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Democratic politics
November 20, 2008
Mattox served in Dallas, Austin and Washington
Jim Mattox, a fiery Democrat whose career brought him from Dallas to Austin to Washington and then back to Austin, has died in his sleep, a former spokesman, Kelly Fero, said today. The former Texas attorney general was 65.
Mattox, who lived in Dripping Springs west of Austin, was born in Dallas on Aug. 29, 1943, the first of three children of Norman and Mary Katheryn Harrison. His father was a union sheetmetal worker, and his mother was a waitress.
After attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, he worked his way through the Baylor School of Business (where he graduated magna cum laude in 1965 and won the Wall Street Journal Award for academic excellence). He earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University and received the third-highest grade in the state on his bar exam in 1968.
Fero said Mattox served as an assistant DA under the legendary Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade and began his political career in 1973 when he took office (for two terms) as a state representative from East Dallas. He gained a reputation for ethics reforms, including the “Big Five” package of open government legislation — open meetings, open records, full financial disclosure, campaign finance reform, and lobby registration.
Mattox was elected to Congress in the 5th Congressional District in 1976, 10 years after serving as an intern in the office of then-Congressman Earle Cabell. He was the only freshman elected to the powerful House Budget Committee that term and later chaired that committee’s task force on National Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Banking Committee.
He was elected Texas attorney general in 1982 and re-elected in 1986. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in what was the the fiercest Democratic primary in memory in 1990; Mattox lost a runoff to Ann Richards of Austin, who went on to win the governorship in November. He made two more runs for statewide office—in 1994 for the U.S. Senate and in 1998 for his previous job of attorney general.
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Aspirants to succeed Hutchison might have to wait
I write in my column this week, here, about Dallas lawyer Ken Emanuelson launching a Web site pitching Michael Williams, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, for the U.S. Senate.
Williams ranks, of course, among many possible successors to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who could resign her seat to gear up for a 2010 run for governor.
And he won’t necessarily have support from all quarters.
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a fellow Republican, rates Williams’ endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for president as a weak point.
Calling Williams a “great guy and a tremendous asset to our party,” Patterson said his endorsement of Giuliani, a “pro-choice and rabidly anti-Second Amendment candidate for president, will pose a problem for him in a primary or special election. One can’t help but wonder if Michael’s endorsement was because Rudy was thought at that time to be the inevitable nominee, and being with the winner became more important than principle.”
GOP Gov. Rick Perry would likely appoint an interim senator after Hutchison’s early resignation. And it seems unlikely he’d hold a Giuliani endorsement against anyone. Perry, like Williams and State Comptroller Susan Combs, initially endorsed Giuliani for president.
Generally, speculation has centered on Hutchison resigning as soon as June. But I heard a different scenario from a Republican operative that bears chewing over.
It could be that Hutchison stirs the waters by forming an exploratory committee in December or so to look into running for governor. She then hints or says that she won’t resign until late 2009 at the earliest.
Such timing would still allow her to focus on the 2010 campaign year while also preventing any foe from both running in the special election to succeed her in the Senate and then (after a loss) turning around to run for governor in the same field she hopes to lead. Depending on the timing of her resignation, it if happens, party candidate filing deadlines would prevent someone from doubling up, so to speak.
Emanuelson, by the way, said he’s never voted for Perry. Speaking for himself and not for the effort to draft Williams as a senator, Emanuelson said he lately has misgiving about Perry’s vision of toll roads criss-crossing Texas with the state acquiring farm and ranch properties to put together each route.
Emanuelson said that if Hutchison goes for governor, “she’s probably got it. It’s really difficult to think of somebody really challenging her for it.”
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November 19, 2008
Houston mayor wants to resolve political plans soon
Houston Mayor Bill White, whose last term runs through December 2009, intends to address his post-mayoral political goals within the next few weeks, an aide said today.
“He’s going to make a decision in the near future,” said Michael Moore, White’s chief of staff. “It will be based on where he could do the most for Texas with his experience and abilities.”
I touched bases with Moore while preparing a column running in Thursday’s newspaper on jockeying among Texans who might want to succeed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, if she resigns in advance of running for governor in 2010.
Moore said White, who wasn’t immediately available, is talking to people around Texas by telephone, sounding out his prospects. Most observers expect White to make a try for the Senate or for governor.
White’s goal is to settle his plans well before the end of this year, Moore said. “Days,” Moore said, “not weeks.”
White, a Democrat, will be taking a calculated risk if he airs his plans before the new year.
An outright declaration for governor, say, would put GOP Gov. Rick Perry and Hutchison on early notice of his seriousness—likewise giving White ample time to plan his run. But he’d also be putting anything he does as mayor in his last year in office in an especially political light, including anything the city seeks from the 2009 Legislature.
Then again, White’s pending decision could be less dramatic.
He might simply say he’s ruling out a position in President Obama’s cabinet and/or a bid for the Senate. Such a move would leave him plenty of time to mull a 2010 run for governor without jeopardizing his actions as mayor through 2009.
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November 11, 2008
Democrats holding Austin hearing on primary-caucus system
A Democratic Party advisory panel plans its final hearing on possible changes to how voters choose the party’s Texas presidential delegates for 10 a.m. Friday at the Texas AFL-CIO Building at 1105 Lavaca St. in Austin.
