My electoral college vote prediction, 6/22

I'll begin this weekly prognostication today, and continue it through the first week of November, based in part on data compiled at electoral-vote.com and FiveThirtyEight.com. If you want to play around with your own map, click below or click here.

Today's map reflects my view that Obama turns Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico from red to blue. Florida and Nevada are too close to call, as is Georgia (due to the Libertarian candidacy of favorite son Bob Barr).

<p><strong>><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/'>Electoral College Prediction Map</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.</p>

Sunday Funnies

See, it's not just me

who's irritated about Obama and FISA.

BooMan:

Unless this all part of a brilliant plan to popularize the campaign of Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and thereby win some extra states, Obama is making a big mistake in moving to the right of Arlen Specter. And even if it is a political move, the FISA debate is about bedrock principles of constitutional rights, separation of powers, and the rule of law. Political dodges and maneuvers are inappropriate.

But here's an honest question. Who is saying this bill is good and necessary? Look around. Is anyone saying that who is not implicated in the wrongdoing? The New York Times thinks it is a terrible bill. The ranking member of the Judiciary Committee (Sen. Specter) thinks it's a terrible bill. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee (Sen. Leahy) thinks it is a terrible bill. The ACLU thinks it is a terrible bill. The entire blogosphere thinks it is a terrible bill. Who thinks it is a good bill?

Even Reid, Pelosi, and Hoyer are not saying it's a good bill. They're calling it a good compromise or whatever. It's bad law. It's wrong to support this bill.

Atrios:

... Democrats will regret embracing the expansion of executive power because a President Obama will find his administration undone by an "abuse of power" scandal. All of those powers which were necessary to prevent the instant destruction of the country will instantly become impeachable offenses. If you can't imagine how such a pivot can take place then you haven't been paying attention.

Of course it's not just Obama but Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer who think we're stupid for not supporting their bad bill:

That is my primary objection, here. Democrats: if you're going to cave, just cave. Don't draft up flagrantly insulting talking points that pretend you've gotten something in return -- you haven't. You haven't gotten squat, except for the knowledge that the illegal is now legal, that past illegalities will be swept under the rug, and that future illegalities will be met with no action more substantive than a few harshly worded reports.

We all know how much money the telecommunications companies spent "lobbying" you for this legislation; fine. So just come out and say it -- you can't piss off corporate contributors that are that important, so the Fourth Amendment can go suck eggs. We all know you don't have any confidence you can both stand up for the rule of law and get reelected in the face of conservative demands that our laws be considered obsolete in the face of our own pants-wetting fear; fine. So just say that, and quit painting us as rubes who won't know any better if you shove a few noble-sounding sentences our way.

Pelosi's right about one thing, though. This is a democracy, not a monarchy. In a monarchy, the king would just violate the law at will, and nobody would say a word. In a democracy, the President gets to violate the law at will, and we'll jump through months of hoops to change the law so that he retroactively didn't violate it.

After all, Emanuel says these are the "civil liberty protections" you "deserve." If the President said it, that makes it legal, and if you don't like that new interpretation of your rights, hey -- you're just against "compromise." In this case, "compromise" means blanket immunity for everyone involved: they don't have to prove that what they were doing was legal -- because they can't, we know it violated the law -- they just have to prove that the President told them to do it anyway, and we'll just forget the whole thing. And let them keep doing it. And they don't actually have to come clean on the extent of what "it" was, or is.

Here's Digby, with the calm voice of reason (and the tie-in to the other outrages, as well as a little bit of excuse-making for the Dems which I personally refuse to buy):

Here on planet earth, the civil liberties issues, along with torture and Guantanamo and the entire GWOT legal regime is a central concern because I have watched a very ruthless and cynical right wing show themselves to be bent on rebuilding the police state of J. Edgar Hoover and the imperial presidency of Richard Nixon. I don't think it's a good idea. It's not that I don't realize that the Democrats have an equally awful history or think they are the exemplars of all that is true and good, it's just that in recent years the Republicans have shown they have a real fetish for undemocratic authoritarianism, and in a complicated system, you have to focus on those who are creating the most obvious and immediate threats.

Democrats have certainly enabled them over the years and will likely continue to. They are politicians, after all, not comic book superheroes. But there should be no doubt to anyone who isn't wrapped up in immature freshman dorm cynicism, that there is a distinct difference between those who believe in the concept of an imperial presidency and those who are simply weak and corrupt. They both undermine freedom, but the first is many orders of magnitude worse than the second.

And lastly emptywheel, who's closer to my level of upset:

In case you couldn't parse the three bolded sentences yourself, here's my take on them.

1. I will make a showy effort in the Senate on Monday to get them to take out immunity. I will lose that effort 32-65. But hey! I can say I tried!
2. But don't worry, little boys and girls, Inspectors General are an adequate replacement for our third co-equal branch of government!
3. Nice little bloggers! Aren't you cute! After you demanded accountability we gave you piggy lipstick and fig leaves and told you it was time to move on while we important Senators told you--in polite terms--to fuck off.

The Senate vote is scheduled for Thursday. Don't waste your time with Texas Senators Perjury Technicality and CornDog. Call Obama's Senate office, starting tomorrow morning, and tell him what kind of vote you expect of a constitutional scholar.

Happy-to-bitter ratio is out of round

So we'll have a few funnies early this weekend.

(So that no one confuses me for being overtly jolly, the Obama widget on the right column is in danger of being removed until I know for certain exactly how he intends to vote on FISA next week -- as well as what he means on NAFTA. It's coming off pretty quickly if he indeed supports either one. Running to the middle is for losers.)

Obama needs Texas

but only as an ATM:

While Texas is unlikely to turn blue this November, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama may still be making a few more trips to the Lone Star state now that he has made it official that he is not taking public financing.

Obama's decision to forgo $84 million in public money means he will have to really crank up his already formidable fund-raising machine. And Texas has always been generous to candidates, regardless of party. Indeed, Lone Star donors have showered Obama with far more campaign bucks than the Republican nominee John McCain. According to the Federal Election Commission Obama has raised $7.8 million in Texas compared to $6.3 million for McCain.

Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director who spoke to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast Thursday, indicated that the candidate, who has not visited Texas since before the March 4 primary, will be back.

"We'll be down there a lot,'' Gibbs said. But don't expect lots of those big, noisy rallies like the candidate held during the primary season. More likely the drop-ins will consist of discrete private fund-raisers.

Saw this coming after Boyd Richie spurned them prior to his coming-out party as a superdelegate, and they payed him off in full for that by shining his shoes in Austin.

They're even now, and both have cover for pretending to do something to get down-ballot Texas Democrats elected without actually doing much of anything.

