Houston GLBT Political Caucus endorses Annise Parker for mayor

by: Kabanx

Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 09:13 AM CST

"Annise Parker is the most qualified candidate to lead Houston as our nation struggles through a severe economic crisis," said Caucus President Kris Banks. "Like the rest of our city, the Houston GLBT community is bracing for tough times in the coming months and years. We need a steady, experienced hand to guide us.'

"Parker's proven leadership and record of fiscal responsibility and sound economic policy will ensure that Houston can continue to fund our most important priorities - public safety, stronger neighborhoods, infrastructure and quality city services.'

"With this endorsement, our members send a strong message: Qualifications matter now, more than ever. And no one is more qualified than Annise Parker to lead our city though tough economic times."

Gun Owners Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party - Election Meeting

by: derby378

Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:49 AM CDT

Pro-gun Democrats are invited to help make history at the first Election Meeting of the new Gun Owners Caucus. We will discuss the mission of the Caucus, debate and ratify a set of bylaws, elect our first slate of officers, and conduct other business (including possible endorsements of Democratic Texan candidates). Bring your current voter registration card and/or delegate or alternate badge from the 2008 Texas Democratic state convention. And bring some like-minded Democratic friends! E-mail derby378 AT yahoo.com for a copy of the proposed bylaws or for more information.

Saturday, October 11 at 1:00 PM
Denny's Restaurant
1601 I-35 North
Austin, TX 78702

Daniel Barnett
Provisional Chair, Gun Owners Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party

Lanny Davis Calls Caucuses "Elitist" and "Undemocratic"

by: David Mauro

Tue Aug 05, 2008 at 01:54 PM CDT

Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to the president who was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton during the primaries, has an interesting editorial on Huffington Post entitled "Fellow Democrats: Kill the Elitist and Undemocratic Caucuses."

While Davis is advocating for Democrats to get rid of caucuses nationwide, he does single out Texas in a section that is excerpted below:

Even nuttier is the "Texas Two Step" system. In 2008, the over 2.8 million voters participated in the March 4 democratic primary. Then comes two step: at 7 pm, the party caucuses begin. People get to vote a second time (I am not making this up). But not all votes are equal. If you lived in Houston and Dallas, and carried your precinct in 2006 for the Democratic candidate for governor by a large margin, your vote could be twice or three times as powerful than if you lived in South Texas, in heavily rural Republican counties.

How can that be small "d" Democratic? How can that be constitutional under one person-one vote principles? Doesn't that embarrass a party that calls itself the "Democratic" Party?

Speaking of embarrassment. The result of these arcane rules for Democratic Party caucuses is incredibly small voter turnouts. The average turnout for all caucuses held in 2008 was under 10 percent. Even in the highest profile caucus state of all, the first one attracting all the media hype for months -- King Iowa -- the turnout among eligible voters was under 20 percent (meaning 80 percent of eligible voters stayed home). Other low turnout states included New Mexico (11 percent), Nevada (9 percent), Minnesota and Maine (5 percent), North Dakota (4 percent), Colorado and Nebraska (3 percent), and Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas (2 percent). You did not read that last number incorrectly: That is 2 percent!

Davis has a few other suggestions that could gain traction, especially these two:

* Limiting primaries to pre-registered Democrats, rather than allowing Rush Limbaugh and others to encourage independents and Republicans to do same day re-registration, motivated only by mischief to muck up the Democratic results;

* Eliminating Super Delegates. After what happened in 2008, it is silly to make believe they can exercise their independent judgment, as they were intended to be able to do when they were created in 1982. They can't and they didn't. If the political big wigs who are the Super Delegates want to go to the convention, then give them free tickets.

I've written about two anti-caucus editorials in the last few days. Personally, I signed the petition to abolish the Two-Step at the state convention, thought it deserved a full floor vote and am interested in seeing it reformed, though not necessarily completely abolished.

However, I know that a lot of our readers (and writers) are passionate supporters of the primary/caucus hybrid system.This is to continue to the productive discussion we had about the Dallas Morning News editorial.

If you come across any pro-caucus editorials, be sure to post them. As the West Committee continues to hear testimony across the state, this is an important dialogue for us to have.

