What Is It About the New Democratic Party Logo?

I got an email message this morning from the DNC asking me whether I wanted them to send me a new sticker that has their “new look”. I first saw the new logo of the Democratic Party last night on Bill Maher’s cable talk show “Real Time.” Here is what it looks like.

And Maher correctly called it. Who the heck thinks that this logo is going to get any more votes this year? Maher also correctly compared the new logo to the professional baseball club of Chicago, the Cubs, which is currently having a losing season.

I, on the other hand, have become firmly convinced that someone is painting a target on Democrats this year.

But where it comes from, its origin is totally obvious to me.

Where that came from, I’ll leave to the pundits. All I know is that circular logos have been with us for a long, long time.

Cars have them.

Soft drink companiess have them.

Cancer Stick companies have them.

And yes, even football clubs, er, soccer clubs have them.

My point is, maybe someone should rethink this one. Minimalism, as a concept, is a notion that often elicits a series of these: ??????????????????????????????

And also that the one that they came up with reminds me too much of this.

No, we Democrats just have to do better than a blue circle with a blue D. Something that carries more of a message, I think. Like one I recently saw for the Republican Party.

I have to hand it to the Republicans. For Logo meisters, they still have what it takes.

Fort Bend Blue by 2016 Latest

I have been saying this for some time now and now it’s good to see that the Houston Chronicle has picked up on the news that Fort Bend County will once again be a Democratic-dominated county.

By 2016 at the very latest.

The article is centered on University of Houston demographer Richard Murray’s work in this suburban area southwest of Houston and is worth a read. Murray has noted that when this sleepy rural community experienced moderate growth, the political landscape changed from dominant Democratic to dominant Republican.

From the Chronicle:

“These days, though, the county is experiencing what Murray calls ‘the second wave of change in modern times.’ Recently arrived black, Asian and Hispanic residents not only are helping make the county one of the most diverse in Texas, but they're also changing the political equation. The gap between the Republican and Democratic votes is down to single digits. Murray predicts the county will revert to Democratic dominance by 2016 at the latest”

At this point, 27 of the 31 elected officials are Republicans in Fort Bend County. But even Republican county chair Rick Miller admits that his party has been losing ground, having been taken by surprise in 2008 when McCain/Palin won the county vote by a mere 4,838 votes – this from the Secretary of State website.

“The election was a lot closer than we thought it was going to be. Fort Bend went for McCain, but it was really pretty close.”

Yeah, like less than 2% close.

The vote has been going that way steadily since 2004, the last time that Republicans finished very strong in Fort Bend County, when W beat Kerry by a margin of 57.37% to 42.11%. This trend is mimicked in the judicial races that pretty much go down party lines.

In 2006 the poll results tightened with Republicans losing 2-3% of the vote and Democrats gaining a like amount.

Then the tight race in 2008 marked by record turnouts of first-time Democratic voters where McCain/Palin edged Obama/Biden by 50.88% (103,206 votes) to 38.48% (98,368 votes).

Democratic Party county chair Steve Brown is hopeful that the dominance shift will occur in the upcoming election.

“In 2004, only 11,000 people voted in Fort Bend County's Democratic presidential primary. Four years later, that number jumped to 68,517. Brown's job is to get the newcomers out to vote and to reignite the 2008 momentum. His goal for November is 70,000 Democratic voters”

Rick Miller is also optimistic but doesn’t have the facts and figures to point to. He bases his optimism on a perceived energy.

“I have never seen people as stirred up as they are now," he said after a recent meeting at party headquarters to plan a Rick Perry visit to Fort Bend. "They've been awakened, and people are getting up and taking action.”

This from a county chair that has only lived in the county for 11 years, and been involved in politics only since 2006. Yeah, “never seen” goes back just four years. This is just part of the hype that Republicans are picking up from the national news pundits who point to an anti-incumbent trend nationally.

In Fort Bend, the incumbents are all Republicans. So are the statewide candidates. Republicans have a problem at the top of their ticket: Rick Perry is seen as a governor who has enriched himself and his cronies at the expense of Texas and Texans. This is what I am hearing from Republicans as well.

So if it’s not this year, it will definitely be next year. But a sea change in Fort Bend County is all but inevitable.

Paid Political Hack to Direct Fort Bend County Coordinated Campaign

When do you become aware that a sleepy backwater suburban county Democratic Party apparatus has suddenly shaken awake? The answer is the moment when an all-volunteer effort hires a paid political hack to oversee its coordinated campaign. We all knew that this would happen once County Chair Steve Brown was elected and sworn into office, but it’s nice to see it when the change that is promised becomes the change that is delivered.

Today, in a news release, the Fort Bend County Democratic Party announced its new Executive Director.

