Texas Democratic Conventions to Take Back Texas

Posted on March 20th, 2010 by iwaller

Texas_Democratic_Party.jpgDemocrats and community members from all across the great state of Texas held their Democratic County Conventions on March 20, 2010 as we gathered to talk politics, exchange ideas, prepare our respective resolutions and made plans in working together to take back Texas.

We gathered to affirm the greatness of our state, the pride in our cause and confirm our support for a talented group of people running for various honorable offices who will represent the best interest of hardworking, taxpaying Texas families.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”In this 2010 election year,  we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against the hard reality we witness day to day in our great state, and to see how we can measure up to the legacy of our fore-bearers and the promise of future generations.  Legendary public servants like Lyndon Johnson, Sam Rayburn, Lloyd Bentsen and Ann Richards!

Many of us realize and have experienced the squandering of our population by Texas Republican leaders who have left Texas at, or close to, last on virtually every quality of life measure, while they promote the views and policies of the most extreme, narrow-minded and mean-spirited elements of the Texas  Republican Party.

For example:

  • Texans pay the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation, an average annual premium of $1,409 per year, and nearly twice the national average of $804. (Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) as Gov. Rick Perry permitted the industry to double overnight the premiums paid by Texas homeowners and refused to rein in exorbitant rates from his biggest campaign contributors. (Source: Mcblogger.com)
  • Texans’ utility rates skyrocketed 64% between 1999 and 2007, families in Houston and Dallas pay the highest utility rates in the entire nation. (Source: Associated Press, Dallas Morning News)  Some Texans on fixed incomes are forced to choose between paying their electric bill and buying groceries. Meanwhile, money in the System Benefit Fund – which was created to help low-income families pay their utility bills – continues to be diverted away from its intended purpose. Since 2002, more than half of all the money collected for the System Benefit Fund has been spent on things other than reducing utility rates. (Source: Dallas Morning News)
  • Home foreclosures in Texas are at the highest rate ever. Property taxes continue to escalate every year and homeowners also pay the highest insurance premiums anywhere in the nation. (Source: Capitol Hill Blue
  • Under Perry’s rule 2000-2009 Texas now has almost the highest rate of uninsured people in the nation and Perry is fighting against health insurance reform choosing to protect the obscene profits of big insurance companies instead of more than 24,000 Texans who lose their health care coverage every month.  Over 25% of Texans do not have health care, the highest rate of uninsured in the country including 1 out 5 of our children Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (
  • Those who still do have health care have seen their premiums increase 91.6% over the last decade – five times faster than the increase in median income. (Source: Austin American-Statesman)  Perry’s “Pay to Play” politics led him to send $899 million to an offshore call center in Bermuda – a privatization scheme that deeply cost Texas taxpayers and resulted in over 237,000 children losing their health insurance through CHIP. (Source: San Antonio Express-News)

The list literally goes on and on and on.  Republicans are the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of “anything goes” as long as political contributions keep coming as the pay-for-play train continues to roll.

What we need to do fellow Democrats, is believe that it is possible to win. It is possible. We can do it!

I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity.

I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair, build up our public schools and provide affordable higher education for college-bound Texans.

I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of dethroning a Republican governor who believes he has a ‘right’ to the governorship.

The true genius of Texans is a faith in simple dreams, an insistence of security where we can tuck in our children at night, knowing they are healthy, fed, clothed and safe from harm.  Where we can say what we think, vote as we like without the fear of sudden knock on our door and being questioned about the legality of our vote; where our votes count; a Texas where we can start our own businesses without paying a bribe to a campaign contributor and where we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution.

With all the Republican talk of secession and teabaggers crawling all over themselves to get on television, it is no wonder there appears to be a general apprehension in our state about our future.  We must realize that apprehension undermines our faith in each other and our faith in ourselves. The idea that Texas today will be better tomorrow has become somewhat destabilized. It has become destabilized because of the recession and the sluggishness of the economy, lost jobs, lack of health insurance, poor leadership in Austin, poor school performance and high dropout rates. Public policy makers are held in low regard from Texas to Washington. Mistrust abounds. In this kind of environment, it is understandable that change would become the watchword of this time.

What is the catalyst which will bring about the change I’m talking about? I say that catalyst is the Democratic Party of Texas and our nominee, Bill White for Governor.

Democrats, we have been the instrument of change in policies which have positively impacted education, human rights, civil rights, economic and social opportunity, and the environment. These are policies which are embedded in the soul of the Democrats. And embedded in our soul, they will not disappear easily as I witnessed at the Montgomery County Democratic Convention I attended today.  We, as a Party, will do nothing to erode our essence. I know we will not.

We are one, we Texans. We are one and we reject any Republican or intruder who seeks to divide us on the basis of race, color, economic status, religion (or none), sexual orientation or marital status.  We seek to unite people, not divide them.  And as we seek to unite people, we reject racism, black racism, white racism, Hispanic racism, all racism and our Party will never tolerate bigotry under any guise.

Our strength in this great state is rooted in our diversity. Our history bears witness to that fact. “E Pluribus Unum”, “from many, one.

We strongly and proudly support Texans Bill White for Governor, Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lieutenant Governor, the incomparable Barbara Ann Radnofsky for Attorney General, Hector Uribe for Land Commissioner, Jeff Weems for Railroad Commissioner and Hank Gilbert for Agriculture Commissioner.

These outstanding public servants understand the ideals of community, faith, and service because they have defined most of their lives.  Their values and their work records affirm what is best in each of us. They believe in a Texas where everyone is treated equally and fairly, where education is a priority, that Texas is a state of fair play.  They believe small business owners must succeed because they are the bedrock, backbone of our economy and our kids deserve public schools where students can learn, and teachers can teach and not to a ‘test’.

As Democrats, we believe that Texas should be a state where our citizens’ lives are more than just a struggle for money and where we need leaders who can demonstrate to us that our struggles amount to something and contribute to something larger than ourselves.  We also believe that our strength lies in the men and women who go to work every day, who struggle to balance their families, their jobs, their children, they health and well being and that no Texan should be forgotten.

I believe the honorable men and women running Texas’ 2010 election are just the people who will stand up for what Democrats and all Texans believe.

I encourage all Democrats, Progressives, Independents and those who are looking for a change in Texas leadership to work for these candidates to ensure their successful in their endeavors to lead our great state.    “Texas, Our Texas”!

Note:  A special ‘shout-out’ to Adrienne Cadik, Mary Tegtmeier, Robert Lacy, Austin Stouts and to all the hard work of volunteers, precinct leaders and delegates who made the Montgomery County (Texas) Democratic Convention a huge success!


Bill White – Governor Website Facebook Twitter

Linda Chavez-Thompson – Lieutenant Governor Website Facebook Twitter

Barbara Ann Radnofsky – Attorney General Website Facebook Twitter

Hector Uribe – Land Commissioner Website Facebook Twitter

Jeff Weems – Railroad Commissioner Website Facebook Twitter

Hank Gilbert – Agriculture Commissioner Website Facebook Twitter

Texas Democratic Party

Texas Democratic Party on Facebook

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