Blue Texas — A State of Ambivalence

By Michael O. Varhola

Sometime in the coming years, for a variety of reasons, die-hard Red state Texas will almost certainly become a Blue state. That is, in fact, something I have been personally working to help achieve. It would be fair to say, however, that I have very mixed feelings about this imminent political sea change.

It bears mentioning that I am not now and never have been a Democrat per se; many years ago, I was actually registered as a Republican, and for much of the past two decades I have strived to be strictly apolitical and non-partisan, which I think behooves someone working as a journalist. I am, however, a liberal — perhaps even a radical liberal — and am also revolted by and strongly opposed to most of what the Republican party stands for these days, which I consider to be regressive and contrary to the interests of the majority of the citizenry. In short, liberalism is based on an informed view of the world and the value and rights of the individual, whereas conservatism essentially represents the inverse of these ideas. Because most "liberals" also happen to be "Democrats," those two terms are often used synonymously. This is problematic in any number of ways, however, as I have recently had brought to my attention.

Some of what I have seen in Texas from the Democratic party during the current election season is commensurate with the liberal ideal and some of it most definitely is not and has, consequently, given me some pause. Following are some of the negative and positive things I have recently experienced in this regard:

(-): In January, I received a many-times-forwarded email message with the subject “Congressional Reform Act of 2011” that appeared to be a typical piece of Tea Party/neocon invective containing a number of blatant lies and which otherwise reflected a rightwing ethos. What stunned me, however, was that this message originated with the chair of the Democratic Party of the county I live in! “While I personally do not fully agree with all of these suggestions, they are a good place to start,” this lady wrote at the beginning of the message. Concerned that Democratic leaders in our area have no idea what their own party stands for, I contacted her to let her know I was planning on posting an article about the message to this blog but was willing to talk to her about it first. She did not, however, respond to any of my attempts to reach her.

(-): After I posted an article about the message, I contacted nearly 40 people affiliated with the Democratic Party of Texas and that of the county I live in, including one who as at that time running for the Senate and is now running for Congress (and who had contacted me via Facebook after I posted the afore-mentioned article, which it turned out was about his wife; he cut off contact with me when I would not take what was apparently meant to be a hint about removing this piece). Even though I identified myself as pro-Democrat journalist who was concerned with the way the party was being presented, none bothered to respond, not a single one saw fit to dispel misconceptions associated with their party, to respond to misconceptions perpetrated by one of their representatives, or to bolster the efforts of a liberal blogger desperate to support their agenda.

(+) A few weeks ago, I attended a pro-Democratic event at the home of some people in my neighborhood and was grateful to them for hosting it and giving me the opportunity to meet other like-minded people. Pro-Republicans in this area are often publicly vocal about their views — something people with any beliefs in my former East Coast home would have considered rude and coarse and avoided doing — and it was nice to see that there are more people with a liberal bent living all around me than I would have imagined.

(+): At that event, I met and spoke with some of the Democratic political candidates in Texas, including John Courage, who is running for Texas State Senate District 25, and Rebecca Bell-Mettereau, who is running for a place on the State Board of Education District 5. Suffice it to say that I was impressed with their demeanor, intelligence, and sincerity and that they strengthened my resolve to support the Democratic cause in Texas and that I voted for both of them when I went to the polls on October 22. If they get elected I believe they will do everything they can to make Texas a better place for its citizens.

(-): Last week, I attended a training session organized by the Democratic Party in my county so that I could learn how to serve as a clerk at a polling station on election day. Without going into details that might seem overly mean-spirited, it would be fair to say that if the level of organization at this meeting was indicative of the party's efforts throughout the state in general then it is abundantly clear why a state that has as many Democrats as it does Republicans is still solidly Red. Nearly two hours after the session began, it ended without the training having been accomplished, with an indication that it would have to be held again at a future date, with promises that materials pertinent to it would be sent out via email (which, as of this writing, has still not happened).