Quoting from the release:

The Fort Bend County Democratic Party has named political campaign veteran Nick Hellyar as Executive Director of the party's Coordinated Campaign, party Chair Steve Brown announced.

Hellyar, who has managed and worked on campaigns for a variety of Fort Bend and Houston-area Democratic candidates, will be responsible for all aspects of the Blue Fort Bend in 2010 local candidate campaign.

"As Executive Director, I'll be responsible for turning out the Democratic vote in the upcoming November elections," Hellyar said."That means working to provide essential support, resources and training to promote our candidates and agenda. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be block-walking, phone-banking, registering voters and hosting a series of rallies aimed at informing and exciting Fort Bend’s Democratic base."

Said County Chair Steve Brown of Hellyar’s hiring:

"I think Nick's hiring further demonstrates how committed we are to turning out Democrats in upcoming elections. His background is a perfect mix of campaign experience along with a familiarity with Fort Bend County. Both of these attributes are essential to our overall success."

Hellyar will maintain an office at the county party’s coordinated campaign headquarters at 31 E. Highway 90A in Richmond (right next to Baytown Seafood). These are some digs that, curiously, lacks a leaky roof and water-stained ceiling tiles that have marked campaign headquarters of the past.

So first, no leaky roof and now a paid director. To say that things are looking up for a Democratic presence in Fort Bend County would be an understatement.

Peppers and Pigs

I scored a killer place to sit at the recent Texas Democratic Party state convention in Corpus Christi this past weekend. Somehow my senate district delegation wrangled a section on the convention floor. So I was actually close enough to see the speakers at the podium without having to look at the screen projections.

And I was able to make videos of some of the speakers almost unimpeded. I didn’t bring a tripod though so there is a tradeoff between camera steadiness and distance. My favorite convention moment you will see in the You Tube video below. I shot lots of video but this one is definitely the fun one and the one everyone needs to see, so it has been uploaded first.

The speaker is Linda Chavez-Thompson. Chavez-Thompson, former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, is running for Lieutenant Governor. She has a story worth repeating. She is the daughter of immigrants who had to drop out of high school to help her family in the cotton fields. At 23 she came to work for the Construction Laborer’s Local 1253 as a secretary and worked her way up the ladder to become the first “person of color” of either sex to become an AFL-CIO officer.

On Saturday, Linda Chavez-Thompson had some choice words to say about Texas’ governor, Rick Perry, and how he hopes to lure Hispanic voters to vote for Republicans.

In other words, how to convince Hispanic voters to vote against their own interests, all the time.

Here is a clip from her speech:

You know you have a really good punchline when you repeat it and you get a bigger laugh out of the audience the second time you say it than the first.

Texas Democratic Party State Convention Starts Tomorrow

The long-awaited State Convention convenes tomorrow. Thousands of Democrats will converge on Corpus Christi, Texas to celebrate the beginning of the end of a Republican stranglehold on Texas state politics.

Bill White has evened it up in the Governor’s race with months yet to go before early voting begins in October. Months to chip away at Rick Perry’s rusty armor.

The State House, at near parity, threatens to flip to Democratic control as well.

All of this runs counter to the national trend, it seems, where all the news is turned toward Democratic losses in the mid-term election. That may be true, and an anti-Democratic sentiment may spill over into the local races but then again, maybe not.

It’s not necessarily an anti-Democratic sentiment being voiced by the talking heads, it is an anti-incumbent sentiment. Nationally, incumbents are mostly Democrats, in Texas, it is the opposite.

Republicans occupy 100% of all statewide offices. It seems reasonable then, that if there is an anti-incumbent sentiment in Texas, that could bode poorly for Republicans this fall.

But we’ll see, right? Tomorrow it all begins.

Another Anakin Skywalker Goes to the Dark Side

It happens every so often. People switch from the party of all that is good and true to the party of the Dark Side.

I think it’s like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. Something just snaps and all of a sudden voting for people with R’s next to their names on the ballot seems like a good thing to do.

But this is what I don’t get: why to you go and switch parties while you are an officer in the Fort Bend County Democratic Party? Isn’t that a bad, bad thing? I mean, jeez, even Anakin Skywalker wasn't a in the Jedi knight leadership when he made his switch, was he?

And then you keep it a secret that you are now a Republican so you can go on and do your worst to the party that you just abandoned. That's too horrible to think about.

But guess what, that has just happened.

I heard about it last evening from my friend, Susan, who writes her not-a-blog. She called and told me the news that she had just found out that the Secretary to the Fort Bend County Democratic Party had voted in the Republican primary.

My reaction?

