Standing in for DailyOutrage, there is only one Outrage that I'll write about today, and it's not something that BushCo did; rather, it's something that Democracy For America and Democracy for Texas and the nation Democratic Party and the Texas Democrats (TxDemocrats.org - more about why it's not .com in a moment) and what they're NOT doing!
After the fold, I'll give you a little Texas Constitutional history, and then I'll go on a rant (just a bit) and then tell you what you can do - if you'd like to help Take Back Texas! Texas is, after all, where the malignancy called "BushCo" started, and this is where that malignancy should be put to sleep.
There will also be a poll, and then we can all sleep better tonight. And.... awaaay we go! (apologies to Jackie Gleason)
Texas may be the only state where the top offices are Constitutional offices; that is, the office holders are each elected by the people - independent of the other office holders, and - here's the kicker:
The top office holders in Texas are not answerable to anyone but the courts and the voters!
Now, you may ask, "So??"
Ah, a fair question.
Here's why that's SO important. Only the top 5 or 6 offices are Constitutional; that is - the Governor, the Lt. Governor, the Attorney General, the Agricultural Commissioner and 1 or 2 others, but we are only interested in the Gov, Lt. Gov, Att. Gen. and AG Comm.
Let's say that you're a civil and labor rights attorney - from way back. That you've been the General Counsel to the AFL-CIO in Texas and that you and your wife are lifetime members of the CWA (and that's where you met!). And let's say that you take NO corporate money, but you're elected as the Texas AG, and that you'd like to see if the oil and/or insurance companies are violating any of Texas' anti-trust laws.
A quick break here. "Texas' anti-trust laws?", you ask. Why, yes! Texas was the 2nd governmental entity in the entire world to enact anti-trust laws, and they did it about 10 years before the Sherman Act, and those laws are still on the books. Now, back to our story.
Now, let's say that you find - for example - that oil companies have violated Texas' anti-trust laws and war profiteering laws, and you start to go after them. Can the Governor or Lt. Gov. or Legislature stop you? Nope!
The courts can only stop you after a case gets there, by ruling against you, but they (should) obey the laws, so they may even rule in your favor.
So, David Van Os is running for Texas AG, where his position and unique power could benefit all of the country; can we all guess what kind of support he's getting from the aforementioned groups?
How about NONE! Only the Harris County Democratic Party and the Democracy for Houston party (kudos to Phillip McNutt) are lending him significant support in the largest city in Texas. Outside of Houston, there are groups that are trying to help, but they simply don't have the wherewithal to help much. Chris Bell, the Democratic nominee for Governor, is not doing anything, either; in fact, Chris has ducked at least one public function with Democratic candidates - to attend a Padres baseball game, though that wasn't what Chris claimed he was doing with his time.
It should be noted that Chris and his buddy, Barbara Radnofsky (Senate candidate) are raking in the corporate dollars.
David has a small campaign fund - less than $20K; the incumbent AG, a Rethuglican by the name of Greg Abbott, has almost $6,000,000. Wonder where Greg gets his money? Couldn't be the oil and insurance groups, could it??
So, what can you do?
1) Write to the DFA and ask that DVO be put on the top tier of candidates, so that he qualifies for funding help.
This link takes you to DVO campaign page, but if you're not a DFA member, you'll need to sign up for a free membership to recommend DVO. Please do that!
2) Write to TxDemocrats.org (try TxDemocrats.com - it links to the GOP; TxDemocrats can't even get their own website back!! I offered to do it for free - but Nooooooo!) and tell them to support DVO. rhernandez@txdemocrats.org (Executive Director)
3) Write to Chris Bell and tell him he should support DVO. You can post a comment here: , but you'll have to sign up to do that. Sorry.
4) You can read about David here and contribute here
How about this for cajones?
Now, let's not forget the Lt. Gov. nominee,
Maria Luisa Alvarado and the AG Commissioner nominee,
Hank Gilbert. Both of these individuals are
outstanding and deserve as much support as David is trying to get. I've spent quite a bit of time with David and his wife, Rachel, and some one-on-one time with Maria and Hank - and, in 34 years of political work, I've never met finer people - and they rank at the top of all of the people I've ever met.
TxSharon has blogged quite a bit here, and on TexasKos.com about all of this, but not about the Constitutional aspect (at least, not that I know of), but her posts have been very, very good. (www.TxSharon.DailyKos.com)
Please pass this around to your friends, regardless of what state they live in (unless it's DENIAL).
David has some videos on his website, but here's one on YourTube.com that was done recently; David is, to put it mildly, an energetic speaker - who, unlike Chris Bell, speaks extemporaneously.
The Democrats not supporting David, Maria Luisa and Hank is an OUTRAGE!!