The Weekly Wrangle

Time for this week's edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Blog Round-Up, compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

It's about one thing. TXsharon at Bluedaze tells us why we have to make it about something else.

Bill Howell of StoutDemBlog, a new member of the TPA, takes a look at Kirk England's recent party switch, as well as others in Dallas County, in Rove's Permanent Majority Collapses: Now What Do We Do With All These Defectors?

Boadicea at Texas Kaos wonders if MoveOn doesn't owe John Cornyn a thank you note.

Musings discovers that the leading GOP presidential contenders are too busy for African-American and Latino-sponsored debates, while the Harris County GOP claim they are home to Hispanics because of their annual bike giveaway.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News has word on Mayor John Manlove of Pasadena entering the race to challenge Nick Lampson for Congress and the mayor's race it opens up He also has a short colorful digest of Naomi Klein promoting her book on Disaster Capitalism.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson posts on recent news that Gov. Perry and Speaker Craddick -- whom Mike Krusee excoriated at the end of the legislative session -- will appear at a fundraiser for him in Krusee Throws Reagan Over The Wall And Under The Bus.

Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger takes a look at some of the dumber things to come from the Right this week, like Bill O'Reilly's trip to a Harlem hot spot where he discovered that it was just like a 'real' restaurant. You know, like Olive Garden.

Off the Kuff looks at the causes and effects of Kirk England's party switch.

Refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left looks at UT football and asks a simple question: UTLonghorns or UT Thugs.

Burnt Orange Report and its diarists are following the Kirk England switchover with enthusiasm. After breaking the story on Wednesday, the entire staff welcomes the newest Democrat to the Texas House.

KT at Stop Cornyn shows how the Junior Senator is wasting time again. Instead of getting funding for CHIP or our troops the armor they need, Cornyn forced a vote condemning MoveOn.org. Yet another example of failed leadership and Junior John being out of touch with the needs of Texans.

Evan at the Caucus Blog covered two major stories this week. First, after months of investigation, discussion, and debate, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has decided to endorse the HISD bond proposal. Second, Evan has looked into the history of the fight for a federal employment non-discrimination bill in the post "ENDA Deja Vu."

Bradley at North Texas Liberal discusses how Washington, D.C. almost had the vote, but lost it due to greedy Senate Republicans. Only eight Republicans could be bothered to vote for the legendary bill that would have allowed the District a voting member of Congress.

The marriage of the Republican party to theocracy is no accident. Right-wing investors like Richard Mellon Scaife are molding US churches, notes CouldBeTrue in "What does an El Paso Church have to do with the right wing" at South Texas Chisme.

It was quite a week for Senator Box Turtle; he led the Senate charge against free speech, voted against habeas corpus, and against adequate down time for our soldiers. As PDiddie at Brains and Eggs points out, he now owns the war on terror -- in addition to the war on the Constitution and all Americans. But he did unwittingly sponsor a successful fundraiser for MoveOn.org, so he wasn't a complete failure.

WhosPlayin joins a local Republican activist in opposing tax abatements for speculative real estate development in Lewisville.

Vince at Capitol Annex has been keeping tabs on the Texas Conservative Coalition and its town hall meetings across East Texas in which they propose to eliminate property taxes in favor of an expanded sales tax, and points out that at least one new candidate has already started drinking their Kool-Aid.

Hal at Half Empty was at a campaign kickoff fundraiser for Ron Reynolds, who is running for State Rep in HD-27. He took videos and did a series. Links are at his summary posting: Ron E. Reynolds is Running for State Rep in HD 27.

Blue 19th notes that Randy Neugebauer can't hide his contempt for veterans from everyone. So which party was it that supported our troops? Oh yeah, the one that doesn't start with "Republican".

And lastly, No? No! Yes? Yes! Texas Cloverleaf reports on Trinity Vote Trickery. Confusing ballot language and campaign slogans cloud
the upcoming Trinity toll road vote in Dallas.

For An Open Convention

Submitted by "OpenSourceDem", who I hope will become a regular contributor to these pages:

--------------------------------------

From the standpoint of sheer political calculation, Texas Democrats have a wonderful opportunity to regain and exercise power in the Texas Legislature, at the Harris County Courthouse, and with a Democratic delegation to Congress, including one Senate Seat. Not another constipated, “targeted” campaign, but a “Blue Tsunami” should be our strategy at every echelon of this party.

