Republican's astound me..... I am in awe of simple ability to conform and repeat a talking point verbatim. They are mesmerizing; in their message discipline, their impassioned outrage is unparalleled and most importantly they are team players. There ability to push even the most outrageous of lies is gob smacking. Their gut wrenching commitment to their party is a splendor to behold and ya know what..... we need to become more like them. Do not confuse what I am talking about here, we as Democrats should not become vile filled contemptible pushers of hate but we must become a more disciplined workforce to promote our viewpoints.
Within the culture of our party we have reviled in our diversity and breadth of viewpoints but the diffusion of our message has hurt us. We are the party of the common man and we promote policies that benefit individuals, families, and everyone as a whole we are the party of voting in a person's self interst. Because the other side is so deft at message presentation they can persuade people to vote AGAINST their self interest. They have become the proverbial salesman that can sale a Catsup Popsicle to an Eskimo wearing white gloves in a snow storm.
Here is a fun game that the Daily Show does and you can do at home. Watch Faux News for half an hour. Count how many times you hear virtually the same thing from different people; have fun with it... turn it into a drinking game. Don't let anyone fool you; politics is marketing, while the world changing and good governing stuff happens once in office the challenge is getting there and that my friends takes grade A, good old fashion, 100%, Tip Top unadulterated marketing..... Something we as a party fail at miserably.
Our strength lies in our ability to speak directly to a plethora of constituent groups, and we usually have a direct line to them with a speaker that is similar to them (ya know that devilish diversity thing). Rather than incorporating a continuous message thread we diffuse it, change it, or abandon it entirely. It is like that game of telephone where you get a line of people and start out with one phrase and it ends entirely different. For the democratic line it starts out as "tax cuts" but ends up as the " the duck quacks" for the republican line "tax cuts" stays "tax cuts". We simply must adopt this message discipline.
Adopting message discipline does not make us republicans my dear friends..... It makes us effective. Repeating a talking point so a clear message is presented across speakers does not make us automatons or brain washed. If we believe in the party and promoting the ideas of the party then we need to act as a team player and present the cogent talking point and then present a personalized supporting message unique to the speaker and or situation; ya know... like a professional/grown up. We hurt the party and the message of promoting the party by failing to help get a strong and unified message out.
Here's our new TV ad, which we've unleashed this morning in several markets, that showcases the hypocrisy of Rick Perry in taking federal stimulus money meant for Hurricane Ike reconstruction for the restoration of his Governor's mansion.
This quote by Rick Perry during the Hurricane Ike disaster just says it all:
That's pure, unmitigated gall to compare himself to the thousands of Hurricane Ike victims who lost their homes. You see, while Rick Perry bemoaned the reconstruction of his Governor's mansion, he was living in the lap of luxury in a $10,000 per month rental mansion paid for by taxpayers.
We wrote earlier about how Stefani Carter, a Republican running for the State House in TX-HD 102, was caught red-handed in her blatant plagiarism of President Obama's speech.
That's not the only outrageous thing she's done. You see, Stefani Carter just can't stop lying about her record. For instance, she actually claimed an endorsement by the mayor of Garland, Ronald Jones. That endorsement actually never happened, and the mayor had to publicly deny that fake endorsement.
In my role as the Mayor of Garland, I strongly believe it is not appropriate to get involved in partisan campaigns. My job is to advocate for the people of Garland, and not distract our mission with partisan rhetoric. I am not endorsing Stefani Carter in this race as reported in several media outlets, and will not make any endorsement in this, or any other partisan races. I regret that my earlier communication with Ms. Carter has created this distraction.
MoveOn members in Texas's 21st District have voted to endorse Lainey Melnick for Congress. It's up to all of us to stop the corporate takeover of Congress-you can volunteer with the campaign here:
Here's our open letter to Governor Perry, in which we stand by our full-page ad that ran in over 24 newspapers this week, calling him out on his cowardice in not facing Texan voters:
August 26, 2010
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Dear Governor Perry:
It comes as no surprise that you chose to hide behind surrogates to respond to the ad we recently ran in 24 Texas newspapers. The way you responded underscores the central point of our ad - that your refusal to debate or meet with editorial boards is cowardly.
When are you going to come out of hiding and speak for yourself? Is that not what a real leader is supposed to do?
Read for more from our open letter to Governor Perry after the jump.
AUSTIN, TX - Students are beginning classes and already attending their first College Democrats meetings of the year. If you're one of the many chapter Presidents across the state or are interested in starting a chapter at your school here is an extremely helpful link from the College Democrats of America: http://bit.ly/dx8qWX
Here are some best practices from TCD President Emeritus Andy Jones:
1. Solidifying membership is key. A high profile speaker at the first meeting is awesome, but the second and third have to be about keeping members, not talking at them.
2. Motivate the base. Get student organizations that have helped your chapter in the past motivated to work with you again.
3. Fun, fun, fun. We're not the West Wing campaigning for Santos. Food at events, contests, rewards, etc. Fun, fun, fun 'til her Daddy takes the ballot away...
Here is the first three weeks of state strategy from TCD President Ryan Lofton Payne:
Week one • Contact local election office and schedule a time to deputize your group.
• Start registering people in high traffic areas of campus.
Week two • Make sure you have contacted local candidates and inform them of where you will be registering on campus.
• Contact professors that teach the largest classes and ask if you can come in and register the class at the beginning of class.
Week three • Start getting ready for the fall conference in Dallas and really start focusing on what you have implemented in the first two weeks.
Also, this just in! Sneak peek at the Texas College Democrats' fall conference trainings:
1. College registration and GOTV (get-out-the-vote)
2. Old & New: Effective media for college campuses
3. Issue advocacy: making a statement at your school
4. Tools for success: fundraising & chapter development
Mark your calendars! The conference is set for September 18th and will be held at the Progressive Center of Texas in Dallas. Expect more details in the next week.