With the local consultant class following Texas Monthly's lead and making excuses in advance for Rock Noriega losing to John Cornyn, the circle of defeat is almost complete and we're still two weeks away from the long July 4th weekend.

So here's my five-months-out prediction: Obama will have all the money he could ever need and gets elected the nation's 44th President handily -- over 300 EV. The US Senate and the House of Representatives increase their majorities, the Democratic Senators achieving a near veto-proof count of 58 seats. As in 2006, a big blue wave rolls across the country -- but hits a concrete seawall at the Texas border. Noriega, Nick Lampson, and a handful of Texas House members (such as Juan Garcia) lose, most of our Harris County executive and judicial races are very narrow defeats, "just five more seats in the Texas House" results in three net victories (but Chairman Richie declares victory anyway), Tom Craddick and David Dewhurst jam through Voter ID in 2009, and the battle cry for 2010 from the Texas Democratic Party becomes "focusing on a few, select, targeted races in order to take the Texas House, just in time for redistricting".

(Somebody please prove me wrong. Please.)

And hey: don't forget all those great activities next week.

Why did the Democratic leadership capitulate on FISA?

Because -- and truthfully, this is not just mere speculation on my part -- they're bigger fucking corporate whores than even their Republican counterparts:

"Congress is poised to once again pass disastrous surveillance legislation, now upping the ante with a thinly-veiled giveaway to some major campaign donors.

"This bill allows for mass and untargeted surveillance of Americans’ communications. The court review is mere window-dressing -- all the court would look at is the procedures for the year-long dragnet and not at the who, what and why of the spying. Even this superficial court review has a gaping loophole -- ‘exigent’ circumstances can short cut even this perfunctory oversight since any delay in the onset of spying meets the test and by definition going to the court would cause at least a minimal pause. Worse yet, if the court denies an order for any reason, the government is allowed to continue surveillance throughout the appeals process, thereby rendering the role of the judiciary meaningless. In the end, there is no one to answer to; a court review without power is no court review at all."

"The Hoyer/Bush surveillance deal was clearly written with the telephone companies and internet providers at the table and for their benefit. They wanted immunity, and this bill gives it to them.

"The telecom companies simply have to produce a piece of paper we already know exists, resulting in immediate dismissal. That’s not accountability. Loopholes and judicial theater don’t do our Fourth Amendment rights justice. In the end, this is politics. This bill does nothing to keep Americans safe and is a constitutional farce.

"The process by which this deal has come about has been as secretive as the warrantless wiretapping program it is seeking to legitimize. While members and organizations who would seek to fiercely protect the civil liberties of Americans have been denied a seat at the table, one wonders how present the powerful telecom lobby has been.

"Leadership should be leading to protect the Constitution, not bowing to pressure from Republicans, the White House, and the telecommunications companies.

So again we have Democratic leadership in the House (Steny Hoyer) and Senate (Jay Rockefeller) who betray other Democratic leaders in both chambers who have beaten back telecom immunity several times already in this legislative session.

Like Steve, this is the sort of thing I simply cannot stomach and cast a ballot for in November. After all, when the corporate advertising and sponsorship banners at the Democrats' state convention are more prominent than the ones at the GOP's, we probably don't have a party for the people anywhere within sight.

Regarding FISA: there's fighting back to do, and it must be done tomorrow.

Torture is a war crime. Or an occasionaly useful tool.

Depends on who you ask.

The two-star general who led an Army investigation into the horrific detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib has accused the Bush administration of war crimes and is calling for accountability.

In his 2004 report on Abu Ghraib, then-Major General Anthony Taguba concluded that "numerous incidents of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses were inflicted on several detainees." He called the abuse "systemic and illegal." And, as Seymour M. Hersh reported in the New Yorker, he was rewarded for his honesty by being forced into retirement.

Now, in a preface to a Physicians for Human Rights report based on medical examinations of former detainees, Taguba adds an epilogue to his own investigation.

The new report, he writes, "tells the largely untold human story of what happened to detainees in our custody when the Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture. This story is not only written in words: It is scrawled for the rest of these individual's lives on their bodies and minds. Our national honor is stained by the indignity and inhumane treatment these men received from their captors.

"The profiles of these eleven former detainees, none of whom were ever charged with a crime or told why they were detained, are tragic and brutal rebuttals to those who claim that torture is ever justified. Through the experiences of these men in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, we can see the full-scope of the damage this illegal and unsound policy has inflicted --both on America's institutions and our nation's founding values, which the military, intelligence services, and our justice system are duty-bound to defend.

"In order for these individuals to suffer the wanton cruelty to which they were subjected, a government policy was promulgated to the field whereby the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice were disregarded. The UN Convention Against Torture was indiscriminately ignored. . . .

"After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."

If you check the results of recent Pew Research polling, though ...

More than four in ten Americans (43%) say that the use of torture can be justified to gain key information sometimes (31%) or often (12%), according to a 2007 Pew Research survey. However, a 54%-majority say torture is never (29%) or rarely (25%) justified. The number of Americans saying the use of torture against suspected terrorists is at least sometimes justified has been fairly stable since 2004, though the percentage saying torture can often be justified has dipped from 18% in October 2006. There have been consistent demographic and political differences in views about whether torture of suspected terrorists is ever justified. For instance, more African Americans than whites say the torture of suspected terrorists is never justified (37% vs. 28%). Older Americans also are more likely to rule out the use of torture than are younger people: 36% of those ages 65 and older say torture of suspected terrorists is never justified, compared with 25% of those ages 18-29.

So how did we get to this point -- where far too many Americans still believe bullshit that has been proven false? Such as Saddam was responsible for 9/11, or that climate change is something Al Gore invented along with the Internet to make millions?

Can all of this ignorance be blamed on Fox News?

I don't think so.

At some point the morans are going to have to accept responsibility for the outcomes of their blind stupidity. That point ideally needs to be reached by them before the United States is attacked again by religious fundamentalists bent on retribution for a century of petroleum-driven political manipulation, or before global wars are instigated over water instead of oil.

Because by that time it'll be too late for them to make amends. It may be too late already.

Now that the funeral is over ...

Many of these people referred to Russert as a "journalists' journalist" and as "the most important person in the Washington media," and it's likely they believed what they were saying. If Russert deserved the title of Washington Journalist of the Era, it sure was a nasty thing to point out about someone whose corpse had yet to cool. Because during Russert's reign as NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and Meet the Press host, about the only thing politicians were held accountable for was one blow job. Other than that, the treasury has been privatized, our country has been marched into two violent quagmires, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten stomped, and the Bill of Rights has been shredded and tossed as confetti at a ticker tape parade celebrating jingoism.

My choice to host Meet the Press? Helen Thomas.