Far and away the best investment we can make in that prospect with just one race is Rick NORIEGA as the top of the statewide ticket. Oh, I see Texas Kaos and others are already on to that.

And, we could do much better than pit two candidates against one another in our primary rather than going after every open seat on the State Supreme Court. That is a dumb-ass political consultant call.

Frankly, this party does not need that kind of small-minded control-freak race-politics on the part of Matt ANGLE and Ruben HERNANDEZ. They are a waste of Fred BARON’s money; and I expect he is smart enough to figure that out between now and November ‘08. Still, it is aggravating to watch the waste of time and money on wheel-spinning. As an economist, it just tears me up to watch this party play boom/bust with no endowment, a legacy of improvidence, and constant fear of bankruptcy.

I really feel sorry for Mikal WATTS: he, like BARON and O’QUINN are getting fleeced by patrons and “politicos” in Washington. He will not be and should not be our Senate nominee.

In fact, he could do better than that:

He should run for State Chair(man) and be prepared to use his money and energy to build something far more original and promising than just taking one or two shots at winning a Senate race this year. So he is not experienced in our crapped-out political system of two-bit concession-tending. That is a handicap where he is now but could be an asset, if he decided to take it on and not be just another patsy. From a resurgent Democratic Party in Texas, he could do and be about anything, more than a Junior Senator. Look at the best of that lot, Jim WEBB, badly used by the Democratic gas-bags and utterly frustrated. How sad.

It is manifestly true that State Chair is and has been a “dog’s breakfast” of a job and a stepping stone to nowhere recently for anybody more ambitious than Molly Beth MALCOMB or Boyd RICHIE –- good stewards of a moribund party on behalf of a few, now just one, trial lawyer.

Why would WATTS want that job? He wouldn’t. He is a trial lawyer, the equal or better of any other anywhere. He could be a principal, not a spokes-model. He should make it a very different job from what it is –- something Charles SOECHTING started, but could not finish.

Curiously, WATTS and perhaps nobody else could deliver a once-powerful party with a great future from the death-grip of a handful of lesser trial-lawyers and former legislative aides, as well as the very campaign consultants and Washington operators who are now taking him for a ride.

I do not know Mikal WATTS at all, but here is what he could do, if he is what he is cracked-up and purports to be:

First, he could lead a unified “grass-roots” plus “net-roots” party to a position of patriotic, popular, progressive, and national leadership. That is not where this state party is or has been for a long time. But, it is a tradition we have lived up to historically and well within our grasp today.

Second, he could deal effectively with quite a spectacular defective product liability and damage case with some elements of financial conspiracy –- the matter of DRE machines made by Hart InterCivic. It is a stunning case and a first-class ticket to legal-political greatness that the existing party has so far either neglected or completely bungled.

Third, there could be instant gratification from a glorious and memorable State Convention with an opportunity to lead a huge, energetic delegation into what might well be either a moribund or deadlocked national convention.

In any event, I will be commenting here on the prospects and mechanics of an open state convention with nothing expected and anything possible.

Sunday Funnies (Betrayal edition)

Hillary: Resistance is Futile.

"Clockwork Orange" fans will love this; Clinton-ites won't.

Cornyn betrays us

Senator Box Turtle has had an exceptionally poor week representing Texas.

First, he voted no on habeas corpus. Then he voted no on the Webb dwell-time amendment (requiring active-duty troops to have as much down time as the length of their service time overseas).

Then he introduced a resolution condemning the "General Betray Us" advertisement by MoveOn.org. Which his fellow turtles helped him pass, 72-25. Pat Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Jon Tester, Jim Webb, and every Blue Dog in the Senate joined the warmongering Republicans in supporting it. Joe Biden and Barack Obama courageously ducked the vote. (More on the impotence of Senate Democrats here.)

And to cap his week, he voted no -- with 69 others, including former Army Ranger Jack Reed and former Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel, both outspoken critics of the Iraq war -- on Reid-Feingold (designed to cut off war funding) .

John Cornyn has now officially assumed ownership of the war in Iraq. He also owns the war on the 70% of Americans who support our troops by calling for the end to the war in Iraq.

John Cornyn owns the war on the Constitution by opposing one of the "most efficient safeguards on liberty". John Cornyn owns the war on Americans by supporting the wiretapping of Americans.

