Burnt Orange Report

Dallas Democrats Prepare for Executive Committee Meeting

By Byron LaMasters

Last week, I reported that for the first time in memory, the Dallas County Democratic Party will be holding an executive committee meeting called not by the chair, but by petition of 51% of the executive committee (precinct chairs). While there were runors that the Chair would attempt to challenge the legality of the meeting, notice of the meeting is now on the webpage of the Dallas County Democratic Party. The meeting will be Monday, February 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Hall. I plan on attending the meeting in order to keep an unofficial record of the proceedings.

Both supporters and opponents of Chair Susan Hays have sent a series of emails and letters this past week. Much of the criticism of Susan Hays is related to her letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee last year in support of Bush judicial nominee Michael Schneider. I wrote at the time that I didn't think that the letter was that big of a deal, but there are a few issues of concern which I was not aware of at the time.

First, the fact that Susan Hays wrote the letter on a Dallas County Democratic Party letterhead implied that she was not only speaking for herself, but for the Dallas County Democratic Party. That apparently was the assumption made by Senator Cornyn who said the following in the Senate record:

Justice Schneider's reputation as an exceptional jurist and a true gentleman is well known throughout the State of Texas. It is also well known by the American Bar Association, which gave him its highest rating, when its standing committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously certified him as ``well qualified'' for the Federal bench. And his nomination enjoys broad bipartisan support across the State of Texas. For example, Susan Hays , who chairs the Dallas County Democratic Party, has written a strong letter of support. [...]

I also ask unanimous consent to print in the RECORD a letter from the Dallas County Democratic Party.

Also of concern is the fact that this appointment violated the so-called "Thurmond Rule". Sen. Leahy (D-VT) said the following in the Senate record on the Schneider confirmation:

Finally, I note today is the 7th day of September and we are way beyond what is called the "Thurmond Rule." It was back in July of 1980 when Ronald Reagan, who was not yet President but was running for that office sought to stop any more judicial nominees of President Carter from being confirmed. The Republicans were actually in the minority in the Senate but candidate Reagan asked Senator Thurmond, who was the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which was led by Chairman KENNEDY, to block any more nominees from being confirmed for the remainder of the year. Senator Thurmond happily obliged and from July 1980 until the end of the year the only judicial nominees confirmed were those who had the consent of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader and the Chairman and Ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. All of President Carter's other judicial nominees were blocked and defeated without votes.

The "Thurmond Rule" is that after July or the nominating conventions no more judges will be confirmed in a Presidential election year unless there is consent. Today's vote on Justice Schneider actually will be one of the last votes, as we all know. But it is an interesting thing. I note that every year where there has been a Democratic President, Republicans have adhered to the Thurmond rule as though it was handed down from on Mount Olympus. The Olympian heights of that standard, precedent and history somehow have changed when there was a Republican in the White House. Now that there is a Republican in the White House, we have heard little about this precedent from Republicans even though it was sheer gospel to them when there was a Democratic President.

So, while Schneider was not an egregious nominee, it could be argued that the letter by Susan Hays legitimized the violation of the "Thurmond Rule" by Senate Republicans.

It should be noted that Susan Hays sent a letter to precinct chairs apologizing for using the party letterhead, but not for writing the letter after at least six local clubs passed resolutions denouncing her leadership. You can view copies of the letter and resolutions here.

Four Dallas County Democratic elected officials co-signed a letter to precinct chairs this week indicating their support for Susan Hays. Here is the letter:

February 24, 2005

Dear Precinct Chair,

We stand today at a crossroads. Our local success in the November 2004 elections was remarkable, and our potential for building upon that success in 2006 should be unlimited.

We stress that phrase, should be, because the momentum we’ve fought so hard to gain is unquestionably ours to lose — and we fear that internal squabbles over our Dallas County Democratic Party leadership may soon sap our ability to achieve the local election victories so important to us all.

You may have gotten notice of a precinct chair meeting next Monday. Some of those calling for this meeting have been attacking the County Party and our Chair at the very time we should be celebrating success. This infighting must stop. Otherwise, we are doing a disservice to the Party and our ability to win elections in the future.

We urge you to come to the meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m., and support the Chair and our Party. If there are specific criticisms of current leadership, those should be articulated in writing before the meeting and aired in a productive atmosphere. You can email any concerns to the Chair or to either of us at: chair AT dallasdemocrats DOT org, roycew AT wglegal DOT com, or rafael AT rafaelanchia DOT com.

This is the new Dallas Democratic Party — one where we work together toward victory unafraid of new ways and innovations. If we are to achieve the victories we deserve we must unite as we did when we worked together and with the Chair on a coordinated campaign to get out the vote in our districts in 2004. We now urge you to work together, with us and the Chair toward a 2006 Democratic victory.

These are challenging times. If we don’t succeed in pulling together, our Republican opponents won’t have to work to divide us — we will have done it for them. We’ve achieved too much to help them in their efforts to derail us. Please work with us to find common ground and renew our unity of passion of getting Democrats elected.

Sincerely,

Sen. Royce West
Rep. Rafael Anchia
Commissioner John Wiley Price
Sheriff Lupe Valdez

I would say that it is rather unimpressive that Susan Hays could only find four Dallas County elected officials willing to go on the record stating their support for her. Furthermore, her backing from Rafael Anchia is unsurprising considering Hays' role in bringing forth a legal challenge to knock Anchia's Democratic primary opponent off the ballot. Valdez's support is unsurprising as well. After the election, Hays fired the executive director of the Dallas County Democratic Party, and hired Valdez's campaign manager to fill the job. More telling is who is NOT on the list (State Reps. Hodge, Alonzo, Davis, Jones, Giddings and Judges Adams, Montgomery, Garcia and Raggio).

Needless to say, the meeting on Monday ought to provide some fireworks.

Update: Former Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Bill Howell shares his thoughts on the matter over at Stout Dem Blog.