(Andy Brown is the Democratic Party Chair of Travis County. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Our country is supposed to be a place where people of many faiths and beliefs can freely come together as a community, put aside differences and solve problems. Now more than ever, Texas and our nation need true leadership, not political rhetoric.
All eyes will be on Texas when Gov. Rick Perry announces his bid for president. As governor of Texas, he has the capacity to bring together people of all backgrounds, faiths and beliefs. But instead of taking the high road in addressing our state's problems (whether he chooses to actually speak or not), Perry has chosen to align himself with the American Family Association for his upcoming event "The Response." This organization claims to be Christian, yet in my opinion it is anti-gay, anti-Semitic, anti- Muslim and filled with hate, none of which are in line with Christian values. Perry's association with this group is an embarrassment, and hosting this event to grab headlines for his run for president is disgraceful.
That is why, on Saturday, the Travis County Democratic Party is organizing a march and rally in Austin to shine a light on the damage Perry has done to our state. We will have religious leaders of many faiths (including those rejected by the AFA), elected officials, political groups and everyday people whose lives have been adversely affected by Perry's policies.
Yes, the Austin rally - Rick Perry: Bad for Texas, Worse for Our Nation - will take place on the same day as Perry's gathering in Houston. But we are not rallying to oppose prayer, as I'm sure Perry will accuse us of doing. We are coming together as a community to protest Perry and his fellow Republicans' unprecedented cuts to public education, the Draconian cuts to human services, disastrous environmental record, attack on women's reproductive rights, smoke-and-mirrors accounting of the state budget that will doom us for years, and, most glaringly, his hypocritical use of prayer and religion to exclude and divide.
Prayer and religious freedom are held dear by Americans and are a vital part of our lives, no matter what political beliefs we have. It is offensive that Perry would align himself with the American Family Association to host this exclusionary prayer vigil. It is important that we include all faiths as we solve the problems facing Texas and move our country forward.
Those of us who believe in good government, religious tolerance and a just society feel compelled to speak up. Instead of addressing the tragic effects of his extremist policies on working Texans, such as cutting billions of dollars from our state's already under-funded education budget, Perry is positioning himself to run for president. As he considers his run for president, crisscrossing the nation and teasing the media about his plans, he panders to the radical right and uses wedge issues to further his political ambition.
According to the Texas State Historical Association's Texas Almanac, Texas was first among states in the number of Evangelical Protestants in the year 2000. It was also third in the number of Catholics and Buddhists, fifth in the number of Muslims and Hindu congregations, sixth for Mormons and tenth for Jews. Growing up in Austin, I was raised to be tolerant of others and believe that together as a nation we will move forward. While Texans still have faith in this belief, it is clear, as a result of his failed record and most recent actions, working Texans have lost faith in Rick Perry. As we hope the Austin rally proves, Texas is bigger than Rick Perry.
Travis County Democratic Party Chair Andy Brown filed for re-election earlier today. Brown, who was elected chairman in March 2008, announced an impressive list of supporters that includes practically every Democratic elected official within the county.
Brown's supporters include:
Congressman Lloyd Doggett; State Senator Kirk Watson; State Representatives Elliott Naishtat, Dawnna Dukes, Eddie Rodriguez, Donna Howard, Valinda Bolton, and Mark Strama; Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe; Travis County Commissioners Margaret Gomez, Sarah Eckhardt and Karen Huber; Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell; Austin Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez; and Austin City Council members Randi Shade, Sheryl Cole, Laura Morrison, Chris Riley and Bill Spelman.
In his nearly two years as chairman, Brown has made major progress for the county party. In 2008, he raised a record-breaking $560,000 for the TCDP's coordinated campaign that helped deliver the greatest Democratic margins Travis County had ever seen.
If Democrats expect to win statewide in 2010, they will need huge margins out of Travis County. Re-electing Andy Brown as chair would ensure the TCDP has the leadership it needs not only to help our statewide candidates, but also to protect the seats of Democratic State Reps. Valinda Bolton and Donna Howard and defeat the last remaining Republican elected official in Travis County.
We have a real opportunity to fix our broken health care system. Let's get the job done!
This Saturday afternoon, you're invited to a local health care rally featuring: Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Senator Kirk Watson, Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Council Member Sheryl Cole, Former State Rep. Ann Kitchen, TCDP Chair Andy Brown and others.
Our goal is to make Saturday's rally one of the biggest in the country. Spread the word!
Andy Brown, Travis County Democratic Party Chair released the following letter, this afternoon regarding Voter Suppression Legislation (full letter in quoted section below).
One note is that I was told by a House Member that a Republican Representative is attending a wedding on Saturday, so my guess is that might not be voted on tomorrow, but in any case, please contact your representatve today and ask them to vote AGAINST Voter ID.
With Rep. Kuempel still recovering and assuming Speaker Straus does not vote, we have a 74 Dems to 74 Repubs match-up...
The Republican Voter Suppression legislation is scheduled to reach the House floor tomorrow. Senate Bill (SB) 362 is on the Texas House calendar for Saturday. It is critical that your State Representative and House Speaker Joe Straus hear your opposition to this unnecessary, partisan legislation.