The panel, helmed by state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, has been collecting feedback on the system in advance of making recommendations to the State Democratic Executive Committee. See more information on the effort here.
Boyd Richie, the state party chairman, invites Democrats to testify at the hearing or to e-mail thoughts to testimony@txdemocrats.org .
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November 6, 2008
Dewhurst airs concern over business tax revenue, health care
At a University of Texas post-election conference, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said today that revenue from the revamped business tax is running behind what the state needs. He also said the tax wasn’t his first or second choice in 2004 as a revenue source to cover the state picking up the tab for reductions of nearly $15 billion a year in local school property taxes.
Dewhurst also stated a desire to do something about spiraling health care costs, which show up dramatically in the state budget as Medicaid costs. He said he favors the state creating a tax credit so that businesses not currently insuring employees would be encouraged to do so. He said he is also considering ideas for pilot projects that focus more on prevention rather than paying providers for specific medical procedures.
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November 4, 2008
Williamson Democrats energized
To say that Williamson County Democrats are energized tonight by the Obama Train and on down the ballot might be an understatement.
“I haven’t seen this many people this excited at an election night party in 20 years,” said Jeff Wilson, 64, who proclaims himself “a lifelong, blue-dog Democrat.”
More than 100 excited folks are crammed standing-room-only into a small sushi bar at RM 620 and Interstate 35 to watch the vote returns, just a few steps from the Williamson County Democratic Party headquarters in a strip shopping center.
Stars of the night so far: Diana Maldonado, who’s leading slightly in early returns for a Texas House seat that the GOP has held for a decade, and Mike Grimes, who until a few minutes ago was ahead in his race for county commissioner in this longtime Republican-stronghold county.
The mood at the party? Loud and raucous.
Wild cheering and applause when the TV networks proclaimed an Obama win in Ohio. “It’s over. Stick it to ‘em,” one man yelled.
Boos followed when McCain was projected the winner in another state.
The party crowd is heavily women and minorities, with lots of folks wearing Obama T-shirts and Blue State pins and stickers. A number profess to be crossover Republicans who say they want change.
“I’ve voted Republican since Reagan, but not this time,” said Jim Greenhaw, 46, a software engineer. “It’s time for a big change. This county won’t go blue (Democrat) but tonight is a first step.”
As he finished his interview with Statesman.com, the folks around him gave him their applause.
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Nine million Texans expected to vote by close of day
Hope Andrade, the Texas secretary of state, expects more than 9 million voters to act by the time polls close at 7 p.m. tonight, meaning nearly seven in 10 registered voters will have turned out either in the early-voting period or on Election Day.
On Monday, Andrade projected that 68 percent of the state’s 13.5 million registered voters would ultimately vote.
In contrast, 7.4 million voters participated in the 2004 presidential election in Texas, up from 6.4 million Texas voters in the ‘04 presidential race.
Those are big numbers, yet if they hold true, the state still won’t set a record for percentage of registered voters turning out. According to figures posted online by Andrade’s office—start here—a record 73 percent of registered Texas voters turned out for the 1992 presidential race. President George H.W. Bush won his home state that year over Democrat Bill Clinton, who beat Bush nationally. Dallas billionaire Ross Perot also was in the mix that year.
The share of registered voters previously reached 68 percent twice, in 1980 and 1984, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
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November 3, 2008
Imagine it's Thursday and the election is over ...
Will you have your fill of politics once Tuesday’s election is over?
For everyone needing more to chew on, the University of Texas has pulled together a day-long gathering Thursday featuring at least two possible candidates for governor in 2010: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democrat. State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, also is expected as part of a panel.
The event at the AT&T Conference Center, titled “Who’s Right? Who’s Left? What’s Next? Texas Politics and Policy Beyond 2008,”, the conference hosted by the LBJ School’s Center for Politics and Governance starts with a 10 a.m. coffee with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Hutchison penciled in to speak at lunch.
Later in the day, closing remarks are expected from White.
To RSVP, and to line up the free lunch, go here.
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October 23, 2008
Harris County's early vote stirs conflicting forecasts
Harris County Democrats are marveling at what they believe to be a nearly 3-to-1 Democratic-Republican margin among voters who have turned out to vote early in the county.
But Republican pollster Mike Baselice of Austin says Democrats ought to be worrying. His review of early-voting tallies led him to say: “Republicans are doing just fine.”
Critics could dismiss the competing interpretations as partisan sniping over similar numbers. In fact, the distinct reads are based on different ways of analyzing the early voting. It’s still helpful to remember that activists from both parties consider Harris County a bellwether for what’s probably happening statewide (though it’s more Democratic-leaning than the state as a whole, Baselice said). Results there are worth noodling on.
First, the Democrats’ view:
Gerry Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democrats, said that through the first three days of early voting, 62,000 early voters also voted in the March 4 Democratic primary. That compares with 21,000 early voters who turned out for the GOP primary — giving him a path to claim the 3-to-1 margin he’s touting.
“That’s pretty good wind at our back,” said Birnberg, a lawyer who’s hoping Democrats take many local offices including judicial posts from historically dominant Republicans.
Birnberg said some 126,000 voters acted early through Wednesday.
