For Houston Democratic State Rep. Hubert Vo, a bit of a scandal has been going on. He owns some apartments in Houston, and the Houston Chronicle broke out that the apartments were not nearly up to the standards that they should be.
It was a disappointing development about a good state representative. At the time, I could only hope that it was an innocent mishap, and that Mr. Vo would remedy the problems as soon as possible. They certainly couldn't be good for his reelection prospects (which are bound to be tough again in a close district.)
State Rep. Hubert Vo has completed structural and electrical repairs at two of his apartment complexes, correcting conditions that prompted code enforcement citations in April, city inspectors say.
The inspectors say Vo cooperated in "good faith" with their demands to replace rotting wood, missing balcony railings and exposed wires.
His properties now meet code requirements, said Susan McMillian, an executive staff analyst with the Department of Public Works and Engineering.
Vo, D-Houston, said Friday that he had done more than required, and he pledged to continue working with residents and managers to improve conditions.
"I want people to know that I kept my promise," he said. "I told the city that I would take care of their concerns, and I worked as quickly as possible to make all the needed repairs."
It's a good thing he has this fixed now. Now he can work on the real issues of a legislator up for reelection. And, with any luck, he will prove to his constituents that this moment of flaw will be overshadowed by continuous service.
So, for some reason that I no longer remember, I'm not in Austin. Therefore, I'm taking the view from the outside. And reading mainstream media blogs and some news articles, these are the best quotes I've seen from tonight.
You know, just in case I'm not the only one not there.
State Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, stilled the convention delegates for a moment Friday night by telling them it's a tradition to have a moment of silence for members no longer present (some reporters even stopped typing).
Such as, Dunnam said, pausing: "Tom DeLay." Hollers and hoots.
The Unity Pub Crawl - Clinton fans at Bull McCabe's bar and Obama fans next door at Club de Ville - was probably the bumpin-est party I've been to in a long time. The Clinton party, early, was DEAD - all those guys having apparently defected to the Obama gathering.
Which, incidentally, was the most diverse group I have EVER seen at a bar in Austin.
And MAN were they partyin. Among the attendees were Ian Davis of Texans for Obama and David Holmes, Clinton superdelegate, all about the unity.
Down Red River, the bar district that's like 6th street with a college degree and about 10 years older (in other words, my kinda people), the happenin place was the Blogger's Caucus, hosted by the Texas Progressive Alliance. That place was packed, wall to wall, with bloggers, reporters, legislators, activists, staffers.
On Memorial Day we take time to remember our brave men and women who gave their lives for America. As a history professor I know the vital role our men and women in uniform play in keeping us safe. Sadly I also know that Washington politicians prefer cheap talk over funding real veterans benefits. I believe we have a moral obligation to serve those who have served us.
Ralph Hall's vote against the new GI Bill (H R 2642) shows just how out of touch he is. Hall was one of a small minority of Republican Congressmen who voted against the bill. The new bill would cover 100 percent of tuition costs and provide a stipend for housing and other living expenses. The bill has the support of Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Military Officers Association, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
I believe the New GI Bill is a good investment for our country and our returning veterans. They are our family and friends. Those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq carried our burden; they suffered the real costs of the wars; and they deserve to be treated fairly when they come home.
In response to the scandal of Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, County judge Ed Emmet decided he would create an Ethics task force to report back within 90 days on suggested reforms. Well, 90 days has passed, and no ethics suggestions have been made.
Was it because none were needed, but just a new DA was required? No.
Was it because the task force was taking longer than expected? Not even that.
Already forgetting his promises? This isn't even a full term. It's a good thing we have quality Democrats watching his back, like challenger David Mincberg.
This is the year that Democrats are starting a hard and tough campaign to win back Harris County. It comes with good timing, too. We need it.
Last night the University Democrats at UT elected their officers for the Fall 2008 semester. The following are the new officers.
President: Zack C. Hall
Vice President: Jimmy Talarico
P.R. Director: Andy Jones
Secretary: Brittany McAllister
Treasurer: Laura Bloomer
Events Chair: Emma Vernon
Volunteer Coordinator: Thaddeus Woody
Historian: Megan Forbes
President Emeritus: Ben Trotter
(Note: Ben stays President Emeritus because Laura Hernandez is graduating)
Also passed was an amendment to the UDems constitution allowing members to pay their dues less than a week before a vote if they were paying members the previous semester. Two constitutional Amendments failed -- one to create 2 events coordinators for one semester and one to make the office of Webmaster an elected position.
Below the fold are the vote tallies as recorded by Secretary Brittany McAllister.
Congratulations to all elected officers! I wish only the best of luck for the next semester. And for those who ran and lost, I look forward to working with you next semester as UDems leaders outside the officer corps. Whether an officer or not, the University Democrats have a lot of work to do next semester. Effort for the cause will be needed for all of us.
Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats.
"They're in discussions," a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. "Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence."
An appeal by both men for Democrats to unite behind Clinton's rival, Barack Obama, would have a powerful effect, and insiders say it is a question of when, rather than if, they act.
Personally, I agree with the calls. But then again, I voted for Obama. I'm not here to make that argument -- Carter and Gore can if they decide to.
I think Hillary Clinton can viably stay in the race into the very end. It would probably displease many Democratic insiders and hurt her future aspirations, but it would also seem Clintonesque. She would find no one heavily surprised. So she's not going to drop out in April with thoughts of good will alone.