“Noooooo…”

You see, while who you vote for on your ballot remains a secret between you and The Creator, whose primary you vote in is not. And for a fee anyone can find that out.

What is amazing to me is that in her non-participation in the Democratic primary, that was one vote less for her patron, Elaine Bishop who lost her re-election bid by a mere 101 votes.

But most unnerving is that this individual, a Republican, will remain in office for another month and a half. This is because the County Chair-Elect, Steve Brown, doesn’t take office until May 1st. This is a rule that needs some changing, by the way. What if, for example, a challenger wins over the incumbent in a particularly bitter race (like this one)? What if one of the reasons the challenger ran against the incumbent is that a high degree of pettiness and back stabbing goes on within the Party by the incumbent and her coterie?

Real damage can be done.

How to Cast a Vote for Under Vote

What a turn of events. It’s almost like 2006 when in the CD-22 race there was no Republican on the ballot, and Nick Lampson won against a write-in candidate. This time there will be no Democrat on the ballot for CD-22 this November.

Because true to my most dismal of predictions, Kesha Rogers, follower of the right (no . . .left, no . . . right) wingnut Lyndon LaRouche, narrowly edged her Libertarian opponent and her True Democrat opponent.

What she, and her two opponents, lacked in name recognition Rogers made up for in terms of ballot position.

In Harris County, where she came in 2nd place at the end of Election Night, she came in second to Doug Blatt. Who came in third? Someone called Under Vote.

Then came Freddie Wieder.

In Fort Bend County, where she first on the ballot, Kesha Rogers won. Coming in second place was that other guy, Under Vote. Then came Doug Blatt, then Freddie.

In Galveston County, where she was second on the ballot, Kesha Rogers came in second. Under Vote was edged by Doug Blatt by one percent.

Who won in Galveston County? Freddie Wieder.

Freddie had the honor of being in the top position on the Galveston County Ballot.

In Brazoria County? Kesha Rogers garnered sixty-one percent of the votes there, followed by Under Vote, then Doug Blatt, then Freddie.

I now know that Kesha Rogers had the number one position on the ballot in Brazoria County. Under Vote came in second place, edging Doug Blatt by 0.1%, then Freddie.

Kudos, to Brazoria County voters, though. Freddie Wieder actually had the second place spot on their ballot, but Brazoria County voters bucked the trend and more of them voted for the guy in the third spot than second on the ballot.

Good for you, good for you.

Now, when you do the numbers from the county websites, not the Texas Secretary of State, whose numbers are slightly different, what you see is that Kesha Rogers won the primary, but in second place was none other than Under Vote. Under Vote beat Doug Blatt by almost a thousand votes.

So come Election Day 2010 Democratic voters will be asked either to vote for a follower of Lyndon LaRouche who is calling on the impeachment of President Barack Obama, or to vote for the Republican incumbent Pete Olson, who would call for the impeachment of Barack Obama if he was as loony tunes crazy as his opponent.

Because I doubt that Democrats are going to be nutty enough to submit a write-in candidate to split the vote of Democratic voters, some of whom who will vote for Kesha Rogers simply because she has a D next to her name.

So I have an alternative.

Instead of voting for Kesha Rogers in November, and instead of going completely crazy and voting for Pete Olson in November, Democrats can vote for that guy who came in second in the Democratic primary.

Cast your vote for Under Vote.

Here’s how you do it. After getting to the first screen on that Dial-A-Vote voting machine we have here, you click the button when the cursor is over the box for Straight Democratic Ticket. Then you go back to the list of candidates and where you can vote for them individually and you emphasize your vote for Kesha Rogers by clicking on the red-filled square next to her name.

De-selecting that vote.

By doing that you cast your vote for the second-place winner of the Democratic Primary in CD-22.

Under Vote.

Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair Agrees to Another Polling Location Change

Shades of 2008.

In 2008 the Elections Office in Republican-dominated Fort Bend County government pulled a fast one by changing the Election Day polling locations of two Democratic-dominated precincts.

I mentioned it in this piece back then.

Back then the county Elections Office changed the polling locations of Precincts 2123 and 1114, both of them strong Democratic precincts. But they made the mistake of announcing the change 3 weeks before Election Day.

I remember it well. My Democratic Club printed and mailed at its expense notification of the polling location change to each and every resident of the affected area.

At the same time we railed at each other why our County Chair, Elaine Bishop, would allow that to happen. Isn’t she supposed to protect the votes of each and every Democrat in Fort Bend County?

And now it has happened again.

Only this time the Elections Office waited until the last minute.

They do learn.

The polling location for Democratic majority precinct 1076 has been changed at the last minute. And obviously, with the assent of our Party Chair.