If it turns out that the three-day tally accounts for about 15 percent of total early-voting turnout, as it has in previous years, he said, the county’s total early vote could approach 790,000, perhaps signaling record-shattering turnout through the Nov. 4 election:
We could well see more than 50 percent of the total vote voting early and more than 62 percent, perhaps 65 to 66 percent, participating in this election. Both would be records, indicative of tremendous interest in this election…Birnberg’s bottom line:
I’m declaring a huge turnout. If you’re asking me if I’m declaring victory, of course not. Things are looking very upbeat for Democrats right now in Harris County. We really do expect to sweep the county. I expect it to be a Dallas County-style sweep (referring to Democrats’ winning all local offices there in 2006). But am I declaring victory? Not at all.
Baselice guffawed at Birnberg’s take. His assessment, based on voter interviews, is that up to 25 percent of the state’s first-time Democratic primary voters this spring are likely to favor Republican John McCain for president and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for re-election.
Baselice said that since 2000, voters who participated in at least one Democratic primary in Harris County outnumbered one-time-or-more GOP primary voters by nearly 2-to-1. Yet through the first two days of early voting there, voters who had voted in a Democratic primary since 2000 were outvoting Republicans by only 1.5 to 1. (Raw numbers, he said, were 49,159 early-voting Democrats this month compared to 32,456 Republicans.) So, he theorized, either the Democrats are running behind in getting out their early vote or the Republicans are running ahead of schedule.
Noting that the county’s 2008 Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans by a wide margin (407,102 compared to 169,448), Baselice said: “Unfortunately for the Democrats, they can’t limit (November) turnout to people who just participated in the March primary.”
I couldn’t immediately reach Chairman Birnberg’s counterpart with the Harris County GOP.
But Ed Emmett, a Republican serving as Harris County’s judge, said he’s not concerned about the early tilt for Democrats, partly because he doesn’t believe every voter is casting a straight-party ballot.
Emmett said:
For the first time in a long time, Democrats have a reason to go vote. The whole (Democratic) plan has been to get them to vote early, which is what they’re doing. It’s a good wake-up call. … I feel pretty comfortable. Unless my polls are just dead wrong, I feel pretty good.
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September 24, 2008
Travis County party chairs on radio Thursday morning
Rosemary Edwards and Andy Brown, the respective chairs of the Travis County Republican and Democratic parties, will make a joint appearance on an Austin radio station Thursday, the Travis County GOP advises.
The pair are slated to talk on KAZI 88.7 FM during the 7 a.m. hour.
The GOP announcement closes: “It will be the two chairpersons’ first public discussion of the political scene in Travis County.”
Surely that’s an overstatement. My bet is both of them talk about the local scene constantly — at the least to themselves.
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September 9, 2008
Cecile Richards appearing on "Larry King Live" tonight
Cecile Richards, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention two weeks ago, plans to appear during a segment starting at 8:30 p.m. Central time tonight on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Richards’ spokesman Tait Sye tells me.
I’d expect King to ask Richards, eldest daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, what she makes of the Republican ticket. Richards, who heads Planned Parenthood of America, is sure to voice concern about Sen. John McCain tapping Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Palin, who is solidly anti-abortion/pro-life, is expected to give her first post-nomination interview to ABC-TV’s Charles Gibson on Thursday.
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August 28, 2008
Primacaucus hearings resume Sept. 6 in Harlingen
Sen. Royce West of Dallas insisted today that he remains undecided on whether Texas Democrats need to end the controversial method of choosing presidential delegates both by voting at the polls on primary day and through primary-night caucuses.
A party-appointed advisory panel studying the “primacaucus” system has set its schedule of upcoming hearings, which will wrap up in Austin on Nov. 14. (Mark the date if you want to speak directly to the party leaders considering changes.)
The hearing dates and cities:
Sept. 6: Harlingen
Sept. 12: Houston
Oct. 17: Arlington
Oct. 18: Nacogdoches
Nov. 8: Lubbock
Nov. 14: Austin
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August 27, 2008
Noriega assails Cornyn; aide says money not crucial
Rick Noriega, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, hit his marks in a speech to Texas delegates at breakfast on the third morning of the convention.
Noriega, a fifth-term Texas House member from Houston, called Cornyn out of touch with Texas families and insensitive to the plight of people unable to obtain health insurance or adequate health care.
And he promised to stump to every corner of the state — or send family members to do so.
“We have to get the state back on the right track,” Noriega said. “We have to stand up and fight. We have got to take it back. It is not going to be given to us.”
Noriega opened his speech with a sure sign that President Bush is unpopular, even back home. He said he feels compelled to apologize to non-Texans for what’s happened in Washington the past six to eight years.
Separately, Noriega’s spokesman, Martine Apodaca, said that it’s not critical that Noriega pick up the financial support of the Washington-based Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is separately holding an event in Denver celebrating other Democratic Senate aspirants.
Noriega has already courted the DSCC in hopes of a late-campaign infusion of money that could be spent on turning out voters and TV advertising. So far, the committee has not committed.
Regarding the DSCC, Apodaca told me: “We’d like to have all the help we can get. I don’t think that we need it. We’re not expecting it.”
His contention: Noriega can overtake Cornyn regardless of the fundraising gulf between them. Unease over the Iraq war and concern over access to health care will be driving issues, Apodaca said.
