Hi, folks!
Thought I'd send an update to the old Yahoo Group, and post it to the blog.
The meeting was quite good. LOTS of new faces on the SDEC this year, and under Chairman Hinojosa, they're all getting a fresh look at how the TDP operates now, instead of how it's worked for the past 20, 30+ years.
The energy is intense! The campaigns are getting fantastic support all across the ballot (BGTX is hefting a lot of Wendy's race, and TDP is pooling behind Leticia). The Fellows program is something to be proud of (with a rather poignant shout-out to hiring a more diverse population of campaign workers in the districts, instead of only those independently wealthy enough to accept paltry (or no) wages for campaign work).
There is going to be a massive GOTV effort ramping up soon, and the ballot by mail program is honestly staggering. Glen Maxey has turned and burned on this thing, and I was gobsmacked by the numbers—so much so that I neglected to write them down. I remember something about having 1.2 million requests in one cycle, then it dipped to 1 million in the next. This time (so far) there have been upwards of 4 million requests. If all of those ballots come in, the game will change.
In essence, I work really hard each election cycle to not get my hopes up too much. I'm used to having a happy-dance at the national level, weeping inconsolably at the state level, and then picking up a bit for local level (though I'm still miffed about JP-2 and Co Commish 3).
Damned if I didn't fail miserably, and get my hopes up on Saturday. I feel like Wendy and Leticia are resonating with a whole lot of women who have previously checked out of—or worse, never tuned into—the political process. Women are getting torqued the more they figure out that the reproductive health thing is bogus, that Voter ID suppresses them in particular, that fair wages aren't on the Republican radar.
If the TDP efforts in the Valley pay off, we could see some truly amazing shifts. But that's no reason not to get comfy in Travis and Bastrop. We're the linchpin for Diane Henson. Both counties need to bring that race home with EVERY vote they possibly can.
Lastly, back to the SDEC: Committee assignments haven't gone out yet. We're going to get them after November 4, and before the December meeting. I'm fine with that. For the upcoming 84th Legislative Session, we're going to have a committee of the whole to cover the legislation, with sub-committees that take special areas of interest. While I have gotten my hopes up, I have a cold pit of fear in my stomach about possibly having a Republican supermajority in the Senate. (OMG, GO LIBBY WILLIS!) If Dan Patrick should stumble into Lt. Gov with a supermajority, we're in for some seriously UGLY times. We've got to work to make sure this doesn't happen!
The TDP is really very different these days. I'm proud to see the revitalization, and I want to see it continue. If you haven't signed up to be a Texas Trailblazer (http://www.txdemocrats.org/
Let's do this.
Susan
(SD-14 Committeewoman)