Now there's a reporter who knows what to ask and how to follow up until she gets an answer.

In Bill Moyers’ documentary, Buying the War, Russert claims that he didn’t raise sufficient doubts about what Cheney and others were telling him because critics and skeptics weren’t contacting him. He tells Moyers: “To this day, I wish my phone had rung, or I had access to them.”

Millions were protesting in the streets, United Nations inspectors, the International Atomic Energy Agency, various foreign governments, not to mention the World Socialist Web Site and other left-wing publications, were refuting the Bush government’s claims, but none of this was accessible to Russert. In this, he’s probably being honest. Attuned to what the powerful thought and considering left-wing opinion to be illegitimate, Russert only had ears for Cheney and his fellow conspirators.

This would be more my kind of response:

Poor little Timmeh, sole boss of "the Cathedral of Washington Journalism," (Doris Kearns Goodwin) couldn't get any powerful people in Washington to talk to him?

He didn't cover the second biggest story of Bush's reign because nobody called him? Is that what Woodward and Bernstein did in 1973 - sit and wait for their phone to ring?

Plus, notice how they have to go back to 1991 - the David Duke interview - to show us how great Timmeh was at interviewing people?

Why couldn't they show his more recent tough-as-nails interview with Der Fuhrer or Cheney? Oh, that's right - he was busy licking their ass and pushing their bloody quagmire.

How can anybody look up to this joke?

It's one thing to not speak ill of the dead; it's quite another thing to re-write them into sainthood once they pass (see Reagan, Ronald or Ford, Gerald for other recent examples).

All over every news channel for the past week the talking heads are calling the sudden and untimely passing of Tim Russert a 'tragedy'. No ... a tragedy is what we have in Iraq -- a tragedy that Russert helped create, by carrying water for the Bush administration.

A tragedy is to stand on your honor, like Joe Wilson did, only to be smeared in the public circle and have your wife's career ruined -- a tragedy that Tim Russert facilitated.

A tragedy is what happened in Abu Ghraib, and what is happening in Guantanamo. Tragedies that Tim Russert didn't follow up on with Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney or Condoleeza Rice.

Russert died of a heart attack. Last I checked natural causes were not tragic, as they go with the territory called life.

Sad? Of course, especially for his family and friends. Tragic? Let's get a little perspective, folks.

Seventeen

The Celtics make Boston Titletown for the seventeenth time in basketball, routing Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the sixth game of the NBA Finals.

Download Day for Firefox 3 (and some catching up)

I got mine. I'm not real happy about my bookmarks being incorporated with my Delicious tags, but I'll get used to it, I suppose.

Let's play some catch-up with the recent news:

-- RIP Stan Winston and Tony Schwartz. A lot of things would not look the same without their contributions to pop culture, politics, movies, and a lot more.

-- Yesterday was the anniversary of the first Democratic convention in Texas:

On June 16, 1855 the newly formed Democratic Party of Texas held its first convention in Austin.

Before 1848, Texas elections were conducted without political parties. Contests between factions became formalized with the birth of political parties. In 1848, the Democratic party was born in Texas. Competition for the Democrats came first from the Whig Party, then the Know-Nothing Party.

Wow, some things never ever change, do they?

-- I really like this response:

A defiant Barack Obama said Tuesday he would take no lectures from Republicans on which candidate would keep the U.S. safer, a sharp rebuke to John McCain's aides who said the Democrat had a naive, Sept. 10 mind-set toward terrorism.

"These are the same guys who helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9/11," the presumed nominee told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "This is the same kind of fear-mongering that got us into Iraq ... and it's exactly that failed foreign policy I want to reverse."

This ain't 2004, Pukes.

-- Respect Are Country. Speak English. I've previously posted examples of 4th-grade education-challenged conservatives demonstrating their ignorance, but you'd really think someone on the Right who knows better wouldn't let them outside with their hand-lettered stupidity, don't you?

-- In environmental news, the oil companies have been given special dispensation to harm the recently-classified-as-endangered polar bears in their search for oil. And also as previously reported here, another health hazard, this time PCBs, are being incinerated in Port Arthur. PCBs release dioxins into the air and are proven to cause cancer and brain damage.

-- Harris County Republicans can't escape their Rap Sheet any longer.

Back to regular posting eventually.

The Weekly Wrangle

Time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up, compiled based on submissions made by member blogs, by Vince from Capitol Annex.

CoulldBeTrue hears Rick Perry's rally call against Mexican drug cartels hooking up with local gangs and fears coded words meaning 'Lets profile Latinos' yee haw.

Off the Kuff spent his time in Austin interviewing candidates for office. The first group of interviewees published are State Rep. Dan Barrett, HD97; Wendy Davis, SD10; Robert Miklos, HD101; and Chris Turner, HD96.

refinish69 of Doing My Part For The Left gives a review of his experience herding cats at the Texas Democratic Convemtion and a podcast version as well.

The Texas Cloverleaf wonders why we are getting yet another TX Secretary of State, as Phil Wilson is resigning after only one year on the job.

PDiddie had some scenes from the Texas GOP convention posted at Brains and Eggs.

With four electric companies folding up shop over the last several weeks, it is going to be a difficult summer for Texas consumers. The failures underscore just how screwed up the retail utility business is in Texas. One commentator has called it a game of Russian roulette, and so it is....

In a much-anticipated mega-post on transportation issues, McBlogger tells us that lawmakers are "doing it wrong" when it comes to transportation funding.

Vince at Capitol Annex tears apart the Republican argument for getting rid of property taxes and replacing them with a sales tax for funding public schools, which this week was promoted by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.

LSU alumni crawfish boil in Beaumont

The two years we have attended -- my mother is the alum; she got her master's there in 1949 -- the football team has captured the national championship, so we did our part yesterday and attended the annual affair at the beautiful ranch of Phil and Carla Meaux, on the north side of town.

LSU defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto -- his dad was a football coach at my high school when I was growing up -- spoke to the assembled hundred or so about the Bengal Tigers' 2008 prospects, but I can't tell you a word that he said. I'm sworn to secrecy. Really. It's like one those insider information things that Coach Fran got fired over, except I only paid twenty bucks for my crawfish and I don't wanna get Coach Peveto in trouble. In any way.

In attendance were a handful of my Lamar professors (though retired nearly twenty years Mom still has a few friends among active faculty), Pat Harrigan and Cindy Barnes. And also SH-19 Democratic challenger Larry Hunter, who has a fundraiser in Houston next week.

A good time had by all (and a good team to be fielded by the Tigers of Red Stick this fall. Trust me).

Sunday Funnies

Astros v. Yankees

I had tickets to tomorrow's contest -- Moose v. Wandito -- but sold them to my friend Neil, because my mother wants to attend the annual LSU alumni crawfish boil in Beaumont (and every year we have attended they've won the national championship, so...)