Disorganization, confusion, and indifference in the Democratic Party in Texas notwithstanding, the Lone Star State will nonetheless ultimately shift from Red to Blue as the Hispanic population of Texas inexorably grows and achieves majority status. But one has to question whether it will truly be a victory for the Democratic cause to have the state turn Blue not because its citizens have become more enlightened, educated, or socially conscious, but merely because one ethnic group has become more predominant than another. We will not, in fact, come much closer to the Great Society envisioned by one former president from the state of Texas if all we do is swap out the political party favored by people who mostly look alike in one way for the political party of people who mostly look alike in another way. (Shown here is Rebecca Bell-Mettereau, one of the hopes for the Democratic cause in Texas.)

So, suffice it to say, I am ambivalent about the shift of the Lone Star State from Red to Blue. Overall, I am confident that Texas and America overall will be better off for this change and will continue to work for it — but it is sad to contemplate how much less meaningful that change will be than it could be.

A Wolf at the Door

By Michael O. Varhola

Recently, I received a mailing from the campaign of Congressman Frank Wolf asking me for my support and making the case for why I should do so. In this double-sided sheet that concludes with his signature, Wolf explains to me that "due to the once in a decade process of congressional redistricting," I now live in a different district, and then talks about the issues he is devoted to.

And Wolf makes an irreproachable case! His platform is, in fact, so generic and "common sense" that it would be hard to take exception to it. The bulleted items on his mailing include the following:

* "Get the Federal Budget Under Control"

* "Create Jobs and Help Business"

* "Get the Federal Budget Under Control"

* "Improve our Region's Transportation System"

* "Improve Education"

* "Protect Our Neighborhoods and Communities

Good stuff. Nothing there on social issues, but I would have to be a communist, a homosexual agitating to get married, a rape victim trying to dump a fetus, or some other undesirable to object to an inoffensive laundry list like that. And no matter what my own political leanings might be, I can't take offense at Wolf's party affiliation, because he opts not to include it in his mailing! Not even an examination of his campaign website, in fact, explicitly reveals whether he is a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or something else altogether -- although it does note that he has represented his district since 1981.

It would seem, in the current polarized political landscape, that the canny congressman believes he would repulse more people than he would attract by revealing this bit of information about himself. A sly Wolf indeed.

A little digging through third-party sources reveals that Wolf is, in fact, a Republican, but apparently not one of the more rabid members of that pack, and therefore quite possibly the kind of person I would want to vote for. As much as I might want to, however, I cannot support Wolf, for reasons beyond my control that I will reveal presently. I can, however, do him a favor -- and, perhaps more importantly, help out his profligate and inefficient staffers and any voters who may have given their hard-earned money to him.

In short, I cannot vote for Frank Wolf because he represents the 10th Congressional District of Virginia -- and I live in Texas. Yes, that is correct, I have been a resident of the Lone Star State for the past three-and-a-half years, but despite that staffers for Wolf's campaign nonetheless deem it appropriate to use the resources at their disposal to mail information to me about their candidate.

I have no idea how much money the Wolf campaign will save if this article prompts them to examine their mailing lists and purge the addresses of people ineligible to actually vote for their candidate, but I suspect it is more than any contribution I could afford to make would be worth. Maybe, as thanks for helping them out the way that I have, they will be kind enough to let me know.

Breaking News: Perry Enters Presidential Race

Speaking from a flag-packed stage in Charleston, S.C., Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his long anticipated entrance into the 2012 presidential race.

"I declare to you today as a candidate for president of the United States!" Perry announced during a speech that resonated with conservative imagery, support for industry, and references to Ronald Reagan, and which spoke to rightwing Republican and Tea Party concerns.

In keeping with the other current GOP candidates, Perry made vague criticisms of the Obama administration and observations on the economy core elements of his platform.

"We reject this president's unbridled fixation on taking more money out of wallets and pocketbooks of American families -- and employers -- and giving it to a central government," Perry said. "Spreading the wealth punishes success."

Perry also held Obama accountable for everything from the recent downgrade in the U.S. credit rating to the country's increasingly perilous place in the world, noting that "Our president has insulted our friends and encouraged our enemies."

Following his speech, Perry's wife and children joined him on stage while a crowd chanted their support for him.