| No one will tell the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, Linda Chavez-Thompson, something that she doesn't already know---she has her work cut out for her against David Dewhurst. This West Texas native and forty-year veteran of the American Labor Movement knows all too well what it means to be an underdog, and like any smart underdog she relishes that role.
Linda's story is probably familiar to most that read Burnt Orange Report, but it is worth revisiting so as to appropriately capture the essence of this remarkable woman. Chavez-Thompson was an underdog from the minute she had to leave school in the 9th grade to work the cotton fields with her family. Hard, laborious work is not beneath her, which is perhaps why it was only fitting she went on to become Executive Vice-President of the AFL-CIO. Teaching herself how to read and write while working the family fields should give any young Texan, particularly minorities, reason to believe they can beat the odds and succeed too. That enthusiasm, passion, drive for excellence, determination to succeed, and belief that one can do anything they put their mind to, are qualities that embody the candidate that Democrats have fielded for Lt. Governor.
Last night Linda Chavez-Thompson sat down with the Board of the Mid-Cities Democrats and gave a good synopsis of exactly what her campaign will do for mainstream Texans. She is vibrant, articulate, and very strong-willed. Chavez-Thompson believes she compliments Bill White on the statewide ballot, and she does. Her national Labor background brings money from outside the Lone Star State along with experienced boots on the ground. These resources will be invested in a manner that best maximizes hers, and the rest of the statewide slates chances of winning in November. For the first time in a long time for Texas Democrats we'll have a campaign that focuses on communicating, organizing, mobilizing, and turning out the predominately Hispanic communities from Bexar County southward along the Rio Grande, and westbound toward El Paso. Chavez-Thompson knows exactly what she must do well at this cycle and that's playing to the three bases she knows her story appeals to---Hispanics, women, and Labor.
Her platform mirrors that of the Democratic candidate for Governor, which means we have a slate united in a common message that career politicians in Austin have failed Texas families and small business owners. Mainstream Texans are fed up with being ranked at the bottom in most public education measurements, yet among the top in paying for insurance and utilities in the country. Chavez-Thompson knows all too well that 1 out of 3 Texans is a high school dropout under the Perry-Dewhurst model of leadership, but she also knows that 1 out of every 2 of those dropouts is Hispanic.
This underdog for Lt. Governor knows how important her role is this election cycle. For Texas Democrats, Linda Chavez-Thompson is the type of hardworking fighter we should be thankful to have on the ballot this November. |