Precinct 1076 used to vote at Holy Cross Episcopal Church near just outside of River Park West. It has now been moved down the freeway to River Pointe Community Church on Ransom Road. Here is the precinct map.

Yes, two separate communities joined by one two-lane road.

So now, even if a Precinct 1076 voter looks on their voter registration card to remind themselves of where they go and vote, that address will be wrong. But usually voters don’t even look it up, they just go where they always go.

We can only hope that enough voters do show up at the polls and vote for Change in Fort Bend County.

Vote for Steve Brown for Fort Bend County Democratic Chair.

Oh, did I mention what was Elaine Bishop's reaction to my Democratic Club's action in response to her inaction? Were we thanked? Appreciated? Not on your life.

She criticized the group for meddling.

I am not kidding.

Top Ten Reasons to Vote For Elaine Bishop For Party Chair

You’ve probably seen Juanita Jean’s rant over at the World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. on how Elaine Bishop in her push card laughably takes credit for any and all things good that has happened to Democrats recently. Her list of ten things the County Chair has accomplished is a magnificent thing. I could tell she had just as good a time assembling that list as I had reading it.

(I even added one of my own in the comments)

But I can’t let this thing go even though Juanita did such a marvelous job because you rarely get a pushcard that completely drips with prevarications and bald-faced exaggerations like Elaine Bishop’s.

I got one too, you see.

So without further ado, and with apologies (again) to David Letterman, here are the Top Ten Reasons to Vote for Elaine Bishop for County Chair.

10. She knows how to mis-spell candidate’s names really, really well. Her own name is mis-spelled on the ballot. Her real name is Elena.

9. When the rubber hits the road during election time, Elaine is busy organizing Get Out The Vote activities and calling voters – in Ohio.

8. We don’t need a “Can Do” Chair like Steve Brown, not when we have been served all these years by a “Can Don’t” Party Chair.

7. Thrift. Elaine Bishop is saving Fort Bend County thousands of dollars by approving their plan to let a Republican-dominated local government and the GOP operate Democratic Primaries.

6. Synergy. Elaine Bishop maintains close contact with Democratic Clubs all around the county and works tirelessly to derail any and all work they do helping to elect Democrats in Fort Bend County.

5. Inertia. When it comes to not moving a millimeter despite all indications that Democrats are on the verge of being the majority voters here, Elaine Bishop has gotten it down pat. Isaac Newton would be proud.

4. Credit Taking. The Chair is an expert at tooting her own horn by taking credit for the labors of others. Barack Obama doesn’t know this, but The Chair is personally responsible for his historic election in 2008. Ask Elaine.

3. Recruitment. Under her leadership 81 precinct chair positions are vacant in Fort Bend County and 7 of these vacant chairs are actually Voter Registrars. Don’t believe me? It’s here.

2. Communication Skills. With one hand on the pulse of Fort Bend County Democratic voters and the other hand on her cell phone, Elaine Bishop is skilled in not returning phone calls.

And the Number One reason to vote for Elaine Bishop for County Chair?

1. Experience and Reliability. Elaine Bishop has the most experience in not getting anything done and we can rely on that to continue when we re-elect her.

The Failure of Leadership in the Fort Bend County Democratic Party

You’ve heard me rail on about why, in Fort Bend County, Democrats who want to file in a primary election are made to wait until the last day of filing. Why something as simple as a name like “Steve” is difficult to spell on a ballot. You may have read elsewhere how mis-spellings are rife in the county party this year.

All of this underlines the bold incompetence that defines the cabal that currently serves as Democratic Party leadership in Fort Bend County. Elaine Bishop and her coterie of sycophants need a vacation. A long vacation.

I was struck by the incompetence of the Party Chair and her assistants a few evenings back as I sat and listened to two individuals, one who I knew from the ‘08 campaign and the other I had just met. These two offered their own personal experiences of the Chair’s incompetence and policies. We all knew the Chair has a problem returning her calls. We all know that her Voicemail inbox often fills up so you can’t even leave a message. It’s a joke among some of us. But the reality is that this gross incompetence does real harm.

And one thing we cannot afford in the coming years is incompetent Party leadership in light of the coming voter shift in Fort Bend County that is being forecast by demographers.

I sat and listened to them tell their stories, and then I sat and listened to Steve Brown, who is running against Elaine Bishop for County Chair. And, yes, I videoed the whole thing.

First, I apologize for the unsteady hand. Somehow I left at home that thingy that allows me to mount my camera to a tripod, so I held the camera in my hands and tried to keep as still as I could sitting turned around in my chair for 18 looooong minutes.

Steve had lots to say but I decided that I needed a theme. He was nowhere near as negative as he sounds. That was me. I edited the video to emphasize the incompetence of his opponent.