John Cornyn is no longer a disgrace just to Texas. He's now a national disgrace.

Please help us end this national disgrace by helping us elect a senator from Texas who will respond to our e-mail and phone calls, who believes in the Bill of Rights, and who will support the soldiers and not their endless deaths and maiming.

Thank you.

Update (9/22): Let's be sure to thank Junior Senator for the half-million bucks he helped MoveOn raise in the 24-hour period following his betrayal of U.S.

Taser-free, OJ-free, postpourri

-- Yesterday I spent some time on a conference call with legal and election activists around the country regarding the concern about provisional ballots. The Fair Elections Legal Network sponsored the call, and the conversation was deep in the minutia of HAVA, the myriad of methods provisional ballots are distributed, assembled, assessed and counted, the necessity for effective poll worker training, even the political culture from state to state (some places -- Texas and Harris County not so much -- actually believe that citizens have an ironclad right not just to vote, but to have their votes counted accurately).

I'll spare the details: it's too late to change much for 2008. Voters whose names are purged from the rolls, whose registrations will appear "in suspense" will only be allowed to vote provisionally, and most of those ballots won't be counted. Greg Palast says we're already six million votes in the hole, between voter caging lists, voter purging, suspense lists, and voter ID legislation.

Still not sure what we can do about it, either.

-- On a happier note, a Republican legislator in the Texas House became a Democrat yesterday. Welcome, Rep. Kirk England.

-- The Chron.com's stories on the coming $800 million HISD bond election, its effects on the property tax cut, the undervaluation by the Harris County Appraisal District of both commercial and residential property for tax purposes, and other stories elsewhere have the local wild-eyed, red-assed conservatives in a froth. They scream with one voice: "VOTE NO".

Since there's so much caysh in the form of commissions for the bond lawyers at stake in the election six weeks from now, would it be too conspiracy-theorist of me to wonder if it would be worthwhile for them to hire someone to hack the vote?

-- A blogger is being sued by a hospital conglomerate in Paris, Texas. For libel. Are corporations people? Can a corporation be called to the witness stand and testify?

Can a company feel injured by the loss of esteem, reputation, or revenue?

I bet I can guess how the Texas Supreme Court will vote if the case ever reaches them: 9-0. Unless we can get Susan Criss elected in 2008, and then it will be 8-1.

-- How about a toon to tide us over until Sunday?

Two kinds of hogs. And Clinton.

I'll be making my way up to Arkansas next month to see the twice-already tournament MVP for the volleyball Ladybacks versus Georgia and Auburn, and while close by will be paying a visit to the Clinton Library.



Staying at some rustic yet comfortable accommodations on Beaver Lake. May get to see Heisman candidate Darren McFadden and the Razorbacks play (Tennessee-Chattanooga) in person. We appear to be sharing Fayetteville that weekend with the Banditos, Hell's Angels, and ZZ Top, so as long as I can get online I should have some interesting things to blog about.

St. Arnold's needs a new home (this is a good thing)

When last we looked in on Brock Wagner and his St. Arnold's microbrewery, he was seeking some legislative assistance. He didn't get that, but his little brewery still thrives, so much so that he needs a new and bigger location. Nancy Sarnoff at the Chron has the Q&A, I'll emphasis the important things:

Q: How's your search coming along?

A: We're on a beer budget, and Houston real estate has run up so high that it's very difficult for us to really be able to justify a lot of the prices. My first choice would be to find an existing building that we could move into that's in a good area.

But with our rapid growth, suddenly it's economic for us to potentially build. I'm still looking at one building north of downtown that would be a home run if it works.

It's an old building. It's functionally less than perfect, but location-wise it would be great.

If we can pull it off, it would be great, but I'm very concerned it could be a white elephant. No business wants a money pit.

Q: The company has grown a lot recently, but you don't really advertise. How have you gotten to where you are?

A: We've focused much more on grass-roots marketing where people come out to the brewery for a tour and we build a connection.

We've done events around town, and we donate to a lot to charities. I think every elementary school PTO in this city and almost every church has gotten donations from us. I think what we've created is a community. That organic growth is in and of itself satisfying, but the people are also very loyal consumers. They're not trendy.

It's almost like we've become part of their lives.

Q: Was it your goal to create, as you say, a community?

