Letters From Texas

Buzz from the TV show: Travis County Democrats will lose Doggett if they don't start voting

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:23:00 +0000

On this week's episode of Capital Tonight, Congressman Lloyd Doggett said in an extended interview that he won't be going back to Congress if Austin area Democrats don't start voting.

Here are both Republican Ted Delisi and I echoing Doggett's concerns about turn-out in the North end of Congressional District 35:

Later in the show, Harvey Kronberg with the Quorum Report was even more blunt: he believes Congressman Doggett is in deep trouble.

You can watch the show in its entirety this Sunday morning at 11 am, or watch it any time online.

Also, you can join the whole Capital Tonight crew, plus other special guests, on our extended election night coverage Tuesday night, beginning at 7 pm and continuing either until all the returns are in, or you can't stand the sight of us any more, whichever comes first.

FINALLY. The Houston Chronicle reports - you decide.

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:17:00 +0000

I'm irritating. Well, duh.

You think Texas politics is fun?

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000

Me too. But we apparently ain't got nothin' on politics in Mexico.

Truth in advertising: J.M. Lozano director's cut

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Last week, State Representative J.M. Lozano (D R-Kingsville) released a campaign ad in which he's talking to his adorable son, hating on Obama, and spouting the typical campaign rhetoric people spout when they're desperately trying to win a Republican primary election. According to the ad, J.M. needs to be re-elected to protect his son from the diabolical Barack Obama, who is "ruining the country."

We here at Letters From Texas Worldwide Headquarters decided a bit of political parody was in order. Here's what we think J.M. really meant to tell his son:

[thanks to Greg Beatty]

Buzz from the TV show: Sadler vs. Hubbard for U.S. Senate

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:33:00 +0000

Recently I endorsed Sean Hubbard in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, and was happy to vote for him on the first day of early voting.

But that doesn't mean I think he's got the inside track to win the primary. In fact, while nobody knows who has the edge in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, I'm guessing Hubbard's opponent Paul Sadler does.

I explain why in this week's edition of YNN's Capital Tonight:

Also discussed on this week's show: the public school finance mess, what to make of Ron Paul's latest moves, the latest comedy stylings of David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz, and more.

You can watch this episode of Capital Tonight in its entirety this Sunday morning at 11 on YNN Austin, or at any time on the interwebz.

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:19:00 +0000

It's also your sports update!

Anti-social media and the race for Democratic Party chair

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:11:00 +0000

With the retirement of Texas Democratic Party chairman Boyd Richie, there's a race on for state Party Chairman. Most people think the race is a lock, and that former Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa is set to win.

And, fair enough. Of those running, there's no question in my mind he's the best choice to provide leadership for the Democrats. It isn't even a close call. His opponents are Rachel Van Os and Fidel Acevedo.

But isn't one of the biggest challenges ahead for Democrats to communicate Democratic values to potential supporters? And isn't social media among the best affordable opportunities to communicate with people on a continuing basis?

If all that is true, whoever the next Democratic leader will be has a big learning curve ahead, if either candidate's commitment to Twitter is any indication.

Here's the situation with Rachel Van Os on Twitter:

Click on the photo to enlarge

I would have loved to contrast that to Gilberto Hinojosa's twitter account stats. It's just that I can't find him on Twitter. There's no indication he has a twitter account at all.

To be fair, current Chairman Boyd Richie (who won his election before Twitter was widely-used) doesn't seem to be on Twitter either, but under his leadership the Democratic Party has built a significant presence there, and they have hundreds more following them than the Republican Party of Texas.

Clearly Twitter isn't everything, but nobody could credibly argue that it isn't an important communications tool to many segments of an electorate. One would think that candidates for Party Chairman attempting to convince Democrats of their commitment to communicating to Texas voters might have noticed that.

I shot an email to Judge Hinojosa's campaign to ask if he's hiding a Twitter account somewhere; ~~I'll update this piece if I hear back~~ (UPDATE: I heard back - he doesn't have one). But meanwhile, sheesh.

Update #2: I am informed via the comments section (thanks, comments section!) that there is a third candidate in the race: Fidel Acevedo. I'd seen in earlier news that he had filed, but had also read that there had been questions about whether his was a valid filing, and incorrectly assumed that his candidacy had gone away. Apparently wrong about that, I present his Twitter stats as well:

Click on the photo to enlarge

So there you have it: all candidates for Democratic Party Chair have a combined grand total of 20 followers. What could possibly go wrong?

Ron Paul's problem

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:04:00 +0000

After Congressman Ron Paul essentially suspended campaigning yesterday, I defaulted to the theory that it was probably a pre-consession prior to the May 22nd primary in Kentucky, where his son Rand is apparently some sort of BFD. Embarrassing Rand is probably not high on Ron Paul's list of things to do. It would make Thanksgiving at the Paul household really awkward.