So here it is in all its 9-minute long glory (apologies again): why we need new leadership in the Fort Bend County Democratic Party.

Steve Brown for Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair

I had the opportunity to listen to Steve Brown, a Democratic activist who currently serves as Secretary of the Fort Bend Democrats club, speak about his candidacy in the upcoming March 2nd primary for County Chair of the Democratic Party .

Brown has a broad range of political experience that uniquely qualifies him for this position, a position that has unfortunately been occupied by a woman who has not responded to the growth of the Democratic base in this county. A party chair who makes it difficult, if not impossible for people to run for office – one of her main functions as party chair.

A county party chair who has refrained from supporting the party’s nominees in the General Election.

Steve Brown promises to change all of that. But don’t just take my word for it. I videoed Brown’s speech at a recent meeting of the Fort Bend Democrats. During the speech Brown was interrupted several times by a woman who remains loyal to the current party chair despite the neglect that the chair has wreaked upon her own people. I understand that. I understand loyalty. I even understand blind loyalty because I am sometimes tainted with that very thing. But I don’t understand loyalty in the face of incompetence.

This is my way of explaining the video edits. In order to let Steve speak uninterrupted, I edited the video and did some rearranging. I don’t know, you tell me. I think it flows, and it highlights Brown’s strong points.



Didn’t get the Facebook URL? It’s here.

Fort Bend County Filings Are In (Finally)

Two full days after the last day to file for the March 2nd Democratic Primary, we finally find the list of candidates for Fort Bend County posted at the Texas Democratic Party website (here).

I don’t know about you but I am getting sick and tired of having to wait until long after the filing date to find what our slate of candidates is going to look like this year, and I am told that a race not appearing on the TDP website, the one for Chair of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party, is going to be a contested race this year.

According to the Fort Bend Herald, incumbent party chair Elaine Bishop will face a challenge by Steve Brown. Brown, it may be recalled, mounted a primary challenge to State Rep. Dora Olivo in 2006. I would expect that one issue that will be raised in this election is the whole primary filing process which is currently laughable in the extreme.

Another might be the aggressive way the current chair defends her turf, to the detriment of not only getting Democrats elected in general, but the whole democratic process in particular.

In Congressional District 22 which extends across Fort Bend, Brazoria and Galveston Counties, Kesha Rogers, who lists her occupation as Political Organizer, will be running against Doug Blatt (who filed in Brazoria County), a Development Analyst, and John Wieder, an Alvin Minister (who filed in Galveston County). Wieder, it might be recalled ran against Nick Lampson and Pete Olson for the office as the Libertarian Party nominee.

Ron Reynolds, a Missouri City lawyer and president of the local NAACP will again challenge State Rep. Dora Olivo for the Democratic nomination in HD 27. Reynolds was narrowly edged out of the nomination in 2008 and will challenge Olivo over her anti-Democratic stances on abortion and stem cell research, positions that she holds because of her religion.

Another contested Democratic Primary race is for County Judge with local activist Rodrigo Carreon running against Dr. Phillip Atisebaomo PhD, O.D.

Joel Clouser, Democratic incumbent Justice of the Peace in Precinct 2 is facing an opponent this year in Tony Sherman. Sherman, it may be remembered ran against Judge Clouser in the 2002 primary, getting 39.14% to Clouser’s 60.86%.

And finally, three individuals are vying for the Democratic nomination for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Place 2: Marty Rocha, Aurelia Moore and some other guy.

Marty Rocha, it will be recalled, ran against Richard Morrison for Fort Bend County Commissioner, Precinct 1. Morrison won the primary and then went on to defeat the Republican candidate, Gregg “Toll Road” Ordineaux.

All other primary races are uncontested.

Here is the list of uncontested races:

• District Judge, 240th Judicial District: Fredericka Allen, Attorney
• State Representative District 26: Phillip Andrews, College Professor
• Judge, County Court at Law #1: Milton Flick, Lawyer
• County Treasurer: P.K. George, Certified Financial Planner
• Judge, County Court at Law #2: Harrison Gregg Jr., Attorney
• District Judge, 268th Judicial District: Albert Hollan, Attorney
• County Clerk: Korinthia Miller, Lawyer/Teller
• County Commissioner, Precinct 2: Grady Prestage, County Commisioner
• District Clerk: Veronica Torres, Administrative Specialist

All in all, it is a respectable slate of candidates and all that I can hope is that the local contested races as well as the healthily contested races for statewide office will draw Democratic voters to the polls in the enthusiastic numbers that the ballot deserves.

And yes, I have my preferences and will make them known as we get closer to Early Voting.