A: I don't think you can set out to create a kind of community like ours on purpose.

If you do that, it's going to always seem contrived. You can foster that community once it already exists by being aware of what expectations people have.

I try to do the things I enjoy doing, and then I try to see if I can rationalize a business purpose for them. We do the MS 150. We have a giant team. We have 300 riders, and we could easily have 1,000 riders if we kept it open.

We have a '57 Bentley we've tie-dyed for the art car community. I thought it was something that would be fun. The art car parade is such a part of Houston.

We did that not because we were looking at it as a way we could cash in on it, but more that we wanted to be part of it. And I've been very careful we don't try to commercialize it.

Q: Do you ever worry that a move might in some way alter the sense of community you've established?

A: Constantly. This is a big deal. This is who Saint Arnold's is. To our customers, it's their brewery, and that's something we have to be very mindful of.

There's a way to do it where you can make people part of the process, and they'll continue to feel ownership.

The biggest thing is keeping it in town and just making sure people feel invited to come there.

Q: It seems like the popularity of wine would cut into your business. Has it?

A: The editor of Food & Wine said beer is the new wine.

To me that sounds somehow weak — like we want to be the new wine. I think what is actually happening is that people are discovering this wide array of beers that are out there. I'd argue that there's a greater spectrum of flavor in beer than in wine. People are also discovering that beer goes great with food, and that you can pair beer with food often better than wine. Two weeks ago we did a beer and cheese tasting. It was an incredible event. A majority of the crowd was predominantly craft beer drinkers, but there were wine drinkers along with their beer-drinking friends. At the end, they were the ones who were the biggest proponents of how wonderful it was.

Brock has done a great job cultivating the local blogging community also. All the best to this Houston icon.

Dean soars into huge lead

Yes of COURSE it's a flashback:

Dean Soars into Huge Lead in New Hampshire Now Leads Kerry 40-17 Among Likely Voters; Clark and Edwards in Distant 3rd --New Zogby Poll

Former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean has opened a large lead over his closest challenger in New Hampshire according to the newest poll by Zogby International.

Dean earned 40%, compared to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry’s 17%. None of the other candidates have exceeded single digits in the polling. Retired General Wesley Clark and North Carolina Senator John Edwards are tied for third with 6% each.

...

Pollster John Zogby: "This is stunning. Dean leads 43-20 among Democrats and 35 to 11 among Independents. He hits 40 among all age groups, union and non-union voters. His lead is 57-17 among self-described progressives, 50-20 among liberals, and 34-14 among moderates. Married voters give him a 38-13 edge and singles a 45-21 point lead. He holds huge leads among all education groups, among investors and non-investors, men and women. This qualifies as juggernaut status. Can he be stopped?"

Emphasis mine. Gloria Steinem said yesterday in Houston that she supported Hillary for president because "she's got eight years of experience in the White House." And this is how Zogby had Iowa in the first week of December, 2003:

Dean Regains Slight Iowa Lead in Neck and Neck Race With Gephardt, 26% - 22%; Kerry 3rd in Single Digits in Latest Zogby International Poll

With less than seven weeks remaining until Iowa’s January 19 caucus vote, Former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean has re-taken a slight lead in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. In December 1- 2 polling of 500 likely Iowa caucus voters by Zogby International, Dean jumped back ahead of Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, the earlier Iowa front-runner, 26% - 22%, yet within the poll’s margin of statistical error.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was third with 9%, followed by North Carolina Senator John Edwards at 5%. Nearly three in ten (28%) remain undecided, providing some hope for the trailing candidates.

Disclaiming: Zogby, you will remember, also had John Kerry getting elected president a bit less than a year later.

Just a little food for thought.

800 and $72,000

Suffering the post-vacation, back-to-the-salt-mines, 1,000-new-messages-in-your-inbox blues.

But I need to acknowledge that we've busted our goal for the Rick Noriega campaign with two weeks still to go (and in the spirit of "coordination" are considering going for a thousand, just to quell the Doubting Thomases, Gregs, and Matts). As Bo notes, we'll add another boxcar to the train to make room for you, if you're not already on board.

Mikal Watt$ still has millions of dollars to give himself in his quest for elective office, still says (and writes) all the wrong things, still has a few minions to do his dirty work for him, and is still going to lose this primary.