(Good info about our statewide candidates here. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Over the past ten weeks, the Texas Democratic Party promoted an unprecedented "Meet the Statewides" campaign on our website. Each week, we promoted content for our statewide candidates on our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. We asked candidates to submit a video, write an original op-ed, and provide biographical information. We at the TDP also penned an issue piece, sent out all material to our e-mail list, and created duplicative Spanish-language pages for each candidate.
In the coming days, we'll be revisiting the campaign. Today, we begin with our Texas Supreme Court & Court of Criminal Appeals Candidates. Click on the links below to learn more about our statewide Democrats, and how you can help them win in 2010.
If elected, Keith Hampton will be the only judge who has handled death penalty cases in all stages of litigation – from accusation, trial, appeal and all post-conviction proceedings, including appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States.
There are no “Democratic” decisions or “conservative” analyses; there is only the exposition of law in an impartial manner. The force and persuasiveness of the reasoning of judicial opinions must stand on their own. Political labeling is best left in the legislative branch. In this democratic society, the judicial branch of government must remain outside the lawmaking world and avoid the political storms and policy shifts of the day. In this way, judges can conduct their decisionmaking in an impartial way, free from the pressures of competing interest groups. Law itself is thereby strengthened, sustained by a judiciary that moves cautiously and skeptically on the issues before it.
The “totalitarian wing” of the Court has a well-documented and thoroughly perplexing history of unprofessional actions. From the “sleeping lawyer” case in October 2000, to investigations into the judicial conduct of Sharon Keller in 2007, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is in desperate need of professional, accountable judges on its bench.
(Good info for this weekend from the TDP. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Stay up-to-date with the latest news about the TDP State Convention on Facebook or on Twitter. If you're on Twitter, use the #TDPSC hashtag.
This week, Texas Democrats from across the state are preparing to travel to Corpus Christi for the 2010 State Convention. Throughout the week, we'll be highlighting information about our state convention, and taking a look back at our 10-week "Meet the Statewides" campaign to introduce our statewide ticket to voters across Texas.
We'd also like to highlight video of our Communications Director, Kirsten Gray, speaking on Fox 7 Austin's "Good Day" morning program last week and answering questions about what we can expect from this week's Texas Democratic Party State Convention.
(For all those headed to the State Democratic convention in Corpus Christi next weekend. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
In just two weeks, this year's state Democratic Convention will be held in Corpus Christi (June 24-26). We finally have the complete list of caucuses for the convention, starting with the Senatorial District Caucuses and moving to the Issue/Organization Caucuses:
SENATORIAL DISTRICT CAUCUSES
Friday, June 25
3:00-5:00 pm
SD 1: Exhibit Hall B (1), 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 2: Riviera 1, Lobby Level, Omni Marina
SD 3: Room 225C, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 4: Riviera 2 & 3, Lobby Level, Omni Marina
SD 5: Room 226, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 6: Room 227, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 7: Padre Island Ballroom A-B-C-D, Lobby Level, Omni Marina
SD 8: Watergarden A (1), 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 9: Room 103, 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 10: Bayview Ballroom D, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 11: Corpus Christi Ballroom A, 3rd Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 12: Nueces Ballroom B, Third Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 13: Bayview Ballroom B, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 14: Bayview Ballroom A, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 15: Room 225 DE, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 16: Bayview Meeting Room, 1st Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 17: Marina View, Lobby Level, Omni Marina
SD 18: Corpus Christi Ballroom C, 3rd Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 19: Selena Auditorium, Rehearsal Hall, American Bank Center
