Burnt Orange Report

I heard Nickerson was running again

Thanks for the tip, David!

Jim, this isn't directed just at you but at the BOR posters as a whole, lately. I've seen "DINO" and "very, very conservative" type of comments thrown around quite at bit lately on BOR. The Democratic Party is so great because it can be the Party of inclusion rather than exclusion. Moderate Dems can still be Dems. While I find myself leaning much more progressive than many of my fellow East Texans, I refuse to dismiss any of the legislators who remain on our side. Jim Nickerson is a great guy. He is someone who I'm glad to have met many times during my Northeast Texas campaign days. He ran almost entirely because he was disgusted with the Ralph Hall party switch. Is he "conservative"? He is certainly a moderate. But when did that make him a Democrat in name only? Are Dems like Max Sandlin, Jim McReynolds, Chuck Hopson, Bob Glaze, Stephen Frost, Paul Sadler, Jim Turner, or for that matter folks like Charlie Stenholm not quite in line with your progressive view? Certainly not. But there is a lot more that we can agree with them on than you think. The moment we only allow liberal Dems in our exclusive little club is when we become as bad as the Christian Republican movement. We, as Texas Democrats, are not in a position to start excluding willing men and women from running under the Democratic ticket. It's time for Texas Democrats to coalition build and start reaching out again to ALL supporters at whatever political spectrum they lie near. Our future statewide ambitions depend on all of those supporters, including moderate Dems like Jim Nickerson.

Cody--

Well said. I dunno if you remember me but I worked for Max in Nacogodoches and met you a couple of times.
And your right, Nickerson is one of the coolest guys I know -- he'd win the "who would you rather have a beer with" contest hands down. He's a hoot and a damn good Democrat to boot!

Cody - agreed.

FWIW, the "very, very conservative" thing aren't my words, they're Jim Nickerson's. Is he as conservative as Ralph Hall? Of course not.

Matt, I certainly remember putting up signs late on election eve with you in Tyler, Texas. Jim, I realize that Nickerson is self-described as such. I simply want to make sure we are conscious of the things we say and that we remain inclusive. Jim Nickerson is the kind of Democrat I will gladly stand with on a regular basis. Is he the most likely up and comer in the Democratic Party? Hardly. Jim is an extremely likeable guy who was hardly clueless to his chances against a veteran like Ralph Hall. However, he stood up for what he believed in, ran a steady campaign, and truthfully can say he helped save guys like Stephen Frost and Mark Homer. I know as well as everyone that Nickerson didn't do well in that election, but without a Democratic congressional candidate on that ballot at all, I'd hate to see where those two Dems would be. Probably sitting at home. Jim Nickerson is my kind of conservative.

Along this questioning: Is ralph hall even running again?