Burnt Orange Report

Chris Bell Liveblogging

By Byron LaMasters

The speech was embargoed until 7 PM, but it's 7:20 PM now, so here's the speech (PDF file). I'll plan on liveblogging the speech here at Sholtz's.

DFT co-chair Fran Vincent began the meeting by welcoming everyone. Then she introduced State Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin).

Mark Strama gave the keynote address to the young Democrats banquet in D.C. last month, and spoke on that experience.

7:26 PM Update: Strama noted that being the keynote speech at the YD conference was a humling experience especially considering that he spoke between Howard Dean and Al Sharpton. Strama mentioned how Sharpton said in twenty seconds what he had been trying to say his entire life. He repeated it tonight, “Republicans want to privatize social security and public schools… the only thing that they don’t want to privatize our private lives.” Finally, Strama thanked Chris Bell for coming all the way from Houston and thanks him for taking on Tom DeLay (big applause).

7:33 PM Update: Chris Bell started off with a story not included in the prepared remarks. A few years ago he needed to buy some shirts before he went out of town, so he headed down to the mall – forgetting that it was the tax-free weekend. Some guy came up to him thanking him for some speech and said “I thought that was you, but I didn’t know that guys like you shopped for yourself”. Others recognized Bell and came up to him introducing themselves and Bell began to feel inside like he was a real big shot. Then a lady came up to him and asked “excuse me, but is this the only size of these jeans that yall have here”. Needless to say, his big head was deflated, and that flowed in with the thrust of the speech, "We are all in this together, and we can’t afford to leave anyone behind" along with talk of reform. Bell than moved into the text of the speech. The first page basically followed the script with a plug for Texas Independence Day at the end of the second paragraph.

7:36 PM Update: “Some people have called me a reform candidate. I guess I can’t blame them. You file one little ethics complaint, and suddenly you have a reputation.” -- this got a big laugh. I’m proud to say that the footnote cites Vince’s post on BOR “Chris Bell Comes to town”.

7:40 PM Update: Reform, reform, reform. The kicker was this: “If they mean I will demand real ethics reform, not later, not sooner, but without delay, then yes, I am your reform candidate”.

7:42 PM Update: The bible cited – “In Sunday School I learned that as much as we have done to our fellow Texans, we have done to ourselves” (Matthew 25:40).

7:56 PM Update: Bell spoke of a the budget as a “moral document”, but the words really didn’t really hit home until he told the story of how the overworked and overwhelmed Child Protective Services failed Jovonnie Ochoa, who was finally found at the age of four, tied up on his bed by his family, weighing sixteen pounds. Ochoa was failed by the state of Texas and by Governor Rick Perry who signed the law cutting thousands of Texas children off of the CHIP program because in Rick Perry’s words, “government cannot dispense hope”.

The speech is over, but Bell was well-received, and I’m looking forward to hearing more from him over the coming months. I’m a little surprised that Bell didn’t take questions, but DFT has business to conduct, and Bell is speaking with reporters at the moment.