The fellow on the right, Richard Stonely, was interviewed on the telecast of this evening's game. He grew up in New York as a Yankee fan, and when the Astros and Mets entered the National League in 1962 he also was became a 'Stros fan because he couldn't root for the Mets. And he named a couple of early Colt .45ers like Bobby Shantz and John Bateman, and when he moved to Houston in 1976 became an even bigger fan.

Asked he was feeling conflicted tonight by reporter Bart Enis, Stonely replied without missing a beat: "I'm conflicted every night."

The score is tied 1-1 in the top of the 7th.

Tim Russert

passes suddenly this afternoon, while preparing his Sunday telecast:

"He worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks," Brokaw said, adding: "This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice."

Brokaw said Russert had just returned from a family trip to Italy with his wife, writer Maureen Orth. They were celebrating the graduation of their son, Luke, from Boston College this spring, Brokaw said.

I wasn't much of a fan of Russert's any more. Though he began his political career as an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, he long ago became a conservative in the interests of "objectivity", and the praise for his interviewing skills has been similarly lost on me. I often saw a mollycoddler for the Bush administration's flacks and lickspittles, after the years of watching him focus on Bill Clinton's private parts.

The accolades roll in today but I see the all-channel tributes as something over the top for a TV reporter.

Condolences to his family (and I hope they give the Press the Meat gig to David Gregory ONLY so that Rachel Maddow gets the 5 p.m. slot on MSNBC).

Scenes from the Texas GOP convention

Outside the education subcommittee hearing room (h/t Bud Kennedy):



Some of the guest speakers, backstage:



If you want the real scoop (heavy on the slavering), then tune in Rhymes With Hate. He's working hard to outdo Josh from Yon Texas Blue from last week. But the PoliTexans are serving it straight up.

If you need to attend a political convention in Houston this week you have much better options.

FightTheSmears.com

That Swift Boat Bullshit is not going down this time around:

Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama launched a new website Thursday devoted to dousing "smears" against the first African-American with a serious shot at the presidency.

The site at www.fightthesmears.com debunks false rumors doing the rounds of the Internet and right-wing media outlets -- including one recent assertion that Obama's wife Michelle has been caught on tape slurring white people.

Obama's main campaign website already had a fact-check section to refute rumors such as the Christian candidate is a secret Muslim. But aides said the new site went further in inviting supporters to spread the word.

"We created an interactive tool to allow our supporters to fight back against these smears in the same way that they received them -- on the Internet," campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Naturally the unemployed conservatives who spend their time advancing slime of this type at FreeRepublic.com and extending all the way to the poor Houston Chronic are hard at work.

Just ain't gonna work out like it did four years ago.

The new initiative was launched after reports, by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh among others, that a videotape existed showing Michelle Obama using the derogatory term "whitey" in the couple's former church.

No such tape has surfaced despite frenzied speculation by right-wing pundits and blogs, and Obama last week decried the mainstream media's attention to "dirt and lies."

Political candidates have traditionally refused to acknowledge slanderous rumors for fear of giving them respectability. But given the slew of emailed attacks being spread against Obama, his campaign said it had no choice but to respond in kind.

"Whenever challenged with these lies, we will aggressively push back with the truth and help our supporters debunk the false rumors floating around the Internet," Vietor said.

Left with a candidate whom the world has passed by -- one they themselves have tarred "liberal" -- the reactionary Right responds with the only tool left in their box: lies intended to provoke fear.

Between this news and a Supreme Court that has -- for the third time -- smacked down an administration bent on denying due process for six years now to Guantanemo detainee, today is once again a bad day to be a Republican.

Texas GOP in Houston this week

Lock up the children (the women are probably safe):

The Texas Republican Convention gets under way in earnest today in downtown Houston with an appeals court still considering a lawsuit aimed at changing the gathering's procedures.

Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state House Speaker Tom Craddick are today's scheduled featured speakers for the gathering of about 10,000 delegates and activists at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Speakers set for Friday and Saturday include Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison and national GOP figures Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

Say one thing for the GOoPers, they can still draw the worst and darkest to speak to them. But here's the fun part ...

A group of Republicans including supporters of Paul's presidential campaign and others sued the party last week on grounds that it fails to follow state law that requires procedures to make the convention's actions official. The group essentially alleges that party leaders ignore the rules to retain power and limit dissent — a charge the party denies.

After County Court-at-Law Judge Roberta Lloyd said Monday she had no jurisdiction to try the lawsuit, the group appealed to the all-Republican, Houston-based First Court of Appeals, which refused Wednesday to intervene on an emergency basis. That means the convention will kick off at 1 p.m. free of any court orders.

But the court — justices Tim Taft, Sam Nuchia and Jane Bland — asked lawyers in the case to send written arguments on the case by 5 p.m. today, leaving the possibility of further court action.

The Paulies will likely disrupt this convention in some benign fashion. I'm just sorry I don't have the stomach to be around so many Republicans long enough to cover their convention, because it would probably be a laugh a minute.

Update: Harold Cook welcomes the delegates.

"I'm Voting Republican"

A post-convention Wrangle

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme wants to know what the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is hiding when it permitted Asarco to restart polluting El Paso. Crony is as crony does.

BossKitty at BlueBloggin tells us about the Government Accountability Office's (GOA) revealing report to Congress on how tax preparers work in cooperation with banks to advance refunds which can greatly reduce your tax refund check, in Refund Anticipation Loans, Rapid Refunds, Sleazy Tax Preparers.

The live-blog of the contest for the state chair of the Texas Democratic Party was done by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Off the Kuff conducted an interview with the communications director of the American Wind Energy Association on the state of wind energy in Texas and America today.

Kit of WhosPlayin thinks much of mainstream media coverage of late - especially with regard to the Democratic nomination is meant to distract us from the more important issues like Iraq, health care costs, and the mortgage market meltdown.

Texas Kaos has extensive liveblogging and video from the Texas State Democratic Convention this past weekend. Highlights include Chelsea Clinton's Two Messages for Texas Democrats, Sam Houston Makes The Case for Caring About the Judicial Races, and Senator Mario Gallegos Addressing the State Convention a year after he and the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus held off David Dewhurst's grab for your voting rights.

Arson in Austin

The 154-year-old Governor's mansion is nearly destroyed early this morning by an arsonist:

An official close to the investigation said agents determined the fire was a criminal act after reviewing footage from security cameras. A national response team from the U.S. Department of Justice arrives Monday to help dig through the wreckage for clues.

No one was injured in the four-alarm blaze, which engulfed the historic landmark and sent orange flames billowing from the front door and second story terrace.

...

