DEMOCRACY My Number One Issue
I, like many of you, have become gravely concerned that republican democracy in America is in dire peril of decline and eventual failure, and a Republican-controlled Texas is leading the way. I’m not being hyperbolic here; I am deadly serious. And it will be up to all of us to reverse this downward spiral and set the ship of democracy a-right.
I am concerned about the same pressing issues as you: climate change, gerrymandering and voter suppression, official corruption. We have billionaires paying virtually no taxes while usurping the largess of our land and middle class. They maneuver tirelessly to privatize essential public services like education and the post office, all to satiate their boundless appetite for ever more wealth. And they do this to the detriment of the public. (Wait ’til they privatize your water!)
Following upon their refusal to expand Texans’ access to the Medicaid program, the legislature and governor now practice medicine without a license, stripping Texans of the right to pursue needed medical treatments.
Callous cruelties and even atrocities are meted out upon desperate migrants — migrants Texas needs to meet our thirsty economy’s demand for workers.
Texas’ rapidly growing population gives rise to ever increasing energy needs. We are adding a San Antonio every three years, but Republican officials allow the power grid to remain at the brink of failure.
Republicans refuse to enact robust support for public education. This is the case even as Austin basks in budget surpluses that are only there because they’ve robbed public schools of their own collected taxes! Is it any mystery Texans are frustrated with high taxes?
And then — and this must be said — in their most reprehensible failing of all, Texas Republicans REFUSE to do THING ONE to protect the lives of our innocent school children from the ravages of gun violence.
Texas is a national leader in the number of deaths from gun massacres. And the universal weapon of choice is the semi-automatic rifle. It is a weapon of war that HAS NO BUSINESS in the hands of civilians; there’s not one beneficial justification for this. But there is, standing in the way, too much obscene enrichment — of the gun lobby and their bought-and-paid-for Republican officials — for any Republican majority to ever put an end to the carnage. They are A-Okay with the continued and predictable slaughter of our innocent young. And because this unthinkable cost is borne by others, the gun lobby sees it as an acceptable side effect toward advancing their unbridled greed and lust for blood money. Only a Democratic majority will ever commit to ending it.
Fellow Texans, all of these threats, challenges, and crises demand immediate attention, and I believe the public will is there for it; but there’s a catch. Our politics are broken. And NOT ONE of these most pressing issues can be affirmatively addressed until we fix THAT. We KNOW what needs to be done to address and solve the great challenges we face, but one institution stands between humanity and the implementation of those solutions. That institution is the Republican Party. The only way to move them out of the people’s way, and thereby heal these searing wounds, is to win, and to do so consistently over time.
So, you are right to ask, what are MY qualifications to seek this Democratic nomination? While this is my first stab at actually running for office, I’ve been a grassroots field organizer for most of the last decade. I was trained as a Neighborhood Team Leader with Battleground Texas for the Wendy Davis gubernatorial campaign, and I’ve also served as a precinct chair for six of the last ten years. I’ve recruited and trained an entire grassroots field including phone bankers, canvassers, and voter registrars, all aimed at Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts. It took a couple of cycles, but recruits whom I trained eventually flipped the House District I initially organized. They continue to this day to turn out voters for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. That is my goal for HD 19, and it’s how I aim to conduct my campaign. By recruiting and activating grassroots volunteers, my campaign won’t need to rely on large corporate donors to hire paid canvassers and phone bankers. Funds raised will go much farther than they otherwise would, and we will turn out more voters as a result.
I mentioned gerrymandering. Folks, we could get cracking on most, if not all, of our pressing imperatives inside of fifteen minutes if we outlawed gerrymandering. I intend to introduce a constitutional amendment prohibiting partisan and racial gerrymandering in districted contests. You all know that while racial gerrymandering is already technically outlawed, Republicans stop at nothing to effectuate it anyway, and they often succeed. Gerrymandering robs Texas voters of having our true voice heard, respected, and acted upon. Gerrymandering cements undemocratic rule in the hands of a desperate, shrinking minority while the will of the public is snubbed. Gerrymandering must end.
So, how do we win House District 19? Conservatively, we will need 80,000 votes to flip this district. That is a tall order to be sure, but I believe it’s achievable. There are more registered voters in HD 19 NOT voting Republican than ones who are. We must persuade them to vote, and to vote for us. I believe we can do this. It will, of course, require a great effort, and I pledge myself to that effort.
We must reactivate the voter who is so turned off that he/she has checked out of the process altogether. We MUST persuade them to check back in. But how do we do this? The answer to that question has to do with persuading the proverbial “hearts and minds,” but more concretely, it hinges on pledging to make Texas government (and our party) responsive to these citizens once again. And also following through on that pledge.
It’s been two decades since Democrats have controlled any statewide authority in Texas, and many of our voters have become convinced there’s no point in their participating. But there would be a point if we were to re-balance our politics. And the re-engagement and participation of these voters would reintroduce that balance. It is these very voters whose reentry into our governance can reinstate the needed balance. They’re like the keystone species in a sensitive ecology, the absence of which renders that ecology less sustaining. Therein, I believe, lies the motivation these voters need to re-engage. THEY are the DIFFERENCE-MAKERS! The aim of my campaign is to annunciate this theme.
Folks, anywhere from a third to a half of all registered voters stay home on Election Day. That is a whole heck of a lot. These fellow citizens constitute a sleeping giant; and they are the only remaining untapped source of additional voters. I estimate that with a couple of hundred volunteers plus some loyal donors, we can reach the critical mass of these voters and win this race.
Fellow Texans, we have in front of us the opportunity to CHANGE TEXAS. And with 30 million residents, we hold enough gravity to change America. From there, you don’t need me to spell it out for you, but I will. If we change America, we change the world. Just think of that. If we change Texas, we change the world! Raise your hand if you would like to change the world! I know I would, and I believe we can. So in that spirit, I hope you’ll join hands with my campaign and help us get to work on this critical mission.
To operate this campaign, I’m building a grassroots field of 100 – 200 volunteer activists who yearn to fix Texas’ broken politics. Paid advertising and social media are important tools in any political campaign, but by themselves, they can never be enough. It takes personal contact to truly connect with the voters we must persuade, whether through a phone call, a personalized post card, or a knock on the door.
And, to be sure, a campaign also needs money although we all yearn to lessen the influence of money in our politics. That’s why running a grassroots campaign is so important. We’re committed to working with union shops whose employees make our yard signs and other collateral. As you know, they have families to feed and need to be paid. Necessary expenses are incurred by virtually every campaign from rent on a campaign office to keeping the AC on through the brutal Texas summer. I will not be seeking large corporate donations to fund my campaign. I believe the way we govern ourselves should serve natural-born human beings and not artificial corporate persons. That said, your donations are humbly requested and gratefully received.
LET’S DO THIS THING!