Netroots Risingauthor Nate Wilcox has an interesting interview with Democratic consultant Kelly Fero that I recommend reading.
Most of the interview focuses on 2002, when Fero, a long-time ally of John Sharp, witnessed the beginnings of what would become the "Dream Team."
The way Fero tells the story makes it seem like the "Dream Team" wasn't so much about electing a full slate of Democrats as it was about electing one man in particular.
[Garry] Mauro lost by 19 points at the top of the ticket and the next race down was essentially a tie, showing that Perry wouldn’t have won without Bush’s big coattails. The thinking was in ‘02 who could we get at the top of the ticket who could fix that problem because Sharp wanted to run for Lt. Governor again. So after looking at demographics we thought how bout a well-funded Hispanic.
So we thought of Henry Cisneros. I’ll never forget that meeting. After the long pitch, Cisneros looked at Sharp and said, “Sharp, could I win?” and Sharp goes, “No, but I could” only partly tongue in cheek.
Fero is also pretty hard on Tony Sanchez's campaign, who spent $87 million and didn't have much to show for it.
... I got a call from Hidalgo County in the final days before the election saying that the field program that we were hearing about for months amounted to kids standing in medians holding up Sanchez signs. Another person working for the Sanchez campaign told me that the day after the election he tried to return $80,000 in cash to the campaign and they wouldn’t take it. So he bought a new car.
In the end the NASA like command and control center turned out to be a typical street money in south Texas operation. We could’ve run a campaign like that for slightly less than $87 million.
(For thought and discussion. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Today the NY Times posted an article about a situation that occurred with the blog Room 8 that provides info about New York politics. It's a parody of Room 9, the press room for the City Hall of New York City. A grand jury had issued a subpoena for information to help identify anonymous bloggers to the site. The subpoena was later withdrawn at the direction of the Bronx DA. No real reason was given for the subpoena to start with.
This brings up some very interesting issues that start to occur as we bring the conversation to the Internet. It's great that we can discuss issues, float ideas, and even call out questionable acts. Where this becomes more interesting though is when our actions carry a price of disclosure and investigation. Just commenting on a story or a blog entry could cause the poster to end up in an investigation or prosecution for a matter that was really just good juicy gossip.
Defining patriotism, and what it means to one of American's citizens.
It is the United States of America's Independence Day. To most people in America this means that today is a day to celebrate our country and show unabashed patriotism. The very idea of patriotism has been on America's tongue recently. There has been a debate about what patriotism is, and what it means to be truly patriotic.
Patriotism is more than loving one's country, and it is more than loving the ideals and values of one's country. Patriotism is more than holding a sign in protest, and it is more than wearing a uniform in defense of those holding the signs. Patriotism can be pure and simple and difficult to describe in words.
I have had the opportunity to experience patriotism in two very distinct ways: I have experienced the 4th of July wearing our nations uniform on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Arabian Gulf, and I have experienced being in the middle of a mass of humanity calling for change at Congress Avenue and 11th Street in front of the Capitol Building in Austin, Texas. I can say for certain that both of these kinds of patriotism are completely equal in value and are both completely necessary.
America is not great because of flags, statues or moments. America is not even great because of a piece of paper on which rights and liberties where written on. America is great because of the ideals of the men who wrote down those rights, and because of the men who defend those rights today. America is great because of its past and its future. Our past is full of triumphant acts and horrible sins. Our future is full of high hopes and the promise that we can all create something truly remarkable.
There has also been much discussion and finger pointing about what is unpatriotic and what is un-American. I truly believe that the charge of being unpatriotic and un-American is a disingenuous argument and is intellectually lazy. As a veteran and a voice of dissent what I find unpatriotic and un-American are those of us that choose not to wear a uniform or pick up a protest sign. I find that what is truly unpatriotic and un-American is indifference.
Patriotism is not found on a flag pin on a lapel, patriotism is found in the heart beneath that flag pin. Patriotism cannot be defined by pointing to a symbol; patriotism can be defined by the collective voice of America's citizens. Patriotism is not found in a particularly political party, patriotism is not found in being a conservative or liberal. Patriotism is found in both those that seek a political office, and those that volunteer helping those in need. Patriotism is not a noun or an adjective; patriotism is a verb. Patriotism is found in action.
Patriotism is hoping for our future while remembering our past. Patriotism is knowing that America is both a great and unfinished country.
(This is a really useful "how-to" post. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
I got to sit in on a great meeting several months ago with Attorney Joe Larsen, a Freedom of Information Act of Texas Board Member who has worked on open records cases. Mr. Larsen gave us some useful information on the Texas Public Information Act. For more information on Open Records Requests, I recommend going to the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas website here.
Here are some rough notes from the meeting. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
What is public information? Public information is information created, assembled, or maintained by or on behalf of a governmental body, or in transaction of governmental business. Public information may be kept on behalf of a governmental body, and it may extend to the hand of a vendor who maintains a governmental body's records. A governmental body may delegate responsibility of recordkeeping to an outside body.
