Comments on A CAPITOL BLOG: Are No Signs a Sign of a Party in Disarray?

Forged by fire, tempered by adversity a pure heart...

2006-03-04T19:41:00.000-06:00

Forged by fire, tempered by adversity a pure heart burns with love for his fellow man. The blade of leadership will rise when we are ready to receive the knowledge already within us.

Good post, Rep. I agree that Dems are in a wildern...

2006-03-03T07:54:00.000-06:00

Good post, Rep. I agree that Dems are in a wilderness period, but even when they were in power it was because the conservatives who are now Rs all voted D. I'm not sure the state's ideological center shifted much when the Rs took over.

That said, the recent change in urban districts, jb, is real - ask Donna Howard - just slow and incremental, not sudden. The suburban areas are shifting, too, with the old white flight demographics rapidly changing to include more diversity. (That's what makes HD 106 in Grand Prairie competitive when it used to be solid R.) Plus it'll be interesting to see what change in voting demographics the New Orleans voters have, in Houston especially.

My concern is that Ds as a party appear to have no agenda or vision, just critiques of what the Rs are doing. Rs won by throwing molotov cocktails at their enemies but when they got in power had no plan for where they wanted to take the state. If Ds won today, I'm afraid, they'd have little concrete vision, either. In that sense maybe it's good to have a wilderness period - in my heart of hearts, I don't see the Ds ready to reclaim power and do anything constructive with it.

While the analysis is passionate, it prematurely t...

2006-02-28T17:17:00.000-06:00

While the analysis is passionate, it prematurely tracks change in urban enclaves. If urban centers tended to convert into Democratic bastions and urban centers have more money than rural or suburban areas, then why cannot Democrats garner votes and money from urban centers, at least enough to make a significant impact. I think the analysis assumes the election of the few urban Democratics tracks phantom changes in political demographics. In fact, it is likely the opposite.

Redistricting exposed the wonders of the politics of polarization. Democrats are being forced into "safe" electorates, whether municipal, regional, or state jurisdictions. There may have been a sudden increase in Democrats, but they're the result of these safe districts. This shows that there exists no real increase in the Democratic base. The only thing that will bring about a swelling of Democratic voters will be a swing in the general electorate of Texas.

I have to thank you for that Rep. Very good analys...

2006-02-26T20:49:00.000-06:00

I have to thank you for that Rep. Very good analysis of a possible future for a better Texas. Why is it though Rep. that our current leadership does not respond when the future is right in front of their noses.

I tend to be fairly conservative and think that in...

2006-02-26T18:33:00.000-06:00

I tend to be fairly conservative and think that incremental change is better than a complete 180 degree change, but when it comes to the welfare of my home state, something radical needs to be done. It breaks my heart that legislators in Austin seem to have neglected what they're job is-to see and listen to what we (Texans) need, and then make the needed changes so that our state will no longer be the laughing stock of the nation. I moved to the DC area almost a year ago and just being a Texan around here is difficult. Everyone assumes that I'm a diehard Bush and DeLay fan when nothing could be further from the truth! I left state employment in Texas b/c I couldn't knowingly work for agency directors who didn't have the best of intentions for my state...and most of their decisions were driven by what legislators passed w/o even understanding the ramifications.

Enough of my ranting-I don't know what your position is on any topic, but whatever your position is I hope it is with keeping in mind with what the state needs and not based on who could line the political pocket book.
God bless-Mara