(Declare independence from the tag! - promoted by John McClelland)
After a little rest and re-aquaintance with my family, it's now time to get back to work. Rather than taking "baby steps", I've decided to run the marathon. Let me explain.
During my recent campaign for Agriculture Commissioner, I made a pledge to the people of Texas. Win, lose or draw, I was going to organize a march on the state capitol protesting the Trans-Texas Corridor and the National Animal I.D. System. This journal is to inform you about the upcoming event, appropriately named, "Don't Tag Texas!"
On March 2,2006 (fittingly Texas Independence Day), the march will occur. It will begin at 2:00 p.m. with a march up Congress Ave. to the capitol. The rally will commence somewhere around 2:30 and go until 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Every member of the house and senate, along with every member of the state executive branch, will receive a personal invitation.
THIS WILL NOT BE A POLITICAL RALLY. It is a true bipartisian event to protest these two issues; Issues that will affect every citizen of our state and country. We are in the process of assembling speakers for the event. Many will be national figures, as well as leaders of some well-entrenched state organizations.
First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the Democrats in attendance at the convention for supporting my campaign, as well as me and my family. The enthusiasm and electricity was awesome.
I am very confident that this will be the year that we change the color of our state, and take it back for the working people of Texas. I am disappointed, however, that the state party chair race had to be the same year as regular elections. Even though I know that the state party chair is very important to Texas politics, so are winning some statewide elected offices and putting some of these high-and-mighty Republicans on their ass!
We fought very hard last week to get the convention schedule modified to be more reflective of the statewide candidates(especially the down-ballots). We were assured that every one of us would be able to speak, in succession, begining around 12:00. We were even given specific times to speak, and allowed 10 minutes each. It was very disheartening to me when they(state party officials) informed us, while Barbara was speaking, that the speeches would be suspended at 1:00 p.m. to begin the voting on the state chair race. Luckily, I made it in just under the wire. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to address the convention at all. My oldest son, Peyton(the one that did my intro), was ill and we needed to leave.
The disgrace of it all was that other good candidates like VaLinda Hathcox, Dale Henry, Judge Bill Moody and J.R. Molina were not able to address the full convention, and they all needed and deserved that opportunity. As I said in my speech, none of us down-ballots have the money to campaign through mass media. This was our best opportunity to speak our largest audience of Democrats that we will have from now until the election. Those four candidates were not afforded that chance.
The down-ballots are like family; sometimes disfunctional, but still family. It hurts to see one of our brothers or sisters hurt. Like I've always said, I'm not a politician. This was probably a political manuever, but it really sucked!!!
I only hope that there are many of you who are as upset about this as I am, and that you will let the "powers at be" aware of your anger, as I intend to do. It just seems to me, that no matter how hard we, as candidates, try to climb out of this hole and bring our party with us, some is there to keep pulling us back down into that hole. In this case, I'm terribly upset that it was our own party pulling us back down!!
Gov. Perry has been in the news every day this week trying to hedge his bets on being re-elected. His big push has been to place infrared surveillence cameras on private land to catch illegal immigrants coming into our country with drugs and other contraband. He is prepared to spend $10 to $20 million this year and ask Congress for an additional $100 million next year to combat this problem. I wonder where he expects to get this money from when the tax bill that he just signed into law is suppossed to produce a $5 billion shortfall per year! Maybe he's going to borrow it from the $635 million that Exxon-Mobil is going to save each year from this legislation!
What is really odd to me is one particular comment that he made concerning securing our border with Mexico. "We have to secure our border or there is no homeland security for the citizens of Texas," said Perry. The Texas Department of Agriculture currently tests less than 1% of all shipments of fruit, vegetables and meat entering our state from Mexico. Now, what is the biggest threat to our "homeland security" in Texas, immigrants coming across our borders in the middle of the night looking for work, or a shipment of food treated with a biological agent that could kill millions of Texans?
Perry, Bush and all of their friends really need to re-think their priorities...after November! This is exactly why you don't need politicans in the Agriculture office. What do ya'll think?
(Another candidate diary, welcome! Hank Gilbert is running for Ag Commissioner and is one of my two most favorite candidates running statewide. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Thanks to everyone that has supported the down-ballot statewide candidates. Your strong endorsements have been our driving force to win in November. None of us are millionaires, or associate with that crowd. We represent the very core of Texas....hard-working, tax-paying people. Our children attend public schools, we have to endure over-taxation without representation, and we all strive for liberty and justice for all. We visit with ordinary citizens daily around our state, and listen to their concerns. We strive to make their voices heard in November!
With your help, we will succeed! Regardless of party politics, regardless of corporate Republicans, regardless of huge odds against us...we will succeed! People across our great state are tired, and they are ready to embrace true reform. The down-ballot candidates offer that hope, and the reform movement is gaining momentum. We ask the true democrats of Texas to help us propel this movement to every household throughout Texas! Visit our websites, email us, attend functions around our state, and help us keep the movement going.
It only takes a few holes in the great Republican Dam to cause enough weakness for it to fail. With your help and support, this November there will not be any more drought in Texas 'cause we're going to break the dam, and wash all of those sorry bastards out to sea!!!
Thanks for your encouragement and continued support!!!
