Some postings I have offered on this Blog over the last several days have engendered intense discussion and debate. Some of the discussion and debate has concerned how best to judge the credibility of candidates and campaigns.
The best answer to the question is one that hardly any of the comments touched upon. That is, the people themselves, acting democratically through the ballot box, are always the best judge. The people themselves acting through the ballot box are in fact the only legitimate judge. We all do still believe in democracy, don't we?
As for the list of "commitments" Barbara itemized in her newsletter, apart from the fact that they are wishes rather than commitments, in my opinion they are superficial palliatives. The meeting confirmed my worst suspicion, that the party chairman and his team are either not willing or not able to examine the culture of insider dealing and the undemocratic practice of insiders secretly deciding that only some Democratic nominees are worthy of party support. They are not willing to examine it because they don't think anything is wrong with it. They simply don't see the problem. They are satisfied with low-expectation strategies and they are content with winning a few selected state house seats and counties and losing the bigger elections. They are either not willing or not able to understand the root causes of and the state party's necessary role in knocking out the defeatism that plagues this party.
(promoted by annatopia: Part 2 of David's meeting between the statewides and the TDP - promoted by annatopia)
Part 2 of a 4-part series (Continued from January 29)
I also told Boyd, I understand and agree that policy decisions have to be made in the allocation of limited hard money resources by the state party. I told him that it is not a question of the party giving the candidates money; that in 3 statewide races I have never asked for a penny from the party and have never expected a penny. I told him the party cannot do that.
I told him I agree that clearly priorities have to be set in the allocation of limited hard money resources. However, I said to him, respect cannot be targeted. Respect is owed to the Democratic Primary voters who by their votes nominated every Democratic nominee, and that cannot be handicapped. I re-emphasized that the party has the ability to communicate to the public and the press to promote the nominees of the party, that doing so does not cost any more money, and that all of us candidates who were present know the TDP did not do so seriously with the statewide races.
Many of the "netroots" received my friend Barbara Radnofsky's Internet newsletter describing the meeting that took place on January 21 between Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie and some of his staff and advisors, and five of the 2006 statewide candidates, including myself.
With all due respect to my honorable colleague Barbara, her newsletter did not objectively or accurately describe the meeting. To be fair, her description may be subjectively sincere. But it conveys an inaccurate picture.
Every general election cycle, small groups of Insiders secretly handpick which Democratic Nominees are worthy of Texas Democratic Party support and which aren't. This practice, euphemistically called "targeting", is profoundly disrespectful to all the Democratic Primary voters who selected the Nominees in the Democratic Primaries. It is the ugliest little secret in Texas politics. If the mass of ordinary-citizen Texas Democrats knew about it they would not put up with it for a moment. They would probably march on Austin and tear the Party office down.
For your consideration on an individual or organizational basis is a very worthwhile group--Election Defense Alliance or EDA, http://electiondefen... --a hub of hubs of election integrity groups that could really help, perhaps especially, Democrats in Texas.
Hopefully, there is recent movement among election integrity groups to see the following corrected, if HR 811 (old HR 550) is reintroduced:
Stop the Executive Branch from Taking Over our Elections: Amend or End HR 811 (old HR 550)
What's wrong with the Holt Bill in three easy bullets
Common Cause, MoveOn.org, TrueMajority, VerifiedVoting.org, and many other large election reform groups are pushing - and pushing hard - for passage of HR 811 (the Holt Bill), national legislation aimed to amend the Help America Vote Act. The bill is being sold as a way to put "auditable paper trails" into national law. Sounds like a great idea. But many activists disagree with the approach to support "paper trails" that might be audited when what we want are real paper ballots that are - not might be - counted.
The other problem with new HR 811 is that it is about much more than paper trails. Read below the dangerous details that the groups pushing for passage of old HR550 "as written" aren't talking about.
The democratic processes of the American Republic are based on decentralized power. Centralized power led to the American Revolution. Centralized power is the antithesis of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
1. Centralization of Executive Power-White House Control over Counting the Votes: HR550 extends beyond the existing expiry date the power and authority of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), establishing a Presidential Commission authorized to control the counting of votes in every election--federal, state,and local--in the nation.
2. Centralization of Executive Power-Crony Appointments: The potential for stacking of the EAC is evident in the scenario already played out under the current Administration. In early 2006, the Bush White House made numerous recess appointments, putting political cronies into positions of power and authority without any Congressional oversight or checks and balances. Of the eight recess appointments made on January 4, 2006, three were Commissioners to the Federal Election Commission. Two of those appointed Commissioners are known for their opposition to voting rights and clean elections. The third is a political crony of Senate Minority Leader Reid of Nevada. (Nevada is now positioned to take a lead role in the Democratic presidential nomination process. For this privilege, Nevada has promised to play the nomination process by Party
rules, financed by the Casino industry.)
