Burnt Orange Report

Chris Bell Comes To Town

By Vince Leibowitz

Potential candidate for governor Chris Bell came to Canton tonight for the monthly meeting of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County.

I had invited Chris to the Free State of Van Zandt last month, before his exploratory committee for governor went live, because of the notoriety he'd gained in Congress relating to his ethics complaint against U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land). The visit was far more timely and important, however, because Chris' exploratory committee has garnered some recent press and, of course, a lot of interest in the BlogSphere.

I was trying to take some photos during the speech, so I don't have any verbatim quotes to give BOR readers (plus, Chris said he was going to be talking to Byron L. soon, so I don't want to steal any of his thunder), but I can tell you he was well received.

In particular, I felt that Chris had a good grasp on the issues facing Texas at the "state" level. A lot of times, I've found that Congressmen and ex-congressmen spend so much time dealing with federal problems that they aren't as well versed as they should be when they talk about state issues. Specifically, I was glad he addressed the school finance issue, and pointed out the hypocrisy of the Perry's flip-flopping on the issue of using gambling to fund public school education, and of course, the fact that gaming has helped fill Perry and other official's campaign coffers.

He also mentioned the "revolving door" on Perry's office by which top-level staffers sign on with the office of the governor and then leave to pursue lucrative lobbying contracts, often hitting up their ex-bosses for support.

I was particularly impressed that Chris said that Democrats don't need to shy away from the "morals" debate against Republicans. Using the popular phrase, "What Would Jesus Do," (WWJD) to illustrate some of the GOP's hypocritical stances, he noted, and I'm paraphrasing here, that it's far more likely that the WWJD thing to do wouldn't be to deprive 150,000 Texas children of healthcare. He provided a couple of other examples, but this is the first one that comes to mind.

He's got a point. Republicans consistently preach "morals, morals, morals," with regard to a number of issues, but somehow think it's justified to balance the state budget on the backs of those who need government's protection and assistance the most--the poor, children, and the elderly. It's nice for Republicans to be able to say they "put prayer back in Texas public schools," but it's a sad day when those kids are praying for a hot meal, a decent place to live and healthcare.

During the Q&A, Chris fielded several interesting questions. I asked Chris two things at once (like the typical ex-reporter I am, though I didn't intend to ask a double-question) and he was up to the sometimes challenging task of both remembering what both questions were and responding equally to both. I asked how he felt that many were calling him the "reform," candidate and what he thought the final outcome would be with regard to the redistricting lawsuits the U.S. Supreme Court sent back to the Fifth Circuit.

Chris said that he's not bothered by the "reform candidate," moniker, but that people are already beginning to see that his candidacy is about more, because he is familiar with and has ideas to tackle some of the various problems facing the state. He also noted that, though all politicians make mistakes, he's always been about more accountability and ethics in government, dating back to his tenure on the Houston City Council when he worked on a measure to prevent high-ranking city employees from leaving employment and then cashing in on their city contacts in the private sector.

With regard to redistricting, Chris said, as most do, that the outcome remains uncertain. And, that by the time it's finally decided once and for all and the appeals process is totally exhausted, it could be time for another round (this time because of new census figures).

One of our visitors from Rockwall County asked an interesting question and raised an interesting point, too. He noted that Chris' approach to things was a little different than many politicians. In fact, the guy used the phrase "doom and gloom," noting that Chris had outlined a lot of problems facing the state absent some of the more boisterous rhetoric commonly used by candidates.

Chris responded by noting that the current situation facing the state is somewhat gloomy, and that it's important to present the facts about the various situations in as accurate a manner as possible, which sometimes isn't too rosy.

Other questions included some about the makeup of the race on the GOP side. Chris said what I've been saying for almost two years, which is that, even if she enters the primary, Kay Bailey Hutchison will face an uphill battle because so many GOP Primary voters are on the far-right of their party and the political spectrum. He also predicted that Carole Keeton Strayhorn would stay out of the race if Hutchison gets in.

All in all, it was a great evening, with folks coming from as far as Dallas and Rockwall to hear Chris speak mingle at the pre-meeting reception.

And, for our party, it was quite a coup to have Chris. To date, we've had several of the up-and-coming heavy hitters for 2006--John Sharp last May, Barbara Radnofsky last August and now Chris Bell.

Now, I've just got to figure out who to book for our May 7th "Night of Honor and Memories," banquet where we'll give out awards for things like "Outstanding Young Democrat," etc. Regardless of whom we end up booking to keynote, I hope we can count on folks like Chris and Barbara Radnofsky to come back for this great event. After all, 220+ Democrats in one room in Van Zandt County, Texas is a pretty captive audience, hint, Hint, HINT.

Vince Leibowitz is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County. He would be just thrilled if every potential statewide Democratic candidate in the state reading this would contact him to reserve their seat(s) at the dinner now. He may be reached via email here And, if you are a really, really, really big name Democrat (Martin Frost, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Ann Richards, etc.) and would like to give the keynote address, he'll throw in a Yellow Labrador Retriever puppy (a yellow dog Democrat) if and when the local Tax Assessor/Collector's lab has a new litter. And, if you can't take it back home with you (allergies, planes, spouses who don't like dogs), you can put it in the silent auction.