Prima-caucus lives, and the potential fallout

Executive summary first from the R.G. :

Tempers flared today as delegates to the Texas Democratic Convention accused each other of racism and ignoring the needs of the infirm, elderly and soldiers overseas.

But in end they overwhelmingly voted 5,602-1,930 to keep the controversial Texas "Two-Step" system of allocating presidential nominating convention delegates through a hybrid of a primary and election-night caucuses.

Some portrayed the fight as the continuation of the 2008 battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But others said problems in that election showed the shortcomings of the system.

Many Democrats were angered in 2008 because Clinton won the most votes in the primary but Obama out-maneuvered her in the caucuses to win the most nominating delegates: 95-91.

After hours of debate in the convention rules committee and another hour of heated discussion on the Democratic convention floor, the delegates voted to retain the hybrid system rather than go to a system of allocating all presidential nominating delegates based solely on the primary vote.

This is solid as to the synopsis and conclusion, so I'll just fill in some of the on-the-convention-floor color.

Royce West, the state senator from Dallas, was first to speak from the floor during the discussion and almost immediately played the race card, suggesting that eliminating the caucus would "disenfranchise" some activist African-Americans whose communities conduct politics as close-knit, neighborhood affairs.

Some speakers after West picked up the gauntlet, suggesting that shift workers, the disabled, seniors and soldiers serving overseas were in fact the ones being disenfranchised by their inability to participate in the election-day-evening precinct conventions.  And some called bullshit on that. From the Texas Tribune's live-blog (2:29 pm entry):

Leroy Warren Jr., a Democrat from Collin County, got fired up at the mic. He wants to keep the two-step primary election process that allowed Barack Obama to get more delegates to the Democratic National Committee even though Hillary Clinton won the popular primary vote. He says others are using the veil of protecting minorities to try to change a system that allowed the black candidate to win election.

"These shenanigans ought to stop right now, and they ought to take that minority report and go trash it." ... 

A couple more Af-Am delegates followed, echoing and amplifying West's 'disenfranchised' comments. And some others rebutted. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant, to say the least.

I would like to respectfully point out that "disenfranchisement" as defined here is entirely the wrong word to use to describe the caucus participation/effect:

disenfranchise - : to deprive of a franchise, of a legal right, or of some privilege or immunity; especially : to deprive of the right to vote

Nobody is being deprived of their right to vote either by keeping or deleting the caucus portion of the delegate allocation. No one.

The caucus rewards those activists who take responsibility to get off their couch and go participate with their neighbors in the political welfare and future of their 'hood, their state, their nation. It doesn't penalize anybody. It's a valuable component of our democracy, IMHO.

(As Ratcliffe noted above, the caucus itself was not being ended by the proposed changes in the rules committee's minority report; only the math would change. But the math would disembowel the caucus' effect on delegate count; some consequently argued that was a distinction without a difference.)

So despite being a big fan of the prima-caucus -- and voting in favor of it -- what bothered me the most was the misunderstandings associated with the question and the divisions it opened.

I believe that Boyd Richie -- and by proxy, Bill White -- must mend fences with those who favored change (again, in the form of eliminating the mathematical emphasis given to the caucus results) and who lost that battle decisively. Indeed those appear to be RGV Latinos who preferred Clinton in 2008, and are being heavily relied upon to carry Texas Democrats up and down the ballot to victory in November. That same percentage of people (see the 12:24 pm TexTrib live-blog entry) supported Richie's challenger, Mike Barnes, and the endorsement Barnes received yesterday was from the Hispanic caucus ... a significant sign of weakness for Richie, despite the efforts of Democratic establishment Hispanics to downplay it.

I think there will be more unity demonstrated  coming out of Corpus if only because of political necessity.  But if I'm wrong, this could be the harbinger of doom. Latinos aren't going to vote Republican because of stuff like this but they may stay home on Election Day, and they have historically done far too much of that as it is.

See The Texas Blue for another take.

Corpus update (and some Funnies)

Recovering this morning from last night's blogger caucus, which always seems to be the best party in town.

The Texas Tribune has a good live blog, although their last entry at this posting is from yesterday afternoon at 3:18, and features the pathetic Mark Miner and his generator again. This guy is a masochist.

Update: They're up-to-date, with lots of video. Go look.

They also have the sad news about "Sputnik". If you don't know about him then you missed knowing one of the most colorful characters in the entire state of Texas. I observed Austin lawmakers nervously shaking in his presence.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has the best coverage of yesterday's events, including photos.

White launched a series of attacks on his Republican opponent ending each point with the refrain “Part-time Perry is in it for himself.”

The former Houston mayor accused Perry of working on state business only seven hours a week, spending $10,000 a month on a rented mansion as the state faces an $18 billion budget crisis and accepting federal stimulus money and using it as a source of state funding.

The media room is too small to accommodate the number of both corporate and alternative media, and blogger row on the convention floor got ten seats instead of the thirty requested, I suppose due to space constraints since we've always had plenty of room in conventions past. So I'll be mostly with my senate district delegation and posting wrap-ups and links like this after the day's events (and dinner and drinks and so on).