Department of Public Safety security officers, who stay on the property, were alerted to the fire by a tripped smoke alarm. An officer went to examine the cause, saw flames coming through the front of the house and immediately called the Austin Fire Department about 1:45 a.m.

By the time fire trucks arrived a few minutes later, the fire had made its way into the attic space. Firefighters trained fire hoses from all four directions on the exterior of the house in an effort to save it.

More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze for hours. Though the blaze had been extinguished by an 11 a.m. press conference, firefighters could be seen hosing down remaining hotspots.

“What has been lost today can never be replaced,” said governor’s press secretary Robert Black, citing damage from fire, water and smoke. “It’s an extraordinary amount of loss.”

I left the state capital around nine this morning without turning on the teevee or checking the news online. I drove right past downtown Austin without a clue as to the tragedy -- in historical proportions -- of what happened today. When I got home around noon and booted up the home PC is when I learned about it.

State officials were unable to estimate Sunday’s financial loss. They said the silver lining was that all art work, furniture and historical artifacts had been removed as part of the renovation, which included extensive asbestos removal and replacing virtually all the plumbing. The work began last September. ...

Efforts to determine the cause of the blaze were stymied Sunday morning by fears that the roof would collapse. But investigators found telling clues by reviewing surveillance cameras, and by interviewing security personnel, bystanders and some downtown residents.

“They indicated there was somebody here who potentially set the fire,” Mr. Maldonado said.

A picture of the mansion from 2006:

A few more scenes from the convention just passed

Mad props to Charlie Lindahl, pictured above -- I'll let you guess which one he is -- for all of these photos appearing here all weekend.

Our still-merry band of progressive populists:

Sunday Funnies

The State Party Chair Election (results)

At 4:15 Watson gives the caucuses a few more minutes, declares he's going to the bathroom, starts a chant of "Yes, we can!" and signs off.

Earlier in the day Watson was praising an Austin vodka distillery, then declared he spilled his drink sometime during the contested battles, so in the press room we're all convinced he's drunk.

4:26 p.m.: The secretary will call the roll.

SD-1: VO: 40 B: 23 R: 174
SD-2: VO: 9 B: 28 R: 206
SD-3: VO: 28 B: 17 R: 188
SD-4: VO: 5 B: 84 R: 121
SD-5: VO: 73 B: 8 R: 191
SD-6: VO: 13 B: 13 R: 123
SD-7: VO: 83 B 43: R: 76
SD-8: VO: 49 B: 16 R: 185
SD-9: VO: 37.5 B: 52.5 R: 105
SD-10: VO: 17 B: 121 R: 178
SD-11: VO: 41 B: 37 R: 163
SD-12: VO: 48 B: 53 R: 124
SD-13: VO: 23.7 B: 116.4 R: 249.9
SD-14: VO: 136 B: 50 R: 279
SD-15: VO: 25 B: 33 R: 162
SD-16: VO: 62 B: 14 R: 182
SD-17: VO: 77 B: 39 R: 131 14 abstentions
SD-18: VO: 44 B: 39 R: 187
SD-19: VO: 60 B: 131 R: 37
SD-20: VO: 43 B: 13 R: 156
SD-21: VO: 32 B: 0 R: 212
SD-22: VO: 20 B: 14 R: 196
SD-23: VO: 82 B: 102 R: 195
SD-24: VO: 142 B: 5 R: 57
SD-25: VO: 112 B: 63 R: 178
SD-26: VO: 49 B: 98 R: 67
SD-27: VO: 5 B: 0 R: 146
SD-28: VO: 32 B: 22 R: 178
SD-29: VO: 83 B: 0 R: 96
SD-30: VO: 20 B: 4 R: 180
SD-31: VO: 29 B: 7 R: 104

The total is Richie 4,823.9 or 63.24%, Van Os 1,520.2 or 19.93%, and Brooks 1,283 or 16.83%.

Boyd Richie wins re-election. Lenora Sorola-Polman is quickly elected vice chair.

It's 7 minutes past 5 p.m. and I'm going to have a cocktail.

Update (6/9): Lovell was re-elected handily to the DNC over Shorter, but I am curious as to whether Sen. Royce West managed to defeat Rep. Al Edwards. Anybody know the outcome of that one? Ah, thanks Alan.

The State Party Chair Election *update*

Is finally underway at two minutes to three p.m.

Boyd Richie is advanced from the Nominations committee; Roy Laverne Brooks and David Van Os are nominated from the floor. DVO's nominator does a one-minute bio, to a smattering of boos and some encouragement from the chair to "state your nomination". The three candidates are going to huddle together and determine a speaking order for their three-minute speeches. The Vice Chair race is skipped due to the nature of its demographic dependence on the chair's race, and the incumbent Secretary of the Texas Democratic Party, Ruby Jensen, is quickly nominated and elected by voice acclamation.

Treasurer candidate Amber Goodwin is elected in rapid and similar fashion. So is incumbent Vice Chair of Finance, Dennis Speight. Watson then proceeds quickly through the elections of DNC representatives John Patrick (labor), Betty Richie (non-urban), Rick Cofer (at-large youth), Bob Slagle (at-large male), and Yvonne Davis (at-large female). Sue Lovell's DNC slot draws a challenge from Roslyn Shorter from SD-13, nominated by Stan Merriman, which seems to slow only slightly the Watson Express. The election proceeds and the chair declares Lovell the winner on a voice vote. But the chair gets a parliamentary call for a division of the house, and Watson decides on a roll call vote.

It's 3:13.

Update (3:15 p.m. going forward): Watson has Shorter and Lovell move to the dais for speeches, checks on the chair candidates, does some housekeeping with the ratification of the SD-13 SDEC members overlooked earlier, and takes a pause.

When he resumes the time is 3:24, and Watson announces that the agreement among the chair candidates is to have Van Os speak first, Brooks second, and Richie third, each for ten minutes.

Van Os' nominator from the floor, Jo Embry, gives her nominating speech at the dais this time. She is followed by Christopher Jones, San Marcos city councilman, seconding DVO's nom ("he puts the 'Van Os' in 'awesome' "). A third seconder from Williamson County, sprinkling in a little Spanish, gives way to Van Os at 3:35 p.m. "We have to beat John McBush", "Texas is where the criminal roots must be dug up", "two million voters in the primary came out because Texas mattered", and a bit about his history as a Democrat. "I'm tired of hearing 'this is a rebuilding year', I'm tired of hearing 'we just want to win a few targeted races'. I want to win those five House races too, but I also want to sweep Texas!".

"The vision has to come from leadership, and the winning attitude". His message emphasizes carrying Texas for Barack Obama, and fighting to win every race across the state. Van Os closes with a disregard for the incrementalist strategy and a call to unity and action.

