Lubbock Left

I haven’t had a post about pending voter ID bills at the TX legislature, and it’s about time I did, since a voter ID bill made it out of TX House committee yesterday.

I’m not in favor of the voter ID bill, though I can understand and appreciate the desire to protect the vote. I just believe it’s already protected.

Voter fraud is something we can already detect and prosecute. The fact is that it doesn’t happen often and it’s prosecuted even less often. Some on the right would have us believe that there is an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas. There isn’t. Attorney General Abbott spent millions searching for voter fraud and basically came up empty.

Most people currently vote with either their voter registration card (which you have to identify yourself to obtain) or their driver’s license.

My biggest concern is that, unless DPS or some state agency plans to offer free photo IDs to all, we will bring back a de facto poll tax. Few things in this world irritate me as much as the idea of having to pay to vote.

My second biggest concern is that — even with a free state-issued ID — it creates a hassle for registered voters who want to vote. Moreover, it creates the biggest hassle for the people who can least afford to deal with it. Some legislators are trying to introduce a delay in the time a voter ID bill would take effect in order to educate voters. Efforts like that are well-intentioned, but they don’t remove the hassle.

It’ll be a bumpy ride in the legislature for the next few weeks, and it’s anyone’s guess whether a voter ID bill will make it through the legislature this session.

Oh, and the Texas Democratic Party put up a neat online game that explains the Party’s objections to the bill pretty clearly:

www.txdemocrats.org/page/content/twister

Between Gov. Perry making a fool of himself on the national stage and the usual crazies feeling emboldened to speak their minds, Texas Secession is being talked about a lot lately.

I have only a few things to say about it, so I’ll be brief:

(1) American States don’t have the right to secede in general.

(2) Secession is not a right guaranteed to Texas in particular by our State Constitution, the Texas-U.S. annexation treaty Congressional resolution, or any other legal document.

(3) Secession is, by definition, unpatriotic.

Republicans in general and Texas Republicans in particular have a serious problem with their Party if issues like secession are talked about seriously in the light of day by their leaders.

Read more at:
www.texassecede.com (a website for the crazies)
US Secession on wikipedia
Discussion thread on the LubbockOnline forums
Congressional resolution annexing Texas (1845)
That Texas Magazine article with some good history

Lone Star Project brings us the good news that “Democrats in Texas now have a slight advantage in party identification, 43% to 41%, a clear reversal from the recent past.”

From LSP:

LSP goes on to point out that we’ve closed the gap in the TX House to 2 seats and defeated an incumbent Republican State Senator for the first time in a decade.

2010 is our year to turn Texas blue!

If you can’t make today’s Rick Noriega appearance, Chad Hasty will conduct a phone interview with Rick Noriega on Thursday morning:

U.S. Senate Democratic Candidate Rick Noriega will join Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty Thursday morning via telephone at 7:35 until 8am. We will discuss Noriega’s immigration plan that he will be speaking about in Lubbock on Wednesday. We will also discuss energy, war, and other issues facing Texans and Americans.

Rock on, Chad.

Just got word that U.S. Senate Candidate Rick Noriega will be stumping in Lubbock tomorrow afternoon. This will be Rick’s third Lubbock visit. It’s unprecedented for Lubbock to get so much attention from a statewide candidate. I love it!

Rick Noriega will be speaking tomorrow — Wednesday August 6 — at the Union Hall at 405 E. 50th St. at 3:00pm.

If you haven’t heard Rick speak yet, you’re missing out. He’s authentic and energetic. See him speak tomorrow and you’ll see that he’s got what it takes to send John Cornyn packing!

Just arrived home from the 2008 Texas Democratic Convention. I had a blast!

I am still gathering my thoughts of the experience, and will post more about it throughout the week.

In the meantime, I have started a thread about the convention at the Lubbock Online Forums.

Big shout-outs to spacedark and jobsanger, two excellent Amarillo bloggers I finally got to meet in person at the blogger caucus (ie, bloggers getting drunk) Thursday night.

Well, I’ve been pretty pumped up about the State Democratic Convention for weeks now, and the past week or so has been very hectic as I try to prepare for it.

Among other things, I look forward to meeting several of my fellow bloggers this weekend.

Hopefully I will have some time to blog about the convention as it happens.

Especially considering tonight’s news that Hillary will suspend her campaign this weekend, it’s a very good time to be a Democrat in Texas!

See you in Austin!

…that this year’s Texas State Democratic Convention will almost certainly be larger than this year’s Texas State Republican Convention?

…that this year’s Texas State Democratic Convention in Austin will be larger than this year’s National Democratic Convention in Denver?

…that this year’s Texas State Democratic Convention will very likely be the event that puts Barack Obama over the winning number of delegates?

Needless to say — I’m pretty excited!

I was rummaging through some older campaign materials and I found this nifty little handout from the Texas Democratic Party about “What it means to be a Democrat” that was floating around last election cycle. Let’s have a look:

Democrats stand for hope, equal opportunity and fair play. These are the values Texans share in our personal lives and the values we expect to define our economic and social policies. Texas Democrats are building a better state and a stronger nation where those who work hard and play by the rules can achieve their American dream.

We believe:

1. In equal opportunity for all citizens.
2. In rewarding honest, hard work with a living wage and in a tax system that is fair.
3. In family values that are more than a political slogan.
4. In quality education that gives all citizens the opportunity to reach their potential.
5. In freedom from government interference in our private lives and personal decisions.
6. That individual strengths in our diverse population are a benefit.
7. In security in our homes and safety on our streets. Criminals should face swift and certain punishment.
8. In separation of Church and State to preserve the freedom to pursue our beliefs.
9. In a strong United States — morally, economically and military.
10. In common-sense reforms that give us cleaner and safer air and water.

Looks good to me!

As a Party builder, I look for these big-picture issues that bring us together in our “big tent’ Party. It makes me proud to read this list 2 years after I first encountered it and say, “Yes, this is still the essence of what I believe!”

What would you add to this list?

According to Time magazine, Texas is now the biggest carbon polluter in the nation.

A multitude of factors contribute to the carbon output, among them: Texas’ 19 coal-burning power plants; a heavy concentration of refineries and chemical plants; a lack of mass transit; and a penchant among ranchers and urban cowboys alike for brawny, gas-guzzling trucks — sometimes to haul things, but often just to look Texas tough.

Not much to say about it, other than it’s sad, it’s hard to fix, and Texans are notoriously reluctant to tackle problems like this in a meaningful way.