SD 20: Bayview Ballroom C, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 21: Room 105, 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 22: Nueces Ballroom A, 3rd Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 23: Watergarden B, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 24: Watergarden A (2), 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 25: Corpus Christi Ballroom B, 3rd Floor, Omni Bayfront
SD 26: Room 225 A-B, 2nd Floor, American Bank Center
SD 27: Room 101-102, 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 28: Riviera 4 & 5, Lobby Level, Omni Marina
SD 29: Room 104, 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 30: Exhibit Hall B (2), 1st Floor, American Bank Center
SD 31: Aransas Room, 3rd Floor, Omni Bayfront
ISSUE/ORGANIZATION CAUCUSES
Friday, June 25
9:00 - 10:00am
Progressive Hispanic Caucus, Bayview Ballroom B
9:00 - 11:00am Democrats with Disabilities, Bayview Ballroom D
Democrats for Life, 225 C
Gun Owners Caucus, Room 104
Non-Urban Caucus, Room 226
Reform the TDP Caucus/Primary Process, Room 225 D-E
10:00 - 11:00am Mexican American Democrats, Bayview Ballroom B
Tejano Democrats, Arena
10:30 - 11:30am UAW Caucus, Bayview Ballroom A
11:00 - 12:00pm Hispanic Caucus, Arena
Local Communications and Outreach Coordination, Room 103
11:00 - 12:30pm Small Business Caucus, Room 106
11:00 - 1:00pm Clean, Fair, Public, Voter-Owned Elections, Room 225 C
Coalition of Black Democrats, Watergarden B
East Texas Democratic Caucus, Room 226
Texas Democratic Veterans Association, Bayview Ballroom C
Texas Democratic Women, Bayview Ballroom D
Texas Environmental Democrats, Room 101-102
West Texas Coalition of Democrats, Room 227
11:45 - 1:00pm TX AFL-CIO Labor Caucus, Bayview Ballroom A
12:00 - 1:00pm #TDPSC Tweet-Up, Room 104
12:00 - 2:00pm Education Transformation with State Representative Mike Villarreal, Room 103
Muslim Democratic Caucus, Room 105
Technology Caucus: Democratic Caucus on Computers and Communications, Rehearsal Hall
Texas Blue Dog Coalition, Bayview Ballroom B
12:30 - 2:30pm Texas Stonewall Democrats, Watergarden A
1:00 - 2:00pm Energy Caucus, Room 101-102
State House District 17, Room 227
Jewish Caucus, Room 226
1:00 - 2:30pm Democrats Against the Death Penalty, Room 225 D-E
Texas State Teachers Association, Room 225 A-B
5:00 - 6:00pm Asian American Democrats, Watergarden B
There's a reason Texas has a tightly woven set of campaign finance laws. It ensures that the public can see who writes the checks to political candidates and parties to affect the outcome of elections.
Today, the Texas Democratic Party joined the Dallas Morning news and legal experts in their criticism of the Republican Party's unethical actions.
According to a release from the Party, the Texas Democratic Party asked a State District Judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the certification of Green Party candidates pending a fast track discovery process to gather facts that will determine whether laws were broken by out-of-state Republican operatives.
The Republicans secretly funded and organized a ballot petition operation that may have been funded by illegal, anonymous contributions, according to reports published this week by the Dallas Morning News. The TDP was forced to take legal action because those involved with this dubious secret Republican-Green Party scheme have refused to be upfront with Texans about the nature of this political contribution, and legal discovery would serve the public interest by shedding light on a murky transaction. As the Dallas Morning News stated in an editorial yesterday, "the legality of the money behind the Green petitions needs to be tested in court."
"That corporation cannot make contributions to political parties in Texas. And to do so is a felony," he said. "It is also a felony for a political party to accept a corporate contribution."
Green Party state coordinator, Kat Swift, isn't even sure where the money, gathered by Tim Mooney,originated, who the donors are, or how it was bundled. To be clear we aren't talking about a little money. The money given to the Texas Green Party amounts to $200,000 or one third of the money Rick Perry has spent on the his taxpayer funded rental mansion.
Green Party state coordinator Kat Swift said the group intends to report the Missouri corporation as the donor of the in-kind contribution.
She said she didn't know who actually provided the funding, and Tim Mooney, the Arizona operative who arranged the effort, declined to say. He estimated the cost at about $200,000.
Wood said that while an individual donor could legally bankroll petition drives to put a party on the ballot, corporations cannot.
This alone is grounds for the temporary restraining order.
"Even the Green Party has acknowledged the likelihood that the funds originated from an illegal source. For them to depend on the word of shady out-of-state Republican operatives to determine whether this is illegal would be like depending on the word of BP to determine responsibility for the oil spill," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. "If the Green Party is truly concerned that no laws have been broken, they will welcome this judicial review."
[...]
"Texans need to know the truth about Rick Perry's involvement in the Republican/Green Party petition scam," said Richie. "When the truth is known, we hope voters - especially sincere Green Party supporters and candidates - will realize that their integrity rests on how they address the improper nature of how their candidates' eligibility was bought and paid for by out of state right wing operatives and donors."
Now, before the attacks come. Let's be honest on two fronts. One, in 2000, I voted for the Green Party in Texas and was part of the organized vote swaps for swing districts. So any argument that BOR doesn't want people to have their voice heard or kick people off the ballot is silly. Second, any political party that will sell itself like this in order to harm its greater cause is foolish.
The Green Party stands for workers rights, consumer rights, safety standards, the environment, fair pay and fair trade. Can anyone come up with a good argument on how accepting $200,000 from a party in direct opposition to these ideals helps?
Plaintiffs in the suit include the TDP, TDP Chairman Boyd Richie and John Warren, Democratic nominee for Dallas County Clerk. Defendants named include the Texas Green Party, Texas Green Party Director Kat Swift, Republican political operative Tim Mooney, Take Initiative America, and Free and Equal Inc.
John Cornyn should know better. The Civil Rights Act is not some technical piece of legislation subject to a “gotcha question.” And it’s not just some “law that was passed 40 years ago.” It is an indelible measure of our character as a nation. Anyone running for the U.S. Senate should be able to intelligently explain their beliefs about the Act that guaranteed the most fundamental rights to all citizens of our American democracy. Click here to donate $5 or more today and tell Texas Republicans we are sick and tired of backward leadership.
Later, he continued making excuses for Rand:
“Rand Paul, like every new candidate, is going to get better,” Cornyn said. Candidates “make mistakes and they misspeak.” (Bloomberg, 5/21/10)
Why is John Cornyn making excuses for Rand Paul’s ignorance? If John Cornyn needs “more detail” about the Civil Rights Act so he can be better informed on historical legislation that transformed America forever, then we’re happy to teach him all about it. I’d tell Senator Cornyn to go look up the Civil Rights Act in a textbook, but I can’t be sure if the State Board of Education has left that in the curriculum standards. He’ll just have to learn “more detail” about the Civil Rights Act from Texans directly.
As Libby Shaw pointed out, David Corn of Mother Jones said on MSNBC that endorsing Rand Paul was like hugging a hand grenade. If Cornyn continues to make excuses for Paul's extremist remarks, it will be a question of when, not if, that grenade is going to go off. The extremist views (and that's the only accurate way to describe them) of Paul and the Tea Party could ultimately alienate moderate and independent voters this November.
The sad reality for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (and Cornyn, the group's chair) is that there's more than five months until Election Day. There is no doubt that Paul will make more outrageous comments in the days, weeks, and months to come. And John Cornyn will continue be there to make excuses for Paul's views that are far outside the mainstream of America.
You can take Richie's advice by e-mailing Cornyn's office at info@johncornyn.com or calling (202) 224-2934.
The Texas Democratic Party is offering two free tickets to their May 11 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner featuring Bill White. From their website:
REGISTER HERE for your chance to win two VIP tickets (valued at $500) to our 2010 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Tuesday, May 11th! The Honorable Bill White and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) will be our guest speakers for this special event, where party leaders from across Texas will come together to kick off the election season. For more information email Allison Mansfield or call (512) 478-9800. Click here to purchase your tickets today.
Entries will be accepted until Thursday, May 6th at midnight. A winner will be announced Friday, May 7th. One entry per person.
The dinner is going to be a terrific event, as it marks the first major event hosted by the TDP for the general election cycle. Coming a month before the TDP Convention in Corpus Christi, the dinner will be one of the must-attend events of the year for Texas Democrats -- and the chance to win two free VIP tickets is a great opportunity.
Texas was eligible for up to $700 million in federal education dollars, if we submitted a "Race to the Top" application
The Texas Education Agency spent between 700-800 hours preparing the application
Perry has refused to send the application, as officials have said the $700 million would be "too little money" -- despite the fact that over 200 local school districts have had to raise taxes in order to pay for the structural deficit created by Perry and Dewhurst in 2006
Refusing to send the application nullifies Texas' ability to compete for other grants
Rick Perry loves speaking at national conferences, as he builds his name ID for his eventual run for national office. At the conferences, though, he's apt to show his hypocrisy -- as the TDP quite simply laid out in the video above. It will be up to Texas Democrats to remind their family, friends and neighbors about the hypocrisy Rick Perry is spreading -- and remember that his political gamesmanship should not come at the expense of our Texas school children.
Last week, the Texas Democratic Party launched our "Meet the Statewides" campaign. Each week between now and the State Convention in June, we will be featuring one of our ten statewide candidates. The campaign is designed to introduce our candidates to Texas Democrats, and provide an online resource for future communications any Democratic groups, clubs, blogs, or activists wish to produce for our statewide candidates.
Each week's "Meet the Statewides" campaign will feature the following:
A brief video introduction from the candidate
Candidate bio page
An issue piece about the candidate/campaign, written by the TDP
An op-ed from the candidate
Links to the candidate's website and social networking pages
ALL communications will be duplicated in Spanish-language format
Our first candidate we featured was Keith Hampton, running for the Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6. Keith is a well-experienced, well-qualified candidate running for a seat on the Court made most famous by the controversy surrounding Sharon Keller, and her irresponsible actions as presiding judge of the Court.
Embedded below is Keith's introductory video. Be sure to visit our website to learn more about Keith Hampton, and check back every week between now and the State Convention as we continue to introduce your statewide candidates for 2010.
I guess Rick Perry's campaign was so bummed out by their negative press coverage in comparison to Bill White that they decided to start stealing his message.
Today, Rick Perry announced a political stunt -- the sponsorship of a NASCAR race car -- by promoting a familiar slogan: Moving Texas Forward.
The Texans for Rick Perry campaign will sponsor the Number 71 car during a race at Texas Motor Speedway on April 18, according to the statement; The LaBonte/Perry car will bear the slogan “Moving Texas Forward.”
Campaigns always cleave to slogans and imagery which paint their candidates not only as forward-looking but capable of achieving a forward-looking agenda.
Case in point: Perry’s democratic challenger Bill White. According to White’s YouTube Channel, a recent TV ad from the former Houston Mayor’s gubernatorial campaign was entitled “Moving Texas Forward.”
Here's the screen-shot from Perry's website -- he changed the word above the graphic, but used the same line in the text below:
And here's Bill White's TV ad, titled "Moving Texas Forward":
And, to top it all off -- here's the banner in the TDP office, who have used the "Moving Texas Forward" slogan since the 2006 State Democratic Party Convention:
Last week, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced a lawsuit to stop the implementation of health care reform here in Texas. The TDP has created a petition drive for Texans to sign up and tell Greg Abbott to do his job and stop wasting tax dollars on frivilous lawsuits.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has joined Rick Perry in playing Washington-style partisan politics while turning his back on Texas families. Abbott is wasting our tax dollars to pay for a bogus, frivolous lawsuit he filed in a cynical political attempt to fan the flames of Republican partisan hysteria. If Abbott had his way, he would take health care benefits away from Texans, a move that would only benefit the profits of big insurance companies.
We, the people of Texas, will not pay for Greg Abbott’s extreme partisan agenda.
We will not stand by and allow Greg Abbott, Rick Perry and the Republicans to take away insurance from Texans with pre-existing conditions – coverage that is available to Americans in other states. We will not allow them to leave Texas’ small businesses at a competitive disadvantage by taking away tax credits that help them grow and provide health insurance to their employees. We will not allow them to force every Texas senior participating in Medicare Plan D to pay an extra $250 to cover the cost of prescription drugs.
