Everyone Needs to Calm the Hell Down About 2010

by: Phillip Martin

Mon Dec 22, 2008 at 00:00 AM CST

White and Sharp may have miscalculated by jumping into a Senate race that may never come to pass.

The serious point here is one I and others have made before: You are not a real party, you are not a competitive party, unless you field actual, plausible candidates for high office. And from this vantage point, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

Eileen Smith:

Since the fan-f—ing-tastic Blagojevich morning jog clip has been hastily removed from YouTube, I had little choice but to post this video of Evan and I talking about the Senate race, Bill White, John Sharp, and another crappy year for the D’s in 2010.

Did I miss the filing deadline for the Governor's race? Did we fast forward to October 2010? Or aren't we still in the year 2008? What the heck is going on over there at Texas Monthly? Are they required to only report the ways that Democrats could potentially fail? Is there just a stock pile of posts about what Democrats have done wrong sitting on their floors?

There will be a Democrat running for Governor in 2010 -- we've got a great roster of potential candidates. I mean, has anyone asked Senator Kirk Watson what he's planning on doing? He's young, got money, got great name ID, has the experience of running a statewide campaign, and is terrific on both policy and connecting with voters. Have we ruled him out? Is Congressman Chet Edwards definitely not going to run statewide? If Senator Van de Putte is willing to consider the U.S. Senate, why couldn't she just as easily wreck shop and run for Governor?

Everyone needs to calm the hell down. I'm not asking for anyone to be a cheerleader. I understand constructive criticism. But this is obscene. I think Statesman writer Laylan Copelin nailed it on the head when covering the Speaker summit that was attended by all of two Speaker candidates and apparently 12 reporters:

Reporters outnumbered speaker candidates by about six-to-one, and even TV was there. Which underscores the news crisis — too many reporters chasing too little news.

Seriously. It's just like the endless transition stories about Obama, liberals, centrism, the future of the party, etc. He's not even President yet! I'm not asking anyone to stop talking, but at least show some sense when you speak.

Texas Democrats have not conceded the Governor's race. We are the party that went to Ardmore. We are the party that has won 74 House seats in a map drawn to elect 100 Republicans. We are the party that had 2.8 million people vote in the primary earlier this year. We are the party that is expanding our base and winning more seats, while the GOP is moving downhill faster than Tom Craddick can say, "Speaker for life."

Let's at least close the books on 2008 first, if that's at all possible. There will be a major Democrat running for Governor in 2010. Everyone take a breath, enjoy the holidays, and get excited about the 140-session we're about to begin.

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