Roy Laverne Brooks has Bill Conover, Hillary delegate, nominate her. He references the "stagnant power stucture" and declares a "need for change". He closes with a "seize the day" exhortation. Charlie Urbina-Jones follows with a seconding speech: "no more top-down deals, only deals made from the bottom up". He mentions RLB's "being thrown under the bus" and openly asks for the Hillary female delegates' support. But Jones commits a Freudian slip, saying "Roy Laverne Jones" at the end. Following CU-J, another seconder who doesn't identify himself begins a speech ringing in the best cadences of the Sunday morning sermon. "Change" is mentioned frequently, as is "the great state of Denver". The PA has some DJ remix as Brooks takes the mic.

Jones "stands on the shoulders of so many": Barbara Jordan and others. But she runs out of time without giving her entire speech and cedes the lectern.

Boyd Richie's nominators are Leticia Van de Putte, who compliments Van Os and Brooks as "great Democrats". She emphasizes Richie's fighting Tom DeLay and the rest and closes somewhat abruptly. Ron Kirk follows and provides a seconding speech, saying "the future is too important not re-elect" Richie. Kirk, of course, is the head of Texans for Obama, so Boyd has summoned all of the heavyweights. Kirk makes a thoroughbred reference, mangling Preakness for Belmont, and uses the tired show horse/work horse analogy and not changing jockeys in the middle and so on. He closes with an exhortation to delegates to rise to their feet, and Boyd takes the mic.

Boyd says "thank you for believing, and thank you for participating in this process". He thanks his wife Betty, and the staff of the TDP. He describes the unique responsibility of chairman and notes that it requires the help of everyone. He says that the increases in fundraising and the e-mail lists are "because of you". Because of You becomes the theme, and a little Hillary shout-out: "We have found our voice." Richie references all the races, all the way to Noriega and Obama. He uses his "lean, mean, election-winning machine" again. And closes on "It's not about me, it's about 'we'.

Watson reclaims the dais and announces that Shorter and Lovell will speak and then the caucuses will tally the two contested elections.

Stan Merriman nominates Shorter "for progressive change". Quincy O'Neal seconds and introduces Ros Shorter, who asks "Do I look like the typical politician?" She ends fast and Sue Lovell takes the mic without nominating or seconding speeches. Lovell declares that she has delivered on a campaign promise, to stop taking Texas money out of Texas (with the reference being the DNC staffers who have been in state permanently for almost two years). She references her experience on the Houston city council, and says 'change' a few more times. She runs down her diversity endorsements and asks for the vote.

Watson directs each SD to caucus on the floor to vote for both offices, and to take ten minutes to do so. The strength of the caucus will be the measurement.

It's just after 4 p.m.

Tributes to Lady Bird Johnson and Ann Richards -- and Sen. Gallegos

Still shot compilations with musical accompaniment by Dolly Parton's "Wildflowers Don't Care Where They Grow" and Asleep at the Wheel's "Yellow Rose of Texas".

Shockingly absent was a tribute to Molly Ivins. That earns a great big WTF from me.

After a break in the action, Sen. Watson introduces a videotape on the Voter ID "fraud" non-issue. Lyndon Johnson's signing of the Voting Rights Act, juxtaposed with Sen. Mario Gallegos on his bed in the hallway of the Capitol during the end of the last session. Continuing with an interview with him and a discussion of his liver transplant, the breakdown of the legislative battle first in the Texas House and then the Senate, the complicated matters behind the nature of the suppression and disenfranchisement, and more.

Videotaped legislative speeches are highlighted, bringing the non-issue into greater focus. Royal Masset, Harvey Kronberg, and others are quoted. The relevant statistic is a average of 3% of the voter turnout across the states suppressed.

Lt. Gov. Dewhurst's treachery -- bringing the bill up when Sen. Uresti fell ill -- is underscored. The Star-Telegram's editorial entitled "A Poll Tax?" gets a mention.

This video ought to be required viewing for everyone demonstrating any misunderstanding or confusion of the issue.

Finally one of the women whom AG Greg Abbott charged with voter "fraud" told her story, about carrying some mail ballots to the post office for some seniors who could not do so themselves. She introduced Gallegos, who made a few thank-yous and expressed his solidarity for continuing the fight.

One-legged man wins ass-kicking contest with GOP

Lloyd Doggett, bless his broken whatever:

(Doggett) hobbled onto the convention stage, slowed by a broken leg, to rail against the Republicans and the “Bush-Chicanery administration” to a very receptive crowd.

“Thanks to Tom DeLay I’ve had the opportunity to represent much of Texas, just not all at the same time,” Doggett quipped.

The “W” in George W. Bush must stand for “worse-ever” or “whopper”, Doggett said, referring to the book by former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan.

And he quashed the notion that John McCain would bring anything other than a redux of the Bush administration.

“Been there and done that, done that for eight painful years.”

I think Kate's sitting somewhere behind me. The media room has gotten really popular in the past few minutes because you don't have to work on your laptop off your lap, and because they brought in lunch about a half-hour ago.

My personal (dis)favorite of Doggett's remarks was: "John McCain as President means Phil Gramm as Secretary of the Treasury."

And that, ladies and gentlemen who have threatened to vote for McLame because Clinton won't be available to you, is just one more reason why no one can, or should, take you seriously.

Another historic moment

... in a truly historic presidential campaign. Mrs. Clinton's concession speech is broadcast to the floor for delegates and guests to watch. But the satellite feed goes down for a few minutes, a handful of times. If you know what "Searching for Signal" means, you know what's going on.

Those of us in the press room are watching the rest of it online while the delegates get entertained with some Springsteen.

I'll have some of the more emotional parts in a text update later.

=====================================

Update:

Thank you very, very much. Well, this isn't exactly the party I'd planned, but I sure like the company.

(APPLAUSE) And I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you, to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked, sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors...

(APPLAUSE)

... who e-mailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, "See, you can be anything you want to be."

(APPLAUSE)

To the young people...

(APPLAUSE)

... like 13-year-old Anne Riddell (ph) from Mayfield, Ohio, who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her mom and volunteer there, as well.

To the veterans, to the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans...

(APPLAUSE)

... who traveled across the country, telling anyone who would listen why you supported me. And to all of those women in their 80s and their 90s...

(APPLAUSE)

... born before women could vote, who cast their votes for our campaign. I've told you before about Florence Stein (ph) of South Dakota who was 88 years old and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.

She passed away soon after and, under state law, her ballot didn't count, but her daughter later told a reporter, "My dad's an ornery, old cowboy, and he didn't like it when he heard Mom's vote wouldn't be counted. I don't think he had voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom."

