I've written about the attitudes in the heart of Red Texas - the different view of reality. It was a sobering diary, trying to explain the still common opinions here. http://www.dailykos.com/... But last night as I was enjoying the KOS diaries, I posted a comment about a recent event here along with some pictures. I realized that the outlook in our conservative rural county is dramatically different now than it was a year ago. And that's worth celebrating. We've gone from the silent party to those doggone Democrats who show up everywhere.
When my husband and I volunteered to be precinct captains for Sen. Obama for before the March primary here in Texas, we went to a training for our area in Austin and were told to make calls to get out the vote. The lists came from the Obama campaign and were available online through the great campaign site. A lot of us were making comments under our breath at the training about what a breeze this would be. We figured that outside of the immediate Austin area in our consistently conservative, rural Republican counties, there couldn't be but a couple of dozen calls to make.
Wrong. 350 calls later, my husband and I still had not completed the high priority calls just for our precinct. These were voters who had already contacted the Obama campaign and indicated an interest in support Sen. Obama. Then, on primary day, the polling place for our precinct was mobbed. My husband and an Obama volunteer spent the day giving instructions about the caucus and waving Obama signs the required distance from the voting place. The voters came through all day. They honked and waved and didn't seem the least ashamed of being Democrats any more. We had more Democratic voters in that primary than we've had in most general elections. 93 faithful Democrats showed up just at our polling place for the caucus - more than have voted in some primaries in the past. The "record" number at a caucus before had been about a dozen. They stood in the parking lot for almost an hour waiting for the lines of voters inside to finish.
For our county convention, we tried to get all of our Obama delegates to show up - and they responded with enthusiasm. Even the alternates showed up. We had the largest courtroom in the county courthouse, and it was standing room only. Being Democrats, we were not particularly speedy and ran over our time debating resolutions. The Republicans were scheduled to have the courtroom at 2 p.m. and we were still going strong. The someone took the microphone and yelled "Let 'em wait! For once we have them outnumbered!" And we did. The papers in the local newspaper showed our standing-room-only crowd - and the Republicans with a couple of dozen delegates, if that.
Suddenly Democratic yard signs and Obama signs are showing up. Our county party is building a fund to use for party building by selling hats, and signs, and T-shirts. One of the most popular shows a defiantly kicking donkey and alludes to Texas' Democratic past: "Your Daddy was right. Vote Democratic."
When I moved back to Texas in 2002, I saw no mention of the local Democratic party in the newspapers. I remember how excited I was to see a little, less-than-an-inch-long story about a Democratic Club meeting and realize that I was not totally alone. Now, we seem to be in the paper every week. Our primary results made the front page with the number of voters and caucus goers. For our celebration party after the primary, we took over the local theater and filled it. Pictures on the front page of the local paper. Our convention made the front page. We just got coverage in local papers in the two main towns in the county for the canvas grocery bags we are selling.
In the past we have kept our heads down and hoped not to be verbally attacked by Republicans. We're not being so quiet any more. My husband and I volunteered to help coordinate the party presence at local events. Most recently, there was our town's rodeo parade, a tradition here at least since I rode on a float in it almost 50 years ago. Our entry won the blue ribbon for the best non-float entry - and there we were in the newspaper again, with pictures. Below are some of the doggone Democrats who proudly marched in the parade. (My husband brought up the rear with a "Texas Democrat" bumper sticker pasted on his rear end - we're not a solemn group.)
It's still tough. We have a lot of work to do. McCain will probably carry our county and Texas. But we are making progress. Latest polls show Rick Noriega closing the gap on Sen. John Cornyn. Maybe Texas can at least send a Democratic senator to D.C. to help make changes. And I think we are making changes that can turn Texas into a blue state if we can just keep the momentum going.
A commenter was good enough to remind me of a great article in The Nation recently on the same topic as my diary - the political changes in Texas. The link is http://www.thenation.com/...