David Van Os continues to be an extremely popular candidate to the community. He has been a
member for more than a year. We have helped him with volunteers, notoriety, and campaign funds. Now we need to help him get through the final push!
Here are the reasons we need him as the Texas Attorney General, an analysis of why he, along with the other Texas Statewide candidates, can win and my final plea for funds along with a report of how those funds will be used.
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David's impressive history within this community
A Texan Speaks out was David's first diary was just over one year ago when he was fighting Texas' marriage amendment.
Take a Stand (how a real Democrat responds to a so-called marriage amendment)
Paperless Voting to be Declared Unconstitutional was my first entry about him soon after I met him personally, it received 116 comments and got David out from under the radar for most of the members this community!!!
David needs the community to come to his aid one last time. David and his family have sacrificed the last year for our causes, we should be willing to dig deep for him.
More stories about David
Van Os files suit against TX SoS re: electronic voting
How Democrats Lost the Heartland and How They'll Get It Back with 140 comments!!!
Fight FOR (and expand) the Democratic Base, or: The Failure of Interest-Group Politics
Constitutional Crisis
We have a Constitution to save
Bush is the ONLY issue
Deep in the Bowels of Texas is where the rot began with 141 coments!!!
Deep in the Bowels of Texas: Thank you to the Daily Kos Community
Thanks again from deep in the bowels of Texas, with progress reports with 176 comments!!!
TX: Attorney General: Message from the Candidate!!
Are you going to crash the damn gate or just kick a few boards out of it? with 289 comments!!!
David Van Os at Texas Democratic Convention
DailyOutrage Special - plus poll!
Even Reddest Texan Counties are Hungry for Change with 149 comments!!!
Look at the face of the working poor with 502 comments!!!
Big Oil Served Notice with 427 comments!!!
Shhhh! Don't Tell the Media with 367 comments!!!
Don't let Eminent Domain and dozers catch you crying with 404 comments!!!
Texas Attorney General's Office Defies Federal Judge's Request to Return Evidence with 196 comments!!!
A Texan Speaks on the Populist Revolt Brewing in Texas - Do It Here and Do It Now with 446 comments!!!
David Van Os destroys the basis for the Green Party. This is because many democrats can be just as Green!!!
Double Hitter - Two slug homeruns in Denton County Texas David and Hank Gilbert on the campaign trail.
Under oath, "I solemnly promise... that "I will use every legal means available to me by that office to bring to a halt and/or invalidate the unconstitutional and illegal project known as the "Trans-Texas Corridor."" filed in courthouses statewide by David Van Os!!!
Hands Across the Corridor - Stop the TTC
Somebody please shoot me! No, no, not a GBCW but it still got 231 comments!!!
TX-AG Race: Rural voters turn to Dems Those words came from the well respected Texas Observer along with the following in reference to David Van Os.
...if the Republicans keep control of the entire Congress, the only chances left to hold this Administration accountable while still in office abide right here in Texas
And finally from last night: BREAKING: TX-AG Greg Abbott's Illegalities Exposed! about how our current AG used taxpayer dollars to shoot parts of his campaign ads instead of dipping into his $9 million dollar war chest, exposed by Dallas' WFAA television!!!
Why Congress cannot take down Bush
Our chances are great that we will have a Democratically controlled Congress, and the possibility of a Democratic leadership in the Senate is a toss-up. But even with that we can only hope to maintain a holding action with the Administration. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will not be able to bring down the "House of Bush" while having to give in to the Administrations wishes and still be able to enact legislation of consequence. The Congressional leadership will also have to deal with an increase in the number of conservative Democratic colleagues. Congressman Murtha, who is considered by many one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, is considered to be the leading contender for Majority Leader and that is not a great sign for most progressives.
What makes David Different
David Van Os is a true progressive populist Democrat and he has been endorsed by the Travis County Green Party.
There are very few members of this community who wouldn't be proud to have David in their corner on the issues. His independence from big money combined with the power of the office we are trying to elect him into will prove invaluable to the causes the vast majority of us believe in.
There is one office in most States, and one candidate in particular which would have the independence, and the power to strike into the heart of the "House of Bush", David Van Os. He is the candidate and the position of Texas Attorney General is the office that will take down the foundation of the current "conservative in name only" administration.
David Pledges to go after big oil with investigative subpoenas. David will investigate the ties between big insurance and legislative and administrative action here in Texas. David will investigate the money flow that built the Bush Administration as well as the majorities in the Texas Legislatures that led to the Texas redistricting and our current Republican majority delegation.
Karl Rove was also the architect behind what happened in Texas and how that led to the current abuses of power that we see every day. Tom DeLay was the strongman who pushed most of the power grab in Texas. George Bush was the poster child who was propped up for the Religious Right to adore. These people started in Texas and many of their dastardly deeds were done there. David will bring them to task for what they have done without fear from the power brokers who believe they control the State's Government.
David has a history of fighting on our side, David's low budget campaign has ensured that he will remain independent of the influences of big money that is responsible for the current state of affairs in our country and he will use that independence to find the illegal actions that undoubtedly occurred during the Republican rise to power in what was once the firm blue state that I was proud to call my home.
Why Texas can be won
1)The Urban Vote
I would like to address the usual nay sayers who believe Texas is a lost cause and David cannot win. If you look at the demographics in Texas you see the same mixes statewide that exist on a national level. Dallas and Austin are considered firm Democratic strongholds, Barbara Radnofsky, Chris Bell, and Nick Lampson can be counted on to ensure we win a majority in the Houston Area. San Antonio is the home of both David and Maria Louisa Alvarado, our secret weapon running for Lt. Governor, and those areas should go blue due to the strength of those two campaigns Judge William "Bill" Moody is well known in El Paso and his campaign will deliver. J. R. Molina will also do the same in Ft. Worth. Add to that the excellent campaigns being run by most of our Congressional Candidates throughout the State and you can be assured that almost all of the urban areas will show an increase in Democratic votes.