TrailBlazers has a few updates on the sidebar issues: the prima-caucus battle, Boyd Richie challenger Michael Barnes' big endorsement, Barbara Radnoksky's SueWallStreet.com gauntlet thrown down to Greg Abbott (he's ignoring the issue and attacking her), and etc.



More later, probably tomorrow. You did recognize the Texas GOP in the cartoons, didn't you?

"Back to Basics" on the air

... in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. This ad really keeps the pressure on Perry, underscoring his extravagant lifestyle at the expense of Texas taxpayers.

With the poll earlier this week showing the race tied, the nominee's keynote at the convention tonight drawing additional media coverage, the Clinton endorsement and now this devastating spot, the White campaign is rolling.



Next report will be from Corpus.

Sybil Gilbert 1929-2010

Deepest condolences to Hank Gilbert on the passing of his mother. Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report with the sad news:

Folks who have been to previous state Democratic conventions know that Agriculture Commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert can deliver a stemwinder of a speech.

Unfortunately, delegates congregating in Corpus Christi this weekend will not be able to hear from him this time.

Gilbert’s 81-year old mother Sybil passed away today. The family has set the funeral for Saturday in Kilgore. There is simply no way for Gilbert to make it from Kilgore to Corpus in time.

The details of the visitation and funeral can be found here.

Perry's former chief of staff coordinated Greens' ballot petition drive *update*

The Perry campaign has lied their asses off about their involvement. LSP:

Earlier today, a key witness testified under oath that a top member of Rick Perry’s inner circle paid him about $12,000 to convince Green Party of Texas leaders to participate in an elaborate ballot petition scam. (Source: Austin American-Statesman, June 24, 2010)

Mike Toomey, the former chief of staff for the governor, paid Garrett Mize, a 22-year-old University of Texas student, from his personal checking account to present a formal proposal to Green Party leaders. The proposal suggests using out-of-state funds to gather signatures needed to field candidates in the upcoming Texas election. The memo notes that, “many of the donors will be people that simply do not want to see the Democratic Party win.” The proposal by Mize can be seen here.

Toomey’s direct involvement elevates the matter to a level of wrongdoing not seen since the Sharpstown scandal of the 1970s. Mike Toomey is a member of Perry’s inner circle and described as “close friends” (Source: Texas Monthly, February 2005). It is irrational to believe that Toomey would have made such an elaborate -- and likely illegal -- effort to field Green Party candidates without the knowledge and approval of the governor. 

The morning testimony left it unclear what happened after the original plan proposed by Mize fell apart. A second plan was formulated just two weeks before the deadline to turn in ballot petitions. This second plan funneled $532,500 in corporate money to pay for the effort to gather signatures for the Green Party in order to qualify candidates for the Texas ballot. Documents and testimony in the coming days should reveal whether Toomey masterminded this plan as well. (Source: Austin American-Statesman, June 24, 2010)

Their hands are as dirty as we thought.

This would not be the first time Mike Toomey has used secret corporate donations to illegally help elect Republicans in Texas. Toomey was implicated in the TRMPAC scandal and the Texas Association of Business lawsuit after the 2002 elections. The TRMPAC “indictments …noted that TAB board members Mike Toomey and Eric Glenn, both lobbyists, played prominent roles in soliciting money.” (Austin American-Statesman, September 8, 2005)

And a bit more from Postcards (the Statesman):

Mize was approached to run the effort by a family friend, Stuart Moss, who at the time worked for a Republican political consulting and public relations firm run by former Perry communications director Eric Bearse. Bearse said Moss no longer works for him.

Mize quit the effort in April after he grew uncomfortable that Republican interests were driving the initiative and not informing the Green Party.

“Do you know what a Trojan horse is?” questioned state District Judge John Dietz. “Were you a Trojan horse?”

Wow, the Republicans are crooked. Imagine that.

But the revelation here is that should the Greens proceed with this tainted ballot bid, the TDP will sue the living daylights out of them. And the Greens will lose.

The best thing they can do now is withdraw their petition. And really, that is a damn shame. And not just for them.

I think -- unlike the brain trust at the TDP -- that the Greens on the ballot would be a good thing; it would force Richie, Angle, et.al. to stop taking the progressive base of the Democratic Party for granted. If they were honestly threatened with losing a few percentage points because they are too conservative, then they could either adapt to the new world or get used to minority status for a generation or more.

The key word there being 'honestly', of course.

Update: TRO granted.

A state judge on Thursday granted the Democratic Party a temporary restraining order to block Green Party candidates from being certified for the November ballot.

Democrats contended that a petition drive to put Green candidates on the ballot actually was an effort to help GOP Gov. Rick Perry by diverting votes from his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White.

State District Judge John Dietz ruled that the effort was “an unauthorized, illegal contribution.”

Lawyers for the Green Party said they plan to appeal.