12.08.09
Democrats have been working hard
Harold Cook writing in the TexasTrib, Elections Don’t Win Themselves.
There’s a sense among some casual observers of Texas politics that Democrats are very lucky to have Bill White entering the race for Texas Governor. I would happily concede that White’s entering the race is extremely fortunate, but “luck” has nothing to do with it.
Those who categorize White’s entry as luck are the same folks who tend to dismiss the progress Texas Democrats have made in recent elections by saying it’s the result of natural demographic shifts and changes in participation patterns. There may even be some who assume Texas may eventually return to Democratic control simply because “demographics is destiny,” as if political success for a party and its candidates would come as an accident of nature.
The view is naïve.
Elections don’t win themselves. It’s not an accident that Democrats have been winning races in Republican-held urban and suburban districts, and narrowing statewide Republican margins. That Democrats are attracting A-team candidates like Mayor White is testimony to years of hard work, not coincidental political evolution.
[...]
But because of the lack of high-profile Democratic “marquee candidates” at the top of those tickets, many in Austin haven’t even noticed those highly-successful coordinated efforts — ironic, since the results of those very efforts are what lead to marquee candidacies like Bill White’s.
To be sure, the Republican leadership has also helped Democrats win, because they haven’t had an effective conversation with general election voters in years. As their consultants tell them general elections don’t matter because the Republican primary winner will take office, their party shrinks. And as the Republican leadership continues to cater to its far right wing, Democratic legislators have prioritized issues of broad importance to Texans: passing a teacher pay raise, fighting against and then partially mitigating draconian cuts to children’s health insurance, proposing tripling the homestead exemption, and standing up to utility and insurance companies. Some suddenly vulnerable Republican legislators are now echoing many of these Democratic positions, or at least the rhetoric, in an effort to avoid being called “former Republican legislators.” [Emphasis added].
The fact that Democrats have worked hard and smart has paid off not only at the polls, but also in attracting the kind of viable candidates most likely to win elections. We’ve seen it at the district level, and now we’re beginning to see it statewide. That’s why we’re very fortunate, but not the slightest bit lucky, to have a powerhouse candidate like Bill White running for Governor.
Democrats have a long way to go, and building a winning organization is a continuous process that doesn’t end on Election Night. Any number of factors could determine next year’s winners, but don’t think for a moment that Democrats reached this point by some inevitable demographic accident. Democrats enter 2010 having worked hard and invested heavily to prepare for statewide success, and now, the race is on.
That’s great stuff. I remember walking into a WCDP meeting, and getting involved, when the DeLay redistricting schemes were going through the lege in 2003. Essentially the low point for Democrats in Texas. Many Democrats have been working hard in Williamson County for many years to turn the GOP tide. Karen Felthauser almost beating GOP incumbent Mike Krusee in 2006, led to Diana Maldonado winning in 2008. Democrats in Williamson County finally broke through in 2008 and hopefully with our candidates in 2010 we will win some more.
Eye on Williamson » Pragamatic party building said,
December 11, 2009 at 2:20 pm
[...] about an article written by Democratic political consultant Harold Cook in the Texas Tribune, Democrats have been working hard. The part that was highlighted in the post from Cook’s piece points to the problem the [...]