2)The Rural Vote
The rural vote remains the big question mark in Texas and that is a big question indeed. TxSharon did an excellent diary yesterday that addressed how the rural vote nationwide has moved sharply to the Democratic side TX-AG Race: Rural voters turn to Dems. Hank Gilbert (Agricultural Commissioner), along with Barbara Radnofsky, David and VaLinda Hathcox (Land Commisioner) have run excellent campaigns addressing the two major issues in Rural Texas, Eminent Domain and an RID chip requirement for livestock.
A)Eminent Domain and the Trans Texas Corridor
Eminent Domain is the fear of many in the paths of the Trans Texas Corridor project along with future planed toll roads which will stretch from El Paso and Houston to Texarkana respectively. The Trans Texas Corridor will go from Mexico to Oklahoma and threatens to take millions of acres away from Texans and provide a route for foreign made imports to be more efficiently brought into the country bypassing American Ports on the Gulf and West coasts and taking freight away from American trucking firms and other shippers while opening a freeway intended specifically to allow Mexican firms a shortcut across the country.
B)Livestock Identification and Tracking
The Livestock Identification and Tracking threatens to impose costly requirements on every landowner who has any livestock. Everything from show ponies to range chickens and pot bellied pigs would required to have individual RFID tags filed with the State and the owners would have to report every movement of the animal. On Saturday night in these parts there is a lot of livestock traffic to the local rodeo and showdeo arenas. Add to that the parades and fairs where horses are brought in for the parades and other animals are brought in to town for show and you have a situation where small farmers and ranchers, who tend to belong to one of the most computer illiterate groups in the country, will be inundated with costly reporting requirements. I personally have been looking into the possibility of starting a reporting firm if David Van Os or Hank Gilbert fail to win their races. These two items are driving rural voters away from anyone who supports them.
C)Running away from Perry and the Republican leadership.
Many Republican State Legislative candidates are being forced to distance themselves from their Party's leadership in the State over these issues and the voters most affected by these two issues are a major part of the Republican base.
3)The Religous Right
There is one last group that I need to discuss here in the State, and around the nation, The Evangelicals. They have been an extremely important part of Texas' politics. None of the Republican candidates are appealing to them during this election. Kinky's reputation won't drive them to the polls. Strayhorn's personal history (Mrs. too many husbands) won't pull any evangelical support and Rick "good hair" Perry hasn't overwhelmed them even though he actually staged a bill signing in a Church. The national mood due to the "discovery" that three Republican Congressmen, and a large number of Republican Congressional staffers are gay has caused many of the evangelicals to give up on the Republicans. These are the people who have been led to believe that the most important issue was their fight against the "gay agenda." When they learned that many of the people they were supporting didn't truly care about combating that "menace to America" a large number of them gave up on the Republicans. My own mother (the theocrat) who was a Republican Election Judge in 2004 and 2005 has given up on politics and refuses to vote. When the Republicans lost my mother you can be assured that they have lost many in the Religious Right.
The only people left in Texas who are showing support for the Republican establishment is the big money and big business people who are pouring money into Republican coffers because they fear that when Democrats take power it will cost them a whole lot more.
Our Secret Weapon
Another area that is completely ignored by the Texas media is the "Maria factor." I have considered Maria Louis Alvarado the secret weapon of the Texas Statewide Democrats since I first met her in Tyler prior to the March primary (of course the fact that all my ex's had names that began with "Mar" including one Maria may prove that I have a deep seated psychological issue somewhere). Her presence on the ballot has generated a swelling of activity in the Tejano community of Texas. These people have been Texans since Texas was formed, but are considered second class citizens for maintaining their hispanic heritage. These people will be voting in droves for Maria, and the democratic tickets, in South and West Texas particularly, will see remarkable effects from their turnout and that will be the straw that breaks the back of the Republican Party Statewide in a turnout driven midterm election.
The Final Push
David Van Os held a conference calls with about twenty supporters from his "steering committee" of hundreds of regular Texans to discuss advertising strategies for the final push. The consensus opinion, which David agreed with, was to make the best use of our remaining funds through targeting low cost rural radio advertising and mid sized city newspaper ads targeted to statewide issues of local interest.
We need help in this final push. David has $15,000 in the bank that he will exhaust in this effort. For the sake of Texas and the country even a few dollars via PayPal will go further in Texas than almost any race in the country. David wants everyone to understand that PayPal is the best way to put funds into his race where they can be immediately available.
Conclusions
In conclusion: David Van Os has a real chance to win the Attorney General's office in Texas. Reports from the ground where early voting is underway prove that David and the Statewide Democrats are receiving overwhelming support from voters across the State in this year of change. David's independence along with his personal history as a true progressive populist means that he will be in the perfect position to expose and prosecute those who were responsible for what has happened to our country in the last six years. Congress members and Senators will have to work with the administration and be unable to tackle individually those who are responsible for the mess we are in now. Even the most progressive and powerful legislators we elect return to office a week from Tuesday will have to contend with Conservatives in both parties, but a truly progressive Attorney General in a state which gives that office considerable power and independence can do the work we want done.
We know how much important work Eliot Spencer performed in New York. Many of us remember the power that was exercised by Jim Mattox when he was Texas' Attorney General. David can be the most important contributor to Democratic, Progressive, Green, and populist causes in the nation. But only if we help him during this final push.
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disclaimer: Even though I am on David Van Os' citizen's steering committee and made a commitment to posting a diary. this diary was not vetted or approved by any campaign officials.