Ron Paul: Asylum Warden?

Add to that the embarrassing state Republican conventions recently in several states, in which unruly Ron Paul delegates took over the place, to the embarrassment of Mitt Romney's supporters. Romney's son Josh was even boo'ed off the stage by Paul delegates at the Arizona Republican State Convention last Saturday.

Now Politico has revealed a Paul campaign memo which bolsters the point: Ron Paul's move to ratchet the campaign down a few notches is clearly designed to be a signal to his supporters that he wants his folks to be positive and constructive as Republicans head to the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Ron Paul has an itty bitty problem: his supporters may well be in no mood to be constructive.

Paul has nobody to blame but himself if the Paulistas show up in Tampa ready to tear the place up. A successful insurgency campaign always gathers few supporters aside from the insurgents, and Paul's move toward Republican unity may well be one his followers choose not to follow.

There may not be much tension or drama at the Democratic National Convention, set to re-nominate a sitting President, but hang onto your hats in Tampa - the Republicans may still be in for a bumpy ride. And it will be a serious test for Ron Paul to see if he can control the inmates, in the asylum he himself created.

Buzz from the TV show: marriage equality

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000

On this week's episode of Capital Tonight, I was asked about the President's announcement that he now supports marriage equality - does this issue now sit in the front seat, or do other issues like the economy trump?

This week's episode also features a discussion on the status of UT President William Powers, a report on the big money U.S. Senate smack down, and an interview with Congressional candidate Sylvia Romo, in a primary battle with Austin's Congressman Lloyd Doggett.

Capital Tonight airs live on Thursday evenings in our new time slot, 7 pm on YNN Austin, and the Texas Channel, channel 888 on Time-Warner systems in other Texas media markets. You can watch this week's entire episode on YNN Austin this Sunday morning at 11 am, or you can watch any time online.

Dan Patrick vs. John Carona cage match!

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Interesting doings in the Texas Senate this week, which is ~~unheard of~~ unusual.

Out of the blue, Republican Senator Dan Patrick emailed the entire Senate membership, indignant that fellow Republican Senator John Carona had supposedly been spreading rumors that Patrick and his wife are separated.

It didn't take long for Senator Carona to hit the "reply to all" button and double down on Patrick. Carona replied that while he'd heard rumors, he did not repeat that Patrick is having marital problems. Carona then added that he also did not repeat that Dan Patrick might be gay.

Of course it took less time for somebody in the Senate to leak the entire exchange to the Quorum Report than it does for Sheila Jackson-Lee to find an aisle seat at a State-Of-The-Union Address.

So, in the spirit of full enlightenment for you, the crap-reading public, Letters From Texas Worldwide Headquarters proudly presents the...

Top Ten List Of Other Stuff John Carona Probably Didn't Repeat About Dan Patrick

10. Contrary to previous claims, Dan Patrick did not, in fact, save a bunch of money by switching his car insurance to Geico.

9. Dan Patrick actually does not walk on water. It was really cold that day. It was ice. Really - just ice.

8. Dan Patrick totally cheats at rock-paper-scissors in the members' lounge.

7. Dan Patrick has been seen in public with his epidermis showing. Also, he has a family member who is an acknowledged thespian.

6. Dan Patrick is actually a Sith Lord.

5. Every morning before the Senate goes into session, Dan Patrick places a whoopee cushion in John Carona's chair, and Carona's getting gosh darn sick of it.

4. Mom! Dan Patrick touched me first! Make him stop!

3. O.J. Simpson says Dan Patrick is the real killer he's been looking for.

2. Dan Patrick has more than 300 google email alerts on himself.

1. Dan Patrick's real motivation for running for Lt. Governor is to force the other Senators to run around saying, "Lieutenant Dan! Lieutenant Dan!" like Forrest Gump.

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:21:00 +0000

This one will be tough to beat.

[h/t @mustango13]

Buzz from the TV show

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:29:00 +0000

On last week's Capital Tonight on YNN Austin, which was a pre-game show of sorts for the U.S. Senate race debate last Thursday, I was asked to war game out what was at stake for the candidates. I said it was Ted Cruz' "last best chance" to break through and force an error by Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. If post-debate polling is to be believed, Cruz failed to do so. That said, the pollster has close ties to - you guessed it - Dewhurst.

Spoiler alert: when - not if but when - you watch this week's Capital Tonight, you'll be doing so in our brand new time slot: Thursday nights at 7 pm. We have magnanimously done this, of course, to give you enough time after work to avoid being completely sober by the time you tune in. We're much better-looking that way.

The fun starts at 7 pm Thursday night, on YNN Austin, and on the Texas Channel in other Texas media markets, channel 888 on Time-Warner systems.

Attention Texas hunters!

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

It's a go. You know what to do.