3. Centralization of Executive Power-Regulatory Authority: Federal regulatory authority means the federal entity preempts state and local authorities. The EAC was created as an advisory commission with one exception: it was granted regulatory authority over the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The EAC has been steadily positioning and even suing to assert its regulatory authority in other areas under its domain. Even if it does not succeed through litigation, the EAC could, with the insertion of a single line of text in ANY congressional act, become regulatory. This is how the FEC gained regulatory powers. A regulatory EAC means that a Presidential Commission-potentially stacked with political cronies-would have legal decision making and enforcement power over the following areas, for every state in the nation:
* Which voting systems are approved for use in our elections * Who counts the votes in every election * How votes are counted in every election * How recounts are administered and how their outcomes are determined
A recent editorial in the New York Times, entitled "Strong Arming the Vote" (August 3, 2006) describes how the Department of Justice under the Bush Administration has been heavily involved in partisan ploys to negate necessary checks and balances in election practices. HR 550, if passed as written, will establish a whole new arm of Executive power with dangerous authority to subvert the entire democratic process of elections that supports our system of government. It would result, in effect, in a bloodless coup.
People often ask, so what DO you support?
Here's an amended bill that might gain grassroots support:
We, the grassroots, can support the Holt Bill when it is amended to remove those dangerous provisions that centralize Executive power and expand Judicial election decision making authority. A Holt Bill that amends HAVA and provides real solutions to the problems in our election system need only include three items:
* The incontrovertible and legally defensible system of verifiable elections through the use of real, voter-marked and verifiable paper ballots (as distinguished from paper trails)
* The elimination of secret vote counting through the use of black box voting products.
* An extension of all HAVA mandated deadlines pending a complete independent investigation, analysis, and audit of HAVA monies distributed and spent on electronic voting systems, the outcomes thereof, with said investigation including information on the most advanced system of checks and balances for elections: hand counted paper ballots.
(Excellent diary - definitely worth the time to read this well done diary. - promoted by krazypuppy)
As the New Year dawns, El Pasoans still struggle to cope with what some describe as the 100-year flood; others called it the 50-year flood; and still others cautioned that not enough time has passed to place the storms of August 2006 in their correct context.
On August 1, 2006, traditionally the start of what we call the "summer monsoon season" -- the period from late July to September 30 when this region receives more than 50 percent of its annual rainfall -- ten inches of rain from a very slow-moving front fell in one morning on one section of the mountain that bisects this city of 700,000, which, when its population is combined with that of neighboring city Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, comprises half of a regional metroplex with a total population of approximately 2.2 million people.
That water had no place to go but downhill, to the homes and the businesses of the people living in the shadow of the mountain, bringing with it surprised snakes and innumerable species of fragile desert flora ripped up by the roots and cast down with the mud and rocks into the living rooms and kitchens of tired, cold, and frightened water-soaked residents.
For the havoc the rainstorms caused in August, and for the impact the damage is still having today, the floods are the El Paso Times' News Story of the Year.
"It will take us, conservatively, $200 million to fix everything and we will be working on projects related to the flood for the next 10 years," said Alan Shubert, the city's Development Services director.
(Our Weekly Column from David Van Os. - promoted by boadicea)
A little while after I post this diary Rachel and I will drive from San Antonio to Austin for the first meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee since August 2006. The SDEC is supposed to govern the Texas Democratic Party between the biannual conventions. The conventions themselves are the highest governing authorities of the party.
You might wonder how the SDEC governed the TDP during the crunch time of the 2006 general election campaign if it didn't meet. Don't tax yourself trying to figure that out. The answer is, it didn't.
The breakdown is over at BOR, but long story short is that HD29 is going to a runoff between candidates Mike O'Day and Randy Weber-both Republicans.
Muse has pics over at her place of the election night party. And I think that Hal has the best analysis of all of the challenges of this election, and the implications for all of us fighting for Democrats in Texas in the coming few years.
We fight for Texans who don't even know there's an election. For those who've no idea what difference effective and accountable government can make in their lives.
We fight for the very Texans who have never in their entire voting lives voted for a Democrat.
It's our responsibility to fight for them. Because we know.
It's another chance to get some exercise, meet some interesting people, (including some of those indispensible bloggertypes) and help put Anthony Dinovo into the Texas House.