I only told the truth about how Phillip's ties to Kelly Fero are corrupt and lascivious. I suppose that truth is "foul," but people deserve to know.
Similarly, I was accused last week of being "funded by one trial lawyer" and that was why I was supporting the TDP.
Let's get three things out of the way upfront, before I get to the point of the post:
I do not, in any way, get paid by Lehmberg's campaign to write anything. In fact, I'm unemployed right now;
Though anonymous, users who make outright defamatory statements are still subject to a libel lawsuit;
Users aren't as anonymous as they think -- we can track e-mail passwords and IP addresses pretty well. We're geeky bloggers, remember?
As I told a friend earlier, the timing of these accusations is funny (he said it was ironic). As I began my 35-minute commute to campus today, I was thinking about my financial standing. My latest calculations of my budget show that I've taken approximately $34,000 in loans to pay for my first year of school at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University -- with another school year to go. I was thinking about that today, and about the point in the summer of 2007 when I knew I was going to take on all this debt, and I was looking for some kind of special Texas scholarship. After all, tens of thousands of dollars of debt is very scary for a 23-year old.
That point in 2007 I was thinking about was when I was offered a substantial amount of money at one point to be hired as an online consultant for this private business company. I would do online outreach and, if I chose to (wink wink), make some posts on behalf of this group on Burnt Orange Report and other Texas-based blogs. I was in desperate need of a steady cash flow, and it was an incredibly tempting offer -- basically, a regular consulting gig. Sure, there was some ethical-related questions about writing in such a way, but nothing illegal.
And I said no. I turned down the job.
I truly respect the person who tried to help me out, because they did so with my best interests in mind. But I said no -- and this person respected my decision -- because I needed to be beyond reproach if I was going to blog. That's how much I care about this volunteer-run website we bring to you every day -- I sacrificed a year's worth of rent.
Now, if an anonymous user wants to try and trash me on Burnt Orange Report for supporting Rosemary Lehmberg instead of Montford, he/she can. The user is subject to our community guidelines and may be banned, but he/she can call me a cockroach if they like.
I've put a lot of myself into Burnt Orange Report, and who knows -- in 5 or 10 years, that could come back to haunt me if I want a particular job, run for office, or work for a candidate. But that's a risk I've chosen to make, because I fundamentally believe there is something substantially positive that we can add to politics and democracy by running a site like we do at Burnt Orange Report.
We use our real names for a reason. I don't take money to write for anybody for a reason. And those times when we at BOR do need to pay our rent and get hired, we consistently disclose it. But I've never been paid to write for Lehmberg, just as I've never been paid to write for anybody. If you want to bribe me, buy me a cheeseburger and a Shiner at Dirty's. Otherwise, you're out of luck.
Its said that cockroaches will live long after we all die. What's interesting is that an honestly maintained legacy will do the same. So if that's the cockroach comparison "Burnt" was trying to make, I give my thanks for the compliment.
Texas Media Markets: Where are they? What are they? How much do they really cost?
As the Early Voting period begins and the presidential campaigns begin to ramp up their media buys for the Primary Election, I thought it might be helpful to provide a little information about the Texas media markets.
A "Media Market" is the delineation between where one station's coverage area ends, and another station's coverage area begins.
Cable markets are totally different and will be broken down in another journal later.
Putting everything into one journal would be pretty daunting, but I am able to lay out some basic information and I'm sure that there are a lot of folks in the BOR community that would happily try to answer lingering questions.
First things first: there are 20 Media Markets in Texas.
I am currently trying to compile a list of every county's Democratic Party website in Texas. I wish this diary to be an open wiki till we have all 254 counties accounted for, even if it means they have no website.
We can then build a wiki for all counties and help counties who do not have a website generate an online asset with contact information and a local slate of officials for the upcoming election.
Below the fold I have my current list, which is well short of the complete 254.
Please help me help the Democratic Party get a list of all the county websites.
The New York Times posted an interactive map a few weeks ago of the percentage of subprime mortgages as a percentage of all mortgages by county. Here's how Texas looks:
Looking at suprime lending by county isn't the perfect method for measuring the crisis in Texas, but it's still interesting nonetheless. It seems like how it is effecting rural Texas has been an under-reported story the past few months; many west, south and north Texas counties, while they only have populations under 20,000 people, have what looks like the highest percentage rates of subprime mortgages of any other counties in the country. If anyone has any first hand experience with the effect subprime lending has had on rural Texas, leave your comments below.
From an urban perspective, there's interesting data here as well. For example, Harris County comes in with 37% subprime mortgages. With the effect the suprime crisis has had on housing markets the past few months, that may be why the Greater Houston Builders Association has a a new, unusually rosy promotional blitz on why now is a great time to buy a house in Houston:
But if you choose to buy now, you will not only be in the driver’s seat during the buying process, you will also reap the gains of price appreciation once you become a home owner.
An interactive map from the New York Times is below the jump.
It's Monday, and that means it is time again for the Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round Up. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