My U.S. Senate endorsement

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Did you see the U.S. Senate debate last week on Houston public TV, which featured Democrats Paul Sadler and Sean Hubbard, as well as the four Republican horsemen of the apocalypse? If so, congratulations - you're one of a handful of Texans who tuned in.

Debates like that are usually only important if they create a subsequent buzz. Since few people watch the actual debate, it is only if somebody seizes the moment, royally screws up, or otherwise makes a strong impression one way or another, the public discussion afterward can sometimes swing enough votes to affect outcomes.

So here's my own personal buzz, for what it's worth: while it might surprise and maybe upset a few people for whom I have a lot of respect, after watching the debate I've decided I'm voting for Sean Hubbard in the Democratic primary.

Sean Hubbard

Both Hubbard and Sadler comported themselves very well. Both articulated values with which I, as well as most other Texas Democratic primary voters, wholeheartedly agree. I believe either would make a fine U.S. Senator.

But here's the deal: both Democrats in the race are under-funded. And unless one of 'em wins the lottery, there's no particular reason to believe that each won't remain underfunded, especially compared to the Republican nominee, who intends to buy this Senate seat.

To be sure, lightning does occasionally strike in politics, but it usually doesn't. So barring some unforeseen circumstance which changes the financial game, the reality is that Texas is one of the most expensive states in the nation to get out a message, the Republican nominee will have the funding necessary to saturate that message, and the Democratic nominee won't. And while that's a terrible shame, it also makes it more likely that the Democrat won't prevail this November.

This, in my view, makes who Democrats nominate no less important. We have a Party to build. It cannot be built without growing enthusiasm, and it cannot be grown without attracting new voters to us, while retaining the support we've maintained.

Paul Sadler

There's no doubt Paul Sadler is a rock-solid guy, and always was. He has a deep understanding of policy details which I deeply admire. And the likelihood that he would attract few new voters to the Democratic column is more a reflection on the electorate than it is on him. During the debate, he was the quintessential policy wonk, explaining government to people, with deep knowledge and much wisdom. I'm the kind of dork who likes that stuff. Most voters' eyes glaze over.

Sean Hubbard surprised me at the debate. He is no less articulate than Sadler. He demonstrates an open-mindedness about new ideas, while simultaneously making clear that he would not turn his back on Democratic values. And mostly, he oozes enthusiasm and positive energy from every pore.

At 31, he looks younger than that, and he pointed out that he's already older than Joe Biden was when Biden was elected to the Senate. Hubbard would be more likely to garner an excitement in a general election which is greater than the sum of its parts - not just because of his age, but because of his infectious enthusiasm and unapologetic zeal for the race. Isn't that the kind of Democratic candidate that grows more voters than the "smartest guy in the room" types Democrats have already tried?

Here's hoping lightning strikes. But even if it doesn't, Sean Hubbard would be the kind of Democratic nominee more capable of attracting new folks to the Democratic column. It's potentially important in that U.S. Senate race, it's important in down ballot contests, and it's important in future Party-building and elections.

To help you make your own decision, you can watch the Senate debate here. Also, while you're listening to the Democrats, it's also fun to watch the Republicans as they each explain why they're totally for women's freedom, even as they document why they're not in favor of supporting any of those freedoms.

Meanwhile, in legal briefs...

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:49:00 +0000

This happened.

(thanks to Jonathan)

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:15:00 +0000

Some headlines are just not that interesting. Then again, others are crafted to pin you down, prop open your eye lids with toothpicks, and command the rest of the world to wait until you have read the full explanation for this.

Best terrible political ad of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:55:00 +0000

I run into the most interesting people!

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:52:00 +0000

I had forgotten how tall Mark McKinnon is in person.

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Apparently Joe Biden thinks this, too, is a big effin deal.

Don't miss out this Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:46:00 +0000

I've written about this before, but now the event date is upon us.

Boyd Richie, pictured with the hot Richie

This Saturday evening in Austin, the Texas Democratic Party is hosting a roast of Boyd and Betty Richie. Except, few people are likely to roast Betty, because...well, you know...she's the one we actually like. It's a dinner event at the Hyatt Regency, and if you're not there, we'll talk bad about you.

House Democratic Leader Jessica Farrar has been added to the already stellar line-up, which already included Texas Senator Royce West, Judge Gilberto Hinojosa, DNC Secretary Alice Germond (you think you don't know her, but you do - she's the one who gets to do the roll call of states at Democratic National Conventions), the AFL-CIO's John Patrick, legendary former TDP Chairman Bob Slagle, the lovely and talented Aimee Boone, and more!

And, oh yeah, the Democratic Party screwed around and put me in charge; I'm the Master of Ceremonies. And while I don't often get carte blanche to ridicule people aside from this here natural habitat, when I do I don't jack around, bucko.