This is a low turnout election. Let's make sure our voters are identified and turned out Tuesday.
If you need more motivation than a chance to kick RPT ass twice in one month, follow me to the flip.
The Dr. Anthony DiNovo campaign just called me and they are having problems at an early voting site - the Alvin Library. An election
official there is telling voters that it is "a Republican voting location only." Democrat voters are being turned away.
Turnout is low in this special election for House District 29 and DiNovo, the only Democrat running against three Republicans, needs EVERY vote he can get.
Early voting is through this Friday.
Regular election is next Tuesday.
The campaign will pay $8/hour for someone to go pollwatch at that location the rest of the week.
Call the DiNovo campaign 281 412-0990 if you can take advantage of this opportunity to help.
Every incumbent House Democrat won re-election. The Texas House will have six more Democrats at the start of the 80th Regular Session than it did at the start of the 79th Regular Session. And Texas Democrats did it all despite being considerably outspent in every single one of their competitive races.
That answer, unequivocably, is the House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC). The HDCC is the leadership PAC run by House Democratic Leader Jim Dunnam of Waco, LSG Chair Garnet Coleman of Houston, and Mexican American Caucus Chair Pete Gallego of Alpine. What began in 2004 as a simple fundraising PAC expanded this last cycle into one of the most important Democratic organizations in Texas.
From high-dollar fundraising to grassroots efforts, and from hard-hitting direct mail pieces to daily phone calls with dozens of campaigns, the HDCC made it happen. Here's a brief look into what they did, how they did it, and what to expect in the future.
Filtering: 1,000 Registered Voters from Texas's 23rd Congressional District, chosen using Registration Based Sample from Aristotle International, were interviewed 12/1/06 through 12/3/06. Of them, 471 were judged to be "likely" voters. Crosstabs reflect Likely Voters. Margin of Sampling Error: ± 4.6%
Bonilla (R) 53%
Rodriguez (D) 46%
Undecided 1%
Bonilla gets 70% of White votes. Rodriguez gets 72% of Hispanic votes. In SurveyUSA's turnout model, 59% of likely runoff voters are white, 36% are Hispanic. If Hispanics, who are 55% of the population in TX 23, make up more than 36% of those who vote in the Runoff, the contest will be closer than SurveyUSA's numbers here show.
Bonilla gets 94% of Republican votes. Rodriguez gets 89% of Democratic votes. Independents split. Bonilla wins by 25 points among higher-income voters, and by 15 points among middle-income voters. Rodriguez wins by 25 points among lower-income voters.
The bolded section is key. Hispanic turnout in Texas as shown on November 7th under performs the registration levels. But this is a low-turnout runoff election. Trying to predict which side is going to turnout is indeed the mystery.
As it stands with the early vote in Bexar County, 48% of the vote is coming from the heavily Hispanic southside locations and 52% from the more anglo northwest. That's just one county, though the epicenter of voter turnout. And you never know, Election Day could still change.
Hope y'all had a chance to catch your breath, because the starter's gun has sounded for the Special Election Runoff in TX-23 between Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Bonilla. (Though as Secretary of State Roger Williams hasn't yet set the date yet, it's not clear exactly where the finish line is going to fall.)
We got some good news yesterday-DCCC is coming into the race with the kind of institutional support that they do best. The word is they're bringing in some very experienced hands-including some folks who were involved in the Hackett campaign in Ohio.
Previously reported has been the endorsements of Ciro of all the Democratic candidates in the field. Lukin Gilliland offered his headquarters for the campaign's use, and the statewide candidate team, including Barbara Radnofsky and David Van Os help fundraise for Ciro.
I find it hard to consider the Texas election went smoothly for the Republicans. They continue to slime their way to "victory" through fraud and strident propaganda, as they did after election since the 1980s. The only way to stop it is to face it, and then shout so long and loud until the people finally perceive that their suspicions are perfectly just - and ultimately say BASTA!
Ever since Bush family carpetbagged their way to Texas and the rise of the Texas GOP things have never been the same. The problem here in Texas, Democrats and the media continues to claim endlessly, that there is no problem, or that the problem is not partisan malfeasance but "human error."
Here is a list of problems that has been reported in the media that occurred during the elections.
I feel as though a big burden has been lifted now that the Democrats are back in charge of the Congress.
No longer will we have to deal (nationally) with rubber stamp Republicans jamming through every proposal Bush had regardless of the consequences.
At least for now, there's finally going to be some national accountability, and I sure hope Democrats in Congress deliver and hold these Republithugs accountable for their evil deeds.
More below.