“Texans aren’t stupid,” he said. “They remember the last six years.”
“Once voters meet Rick, they’ll take him over John Cornyn.”
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August 25, 2008
Texas GOP draws attention with anti-Obama ad
The Republican Party of Texas is reveling in big play it says it’s getting from a Web-only advertisement that swings at Sen. Barack Obama for his jibes at Sen. John McCain’s multiple houses and condominiums.
Peek here:
GOP spokesman Hans Klingler, the party’s political director, said he created the ad in his office on a laptop Friday afternoon; the voice-over comes courtesy of Janie Mathis, the party’s deputy political director.
Klingler said he was torqued by an article on Obama’s half-brother in the Italian version of Vanity Fair magazine and a subsequent report on CNN. “I was not going to sit by and let Barack Obama say these things without something from us,” Klingler said.
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August 24, 2008
Stuck in Denver again (Monday night party)
The headline above is my little joke about landing in Denver in time for the first night’s proceedings—featuring a speech by Michelle Obama. Meantime the same night, the Texas delegation to the convention is throwing down for a party.
The invitation/notice shows 13 corporate and association sponsors for the do, with the guest speaker expected to be Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. As I mentioned last week here, the venue, Mile High Station, is in keeping with the high hopes of Texas Democrats.
Fetch the invitation here.
With no one except Sen. Joe Biden biding to be vice president at the four-day convention, I’ll be on the prowl for sideshows and political whodunnits. Got one or two handy? Let me know, you hear?
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July 24, 2008
This weekend, politics and Barton Springs do mix
Barton Springs may already be a hotbed for sunbathing and aggressive relaxation; this weekend, political activism will be added to mix.
Spurred by Sen. Barack Obama’s “Listening to America” campaign, Austinite Richard Morgan is organizing a “platform meeting” on Saturday to compose the “first ever major party platform written of, by, and for the people.” The weeklong campaign, which ends Sunday, encourages citizens to meet in their communities and come up with policy recommendations for Democratic Party leadership.
How well sunbathing and politics will mix remains to be seen, but Morgan said he is hopeful that grassroots activists will be able to wield some power over the decision-making process through the meetings.
“The goal is have our voices be heard,” said Morgan, a Texas State University student studying water resource management. “We’re pretty confident that it’ll happen given that for them to win this election, they’re relying on the backs of students and [grassroots activists].”
Morgan said he has gotten 43 RSVPs for the event, and added that will be recording participants’ testimony on video tape and sending it directly to DNC chair Howard Dean.
The meeting will be held at Barton Springs this Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the picnic tables near Philosophers’ Rock.
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July 22, 2008
Doherty vows to Webcast lobbyist meetings
Larry Joe Doherty, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House seat held by Michael McCaul, R-Austin, told Austin-area Democrats on Monday night that as McCaul’s successor, he’ll Webcast meetings he has with lobbyists so constituents can listen in.
Doherty, fresh off a trip to Washington, said he’s lately determined that it’s physically feasible for a congressman to Webcast office visits. He said he already e-mails thank-you videos to campaign contributors.
Before a friendly crowd at the headquarters of the Travis County Democratic Party, Doherty also revisited his proposal to create a veterans advocacy board of district residents to help Texas veterans get benefits from the federal government.
Doherty, a Burton lawyer, is running in congressional District 10 as configured by the Republican-majority 2003 Legislature. It runs 160 miles east-west along U.S. 290 from a chunk of Austin to a chunk of Harris County; McCaul won the seat in 2004 and in 2006.
Buoyed by record-breaking turnout in the March Democratic primary, Doherty’s campaign says he can win if he swamps McCaul in Travis County and manages at least 37 percent of the vote in the Harris County part of the district. Fetch a consultant’s full analysis for Doherty here.
Doherty, who has played a judge on TV, has a countrified air that could boost his appeal.
Could also be he has an edge that bears watching. Asked how much time he had for audience questions, Doherty replied: “It depends on whether or not somebody gets personal.” Nobody did.
He also said a couple things he likely won’t repeat, including: “We have as good a chance of beating Michael McCaul as the Republicans have of beating Nick or Ciro,” referring to U.S. Reps. Nick Lampson and Ciro Rodriguez, Texas Democrats seeking re-election.
He also recapped what he said was an encounter with a Republican Texas House candidate at a July parade. He said the candidate told him he knew two things — that he would win his statehouse race and Doherty would take McCaul.
How did the Republican know Doherty would win? “You’re here,” Doherty quoted him saying, the implication being that McCaul was not there and would lose ground due to his absence from district events.
Doherty said afterward he doesn’t believe either Lampson or Rodriguez are in trouble in their races. “McCaul is in trouble,” he said.
When asked to elaborate on the parade moment, he was interrupted by an aide who said “there was some confusion there” and Doherty wasn’t talking that day to the Texas House candidate, only someone supporting him.
“It wasn’t him?” Doherty replied, sounding surprised. “I thought that it was (the candidate) himself. I’ve never met (him)… We were all queuing up for the same parade.”
Doherty reminded, “McCaul wasn’t there.”
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July 19, 2008
Liberals like the army too
Conservatives will have you believe that liberals hate the army, Netroots Nation participant Timothy Smith says, but it’s simply not true.
Smith, who might be more familiar to DailyKos readers by his handle “Timroff,” organized a workshop here at Netroots to make care packages to send to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Volunteers are currently cramming underwear, candy, fireproof gloves and a long list of other supplies into more than 100 cardboard boxes.
“The Right will tell you that taking a magnet that looks like a yellow ribbon and is made in China and slapping it on the back of your SUV is the proper way to show support for your troops,” Smith said.
“You want to support the troops, this is how you support the troops, you get a box … and if you cram that box full of that stuff that they need and send it to them, you help decrease the chances that they come down with PTSD, you increase the chances that they survive, you decrease the chances that they come down with depression.”
Smith said the idea sprouted from a comment thread on DailyKos, in which bloggers were trying to figure out what they could actually do to support the troops.
At the workshop, Jon Powers — an Iraq War veteran who is now running for a Congressional Seat in New York’s 26th district — recounted watching other soldiers’ shirts get shorter and shorter as they spent more time in the field. They had run out of toilet paper, Powers said, and soldiers were cutting pieces off their t-shirts to get by.
The packages will be shipped out Monday morning, Smith said.
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July 18, 2008
UPDATED: Noriega likes idea of compulsory service
UPDATE: My colleague Peter Mongillo points me to a DailyKos post by Noriega, where he hails the Netroots’ community—drawing 97 comments (good golly).
An excerpt:
“Like the families of Texas, the people at Netroots Nation who I’ve met are frustrated that their voices aren’t being heard in Washington. They’re organizing with fellow activists, making phone calls, and bringing people together in a growing movement to change Texas this fall.”
See the whole deal here.
Meanwhile, Rick Noriega said earlier today he likes the idea of young Americans being subject to compulsory public service of some kind, though he stopped short of saying he’s going to coin a proposal.
Noriega, the Democratic nominee challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, mentioned his interest in compulsory service while speaking on a panel of veterans at the Netroots Nation conference.
He said afterward: “It’s something we ought to look toward as an attitude… Just fundamentally, I think that it is an idea that’s overdue.”
He said he also supports the idea of a public service academy, much like existing military academies, “that is currently gaining steam in Washington.” Also, he’d like to better formalize “how we look at this initiative going forward.”
Noriega said he’s focused lately on his proposals regarding national energy policy, and this package won’t include a plea to open up drilling for oil off U.S. coasts or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Details are expected by Tuesday or so.
A few weeks ago, Noriega told Midland audiences that he favors drilling for oil in Iraq, though his campaign later said he was joking.
Noriega said today he wasn’t joking; he was trying to illuminate the lousy thinking behind the invasion of Iraq, he said, including the prospect that the move would result in a flow of oil from that nation to the United States.
“Even for those who would have couched our policy of going into Iraq for the oil… I have said that even for those persons, it was a failed policy. I mean we couldn’t even get that right,” Noriega said.
Broadly, Noriega said, Cornyn “continues to try to sell to the Texas voters that there is some magic spigot of oil just outside our coast or up in (the Arctic), that if we could only access that, gas would go back to $1 a gallon. You know, he is selling some mythical solution; that dog just won’t hunt. I mean, here’s a guy that told us that we had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So now we’re going to believe him that there’s a magical spigot of oil that’s going to reduce everybody’s price per gallon?”
Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin pinged in response: “In West Texas, it’s a joke…but when he’s with his liberal blogger buddies, he’s dead serious. The only joke is Rick Noriega’s inability to come up with a coherent energy policy.”
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Pelosi won't be a Netroots bore; a poem
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s session at Netroots Nation 2008 starts early Saturday; it’s been moved up to 8:30 a.m. at the Austin Convention Center.
If you’re teetery about going, consider this nudge-by-poem:
Maybe it’s a chore to get up early for Pelosi. But count on this, pal; the Netroots corps won’t be bored. You never know who she’ll bring through the door; Could be a matador, a bigwig from days of yore. I’d say more, but I agreed not to start a roar.
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July 17, 2008
Dean keynotes Netroots confab seeing blue
Howard Dean revisited a vow from his ‘04 presidential campaign in his keynote address to Netroots’ enthusiasts Thursday night by noting that he visited Crawford, near President Bush’s ranch, to kick off a voter registration drive on Thursday morning.
Nice town, he said, and Bush will soon be retiring there.
“We went to Crawford, Texas to show that we do not want a third term of George W. Bush,” he said, suggesting Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, lines up with Bush on Iraq, the economy and other issues.
Dean’s remarks — forecasting a Democratic-blue election this fall — mirrored his noon-hour rally outside the Austin Convention Center; see my account of that here.
In his evening keynote, Dean said that if it weren’t for Netroots’ Nation, Democrats wouldn’t hold a majority in the U.S. House. He also thanked the liberal blog-ocracy for helping him win election as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, stands to win because Democrats will run a 50-state campaign, Dean suggested.
“This is going to be a very close race,” Dean said. “But I believe that hope and the future will always triumph over the candidate who’s always looking backwards.”
Getting a roar, Dean also revisited his noon-hour vow on arriving in Austin for Democrats to gain five Texas House seats in November — a step he said will enable lawmakers to begin to reverse the impact of congressional districts redrawn for Republican gains in 2003, at the urging of Tom DeLay.
Dean also incorrectly said more people voted for Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton (combined) in this year’s turnout-heavy March 4 primary than the Texans who voted for the Democratic presidential nominees in the 2004 and 2000 general elections. His point holds true in comparison to 2000, but not to 2004; peek at the vote tallies starting here.
Dean, sporting what looked like an American flag lapel pin on his suit jacket, was introduced to an estimated 2,000 Netroots Nation attendees by former Austin state Rep. Glen Maxey.
Maxey recalled telephoning Dean’s presidential campaign office and telling them he was going to captain the Vermont governor’s Texas efforts — even though the person at the other end of the line said Dean wasn’t organizing in Texas yet.
Not long after, Dean raised $30,000 at an East Austin fund-raiser.
“We were empowered by Howard,” Maxey said, “and we organized it over the Internet.”
He sounded like he was hearkening to ancient history.
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Gen. Wesley Clark exhorts Netroots Nation
Wesley Clark, the retired Army general who ran for president as a Democrat in 2004 (and who keeps his thoughts on securing America posted here), credited Netroots ‘08 bloggers for making it possible for him to run for office.
Before launching into issues stressed by nearly every Democratic candidate for office (universal health care, more of an emphasis on non-military rather than military solutions, an energy policy focused on alternatives to oil, human rights), Clark mentioned Darcy Burner, a U.S. House aspirant in Washington state whose house just burned down (yes, her name is evidently really Burner).
Clark later called Rick Noriega, the Democratic nominee against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, “our next United States senator.” Noriega stood next to one of the many round tables in the hall and waved.
He shortly asked most everyone to stand—individuals ranging from officeseekers to nurses to police officers—but stopped short (they always stop short) of recognizing journalists in the room (though “The Onion” Web editor later gave props).
“Did I miss any professional group?” he said. “If I did, I apologize.”
Understandably, there was one more group he wanted to recognize, the Netroots’ nation of bloggers.
“You’re like the keel on the ship of state, you’re like the compass on the bridge,” the general said. “You keep America going in the right direction. You bring passion, you bring commitment, you bring your ideas and you bring your energy to American politics.
“We’ve needed you for so long in this country and we need you desperately right now.”
Referring to Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, West said: “Let’s move America forward. Together, Netroots Nation, you can do it. Let’s do it.”
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Obama Girl invades Netroots Nation
First, here’s the video featuring Obama Girl, Amber Lee Ettinger, visiting the media room at the Netroots Nation conference:
Right after the video was shot (and after Eileen Smith of Texas Monthly’s Poll Dancing shot her own video second), Obama Girl’s handler Melissa asked me not to post the video.
“You brought her to the media room so that we could shoot a video of her and then not post it?” I asked.
Melissa said I was asking her too many political questions that Obama Girl didn’t know the answer to in an effort to make her look dumb.
I told her I don’t cover politics. “Believe me, she probably knows way more about politics than I do,” I told her.
Still, she thought I wasn’t showing Amber’s best side (I disagree), and I promised to post something nice to go with the video. Here it is: she was very nice to agree to the video in the first place and she seems like a perfectly nice young woman. Crush-worthy, even.
Unfortunately, that was how my day at Netroots ended — I wanted answers to all my political questions, and if we can’t count on Obama Girl to figure it all out for us, then I will have to remain disillusioned in our fledgling Internet stars.
(Bonus note: try to find the exact time in the video when Obama Girl got completely bored with me and started looking around for something more interesting to do.)
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Whasssssup at Netroots
That’s what the fellow warming up folks for retired General Wesley Clark, who’ll be talking before Howard Dean.
“Whassssup?” he asked.
The guy, identified as the Web editor of “The Onion,” went on to warm up the crowd at Netroots 2008 with three calls-and-responses:
“When I say fired up, you say ready to go!” Happened three times; a basic salute to Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Two more:
“Netroots… Nation.”
“Mental… recession,” a jab at former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, who suggested some Americans are in just such a state.
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Noriega busy before heading to Martha's Vineyard
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Rick Noriega stands to be in the middle of the muddle at the Netroots 2008 convention, starting with his star appearance at a party tonight and commitment to speak on two panels during the day Friday — one on military issues, the other on Texas campaign ‘08.
The twist: Noriega, hoping to unseat GOP Sen. John Cornyn, intends to head east by Saturday in time to participate in a leadership retreat being hosted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The do is taking place through the weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off Cape Cod — a Massachusetts island, for any critics primed to type l-i-b-e-r-a-l. (It’s way beautiful, by the way.)
At least one other Democratic Senate nominee is likewise heading from Austin to the retreat: Larry LaRocco of Idaho, seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Larry Craig.
Both nominees, of course, want the committee to throw campaign money their way in time for TV advertising in the fall.
By the way, Cornyn’s campaign reminded supporters in an e-mail dispatched today that Noriega counts on online donations from out of state. The e-mail says in part: “Noriega has raised nearly half of his total funds online, much of it from out-of-state “progressives” who will never even visit Texas, let alone vote here. His campaign regularly boasts that he has strong support from the left-wing blogosphere. Make no mistake, if he were to get elected he would be beholden to these people.
“Texas cannot afford that. Will you continue to help John Cornyn in the battle?”