TDP Primary/Caucus Committee Holds First Hearing

by: David Mauro

Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 00:18 PM CDT

Note: It was my initial intention to liveblog the first hearing of the Texas Democratic Party Primary/Caucus System Committee, chaired by Senator Royce West. Unfortunately, I ran into some internet problems, but here is a report of what I saw, including pictures, that continues after the jump.

The movement to end the Texas Two-Step, as many have been saying for a long time, is about a lot more than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

For those who were still trying to paint this as Clinton “sour grapes”, the first speaker at the “End the Texas Two-Step” press conference was quick to put that to rest.

“I’m not sure that it matters,” Peter Nolan began, “but I am and was a supporter of Barack Obama.”

Nolan is right: it doesn’t really matter. His support of Obama is only relevant because some have tried to dismiss those opposed to the Two-Step as bitter Clinton supporters. That is just not the case, and anyone who attended the hearing can attest to that.

And Nolan wasn’t the only Obama supporter at the hearing. I happened to be sitting next to Amy Esdorn, a graduate student who was unable to attend the caucus because of her class schedule.

Esdorn conceded that while Obama may have benefitted from the two-step system in the short run, the results of the primary were really irrelevant at this point.

“[Ending the caucus] is exactly the kind of change Barack Obama stands for,” she said.

“My vote should not count more than someone from the Rio Grande Valley or El Paso just because I’m from Travis County,” Martha Smiley said during the press conference.

Johnnie Limon of Austin held one of the more humorous signs to be seen at the hearing. “Two-Step at the Broken Spoke, One Step at the Polls,” his sign read.

Wendell Scott, a Gonzales County resident who wrote the anti-Two Step resolution and voted for Barack Obama, held a sign that said, “TDP leaders violate their own rules.”

Sue Berkel, a Clinton national delegate, stressed that the caucus could stay in place as a means for delegate selection, even if popular vote became the only means for delegate allocation.

Senator West called the meeting to order just before 10:2am.

To read about what happened during the hearing and to see more pictures, click "THERE'S MORE"

 

Waco Tribune-Herald: Texas Two-Step is "Undemocratic"

by: David Mauro

Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 10:47 AM CDT

The Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board has come out against the the prima-caucus system the Texas Democratic Party used to allocate delegates in this year's primary.

Texas Democrats have their own version of the Texas two-step that is unpopular and undemocratic.

This version of the two-step needs fixin’ before the next big dance is called in 2012.

It had been so long since the outcome of a Texas Democratic primary had any impact on the outcome of a presidential race that the flaws with the party’s two-step primary process went unnoticed.

The early state primary competition has generally settled on a nominee before Texas Democrats had an opportunity to cast ballots for their favorite candidates.

This year, however, contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama was still neck and neck when Texans turned out to the polls for the March 4 primaries.

Unlike Republican voters, or Democratic primary voters in other states, Texas Democrats were required to cast ballots for the candidate of their choice when the polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and then turn around and convene in precinct conventions, or caucuses, later that evening if they wanted to take full advantage of their opportunity to support their candidate.

This process, which actually is a lot more complicated than it sounds, generated a great deal of confusion and hard feelings on primary night. It also resulted in Clinton winning the popular vote and Obama picking up more Texas delegates once the final tally was determined long after the primary election.

Texas Democrats who voted for their favorite candidate during the day but could not return later that evening to attend their precinct conventions ran the risk of seeing their vote diluted through the extra step of the caucus system.

The purpose behind the caucus system was to increase party participation among Democrats. This year it increased turmoil and feelings of being disenfranchised.

Democratic leaders need to pick one system or the other — just not both.

Caucus and Training Schedule - Texas Democratic Party 2008 State Convention

by: derby378

Thu May 22, 2008 at 02:09 PM CDT

Challenge to SD 29 Delegation Officially Filed with TDP

by: carmelita

Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 07:16 AM CDT

Mr. Williams opened his remarks by stating that he is first and foremost a Democrat, that he would vote for the Democratic candidate in November, and that this dispute is, largely, a "family" dispute.  As with any family that has disputes, we Democrats are, first and foremost, a family that unites in common purpose.

But he went on to say that as a 50-some odd old black man, he had some serious issues with oppression, and he characterized what went on at the Senate district caucus as "oppression."