So you can either get off your ass and attend this fun event, or you can be informed on Monday morning, as you hang around the water cooler wasting your employer's time and money, that in your absence I trashed you at the event. So basically your attendance can be your self-defense mechanism.

I hope to see you Saturday!

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:25:00 +0000

...and I just included "so far" to be polite, because there's little chance anybody's going to beat this little sticker boo-boo by the Tyler local newspaper:

[H/T to Hairballs for this cutting-edge reporting, and to Kirsten Lovelace for spotting it!]

Buzz from the TV show - Rick Perry's "Compact"

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:22:00 +0000

On the most recent episode of YNN's "Capital Tonight," I was asked about the Governor's so-called "Compact" which Perry had announced earlier in the week.

You can watch the entire show from last week, which also features Texas Senator Wendy Davis and State Representative Donna Howard, online any time. And you can watch this week's episode this Thursday night at 6 pm on YNN Austin, or on the Texas Network, channel 888 on Time-Warner systems, in other Texas media markets.

Headline of the day so far

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:57:00 +0000

Witnesses said Gingrich was quite smitten with the penguin, and a winter wedding is contemplated.

They'll give this drug kingpin life in prison

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:12:00 +0000

So basically, two years. Maybe three, tops.

Twit, Twitter, Twittest: a case study

noreply@blogger.com (Harold Cook) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:56:00 +0000

Five years ago, nobody had ever heard of Twitter. Now, the social media powerhouse is where people go to break news and drive conversations.

For policy wonks and political addicts, Twitter in indispensable. Candidates, officeholders, and activists utilize the social medium to push ideas and priorities, to varying degrees of success. And those who oppose them are using twitter to combat those candidates or ideas - and make asses of themselves by dishonest and misleading communications.

Here's an interesting case study: meet Dan McDonald.

Dan McDonald, pictured with funny hat

Who is Dan McDonald? I'm glad you asked. I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of him. And unless his mother stops dressing him in funny hats, aside from this blog post, it is very likely you will never hear of him again. His picture with that hat might lead some to believe that old McDonald has a farm, e-i-e-i-o.

Mr. McDonald is a central Texas Republican activist who claims to be the Secretary of both the Travis County and Hays County Republican Parties. Perhaps his hat overlaps both counties. I have noticed that he has taken it upon himself to screw around with state Senator Kirk Watson. So far, fair enough. Watson is a Democrat, and McDonald is a Republican. It is McDonald's sworn duty as a hyper-partisan to ridicule Watson every chance he gets, in every mindless insipid way he can dream up to do so. We here at Letters From Texas Worldwide Headquarters are not strangers to the concept. In fact at first we thought McDonald was copying our work. Except, of course, for the stupid hat.

Kirk Watson, for his part, is one of the officeholders in Texas more effective at using Twitter as a means to communicate with those whom he hopes may agree with his policy priorities. Those who follow him already know that he constantly hammers on the Republicans in charge of Texas government for the misleading way they write state budgets. He also pushes his big idea of a medical school for Austin with great frequency. Those familiar with messaging techniques may already be aware that in order for a message to permeate through a constituency, the message must be repeated. Over and over. And over. And...um...over. That's what Kirk Watson does.

The goal, obviously, is for people undecided on the issues to be persuaded over time by Watson. On the other hand, people who were already in agreement with Watson, and who spend a lot of time on Twitter, may well want to punch him in the throat by now, and desperately hope he hurries up and wins on those two crucial issues, so he can tweet about other stuff instead, very very soon. But that's just a theory - I certainly don't have anybody in particular in mind. But I digress.

Enter Dan McDonald, and his funny hat. In his attempts to oppose Watson's ideas, he merely misleads people about what Watson said in the first place.

Here's an example. Here's an original tweet from Senator Watson:

Straight-forward enough: Watson is pointing out the ways in which Republicans have been misleading Texans about their budget process, this example is on cuts to neighborhood public schools. The link goes to a newspaper article which documents the quote Watson tweeted - a ridiculous quote from the state comptroller with gobbly-gook explaining public education funding. You wouldn't accept such an explanation from your small children.

Here was Dan McDonald's "re-tweet":

See what McDonald did there? Those reading McDonald's tweets would get the impression that it is Watson, not the Comptroller, providing the flimsy nonsense explanation on what happened to the public school budget. Incidentally, McDonald also completely mangled the Republican talking points - they've been assigned to blame Medicaid, not Medicare. But you get the point.

It seems people like Dan (can I call you Dan?) don't feel they can best Watson in a fair fight on the merits of Watson's ideas. So they just mislead their Twitter followers about what Watson says. Which, turns out, is really easy to do on Twitter. Because you can completely misrepresent what somebody said through a manual retweet, and a lot of people are gullible enough to believe that it's true.

Allow me to demonstrate. Here is a tweet of Dan's:

And here is my creative re-tweet, no more disingenuous than McDonald misleading his followers in what Senator Watson said: