Voters here, engaged by the foreclosure problem and fearing a recession, are ready to lay eyes on candidates, or at least see their faces on television.
The article focuses on the difficulties presidential candidates face in their attempts to campaign in such a state. While these difficulties can never be exactly mirrored in our state, the obstacles candidates face in California may better prepare them to approach voters in Texas.
From economic issues to trends in health care, immigration, urban infrastructure and education, the state has proved to be a great incubator for prescriptive policy and a test of the political winds.
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The presidential candidates know the state, flush with delegates, cannot be easily discarded. But the vastness of California, the high cost of advertising here - a statewide television buy can run over $2 million for a week - and the sheer impossibility of traversing its myriad Congressional districts in a day, even with the help of chartered aircraft, have forced the candidates to keep their distance from here.
The policy changes that face California are mirrored in Texas. Economic growths and spurts are not only felt in our urban centers, but also in the majority rural part of the state. We struggle with our rural Southern roots even as we try to forge a path into the 21st century. In only a few other states is the issue of immigration so married to the fabric of a state.
The article provides no prescription to winning California, or handling the diverse array of issues the state's voters will present to the presidential candidates.
But whoever finds a working strategy in California may have the beginnings of an effective strategy here in Texas.
John Edwards is one of those rare political figures who is both capable of inspiring hope while taking up the most difficult and tumultuous fights.
With the announcement of his pending withdrawl from the race for the Democratic nomination for President this year, there will be millions of Americans struggling to decide where to pledge thier ongoing support. Neither Hillary Clinton, nor Barack Obama can represent precisely the firebrand populism of the Edwards campaign, but on issue after issue, there is strong reason for Edwards supporters to join the rising movement for change that has been inspired by the Obama candidacy.
Barack Obama had this to say about Edwards withdrawl from the race:
"John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn't popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who's up and who's down, he made a nation focus again on who matters - the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington."
Obama added, "John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this - that two Americans can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America."
From all of us Obama supporters to all of you Edwards supporters: we are here to welcome you with open arms.
I've had many of my democratic friends speak with me at length about how great Rick Noriega is for the race for U.S. Senate in 2008. I am not one who enjoys offending people, but it is beyond me as to why so many democrats who have witnessed loss after loss in statewide elections for the past couple of decades would think this way.
[This is the second in a three part series on SD 11 Democratic candidate Joe Jaworski. It is also cross-posted from Capitol Annex.—VL]
A major issue for Senate District 11 is air quality, which ties in with the statewide issue of clean energy. We talked with SD 11 candidate Joe Jaworski about these issues, and here is a little "Q & A" from that interview.
[This is the first in a three-part series on Joe Jaworski, candidate for Texas Senate in Senate District 11. Parts II and III will run on Saturday and Sunday. This originally appeared at Capitol Annex, and is being cross-posted so more people can learn about Joe Jaworski.—VL]
There are presently 11 Democrats in the Texas Senate. It's a razor-thin margin that barely allows the Democratic Senators to kill disastrous legislation such on issues such as Voter Identification, school vouchers, and measures that go against sound, progressive, public policy. As shown during the recent 80th Texas Legislature, one ill senator can allow Republicans the opportunity to bring up legislation that could harm millions of Texans.
What's the solution? Clearly, we need more Democrats in the Texas Senate. In short, we need a '12th Man' to borrow from the football phrase.
John Edwards is one of those rare political figures who is both capable of inspiring hope while taking up the most difficult and tumultuous fights.
A major issue for Senate District 11 is air quality, which ties in with the statewide issue of clean energy. We talked with SD 11 candidate Joe Jaworski about these issues, and here is a little "Q & A" from that interview.