He then stated he had filed and intended to pursue, an official challenge to the El Paso delegation with the Texas Democratic party.  He gave Chairman Anchondo and the radio host a copy.  

Link to NewspaperTree story below.

Precinct 277 Organization and House Party

by: ewiley28

Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 10:27 AM CDT

Several of the Obama delegates from Precinct 277 have managed to locate and contact each other and we have begun the work of coordinating our Precinct for the Senatorial District coming up. However, we have only identified six delegates and one alternate. Since there were 20 Obama delegates and a good number of Obama alternates, we need to find more so they can be brought into the loop.
 
So, if you are an Obama delegate or alternate from Precinct 277, please contact me via email at chipper28@gmail.com or on my cell phone at 214-507-9439.
 
We will be having a House Party on March 27 at 7:00 to work on our planning in person at the apartment of two of our delegation members. This event is posted at: http://my.barackobama.com/page... . You can view information about the event, rsvp and get directions to the event on this page.
 
In addition to providing information about the House Party, we want contact information so that we can provide our delegation members with information about upcoming delegate trainings run by the Obama campaign, coordinate rides to the Senatorial Convention and just generally make sure everyone has all the information that they need.
 
There are 28 delegates total from our precinct and 20 of them are Obama delegates, so it is very important that we get organized and work together because these numbers mean we can guarantee that both delegates from our precinct to the state convention are Obama delegates. However, we will only succeed if we are organized and follow a well-planned strategy. If we deviate by even one vote, the second delegate could be a Clinton delegate.
 
I have not included anyone else's contact information since this is being posted generally, but once you contact me, I will provide you with access to a database of our growing contact information about our delegation.
 
Again, if you are a part of the Precinct 277 delegation, please contact me at either chipper28@gmail.com or 214-507-9439 and let me know your name, email, phone number and whether you are a delegate or an alternate. If you want to communicate via phone, but a non-local number is an inconvenience for you, send me an email with your number and when it would be convenient for me to call you. I also can provide you with a local number you can call to reach me, but I don't want to post that number online, so if you need this, just send me an email asking for it and I'll reply with the number.
 
I welcome any questions, comments, or thoughts as well from anyone as well as from members of our delegation.
 
Thanks!

Hillary Messes With Texas

by: Colin Kalmbacher

Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 07:25 PM CDT

Hillary Clinton and her lawyers are trying to cast doubt on the precinct conventions.

Hillary Clinton and her lawyers are trying to deligitimize the concept of the convention itself.

Hillary Clinton and her lawyers are trying to drag out the delegate selection process for their benefit.

And ultimately, Hillary Clinton and her lawyers are probably trying to null and void as much of the convention/caucus aspect of Texas' delegate selection process as possible.

As final results from the Texas Democratic caucus remain unknown, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign wants signatures from the March 4 contest verified before party conventions are held around the state later this month.

In a letter sent to the state Democratic Party late Friday, the Clinton campaign requests the March 29 count and state Senate district conventions be postponed until the eligibility of an estimated 1 million caucus-goers are double checked."

Disgusting.  

Clinton Caucus Disruption/Vote Suppression

by: Glenn Smith

Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 10:06 PM CST

[Clinton caucus training material] goes on to say, "If our supporters are outnumbered, ask the Temporary Chair if one of our supporters can serves as the Secretary, in the interest of fairness.
"The control of the sign-in sheets and the announcement of the delegates allotted to each candidate are the critical functions of the Chair and Secretary. This is why it is so important that Hillary supporters hold these positions."

Now there can be only one purpose in trying to control the tally of votes under circumstances in which a campaign knows it's outnumbered, that it will lose an honest counting of the votes:  to alter the true vote. To cheat. To steal. To suppress the votes of Texas caucus attendees and subvert the caucus process.

The phrase, "if our supporters are outnumbered," means, in simpler language, "If we lose the vote, take control of the vote tally and change the numbers."

Place this alongside the Clinton campaign threats to challenge the Texas caucuses and you get a full picture of what Clinton is up to:  disrupt the caucuses at all costs. Steal votes, delay the reporting of honest vote totals, throw the process into chaos, do whatever it takes.

UPDATE -- There are other reactions, and links to perspectives on the Nevada caucus controversies involving Clinton campaign shenanigans, at DailyKos and Politico.