Dick Armey: Democratic Party Man of the Year

At the end of 2009 we are beset by all sorts of people, all sorts of groups, all sorts of publications who have their own opinions on who was the most influential, important, mover and shaker of the year that is just about to pass into history.

Beset.

Time Magazine has its Ben Bernanke for its “Person of the Year.” An odd pick similar to picking Bernie Madoff as Investment Broker of the Year.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has named Ellen DeGeneres its Woman of the Year “for promoting a lifestyle which is friendly to nature.” DeGeneres is a vegan. I like Ellen DeGeneres and think she is a smart and funny woman. But being named woman of the year for not eating meat is understating it a little, don’t you think? Isn’t it also a precondition that she be rich, famous and have her own daytime television show?

And then we have our own local blogger syndicate of which I am a member, the Texas Progressive Alliance, name the Texan of the Year or TOY. That honor went to recently-elected openly gay Houston Mayor-elect Annise Parker. Again, I like Annise Parker for her grit and admire her for her ability to pull off a victory against not so small odds. But a progressive, sadly, she is not.

So in the spirit of the naming of people of the year, I would like to put forth this website’s choice for “Democratic Party Man of the Year.” To my knowledge, no one else has thought this one up and if I am wrong, I humbly apologize.

My choice for Democratic Party Man of the Year is former Senator and former Senate Majority Leader Dick “Teabagger” Armey.

And here are my reasons for naming this right-wing nutjob to this honor.

Dick Armey has done more for the Democratic Party than any one person acting alone. All by himself, seemingly, he has developed the TEA Party Movement. All by himself, seemingly, he has presented Republican voters with a choice, his way or the GOP way.

Armey, it seems, was the man behind the curtain pulling the levers and pushing the buttons that shoved GOP congressional candidate Dede Scozzafava out of the CD-23 special election race in New York late last year. His endorsement of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman against his own party’s candidate made possible a Democratic win in a district that hadn’t seen the light of day in over a century.

Closer to home, Dick Armey’s teabagger movement will soon see the fruits of their labors in the nomination of Rick Perry as the GOP’s candidate of choice for Texas governor in 2010, defeating centrist Kay Bailey Hutchison. A Hutchison win would mean bad news for the Democratic nominee, whoever it is. Rick Perry, with his ability to garner 39% of the vote will be an also ran in November.

And finally, nationwide, Dick Armey’s TEA Party movement will see a schism in the GOP that should further marginalize what has become a regional party. A party of older white southern people and other rednecks. The schism will be the end of the conservative movement in America for some time to come.

Dick Armey has done to the Republican Party what no Democrat could ever have hoped to accomplish.

It is therefore fitting and proper that we at Half Empty, all of me, should honor Dick Armey with a well-earned accolade as the 2009 Democratic Party Man of the Year.

Primary Filings At a Glance

So we are 13 days away from the filing deadline for getting on the March 2nd primary ballot, and 20 days into it. With holidays ahead and post office closings that means there is really less time than that.

So I was wondering today how it was going and took a look at the Texas Democratic Party’s website. Now the listing is not numbered so I had to do a broad estimate of how many names I was seeing. With ten full pages of entries, and at a maximum of 64 lines per page, plus 25 entries on the last page, by my estimate the Texas Democratic Party currently has 665 primary candidates signed up statewide since the end of the day yesterday.

Over on the Republican side the filings are scarcer with 202 entries.

So I was wondering about this a little. According to the Fort Bend County Republican Party website they have been accepting applications since December 3rd. I could come up with only two reasons for the considerable filing gap that exists between the two parties:

1. Republican filers wait until the last minute to file so everyone can keep guessing, or
2. Republican county chairs wait until the last day to accept filings for exactly the same reason.

Bringing me back to the Democratic filings, 3-fold more than Republicans. Looking at the PDF that breaks down filings by county I note that of the 254 counties in Texas (a ridiculously high number in my opinion) only 95 of them have any filings at all (Republicans don’t record filings by county). Now it could be that some of these counties simply don’t have Democrats residing in them, or if they do they won’t admit to it, but I am willing to bet that like the Fort Bend County Democratic Party, filings are not accepted until the last possible day, January 4th 2010.

It is a curious thing, the way the Fort Bend County party’s website explains it all. Right on its home page, the filing policy is explained:

“Filing for Fort Bend candidates will begin on Thursday, December 3, 2009 until January 4, 2010.”

And then a little further on down the page you read this:

“We will be accepting applications on January 4, 2010 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Quail Run Community Center, 16748 Quail Park Drive, Missouri City, TX”

So you can file to be on the primary ballot in Fort Bend County, only just on that one day.

So it’s safe to say that if you are thinking of running for office by filing through the Fort Bend County Democratic Party, you are out of luck if you can’t get off work and drive over to the Quail Run development (where the County Chair maintains her residence) on that Monday.