Thoughts of good will may drive a potential decision, and I hope they do. But if such is the case, she will want actions to go with those thoughts. And this is where my idea arrives.
A week ago Hillary Clinton verbally endorsed a 50-state campaign. Some people have doubts about her sincerity. But she should walk out of the Presidential race with integrity and make her sincerity clear to Barack Obama.
She could very easily make the primary race last two months longer than April. It won't be hard. By conceding in this month, she would give Barack Obama some extra time to campaign. I want her to tell Obama to use that time for campaigning around America. With such time, a 50-state campaign can be made real.
Alone, the presence of Barack Obama with lower-ballot candidates, if he is then the Democratic Nominee, raises the viability of the candidates. He can only give so much time to smaller local area candidates, but he definitely could do some good work to make the Senate easier to work with.
In Texas, he could tour with Rick Noriega. And depending on the location, other candidates such as Nick Lampson, Larry Joe Doherty, and Michael Skelly could make appearances with him.
If he's the nominee, doing just that would be great for Texas and the nation. And Hillary Clinton can help make it happen.
Please join your fellow Obama supporters for a "Picnic in the Park" for Barack Obama. We will stand united as a nation for change in support of Barack Obama and a better vision for our nation. Change can't happen without you. On Saturday April 19th supporters of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama will be simultaneously holding a "Nation for Change Rally" along with thousands of others from all 50 states in cities across the nation and abroad.
When: April 19, 2008
Where: Eastwoods Park -- 3001 Harris Park Ave, Austin, TX 78705
Time: 12 Noon to 4:00 p.m.
(Glenn is running in the 4th Congressional district against Ralph Hall. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
I had the great honor of winning the Democratic nomination for the Texas Fourth Congressional District. The bigger story, however, is the growing bipartisan dissatisfaction with Ralph Hall. He received only 42,212 of 57,530 Republican votes. If you add those who voted against Ralph in both parties' primaries, almost twice as many voters - Republican and Democratic - want a new Congressman!
"new
direction"
"stay
the course" with Hall
80,479 votes
42,212
votes
The tide continued to move forward four weeks later as Democrats packed precinct and county conventions. Particularly, impressive were the crowded conventions that I attended in Grayson, Hunt, Rockwall and Collin Counties. If Democrat are going to win a state-wide races, we have to do better in these "Republican strongholds.
No matter which candidate you support for the Democratic Presidential nomination, today's news from North Dakota should be pleasing.
She even promised to campaign from one end of North Dakota to the other in the general election if she wins the nomination, even though the state has not gone Democratic in a presidential election since 1964.
"I would be ecstatic to campaign across this state in the fall, doing everything in our power to persuade the good people of North Dakota that we can do better," she said. "We'll win by running a 50-state campaign."
In the past, multiple Obama supporters, including myself, criticized Senator Clinton for a seeming unwillingness to fight for Texas and other states unlikely to go Democratic. Perhaps it is because Mark Penn has lost much of his influence with Hillary Clinton, but for whatever reason it seems Hillary Clinton has gotten the message. Campaigning everywhere is the way to go.
North Dakota may be a lost cause for the Democratic presidential nominee. Actually, pessimists might say the same about Texas. But if we want Rick Noriega to win a U.S. Senate seat, it would certainly help for our party's high-profile national nominee to campaign here. The nominee's campaigning would also heavily help incumbencies with hard fights to defend (Ciro Rodriguez, Nick Lampson) and tough challenges where we stand a shot (Larry Joe Doherty, Michael Skelly). Overall, a nation-wide Democratic campaign will certainly make governing easier once we win the White House.
Senator Hillary Clinton today endorsed a 50-State strategy. I was always less sure of the possibility of a nation-wide Clinton campaign for the November elections. But now that she has done so, I'd like to see Barack Obama do the same.
And what I would really like to see is this 50-State campaign to actually come to culmination in 2008.
Regardless of anyone's opinions of the 2006 election cycle, a phrase that the Democrats' Gubernatorial Candidate often used seemed to stick in the memories of many. Personally, it was my favorite line of the cycle.
"Thank God for Mississippi."
I cannot be sure if Mississippi is worse than Texas on poverty issues, but the point of the statement was to highlight the failures of our Republican leaders to help Texans.
Texas has many claims to fame and much to recommend it. But among the Lone Star State's shames is its residents' high rate of poverty and the deprivations - from hunger to illiteracy to a lack of adequate health care - that go along with being poor. But rather than working in Congress to lift impoverished Texans into the middle class, the members of the Texas delegation in Congress were among the nation's least likely to support anti-poverty programs.
Every member, except Nick Lampson, of the Texas Democratic Congressional delegation receives an A+ (that means 100 percent). And Mr. Lampson, who is fighting for his life in a very Republican district, still received a B.
On the other side of the aisle, the highest Republican grade was a D (including both of our Senators).
Four Texas Republicans received an F-, meaning they voted for NONE of the proposals to help poverty. These disgraceful congressmen are Sam Johnson, Jeb Hensarling, John Culberson, and Randy Neugebauer.
Senator John Cornyn, up for reelection, received a D -- voting for only 21 percent of the studied measures. Today he is speaking at the University of Texas about his new high stance on Darfur. I am glad that Senator Cornyn for finally seeing the light on Sudan, but he remains hypocritical as the Sudanese are the only people in dire need he wishes to help. What about those Texans in dire need? They deserve help, too.
