Burnt Orange Report

On the Web

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Some random updates and commentary from out there on the World Wide Web...

Though it isn't from Dave McNeely's Blog, his latest column has an interesting tidbit instead. (I sat in on this interview the other day and waited for it to show up in print.)

It's a stark departure from the tactics of the past, depending on television ads and targeted direct mail aimed at known voters. And it's attracting new people. Of the 15,000 signed up for Dean in Travis County, for instance, 52 percent did not vote in the last three Democratic primary elections.

Eighty percent attending a Dallas meeting said they had never been political organizers before because they'd never been asked.

And that last bit about the Dallas meeting (with Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi) is quite true. While there were some seasoned political veterans, most of the people were getting involved in their very first campaign or came back after 30 years of inaction.

And while this next tidbit is quite old, I have been waiting for someone to report it.

Black leaders largely dismissed the flap over Dean's comment about appealing to whites with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks, saying he has won some admiration in the black community for his willingness to speak out.

I made the comment a while back that the whole issue was blown up by those that had the most to gain- other white presidential candidates. If you look at Dean's negatives in polls, they didn't sustain any major increase after it either, leading me to believe that everyone wanted to talk about it, but no one really cared all that much. (besides those that had something to gain or hate Dean anyways)

And my last sighting, which Byron might have more to actually comment on...

Longtime state Rep. Steve Wolens, half of a high-profile husband-wife political team, said Wednesday that he will not seek re-election next year.

"It's time for a new adventure," said Wolens, D-Dallas and husband of Dallas Mayor Laura Miller.

Wolens, a House member since 1981, declined to speculate about what the next adventure might be.

"We'll see," he said, declining to rule out future races. "I love public service, and I love the Legislature."