I realize that it may be a candidate’s choice to file on the last day of filing, it is a valid strategy. However, I don’t think the choice should be in one person’s hands. Dallas County has no such restrictions. Nor does Harris County. These are two important metropolitan areas that have gone blue.

If Fort Bend County is to go blue, and everyone tells me that it is a distinct possibility next year, shouldn’t the county party be helping things along and not providing barriers and hindrances?

Is it time for new county party leadership?

On Democrats and Crucified Frogs

We have an object lesson to learn today. A lesson we need to have. A lesson from no less than Pope Benedict XVI. Democrats need to learn from the mistake of Pope Benedict when he sent a letter to the new contemporary art museum in Bolzano, in northern Italy, Museion, asking them to take down a piece that depicts the crucifixion of a frog that is holding a mug of beer in one “hand” and a chicken egg in the other.

Pope Benedict took offense with the piece, who said in his letter that the piece “offended the religious feelings of many people who consider the cross a symbol of God's love and of our redemption.”

Now, here’s the thing. Up until the Pope’s plaintive yelp over this work of art by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger, neither I nor probably hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people would know, would ever have known of the existence of this contemporary work of art.

But now we all know, especially now with the news that the board of directors of Museion just voted, and the frog piece stays.

What should Democrats learn from this? If the opposition wants to spend thousands and millions of dollars to get their message to the voters, that’s up to them. Democrats can do the same. But when Republicans are voiceless we need to remember not to give them one. Now I’m not talking about the blogosphere or the media. Of the former, only political blog junkies read political blogs and they know all the players already. Of the latter, well, that’s their job.

No, I’m talking about the DCCC. The “D-Trip-C.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The DCCC keeps calling me asking for a handout. And I keep telling them not to call me anymore. The main reason I have a bone to pick with them is that their tactics of support for congressional candidates is not one of promotion of the Democratic candidate. They spend money airing ads that publicize the name of the candidate’s opponent.

That wouldn’t be too bad if they publicized the opponents in a negative aspect, which is what they do, but what is bad is when opposition candidates have not spent one dime on a TV spot promoting themselves.

Now I know that there are laws that prevent the DCCC from promotion of a Democratic candidate, I may be blond, but I’m not that dumb. What I am saying is that if the DCCC wants to help out, maybe they can find another, a better way that doesn’t involve giving the opposition candidate name recognition.

As the doctors have to say when they take their Hippocratic Oath:

“First, do no harm.”

You Mean The Presidential Campaigns ARE Coming to Texas?

The Democratic ones, anyway.

Stick a fork in Romney (Huckabee sure did), he’s done. The Republican nominee is going to be the oldest goll durned white man that the Grand OLD Party could scare up in this day and age who doesn’t have one foot in the grave yet. Yes, we can all thank Mike Huckabee for sucking some delegates right out from under the nose of the other darling of the evangelicals, Mitt Romney, relegating the both of them to the dustbins of GOP history.

But this is far from the case with the Democrats, who now have a real horse race in the delegate count. Did I just see that Clinton and Obama are just one “pledged delegate” apart from being dead even? Can it be? And we all know about the “super delegates” right? As in I never met a super delegate whose vote was in anyone’s pocket for very long. No, there is now a full-out Democratic tsunami that is about to pound across our borders, bringing (cha-CHING!) their campaign cash back to the lands from whence they came.

Now I mentioned this a few posts back, as did Houtopia also back on January 21st. Heck it was even mentioned in some mainstream media places. But there were a few doubters out there, some more derisive than others, but I guess that there way may be something more than a 1 in million chance that Texas might have something to say in this primary season after all. Maybe even . . . oh . . . 2 in a million.

That being the case, it now appears that Texas is going to appear front and center in the news again.

It doesn’t happen very often any more, to the relief of a few locals who are always looking for some other sort of Texas icons and images besides Slim Pickens waving his Stetson whilst mounted on a hydrogen bomb on its final trip to a Soviet perdition.

That sort of image.

So some of the blogs have begun to look at Texas anew, here, and local blogs are looking a little introspectively at what Texas will do with this new limelight, but more humorously, other bloggers are providing information to out-of-state travelers who find themselves putting their boots . . . er . . . shoes up in Texas for awhile, here and here.

Now I am not, in any way, shape or form a Texas local. I’m an immigrant but the local citizenry, those who know about my alien status anyway, seem to have accepted me, or at least tolerate my presence. So I don’t have sage words of advice for out-of-towners. But I have picked up a few “Texas-isms” and other handy tips that you might want to keep in mind should you venture here with the campaigns.

