Burnt Orange Report

Courage for Congress: Part Duex

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

The other week I got a most suprising e-mail in my inbox that I hadn't expected. One of the Democrats that helped to inspire me along my political path looked like he was at it again, to run against my hometown Republican Congressman. Oddly enough, even after moving to Austin, Lamar Smith did too and remains my Representative. I look forward to the chance to try to beat him once more with a known foe of his, John Courage.

In the extended entry I have included the letter from John, now that he has started an Exploratory Committee to run in the 21st against Lamar Smith. As he notes in the letter, the race would be no small feat and about $1 million would need to be raised. But Mr. Courage ran back when the district had 3 times as many counties as now, and was by far, more Republican, and even still, rasied $150,000. That campaign helped jump start some of the energy in local Hill Country parties that have lead them to become the much more active force they are today. The one to two county summer picnics have now expanded to a 21 county Hill Country effort that should draw close to 1000 people this year.

John Courage, after running 4 years ago, most recently ran for County Party Chair in Bexar county, but because of the way that Bexar County likes to divide itself up, by ethnicity and region, he did not succeed. His wife Zada, was victorious in gaining a seat on the SDEC at the last State Convention, and the two continue to be active in progessive causes and Democracy for Texas. John is a former educator and veteran if my memory of his campaign material serves me well, two issues that beneficial in a district that has a heavy military population and where Education is certainly a strong factor (UT, Texas State, etc.)

I'm personally looking forward to this exploration period, and as the University of Texas populace and campus is in this district, I know that many University Democrats will jump at the chance to have a real Congressional race we can get involved in that isn't already set one way or the other (McCaul or Doggett).

Though I've heard of one other possible candidate mentioned, nothing confirmed in the least. Until then, I hope that you all can offer your comments, insights, tips, or otherwise and get in touch with John if you want to offer some help at johnc @ democratswithcourage . org

I am writing to you because I value your opinion and I am considering running against Lamar Smith for the 21st Congressional District seat once again.

My consideration arose after having had numerous Bexar County friends and supporters ask me if I were going to run against Smith again. Many of those who asked encouraged me to do so. Recently some good Democrats in Austin have expressed their interest in having me run, and have been encouraging as well.

I have over the last week or two been talking with my family and some good Democratic activists and have received some very positive feedback. Of course having my best advisor, my wife Zada standing with me side by side is one of the best signs of encouragement I can have, but hearing from you will also be important.

Some of the questions that require thoughtful answers are:

Why should I run, and why now?

Others have answered these questions for me by saying –

· Lamar Smith needs to be challenged,
· I have developed good name recognition and can run a credible campaign,
· The Democrats need to run strong candidates to build the party,
· Lamar Smith may be very vulnerable now because of issues like Social Security, the War in Iraq, the Terri Schaivo debacle, and his close relationship to Tom Delay.

What has changed in the 21st District since I last ran?

When I first began my race 4 years ago this month, the 21st was comprised of 21 counties stretching from San Angelo to Seguin. Six months later it was reduced to 14 Counties due to redistricting, but still ran from Junction, to Marble Falls, to Alamo Heights, and included a portion of Austin for the first time. That is the district I ran and lost in. However, due to the last round of redistricting, the Republicans, being cocky and over confident about Smith’s incumbency, reduced his District down to five counties, from Bexar, up Hwy 281 and I-35 to Travis county, including Comal, Blanco and Hays counties and increasing the Austin population in the District.

I made a decision not to run for this position in 2004. The Democratic nominee, who did run for the 21st, ran a very weak and poorly funded campaign, but still got 46% of the vote in Travis County. Today Travis County has more registered voters in the 21st Congressional District than Bexar County does, and the Democrats in Austin and Travis County are very well organized (they carried Travis for Kerry last November) and they are very eager to get rid of Lamar Smith. They are still smarting over the redistricting in Travis County.

So basically the landscape is considerably different in this election than it was four years ago.

To me the two most important aspects for mounting another campaign at this time are, fundraising, and establishing a strong, coordinated campaign organization from San Antonio to Austin.

In my first campaign I raised over $150,000 which was no small sum, but I recognize that I would have to raise substantially more in another campaign to unseat Smith. My goal for this campaign would be to raise 1 Million dollars. I would capitalize on the lessons from the Dean, Clark and Kerry Campaigns and would build a strong web based Internet giving program, as well as the tried and true practice of calling and talking with everyone about giving their financial support.

Part of the fundraising campaign would be to set some contribution targets, for example finding 1000 Democrats to pledge giving at least $25 per month and another 1000, pledged to give at least $10 per month and finding 200 Democrats who would contribute the maximum $2000. Achieving these goals would allow the campaign to go toe to toe with Smith on getting our message to the voters.

The key component of a strong organization relies on major volunteer efforts. I believe we proved at the San Pedro campaign office in the 2004 Campaign, that you can run a great campaign through the dedication of committed volunteers. This along with some professional support can produce a successful team in this next election

To make this work my campaign would need people who are willing to step forward and commit to doing these jobs from Travis to Bexar County:

· Demographics Researcher and Writer
· Database Specialist
· Issues Researcher and Writer
· Internet Webmaster
· Fundraising Specialists
· Scheduler
· General Volunteers
· Volunteer Coordinator
· Media Coordinator
· Fieldworker Coordination
· Campaign Management

I will be traveling the district this month, conducting a ‘Listening Tour’ to determine what the people in the 21st are looking for in their candidate for Congress, and to reintroduce myself to the District.

I welcome your input and advice and of course most of all your help. I have established the John Courage Congressional Exploratory Committee and can accept contributions as I continue to “explore” a campaign effort over the next few weeks. I expect to make a decision before the end of June.

Please feel free to contact me at this address if you have any questions, advice or to lend me your support.