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Netroots Nation: Waiting for Obama Girl
More evidence that they sent the wrong person to cover Netroots today: instead of listening in on the Latino Caucus session, which was my original plan, I’m hiding out in the chilly, but well-stocked Media Room waiting for Obama Girl.
I had no idea she’d even be in town (doesn’t she have a photo shoot and some short-shorts waiting somewhere?) but according to my new favorite person, Eileen Smith of In the Pink/Texas Monthly, she should be here “Around 5ish.”
I’ve been watching Smith and Karen Brooks of The Dallas Morning News shoot hilarious videos of each other and joking about their anti-Big-Media sticker. I think I’m in the right place.
I e-mailed my editors: “Obama Girl is supposed to be in the Media Room soon. I’m ON IT.”
Hunter S. would be so proud.
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Like real life, with more nude virtual dancing
A “Second Life” panel at Netroots Nation attracted more virtual participants than real ones.
About 30-40 people spread out all over the U.S. (and France) connected to the virtual online world of “Second Life” to participate in a conference where they couldn’t appear physically.
In Austin, however, only about 10 people showed up to see avatars on a giant screen and to appear on video in a giant real-life screen within the virtual world (got all that?).
Some of the participants, with names like, “Spokane Skytower,” “Lake Woebegone” and “John McCain Weezles” (wearing only a thong) boogied on a dance floor. (“Weezles” was being portrayed by a popular blogger.)
Keynotes from Netroots are being fed into “Second Life,” but this was a more intimate affair as people in “SL” greeted everyone in the room (they were also connected by voice via speakers).
It was Wonk Meets Geek. And pretty cool, honestly.
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Netroots Nation: Request for hazard pay
I don’t cover politics, so my apologies in advance for going wildly off-message from what this blog usually covers. (I cover personal technology, which is to politics what the former Planet Pluto is to a can of Pringles.)
Nevertheless I am here at the Convention Center covering Netroots Nation, more as an outsider blogging type than as a hard-nosed political reporter.
The first panel I’ve been to, “Craft Your Message” is in a huge, cavernous room with a giant screen and an enormous panelist table. It looks very expensive. The most number of people I’ve seen in the room so far at one time was 30.
Maybe they didn’t “craft the message” about this panel?
Nevertheless, I have learned that I am in no way qualified to ever run a campaign, political or otherwise. At the end of the presentation, several examples of good campaign ads were shown, and to be honest, they all looked identical to me, with the same lilting, Lite FM (or “Isn’t this sad?” guitar pluckings) background music, the same “I am going to do THIS and it will be AWESOME!” politicalspeak, the same authoritative bold fonts and the same insulting simplifications about the respective opponents.
My plea to the other people in the room is not that they change their ways because something must be working for them all to be employed. My plea is that they just don’t run any of these commercials on channels I actually watch.
Nobody told me that I’d have to sit through TV campaign commercials as part of my job.
I demand hazard pay.
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Netroots Nation: Caucus fail
The first caucus/session I tried to go to at Netroots Nation, “Moms’ Caucus” had this sign on the door:
That’s a bit of a hike. Think I’ll stay here and find somewhere else to go.
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Dean: No yelps, but a call to walk door-to-door
Howard Dean, fresh off a bus from Crawford, grinned his way today through an appeal to Democratic activists at the Netroots 2008 convention in Austin.
He called on them to walk door-to-door in their neighborhoods to encourage voter registration and then November turnout.
Dean said: “The most powerful people in America in getting people to vote are you; it’s not Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly,” a reference to two iconic conservative commentators. “You are more powerful than they are to the people that you know.”
The Democratic National Committee, which Dean chairs, launched a national voter registration drive this week.
On Dean’s watch, the committee also has vowed to stoke Democrats in every state, not just states most likely to tilt the party’s way. The approach is a new effort to widen the party’s appeal that appears to fit neatly with the no-holds-barred hopes of liberal political bloggers at the convention.
“I can see at the grassroots level he has a plan that’s working,” said Diane Palmer of Tempe, Arizona, who wore a pink “NH, Live Free or Die” cap. “We shouldn’t write anyone off, any state, any group.”
Dean, a former governor of Vermont, started the Texas portion of the drive this morning in Crawford, the hamlet close to Waco that’s also near President Bush’s ranch.
Dean reminded his Austin crowd that when he ran for president in 2004, he often ended speeches promising to send Bush into retirement on the ranch. He likened Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to Bush, saying: “We don’t need four more years of George W. Bush.”
He excited Austin activist John Denson by stressing the need to turn out voters toward the goal of helping Democrats capture five Texas House seats, giving the party a majority in the 150-member body—and maybe a promising foothold toward Democrats playing a controlling role in the 2011 legislative session when lawmakers look again at drawing legislative and congressional districts, based on U.S. Census updates.
“We’re going to undo all those evil things Tom DeLay did,” Dean said, a reference to the GOP-majority Legislature’s redraw of congressional districts in 2003. At the time, then-Rep. DeLay was the U.S. House majority leader and a prime architect of the redistricting effort.
“Yeah yeah yeah, that’s right,” Denson responded to Dean. “That’s what we want.” (Denson said later he wishes Dean was showing up as a possible vice presidential pick for Obama.)
Dean also made cheery though not unexpected predictions to a few hundred folks, many holding “Democracy for America” and “Change We Can Believe In” placards in a partially shaded park just north of the Austin Convention Center.
