THE CAUCUS CONTINUES:
Glenn Maxey said he was prouder than anything else of finally becoming known not as the gay legislator, but as an effective legislator who happened to be gay. He pledged the same approach to being State Chair. (He spoke for four minutes and a half or so.)
Boyd Ritchie is up now. He says he began his politics campaigning for Ralph Yarborough. He mentions beginning his campaign by filing a designation of a campaign Treasurer (this may well have been a subtle dig at Maxey.) He claims he was the first chair to make the state party office bilingual by hiring one staffer there. Is this true? So what, if so, but it's a sad thing for the history of the party if it is so. He bragged that they didn't spend any money on the new party website design (but if it was done by his paid staffers, from an accounting point of view, that's less than fully clear). And he bragged about the party's suit filed to keep a Republican replacement for Tom Delay on the ballot. When he finished, I thought there was somewhat less, and less enthusiastic applause for him, but this is basically Maxey's home territory.
Now Urbina-Jones is up. He gave the old line about continuing to do the same thing that keeps failing, and says sometimes you have to throw the baby out with the bath water and try something new. As an example, he asked why we're not debating things like partner benefits in Texas. He says we mustn't forget the non-computer friendly people out there (no doubt a kind of dig at Maxey). He just caused a stir of applause by saying "We need to run more women in this party". He says working people have been hurt by the fascist agenda of the last several years. Strong words, but sort of buried by soft tone. You can bet the Repubs would catch it though. We need to break this gilded aristocracy, and make people underestand the Democratic Party is about the people and not the consultants (another dig at Maxey) he says, then plugs his own reception at a brewery.
Governor candidate Chris Bell is up now. "It's great to be with you on Tom Delay's last day as a member of the Congress of the U.S." There is a wind of change blowing, of disgust at the Republicans, as shown in their own hate-fest convention last week. He reminds us he doesn't need to get over 50% of the vote. Appearing on stage with Friedman and Strayhorn he has felt like he's in the circus; he thinks they will split the Republican vote, and if we stay united we'll have a new Governor in 2007. We have to learn to win again, and not be defeatists. Wild standing applause at the end.
Glenn Maxey said he was prouder than anything else of finally becoming known not as the gay legislator, but as an effective legislator who happened to be gay. He pledged the same approach to being State Chair. (He spoke for four minutes and a half or so.)
Boyd Ritchie is up now. He says he began his politics campaigning for Ralph Yarborough. He mentions beginning his campaign by filing a designation of a campaign Treasurer (this may well have been a subtle dig at Maxey.) He claims he was the first chair to make the state party office bilingual by hiring one staffer there. Is this true? So what, if so, but it's a sad thing for the history of the party if it is so. He bragged that they didn't spend any money on the new party website design (but if it was done by his paid staffers, from an accounting point of view, that's less than fully clear). And he bragged about the party's suit filed to keep a Republican replacement for Tom Delay on the ballot. When he finished, I thought there was somewhat less, and less enthusiastic applause for him, but this is basically Maxey's home territory.
Now Urbina-Jones is up. He gave the old line about continuing to do the same thing that keeps failing, and says sometimes you have to throw the baby out with the bath water and try something new. As an example, he asked why we're not debating things like partner benefits in Texas. He says we mustn't forget the non-computer friendly people out there (no doubt a kind of dig at Maxey). He just caused a stir of applause by saying "We need to run more women in this party". He says working people have been hurt by the fascist agenda of the last several years. Strong words, but sort of buried by soft tone. You can bet the Repubs would catch it though. We need to break this gilded aristocracy, and make people underestand the Democratic Party is about the people and not the consultants (another dig at Maxey) he says, then plugs his own reception at a brewery.
Governor candidate Chris Bell is up now. "It's great to be with you on Tom Delay's last day as a member of the Congress of the U.S." There is a wind of change blowing, of disgust at the Republicans, as shown in their own hate-fest convention last week. He reminds us he doesn't need to get over 50% of the vote. Appearing on stage with Friedman and Strayhorn he has felt like he's in the circus; he thinks they will split the Republican vote, and if we stay united we'll have a new Governor in 2007. We have to learn to win again, and not be defeatists. Wild standing applause at the end.
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