Dallas Morning News
Fort Worth Star Telegram
San Antonio Express news
Austin American Statesman
El Paso Times
Corpus Christi Caller
Amarillo Globe News
Beaumont Enterprise
Tyler Morning Telegraph
The Monitor
Waco Tribune Herald
Texarkana Gazette
Victoria Advocate
Longview News Journal
San Angelo Standard Times
Valley Morning Star
Laredo Morning Times
Lufkin Daily News
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Herald Democrat
Temple Daily Telegram
Lubbock Average Journal
Galveston County News
Odessa American
College Democrats to Meet in Dallas: Is Texas the Next 'Big D'?
Dallas, TX - Texas College Democrats will have their Fall Conference September 18th at the Progressive Center of Texas located at 1409 S. Lamar Street. Speakers and trainings will be announced in the coming weeks. Dallas was one of the last urban areas to turn blue but Obama net gained more votes in Dallas than any other city in Texas.
Southern Methodist University Democrats, who won the bid, is the home of the George W. Bush Presidential library and is on first glance in a conservative area. In 2008, SMU was named #3 among all U.S. colleges for "Most Conservative Students" by the Princeton Review. However, SMU Democrats was one of only two college chapters to qualify for the full five delegates at the TYD 2010 Convention, was the second largest Texas delegation to the CDA 2010 Convention, and SMU Students for Bill White is the third largest SFBW chapter in North Texas, only behind Austin College and UNT.
Former YDA President David Hardt and current YDA Vice President Renee Hartley are from Dallas. The Dallas County Young Democrats is one of the largest Democratic activist organizations in Dallas County, and one of the largest Young Democrats groups in the nation. With almost 600 members, the DCYDs are able to provide strong volunteer support to local Democratic and community events including parades, campaigns and rallies.
Dallas County has been the most productive county in taking back the state house with 4 gains. Also, a Democrat running county-wide in Dallas County hasn't lost since 2004. More importantly, there are more recognized vulnerable Republican state house members in Dallas County than any other county in 2010.
The Metroplex represents a very real prospect for Texas to turn blue. Texans are folks who love common sense and aren't afraid to swim upstream. In a time when Texas Republicans are in the news shouting about "terror babies", stealing taxpayer money for personal expenses, and being recorded to work part-time for a full-time salary---people from across the Lone Star state will look at their ballot and do the only thing a reasonable, rational, logical person would: vote Democratic.
The Case for 2010: Young People in Texas Look for a Democratic Future
Austin, TX - Living in Texas, we are often told that Republican victories are inevitable. We buy into the lie that because we are young and because we are Democrats our votes don't really matter. We don't get excited for our elections, we don't get involved, and sometimes we don't even vote. Republicans would have us believe that they will always be in power and that there is nothing we can do about it.
"If you want to make something happen, tell a Texan it can't be done"
However, statistics show that our generation trends in the opposite direction. In 2008, if 18-29 year olds had decided the election the Lone Star state would have been blue on the electoral map. Within the Democratic Party, Texas continues to lead in national youth roles:
David Hardt, YDA President (2007-2009)
Katie Naranjo, CDA President (2008-2010)
Renee Hartley, YDA Vice President (2009-Present)
Alejandra Salinas, CDA President (2010-Present)
Democrats have an incredible opportunity to win big this November starting at the top of the ticket of great candidates by electing Bill White to be the next governor of Texas. White represents our best opportunity to win back the Governor's mansion since Ann Richards while Perry represents the greatest vulnerability. People often forget that he won re-election in 2006 with only 39% of the vote.
Rick Perry has proven his corruption and incompetence to voters across the state through murky land deals, a dropout crisis in our public schools, a $18 billion budget deficit, a rental mansion that is costing taxpayers $10,000 a month, claiming that the BP oil spill was "an act of God", or seriously talking about how Texas should secede from the Union.
"Shouldn't we be the state the leads the nation, not that leaves the nation?"
The eyes of Texas are upon you. Organize your campus, register people to vote, and volunteer for our candidates. America is watching us-waiting to see if we will allow for Rick Perry to have an unprecedented 3rd term and the Texas GOP to remain a source of national shame. We must do everything in our power to take back our state.
Last weekend, a dozen students who are spending their summer working to elect Democrats as part of Mark Strama's Campaign Academy made their way to Corpus Christi for the Texas Democratic Convention.
If you attended the convention, you likely noticed them in their matching Campaign Academy shirts following closely behind Rep. Strama. On their Campaign Academy blog, the students summarized the weekend.
This past weekend, about half of the Campaign Academy ventured to the Texas Democratic Party State Convention in Corpus Christi. We were looking forward to funny hats, inspiring speeches and awkward dancing, and the convention did not disappoint!
Representative Strama introduced us to many legendary figures in Texas politics, such as Bill White, Linda Chavez-Thompson, Boyd Richie, Senfronia Thompson, Glen Maxey, and Molly Beth Malcolm, who kindly shared their experiences and words of wisdom with us.
We had the opportunity of attending various caucuses, including ones representing Mexican- Americans, LGBT interests, and the Asian-American community, which shed light on the diversity and inclusiveness of the Democratic Party ....
The convention energized us for the months ahead, during which we will be working hard to turn Texas blue! We would like to sincerely thank everyone who made it possible for us to attend this convention. We learned so much and had a great time, too!
The Campaign Academy, who I've been working with since early June, also created a video documenting the weekend.
In a year where the conventional wisdom seems to be that Democrats are suffering from an enthusiasm gap, we are proud to report that's not a problem here in Texas, where over 20 high school and college students are devoting their summer vacations to working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
