Not unexpectedly, Talmadge Heflin asks for a recount. Even more unexpectedly, Andy Taylor makes an ass of himself in the press, this time noting a "deeply disturbing evidence of voter fraud and election irregularities." Curious endorsement of one Beverly Kaufman's office there, Andy. Thanks for the campaign quotes. Vince, over at Free State notes something I'm not aware of - the e-slate machines can print out an image of each vote cast. Allow me to sidestep an issue here ... I'm hardly a proponent of necessitating a luddite-inspired paper trail on each e-slate, but would it not be possible to invest in a $30 printer, a couple of $18 ink cartridges, and a ream or two of paper to print out such printouts on demand for those conspiratorial types who demand one? For under $100 per polling place, you can make everyone happy.
OK, that messiness aside, let's get to the real news: one of Hubert Vo's campaign managers, Mustafa Tameez, takes part in a Texas Observer interview on The Road Back, along with Austin consultant James Aldrete. A few points worth touching on here:
Aldrete on defining yourself: "We know where we will stand?don?t get me wrong. But you always have to be looking forward. And not just protecting Social Security, protecting Medicare, protecting CHIP, just protecting, protecting, protecting. After protecting, we have to say what frickin? values we stand for." - Amen.
Aldrete on winning in 2006: "For us to be truly competitive, we need the energy and focus of a single-issue candidacy. It?s the power of the negative?you define yourself by where you draw the line, not by how far you will push the line out. A single-issue candidacy has the potential to create enough heat, redefine the landscape, and avoid the baggage that the responsibility of standing for every issue brings. Frankly, it may be the discipline we need." - An interesting point I'd not considered before, and there's some merit to it. Only problem I see, and this comes after hearing a lot of people list a lot of issues they care about ... what single issue draws the necessary line for a statewide campaign? ... Nonpartisan redistricting? I've got to think there's a short list of really good ideas to drive a campaign the way Jim Mattox rode the lottery as an issue in 1990.
Tameez on the changing nature of campaigns: "If you are running for a state representative office or a local district city council or a small public office, people have to feel like?whether I am a Republican or a Democrat?I know that guy, and by my knowing that guy, I have access to government. That is how you get people to cross party lines. That takes longer. I think campaigns can?t start after Labor Day anymore. From a candidate?s standpoint, if you are going to be running for office for a state-representative type of race?you need to start a year ahead of time. Also, with such a high early-voting turnout, you no longer can start your turnout operation a few weeks before the election; you have to start moving things up a week or more before early voting begins." ... that's about what I've been thinking lately.
Tameez on coalitions: "That?s what the Democratic Party has always been, with some interests that compete with each other. I don?t think that there are specific policies that all Democrats can agree on. You have African Americans who are very religious. Ministers are part of the activist base in that community. Put them in the same room with people who advocate separation of church and state or pro-choice constituents, and what do you get? While each group has separate values, their ideas about government?s role in their lives are very similar. They need each other to put their agenda forward. You bring them together by what they have in common, which is, you all live on the same street, for example. Then a collective decision is made on what they need there. If you want to win local races, that?s what it boils down to. When you are talking about statewide campaigns, it?s a lot more difficult. You can?t do that on statewide races, but the question is, until you win the local races, how can you win the statewide races?" ... I'm going to take a different view from Tameez here. Granted, Tameez qualifies as one of those who I'd rank as smarter than me, so I do this with a fair amount of trepidation. But I think we have to attack the problem from the top-down, not bottom-up. We won all of one net seat this campaign season. ONE!!! At that rate, it simply takes too damn long to regain a majority, and there's no reason why the state GOP can't just re-pack the Dems into smaller and smaller enclaves. You have to change the overall dynamic by cutting off the head, demonstrating a wider example of Democratic governance in this decade, and then you change the local dynamics in far more races so that you can be competitive as a party.
Tameez has his focus, and I fully understand where he's coming from. He works with local candidates, not statewide candidates. And with all due respect (and believe me, anyone that knocks off a 22-year incumbent warrants a GREAT deal of respect in my book), Tameez has yet to hit the larger level. I hope for our side's sake, he starts coming up with some better solutions for that problem because I think when he does, he'll start running some winning campaigns outside of Houston. Granted, I run nothing but a blog. In the next question, Tameez points out one element of winning statewide is the requirement of a "magnetic personality." That's sorta like Molly Ivins' quote that "to win in Texas, you need a little bit of Elvis." True, charisma counts for something. But it don't get you everything in life.
Comments
Craddick, Heflin, Kaufman, and Taylor are unbelievable! They have been playing a shell game the whole time.
They've had everybody saying in the press that Heflin was done, and meanwhile they've had Taylor gearing up for this challenge. They SAID that Craddick and the Republicans weren't going to support Heflin through a recount, that some people in the capitol were glad to see him go, and that he deserved to lose because he never campaigned hard enough. Meanwhile, Taylor has been getting the papers ready for a recount and a contest.
This way, they can make up "irregularities" during the recount and the House of Representatives can "reluctantly" overturn the election in a contest this January!
We have a Republican County Clerk who called the Republican Secretary of State and told him that Heflin wasn?t going to win. He told her how to make sure that there would be grounds to contest the election, and now they can get in front of the Republican House of Representatives. I wouldn?t believe it if it wasn?t happening in front of us!
Posted by: Ryan Stewart | November 22, 2004 09:01 PM
Craddick, Heflin, Kaufman, and Taylor are unbelievable! They have been playing a shell game the whole time.
They've had everybody saying in the press that Heflin was done, and meanwhile they've had Taylor gearing up for this challenge. They SAID that Craddick and the Republicans weren't going to support Heflin through a recount, that some people in the capitol were glad to see him go, and that he deserved to lose because he never campaigned hard enough. Meanwhile, Taylor has been getting the papers ready for a recount and a contest.
This way, they can make up "irregularities" during the recount and the House of Representatives can "reluctantly" overturn the election in a contest this January!
We have a Republican County Clerk who called the Republican Secretary of State and told him that Heflin wasn?t going to win. He told her how to make sure that there would be grounds to contest the election, and now they can get in front of the Republican House of Representatives. I wouldn?t believe it if it wasn?t happening in front of us!
Posted by: Ryan Stewart | November 22, 2004 09:01 PM
TalkingPointsMemo has picked up this story now! I think we can get enough attention on this to stop them. The Repubs are really going too far this time, and we''l be ready.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_11_21.php#004108
Posted by: Ryan Stewart | November 23, 2004 02:07 PM
TalkingPointsMemo has picked up this story now! I think we can get enough attention on this to stop them. The Repubs are really going too far this time, and we''l be ready.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_11_21.php#004108
Posted by: Ryan Stewart | November 23, 2004 02:08 PM
TalkingPointsMemo has picked up this story now! I think we can get enough attention on this to stop them. The Repubs are really going too far this time, and we''l be ready.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_11_21.php#004108
Posted by: Ryan Stewart | November 23, 2004 02:16 PM