(APPLAUSE)

============================

Trailblazers asks some tough questions. I don't have the same disagreement; I'm feeling the unity this afternoon.

Seven thousand two hundred and thirty-nine

That's the number of Texans signed in as delegates to the 2008 state party convention, and each indicated a presidential preference.

Those numbers were 4,144 for Obama, 3,088 for Clinton, and seven undecided (you gotta love it).

The percentages are 57.3% Obama, 42.7% Clinton. That translates into 24 Obama delegates to the national convention, in Denver in August, and 18 for Hillary. Each camp gets three alternates.

Update: Trailblazers has the full and final tally... Obama 99, Clinton 94.

More entertainment, less offense

-- Susan "Juanita's/Big Blue Butt" Bankston's maiden effort for the Texas Observer finds her in agreement with those of us who loved the Texas Four-Step Primacaucus:

We like to fight in Texas. Philadelphia has Independence Hall; we have the Alamo. Oregon has Lewis and Clark; we have William B. Travis and Sam Houston. It is common knowledge that honky-tonks were created so people could fight to music.

In Texas, the hybrid system suits us fine because we Texans like a little of this and a little of that. Why opt for just voting or for just a caucus when you can have both? We like to sample a little of each, which, in case you were wondering, explains the popularity of Mexican food and barbecue in Texas. Any Mexican restaurant that doesn’t have a different combination platter named for every city on both sides of the border and a couple of suburbs of San Antonio isn’t going to stay open for more than a month. If you order barbecue in North Carolina, you get a plate heaped with a gray mound of something horrible they did to pork. Then, as if to rectify it, they pour pure, unadulterated vinegar all over it. In Texas, you get a choice of at least six meats and seven sides, not to mention four kinds of cobbler and three pies for desert. The best barbecue joints in Texas have two sauces, for those fool enough to ruin perfectly good meat with ’em—the sweet one and the other one.

We are a fighting, hybrid bunch of people.

Folks who complain that Democrats won’t win if we keep fighting just might have caught themselves some memory problems. Texas Democrats are at our most powerful when we fight like the dickens. There were bitter, name-calling, biting, and hair-pulling battles between Lloyd Bentsen and Ralph Yarborough. Ann Richards and Jim Mattox fought each other mean and propelled us to the governor’s mansion. Compared with those battles, this is vacation Bible school.

-- A slideshow from Somervell County is worth going all the way through (just to see if you can find a picture of yourself).

More sneers, snubs, shuns, and dirty looks ahead

for your intrepid reporter...

-- That dress. Dear God, is that the spinnaker from the HMS Pinafore?

-- "Oh gosh! Oh gosh! Oh gosh! I'm used to ... much smaller (ones). You give new meaning to the phrase 'Everything's bigger in Texas!' "

And she said that while still clothed in the draperies from the funeral home.

--Burnt Orange Report has reported on the Lapel Sticker Primary, that David Van Os didn't file the necessary paperwork with the Texas Election Commission (dutifully following the breathless accounts of Ye Olde Texas Blue), and then by golly, that he had done so.

Today we can expect postings from either one of those two fine shops indicating that Barack Obama has endorsed DVO to spite Boyd Richie for his snubbing of the Obama campaign two weeks ago, that the Van Os campaign took over the Flower Mound Democrats booth in the exhibit hall and Molly Beth Malcomb had to run over and try to stop them -- and failed when her red outfit suddenly ripped at the seam, and finally, that Bill White has entered the race for state party chair in order to unify the fractured convention.

-- I saw Pink Lady's toes at the Bloggers' Caucus too, and I'm not sure whether Charles is foot-fetishing or what. (Me, I thought she'd had a boobjob since I last saw her. I could be mistaken, though...)

All at once, from the left of the Texas blogosphere comes a low "SSSSShhhhuuunnnnnnnn"...

Don't forget that I still love all of you.

Tim Kaine and Chelsea Clinton?

That is some serious third-string disrespect.

You don't suppose that Obama may be, you know, conceding Texas to McCain in the fall, do you? And if he is, it couldn't be because of this, could it?

One of the things about the media room is that you get some of the real scoop. Boyd Richie's entry music apparently is going to be that obnoxious country-western anthem "I'm a Hard-Workin' Man" that is heard on Ford pickup truck commercials of late. Leticia Van de Putte's music might be "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder. Various other intros/intro music are being rehearsed for tonight's session.

Update: Philip and Matt collected power strips to take over to the general session, to some grumbling. So I packed up, drove back to my luxurious Habitat Suite and had a beer and some nachos in order to finish this.

Here's a couple more of those troubling questions ....

-- Why does Paint Texas Blue, the latest PAC set up to win five Texas House seats, only list four on their flyer distributed at the convention? And don't say that's all they had room on the page for. These guys claim to be raising two million bucks; they can't hire a designer for an 8 1/2 x 11 flyer that can communicate their message effectively?

Diana Maldonado, Sherrie Matula, Ginny McDavid, and Joe Moody. Great Democrats and good races to help, every one, but what about Kristi Thibaut? Or Larry Hunter? Or Joel Redmond? Or Donnie Dippel? Or Robert Miklos? Or Carol Kent? Or Sandra VuLe? Hell, there are five Democratic seats we have to defend -- can't some PAC pick Juan Garcia, Valinda Bolton, Allen Vaught, Dan Barrett, or Joe Heflin? How about helping Chris Turner, who's taking on one of the worst Republican idealogues in the House? There's great detail about all those races at the Texas Observer's blog.

And why is it necessary to have another PAC for Texas House races anyway? Can't somebody start a PAC for the three Texas Senate races? Or help Rick Noriega with fundraising, for God's fucking sake?

-- Tim Kaine and Chelsea Clinton?!? Kaine has facial tics and a receding hairline back to his neck, with the remaining strip dyed Kiwi boot black. I know he was Kos' darling a few years back, but that was when winning the lieutenant governorship of Virginia was a big deal.

This is really the best Boyd could do?

I'm going to dinner and then to bed early. Tomorrow: the state chair race, in the afternoon.

Update: Boadicea posted the YouTube. Jihole.

Hard at work in the press room

I am the media. No, really. I'm right next to Wayne Slater and Gromer Jeffers and RG Ratcliffe. They don't give a shit who I am, and I don't care that they don't care. However I did overhear a gracious compliment --not from any of those I just named -- paid to Rick Noriega about having his press avail being early enough to make the evening news and early editions of the papers.

There's that damned liberal media again.


Your intrepid double-chinned reporter and a delegate from my precinct by the name of Cris Feldman. Yes, that Cris Feldman.