The Republican controlled House and Senate both struggle to debate local bills and find solutions on important issues ranging from windstorm insurance, green jobs, and the use of the Federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act, among others. The Texas House is now slated to spend an entire day debating voter suppression legislation.
There are three things you can do to prevent this waste of time.
Call or e-mail House Speaker Joe Straus and tell him to focus the House's efforts on real priorities instead of threatening Texans right to vote. His capitol phone number is (512) 463-0686 and you can e-mail his office directly here.
Contact your State Representative and let them know you oppose SB 362 because; it has nothing to do with voter fraud and everything to do with using the reins of government to gain partisan advantage by making it harder for certain Texans to vote. You can find your State Representative online.
Show your support to our Democratic leaders by going to the House gallery, wearing blue, while they debate this bill on Saturday. Republicans have flooded the capitol wearing red in previous debates, and we need to support our Democrats while they spend the entire day debating this Republican voter suppression legislation.
Join in the fight to stop this restrictive and unnecessary bill.
The TCDP has already raised $6,100 through the mail, nearly $3,000 online, and another $1,000 from people signing up for text message. The deadline to donate is June 19 so if you haven't donated, you have a few days left to take advantage of Sen. Watson's generosity. On top of that, the TCDP has sent out an e-mail reminding the Austin community about the grand opening this Tuesday and asking for more registrations for Mark Strama's campaign academy.
It is time to get to work and have some fun. Over the next few weeks there are 3 things you can to Turn Texas Blue:
Join Senator Kirk Watson and other elected officials as we cut the ribbon on our new headquarters Tuesday June 17 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. We will be opening our doors at 1107 N. I-35 at the east side of the freeway on 11th street. If you have any office supplies or furniture the coordinated campaign can use, please let us know.
Mark Strama's Campaign Academy is still taking applications for high school and college students. You will learn the nuts and bolts of modern politics as well as the important policy questions that confront state government. Daily lunch speakers will include current and former elected officials, political consultants, university professors, and state policy experts. Time is running out so sign up today!
Finally, we are well on our way to hitting our goal of raising $20,000 by June 19. Kirk Watson is doing a dollar for dollar match and we have raised $6,100 offline and another $2,195 online. Senator Watson has also pledged to donate $5 for every person that signs up for text message updates, and to date 200 people have signed up for text message alerts. That means we are $10,705 away from hitting our goal!Have you taken advantage of Sen. Watson's generosity yet?
Together we are going to Turn Texas Blue, and the fun starts today!
Sincerely,
Andy Brown
Travis County Democratic Party Chair
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for updates on your phone. Another great way to help raise an additional $5 is to sign-up for our text-message alerts. Join by texting 'TCDP' to '41411' from your cell phone, and Sen. Watson will donate additional funds to the TCDP.
If you haven't, donate today. If you have, come to the grand opening. If you are a high school or college student, take advantage of Rep. Strama's campaign academy. No matter what, help turn texas blue!
In the SD14 caucus, state Rep. Donna Howard has called for two of the four remaining convention committee slots be reserved for Hillary Clinton delegates.
Her motion was immediately seconded by Obama supporter (and blogger and BOR reader) Steve Winchard. But not all the Obama delegates were as interested in sharing committee seats as Winchard.
DNC candidate Rick Cofer made a motion to discontinue the disclosure of committee candidates' presidential preference. Cofer's motion was not immediately adopted, however, it eventually won out.
Travis County Party Chair Andy Brown praised the "spriit" of the motions. Even those words were met with pushback from some delegates, apparently offended that Clinton delegates could possibly control 1/3 of the committee assignments in a senate district in which they won approximately 1/3 of the delegates.
I think Steve Winchard should be applauded for hsi efforts to bring true party unity. I hope the Obama supporters who objected to Winchard's resolution were not the same people who had been calling for Hillary to drop out since March.
After all, party unity is a two-way street, even here in Travis County.
11:12pm: We are lucky to have an excellent new county chair in Travis County. Andy Brown just showed great leadership when he made the decision not to identify committee candidate by presidential preference.
It is really sad to see some people put two committe spots above party unity. I am glad our new county chair stood up for Democratic unity.
11:15pm: The Nays have it. Party unity won out here. The remaining candidates will be identified simply as Democrats -- not Obama supporters or Clinton supporters -- and, at this point, that is exactly how it should be.
(Kick off's are always fun... - promoted by Matt Glazer)
You're invited to join Andy Brown, newly elected Travis County Democratic Party Chair, and your fellow democrats to kick-off the 2008 Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign.
WHEN: Saturday, May 17
TIME: 1:00pm
WHERE: Nuevo Leon Restaurant
1501 East 6th Street
CONTACT: Ian Davis
(512) 466-6939
ian@traviscountydemocrats.org
Our goal is to increase the number of registered voters in Travis County from 450,000 to a half-million. If we can increase our margins in Travis County, then we can help turn Texas blue and help Sen. Rick Noriega to defeat John Cornyn. Let's get to work!
