Lone Star Democracy Builders Association

I'm so appalled by the frickin' Flag Desecration Amendment, it's unreal. Of all the totally useless election-year posturing so far, this might be thing I hate the most. You know we're at a totally bizarre political moment when I find myself agreeing with the otherwise odious Sen. Mitch McConnell. It's hard for me to type anything about this issue without sputtering and seething, so I'll leave this one up to Frederick Douglass:

Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters.

Y'all go smack some sense into your Senators, willya? Thanks.

Posted by Carrie at 4:05 PM in Action | Permalink

One of the biggest ways that political campaigns can show strength is their fundraising. About half the times you've heard someone say, "I just don't think that guy can win," what they mean is, "That candidate isn't raising enough money to pay for a decent campaign." When you hear people talk trash about Chris Bell and whether he can win the governor's race, part of what they criticize is how far he tends to lag behind the more glamorous candidates in fundraising. That might seem petty, but you know what? Money is the lifeblood of a campaign. It pays for the office, the campaign manager, the TV and radio spots, the field staff who mobilize volunteers, bumper stickers, yard signs... It's not only what makes a campaign look professional and capable; it's what allows a campaign to hire the professionals who can pull out a win and pay to get the message out for a candidate who's not well-known.

The press, as well as the people who write big checks, judge fundraising ability on the basis of periodic reports that candidates are required to file with the Texas Ethics Commission. The next deadline is June 30 - coming up fast, y'all.

So. If you've got a soft spot for a great candidate, now's the time to show your support.

Here's who's getting some cash from me:

• Valinda Bolton, running for state rep in southwest Travis County
• Katy Hubener, running for state rep in the Dallas area
• David Van Os, our fabulous firebreathing candidate for state Attorney General
• Hank Gilbert, another great speaker, running for Ag Commissioner
• Glenn Melancon, an amazingly smart and well-spoken history professor running for Congress up in north Texas (this man is the closest thing to Jed Bartlet I've ever seen in real life)
• Chris Bell, our man for Gov, who just keeps getting better and better
• and, of course, my man Mark Strama, seeking re-election to his state rep seat in north Austin

Posted by Carrie at 11:02 AM in Action | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

While we are all groaning from too many hours sitting in the convention center, waiting for copies of the platform (and while I've ducked into another room to charge up my laptop), I'll share some of the best communications I heard.

Best lines:

• John Courage - "Texas isn't red. Texas is for all people."
• Maggie Charleton, on why mentors are so important for new teachers - "Doctors do residencies. We wouldn't expect them to be able to cut us open and do surgery on the day they graduate from medical school."
• Glenn Melancon - "I'm a college professor, and my wife is a school counselor. We're in the future business."
• Pete Laney - "Being ethical means doing more than what is required. Being ethical means doing less than is allowed." (from the video)
• Pete Laney again - "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit." (also from the video)

The blue ribbon winner for good lines was Chet Edwards:

• "They talk religious values, but pass mean-spirited budgets that take the most from those that have the least... can you tell me one religion in the world that teaches those values?"
• "'Leave no child behind' should not be a campaign slogan. It should be a moral imperative."
• "Tom DeLay told us he wanted to govern in the worst possible way, and that's one promise he kept."

We still have several Ds who, God love 'em, REALLY need a public speaking coach. They're either all style, no substance, or decent substance, no style. And Jesus H. Christ and his talking frog, who the heck was picking the music? "Who Let the Dogs Out?!?!?!" What year is this?! And I'm all about the Willie Nelson, sure, but "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys?" Is this inspiring? Jeez. Let's do a better job of setting a positive tone next time, shall we?

Posted by Carrie at 8:13 PM in How To Communicate & Who Are The Democrats? | Permalink

Smack me with a stick. In an e-mail from David Holmes today, he mentioned that the updated TX Democratic Party website had a link to the Dem Grassroots Manual. Lo and behold, it's there!

Kudos to all the folks that put this together. While it may be old-news to die-hard politicos, it sure would have helped me get my feet on the ground when I was starting out as a volunteer a couple of years ago. The glossary by itself is priceless. For new folks winding up at jargon-packed events, it'll be a big help. For mid-timers, I finally learned the difference between Blue Dog Democrats and Yellow Dog Democrats. It also lists the structure of the party, how to get involved, simple things you can do as a grassroots activist, shows sample phone scripts, gives checklists for events, etc. Awesome!

Suggestions for improvement: update the "What has the Democratic Party done for you lately?" section to list successes from recent TX democrats (state and local). And do a jargon-scrub -- things like the "Davis Bacon Act" aren't exactly household terms.

Enough with the whining. I'm very happy the materials are finally online.

Posted by GlennM at 5:31 PM in Our Infrastructure & Texas Organizations | Permalink

Below is my letter to the Save Our Springs (SOS) Alliance, whose mission is to protect the Edwards Aquifer that feeds Barton Springs in Austin (a local, natural pool). They sent out a DVD this spring, I'm assuming to get folks riled up about Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, a large local employer) moving into the area and to teach folks more about the aquifer. As a supporter that's not frothing at the mouth over AMD, the whole thing left me as cold as a polar bear plunge.

Here's some feedback I hope you can use to widen the audience for SOS issues. As background:

• I'm an SOS supporter.
• I don't actively use Barton Springs, but I've got friends that do.
• While I wouldn't want to lose Barton Springs, I'm more concerned about pollution in general in Austin.

While I learned a few things in the DVD, especially around the 1990 city council meeting, the rest could certainly be edited for time. After watching the intro piece and the part of the piece on AMD, it seemed like more time was spent talking about runoff paths that giving me information on why AMD moving to the site was bad. Maybe I've got a short attention span, but the things I want to know are:

• How will AMD's plans affect Barton Springs? I got to the parts about silt and pollution from traffic on SW parkway, and increased maintenance costs for SW parkway. But I'm still not sure how dangerous the silt is. Some graphics to pull it all together would help.
• What else besides Barton Springs will be affected by the AMD pollution? There was mention of clogged wells in the area, but how many people will this affect? What are the other concerns? I'd have liked to have heard more about the general pollution problems.
• You go on and on about the silt from the construction. But you don't say (or I got bored before you got to it) how this affects the water quality of the Springs. Would the silt get filtered out in the aquifer? Will it cause cloudy water in the Springs? Or will it cause some real damage?

In general, I think you're doing good work. But it seems to me like you could use some editors that maybe aren't so passionate about the cause to help you distill down the arguments. I know you're excited about all the details. But for someone that's an SOS supporter but whose passions are non-SOS related, it would help to have things tightened up a bit.

As a nitpick, I'd also have been happier if you'd used more eco-friendly DVD packaging instead of the standard plastic box.

I hope these comments are taken in the way they're intended, to help you broaden the appeal and effectiveness of the SOS Alliance.

Posted by GlennM at 8:49 AM in Austin & How To Communicate | Permalink