Dean’s forecasts: Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, is going to win the White House. And Obama will win Nevada and Florida, taken the past two rounds by George W. Bush. And he’ll take Michigan. And he’ll snag Virginia, which has tilted Republican in presidential elections.
“South Dakota,” a woman in the crowd suggested.
“I’m not gonna name every single state,” Dean said.
Winning the presidential election isn’t enough, he said.
“This is about taking long-term responsibility for your country,” he said. “We have to rebuild this country, and it is from the bottom up. We have to rebuild this country so that it stands for ordinary people again.”
Style note: Dean stepped down from the bus in khakis and a white polo shirt. It turned out that Boyd Richie, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, and an aide were the only luminaries sweating out the midday rally in suits and ties.
Note of confusion: Right before Dean spoke, some crowd members chanted: “Four more years.” Eh?
Dean is expected to catch up with Austin-focused activists later this afternoon; more on that later. Indoors, he’s giving the convention keynote this evening.
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Live blog with 'Netroots Rising' co-author Nate Wilcox
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July 16, 2008
UPDATED: Godfather of liberal Netroots on the air today
Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, the godfather of liberal political bloggery, is penciled in as the guest on KOOP FM’s “Texas Politics Today.” He’ll be there from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. Texas time; the station is at 91.7 on Austin’s FM dial and also streams live over the Internet here.
UPDATE: Moulitsas told hosts David Kobierowski and Deece Eckstein that too often “the Democrats are so afraid of themselves, they are so afraid of their own convictions,” and voters react accordingly.
Then again, he’s optimistic about Democratic chances in the 2008 elections, at least nationally. “Republicans have made such a mess,” he said. “You could be a monkey and win some of these (races).”
Asked to make a Texas prediction, Moulitsas said statewide wins depend on turnout.
An upset—say, Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain—is possible, he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s probable,” he said.
Weather note: Moulitsas began his appearance by referring to the typical July heat, saying: “It’s always nice to visit scalding hot Austin.”
Moulitsas is the founder and principal author of DailyKos.com, the political blog that lays claim to an average daily readership of over 750,000 people. Also, he’s written several books, incuding “Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics” and the pending “Taking On the System: Rules for Radical Change in the Digital Era.”
According to KOOP, he’ll be talking about the netroots phenomenon and how it’s transformed politics, and giving his thoughts on the fall elections in Texas. Naturally he’s in Austin in anticipation of the Netroots conference starting Thursday.
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July 14, 2008
Cornyn has 10 times more cash than Noriega for campaign
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn outpaced Democratic challenger Rick Noriega in cash on hand through June by about 10-to-1, according to their respective campaigns.
Noriega had $915,506 in cash on hand at the time, his campaign says.
Cornyn, a Republican, will report a treasury balance exceeding $9 million, his campaign advises.
The financial reporting deadline is Tuesday.
Spin for Cornyn: He’s positioned to swamp Noriega in TV and radio advertising and direct mail. He has enough money to both define himself (a weakness to date, by some polls) and to define the little-known challenger (a weakness acknowledged in Noriega’s camp).
Spin for Noriega: The lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army National Guard is still the right guy for these tilting-toward-Democratic times. If he can nudge up the fund-raising — maybe get to half the original goal of $10 million with an infusion of out-of-state cash — he can match up with Cornyn sufficiently to make the race competitive.
Noriega is hoarding money better than the Democrats’ 2006 nominee against GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
Through June 2006, Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky had less than $350,000 in cash on hand. Hutchison, who had $9.2 million in hand at the time, ultimately beat Radnofsky, 62 percent to 36 percent.
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John Dean attending fundraiser for Travis County Democrats
John Dean, President Nixon’s White House counsel at the time of the Watergate break-in and cover-up, is slated to be among participants in this week’s Netroots conference in Austin.
I spoke with him 35 summers after he testified against Nixon before the U.S. Senate’s Watergate committee.
Among his comments: “Democrats need to keep their act together because my old tribe scares the hell out of me.”
On a lighter note, the Beverly Hills resident said he doesn’t hear Chairman Sam Ervin’s rumbling drawl in his sleep—nor does he have a handle on what caused the infamous gap in the tape recordings of Nixon’s conversations with aides.
Folks not attending the conference can catch Dean on Thursday night; he’s set to speak to the North by Northwest Democrats from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Waterloo Ice House at West Sixth St. and Lamar Blvd.
Dean calls himself an independent, but the Waterloo do is a fund-raiser for the Travis County Democrats. Dean could be signing copies of his latest book, a tome co-authored by Barry Goldwater Jr. on the late Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona.
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July 11, 2008
Fero: Tony Sanchez intended negative '02 run at Perry
Democratic consultant Kelly Fero of Austin walks back through the 2002 Texas elections—including Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez’s sudden rise and big fall—in an interview with Nate Wilcox. Though the interview took place in 2007, it’s just posted online because it plays into a book, “Netroots Rising”.
An excerpt:
…when I was first talking to Tony, very early, still in 2000. Sanchez and I were at the Four Seasons and he told me he wanted to run the most negative campaign ever. It registered with me later, after he ran one of the most negative campaigns in history.
Peek at the interview transcript here.