Hispanic Caucus goes Pohlman for Vice Chair

Lenora Sorola-Pohlman of Houston, former secretary of the Harris County Democratic Party and an SDEC member from SD-15, defeated Bexar County Chair Carla Vela for the position of vice chair of the Texas Democratic Party earlier today in a relatively close vote of the members of the Hispanic Caucus, 511-383.

The significance here is that the HC, probably the state's largest and predominantly comprised of Clinton supporters, believes that a white male -- either Boyd Richie or David Van Os -- is going to be elected state party chair, and they want to dictate the choice of vice chair (this position is one of those "legacy" slots; it is currently held by A-A female Roy Laverne Brooks, who is also challenging Richie).

Charlie Urbina-Jones, the chairman of the Progressive Populist Caucus, is a contender for vice chair on a unity ticket with Brooks. The vote for state party chair between Richie, Van Os, and Brooks -- all Obama supporters or declared superdelegates -- will go to the full convention floor tomorrow afternoon. So the key to that election rests in the hands of the Clinton bloc -- again, predominantly Hispanic, but with a strong contingent of Caucasian female delegates as well.

David Mauro has some of the play-by-play.

Houston-area SDEC races update *updated*

SD-4: Phillip McNutt, Mark Carter, Ruel Parker, and Jeff Darby are all contending for retiring incumbent John Baker's slot in the SD that stretches from Montgomery to Orange County. McNutt barely lost to Baker two years ago and returns with the Campaign for Change endorsement. Carter is the Orange County Democratic Party chairman, and Parker and Darby represent the union contingent which has long had dibs on the seat. The female incumbent, Sylvia McDuffie, is being challenged by "Yogi" Jzavela-Arethea, a relatively new activist and Obama supporter.

SD-6: Allan Jamail and Rose Salas are by legend halfway through their 4-year terms, so no challengers and no election here.

SD-7: Long-time incumbent Joy Demark faces a challenge from Karen Wheaton in this west Houston senate district. Bill Scruggs, the incumbent defeated by Farrukh Shamsi two years ago, returns for a rematch.

*Demark and Shamsi return to the SDEC.

SD-11: Lloyd Criss, father of the judge and chair of the Galveston Co. DP, is stepping down and Loretta Davis, secretary of the GCDP is the only person running to replace him. Janet Mayeaux's term will expire in two years and will be filled at that time by a male, according to the gentleman's agreement there.

*Davis is the winner, replacing Mayeaux and Joe Parra of Brazoria County is elected to replace Criss, correcting the above.

SD-13: In this metro Houston SD, incumbent Rodney Griffin draws a challenge from Progressive Populist vice chair John Robert Behrman. Jennifer Sanders, ailing for some time now, also gets a challenger, Shondra Wygal.

*Behrman is the victor, and Mary Seymore returns to the SDEC after a four-year absence to replace the retiring Sanders.

SD-15: Lenora Sorola-Pohlman is running for state vice chair, so her vacating SDEC seat got a pair of contenders, Latifah Ring and Carol Lazar, both A-A Obama delegates (Pohlman is a Clinton supporter). The demographic composition in this district is evenly split, 30% Anglo, 30% A-A, 30 Hispanic with the remaining 10% mostly Asian, including Indian/Pakistani.

* Monica E. Flores, a Clinton supporter, got the slot. Carl Whitmarsh supplies her bio:

Monica is a young Latina confined to a wheelchair who communicates by voice recognition computer and worked and organized supporters during this past primary, second to no one. Monica is the daughter of a Vice President of the local CWA and her belief in the political system is strengthened by the help and encouragement she has received from various elected officials since her debilitating accident five years ago. She is truly an inspiration to all with her determination, her dedication and her excitement.

SD-17: Arif Gafur gets a challenge from Campaign for Change candidate Lawrence Edwards, while Ella Tyler appears to have no opposition.

To Carl W. again for the news:

A clean sweep took place in the district which includes portions of West and Southwest Harris County, portions of Ft. Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, and Jefferson Counties. The district currently has no elected Senator but will soon be represented by Chris Bell. Both incumbent SDEC members from the district, Ella Tyler and Arif Gafur were turned out of office with their defeat by CAROL WRIGHT of Harris County and ALAN BLAKELY of Brazoria County.

In the convention's media room as I post this, Rick Noriega is conducting a press conference before about a hundred corporate media and bloggers. More on that later.

Bloggers' Caucus pics

Sweaty Charlie, Josh, and Vince.

Photos from today's SDEC

More here.

Off to Austin

for the state convention today. Will keep things up to date here, and also here.

If you're in town you should join us at the Bloggers' Caucus.

Let's expect an announcement today about who will be keynoting the convention. I'm counting on both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to do so, and anything less will be somewhat disappointing.

There's a race for state party chair that's worth following also. And you can follow the candidates for other state party offices, SDEC and DNC who are all about changing the ways things are done here.

Fist bump

Three speeches: good, bad, and ugly

The Ugly

McCain was pathetic, reading stiltingly from one teleprompter screen to the other, standing before a green wall and to a listless, all-white audience. He repeated parts of it, obviously getting lost despite the teleprompter. He thought he had a clever idea with his "that's not change we can believe in" catchphrase, but his forced uncomfortable smile after he recites it is just creepy. I may begin to feel sorry for him early -- if it weren't for the dark and dangerous forces playing tug-of-war with his candidacy.

The Bad

Clinton's speech would have been a good one were not for the circumstances. Being introduced as the next President of the United States, while commonplace in a contested race, is quite awkward moments after one's opponent has clinched the nomination. Clinton focused on herself and her accomplishments, not in celebration or congratulations to her supporters, but as justification for continuing the fight.

The Good

The energy from the crowd fueled it, and the candidate showed he understood the historical context of the moment. But Obama did not focus on that; instead he spoke graciously and effusively of his competitors, praising Mrs. Clinton extensively and jabbing a little at his fall opponent. Most importantly he offered a rallying cry, not just to his supporters but to America as a whole.

On to the nominating conventions and the fall campaign. At last.

Michael Skelly, Kathleen Sebelius, and Wesley Clark

Potentially the next Vice-President of the United States appeared in Houston this week with the next US Congressman from my home district ...

U.S. Rep. John Culberson's Democratic challenger harvested some political power at the international wind power convention here Monday.

Michael Skelly, a wind power executive, is co-chairing the American Wind Energy Association convention, and some attendees also contributed to his campaign at a Monday fundraising event.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate, were the magnets at the campaign function. They are also featured speakers at the alternative energy convention.

It's pretty much over for Cumbersome at this point. He simply cannot compete with Skelly for media attention, money, or even influence. An incumbent Republican Congressman, tied still to Tom DeLay and the failures of the Bush administration, who cannot raise money and can't get any free media without ridicule.

It's almost sad to see. But not quite.

(Hat tip to Kuffner for much more detail than I can get to.)