For Texas Democrats, a Fundraising Tug-of-War
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Do you turn Texas blue from the inside out or the outside in? That’s the strategic question behind the money tug-of-war between the Texas Democratic Party and the national candidates who count on the Lone Star State to fill their campaign coffers.
Local party officials have made their message loud and clear at this week's Democratic National Convention: They want the same generous campaign contributors who send their money to out-of-state candidates — including President Obama — to make a similar investment in Texas. They say that with a little help, they could pick off key local ...
Comments (4)
Steve Olafson via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I thought he was dead.
Gilly Harris via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The redness of Texas Politics makes me want to leave the state - if I didn't have some ties here that count on me, I would have been long gone by now. Turning Texas purple, would give me hope - and redeem us in the eyes of the rest of world that views us as third world (bottom of the education list, highest teen pregnancy rate, defunding Planned Parenthood, creationism in our text books, no sex education, ...).
Rudy Gonzales
There is a tug-of-war between the national and state candidacies and the additional roadblocks placed into law by the Texas Legislature, it has been and will continue to be hard as long as Texas voters are complacent in their attitudes towards voting and representation.
San Antonio mayor Julian Castro gave a stirring address at the DNC and stirred up the base in Texas. The mayors' comment to start a business is appropriate in that business owners can expense and deduct costs the average person cannot and have some utility of assets. Mitt Romney truly does not know how good he had it growing up when he said to borrow the money to start the business.
The obstacles in the Castro brothers path upward in politics is well known in the red state of Texas. It's even more troubling when TEA party types in Texas make it their expressed actions to use foreign sounding sir-names in derogatory manners much like they used president Obama's full name: Barack Hussein Obama. The clear inference is foreign names are not white names or people.
The bottom line is demographics are a changing, and the past actions of the TEA-Libertarian-Republican-GOP-Evangelical fringe controlled Texas Legislature to scuttle voter choices is out. A panel of federal judges unanimously struck down a voter-ID law passed by the legislature in March 2011, arguing that it would disproportionately harm African-American and Latino voters. Both decisions hinged on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires certain states with a history of racial discrimination in voting — including Texas — to prove that any changes in their voting laws or procedures do not hamper the voting rights of minorities.
Texas lawmakers drew some districts that looked like Latino majority districts on paper — but removed Latinos who voted regularly and replaced them with Latinos who were unlikely to vote.
Texas lawmakers widened the gap between the proportion of the population that is Latino and African Americans and the proportion of districts that are minority-controlled.
The Texas Legislature removed economic centers and district offices from African-American and Latino districts, while giving white Republicans perks.
The Texas Legislature passed a voter-ID law with requirements that would make it disproportionately difficult for African Americans and Latinos to vote.
The Texas Legislature acted to d ivide and conquer: Texas "cracked" minority voters out of one district into three to offset and counter the minority vote from being proportional to the Texas population.
There will be a significant difference to choose from this November on the national level. When this emerging Socio-Politio-Economic power get informed of the Texas Legislature's actions over the past years, there could be significant changes in Texas politics.
gypsy314 ne
I would not count your chickens before they hatch. Your illegal aliens will be leaving soon enough and then your hispanic crew will be much less.