1. Don’t say “y’all”. It’ll just make them smile and shake their heads (But for God’s sake, don’t say “you all”).

2. If it rains hard, don’t run to high ground. That’s where the snakes and fire ants go.

3. When a Texan tells you that they’d “like to die” don’t take them seriously, it’s just a local expression of joy. As in “When he fell in that mud hole wha’ I like to die laughin’”.

4. When zipping around in your car on the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain, have a compass. There are no landmarks and the compass is your only true friend. That is, except when you are in or near Houston. Then the Transco Tower is.

5. When you ask for a margarita at a Texas restaurant (pronounced margy-rita in some places) you will be asked whether you want it “frozen” or “on the rocks”. You want “frozen”.

6. When it rains, don’t bother with umbrellas. They weren’t designed to keep out rain that falls horizontally.

7. Making contacts and appointments involves the art of “gitaholdayew”. As in “When shay wunts to tawk to yew shay’ll gitaholdayew”.

8. When your Pakistani server at your dining establishment says something that seems utterly unintelligible, stop and listen, he’s probably speaking with a Texas accent.

9. When asked where you are from, just say “Amerkin”.

10. Place names: Houston is pronounced “Useton”, San Antonio is pronounced “Santone”, Dallas is “Big D”, the “J” is pronounced in San Jacinto, Bexar (as in Bexar County) is pronounced “bear”, and if you are talking to an Hispanic, Palacios is pronounced “Pah-LAH-ciohs”, to everyone else it’s “Pa-LAYshus”.

Good luck and spend lots of those campaign dollars.

Fort Bend County Democratic Party Registers Candidates

In the county seat of Fort Bend County, Richmond Texas, space has been set aside for Fort Bend Democratic Party Chair Elaine Bishop to accept applications for the March 5, primary. Last day to register is Wednesday January 2nd, 2008 at 6 PM.

But today, as announced in FortBendNow and at the Fort Bend Democrats website Ms. Bishop made a place to accept applications, and their fees if applicable.

This is a live blog of this event. I am sitting in the anteroom to the conference room where Bishop sits, awaiting applicants.

2:08 PM: In walks Richard Morrison. Richard is applying for Fort Bend County Commissioner, Precinct 1. A few minutes and an exchange of fees, he is in. All in all three individuals besides Richard have filed for this seat, with two more promising to enter. Bishop predicted a runoff for this nomination, Morrison doubts it.

Big issues in Precinct 1 include the proposed Section C of the Grand Parkway, proposed as a tollway, as well as the proposed 17 storey high Blueridge Landfill. Both of these projects have been supported by sitting Pct 1 comissioner Tom Stavinoha, although he was recently seen distancing himself from the Grand Parkway Tollway plan.

2:21 PM: Albert Hollan enters. Albert is running for Judge of the recently created 434th District Court which is currently occupied by a Rick Perry appointee James Shoemake. Shoemake only a few months into his appointed position has already had complaints about his behavior in court among other things.

That's Albert Hollan standing between future County Commissioner Richard Morrison and plaintiff's attorney Donald Bankston, who graciously donated his office space to the Democratic Party to make all of this possible.

3:30 PM: A couple of citizens came in to file applications for precinct chairs, and upon checking for one precinct we found that one of the two would have an opponent. However, there are lots of ways to accomodate that.

The Fort Bend County Democratic Party Endorses a Non-Partisan Candidate?

I really like how the Fort Bend ISD Trustee races are filling out nicely with candidates to challenge Trustees Bryant and Rikert. If last year’s school board elections are an indication, it is highly probable that these two board members will be replaced this coming May 12th, and a long sad chapter in the district history will come to a conclusion.

But the most recent announcement in FortBendNow, which includes lots and lots of information that voters can use to weigh their options, has one curious bit of information that is tacked on right at the end.

Apparently, Ann Hopkins, a former educator in FBISD and current administrator in the same district, has been endorsed for this non-partisan office by the Fort Bend County Democratic Party.

This is a new one for me. I wasn’t aware that the Democratic Party could endorse a candidate in a non-partisan race.

And there’s something else.

I’ve asked around, and no one recalls a vote on this.

So I am a little confused here, but in confusion I see opportunity. I’ve been thinking about this for about 45 minutes now, and am convinced that I am on to something here.

I would like this blog, Half Empty, to be endorsed as the official “blogsite” of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party. It makes huge sense to me. I am a Democrat. I author a blog in Fort Bend County. I think it’s a good blog. Maybe it goes on rants from time to time but that can only be chalked up to frustration.

So OK, here goes. All in favor of endorsing Half Empty as the official blogsite of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party signify by saying “Aye”.

AYE!

Opposed?

Silence.

The Ayes have it, motion is passed.