for anything.

For the record, Ciro basicly told Carolina he didn't care what she did or how she did things.

I still have bitter feelings about how the national Democratic Party used Texas as an ATM during the Clinton years and the first term of Buckaroo Bush's term in office. While the Texas state party was getting flushed down the tubes, the national party did d____d near nothing. I admit that I do give to the DNC, the DSCC, and the DCCC on off-years, but since this is an election year, I'm supporting individual candidates and the Texas state party, not the national organizations.

That's not good. Cornyn has out raised Noreiga by 10:1.

This is one we can win if we just fund it!

:evilgrin:

Now I'm worried. Still, I hope Noriega beats the pants off of Cornyn when November comes around.

crispini, I've still got that picture of you with Valerie and Kirk at the Bloggers' Caucus. That was fun.

Let's hope that the TDP as a whole doesn't screw it up. This is a threshold moment for the Lone Star State.