I spent two hours this weekend in a face to face interview with
Roger Owen, who is running for Congress in my home district (TX-01).
When I say interview I mean he interviewed me for a position in his campaign while I interviewed him to decide if I would work for his campaign.
Roger Owen is a true Democrat and I Will be working for his campaign.
I am, and will continue to be a senior adviser along with a temporary position as campaign manager. Since Roger is just a regular guy who doesn't have much to invest in the campaign he does not have any other staff and won't until enough money comes in to support a staff or more people volunteer for the campaign.
Many people believe that TX-01 is a long cause because Louis Gohmert won it in 2004 with 62% of the vote, but I ran the numbers and TX-01 was intended to be a democratic seat.
Follow me below for the details on why we can win in TX-01 and why Roger Owen should be the man to do it.
After the 2002 Congressional election, as everyone knows, the Texas Congress redrew the congressional districts in an unprecedented (unconstitutional?) re-alignment after Tom DeLay's money bought the Texas Congress.
The goal of the re-alignment was, of course, to secure a Republican majority in their Congressional delegation to Washington. One of the methods they used was too strenthened certain democratic districts with sittin long term incumbents and use available Republican heavy areas too strengthen other districts to create Republican strongholds.
TX-01 was one of the Districts that was conceded to a strong Democratic incumbent, Max sandlin.
Redistricting added Smith county (Tyler) which provided, then democrat, Ralph Hall with 25% of his total votes in 2002 and Gregg county (Longview) where Hall won 67% of the vote and 16% of his total. It also added Angelina County (Lufkin) where Jim Turner received more votes then any other individual county and San Augustine where Turner got 76% of the vote. Finally TX-01 kept Harrison (Marshall) and Panola (Carthage) counties where Max Sandlin received 60% of the vote in each. The redistricting pulled Hunt county, where challenger John Lawrence got more votes then any other county, and Wood county, where Lawrence won 58% of the vote in 2002, out of TX-01.
The 2004 election in Texas was an aberration because of the high Republican turn-out for George Bush. Analysis shows the change in vote percentage was closely linked to turnout when comparing the 2002 and 2004 election results for congress in the counties that are now a part of TX-01.
This analysis clearly shows that TX-01 was intended to be a Democratic district since Max Sandlin was a long time incumbent in a traditionally democratic area, but the high turnout allowed Louis Gohmert to win the district. Since George Bush won't be on the ballot this year and Gohmert, Perry, and Hutchinson won't be a driving massive turnout a Democrat can win in TX-01, If we fight.
Now that I have done what I can to prove that the race in winnable let me tell you some things about the candidate I have chosen. Roger Owen is a lifelong democrat who cut his political teath in Broward county Fl. (a democratic stronghold). He is currently an independent contractor and small business owner doing swimming pool construction and maintenance.
Our conversation proved to my satisfaction that he is truly a democrat at heart but would do his best to represent the people of this district and their needs even if that means going against the wishes of those who are more liberal or progressive then the majority of the people of this district. Don't get me wrong, Roger would be a formidable ally in the war to take back the country from the corporatists and religious zealots that have taken control of it. In just about every area where most Democrats are concerned Roger will be a brave fighter who cares more about the needs of the people of his district, and the country as a whole, and their needs while not being concerned about political expediency and mincing words. He really has the potential to rival the most outspoken wingnut in congress but from the other side of the political spectrum.
Roger is just a regular person who was just trying to live a humble life while dealing with the same problems that have beset many of us in our lifetimes, but after seeing what has become of our country from the influence of lobbyists, religious zealots, and corporate cronies he decided he had to do something so he dug into his tight wallet and dug out the money, $3,125, to file for office so that the people in this area would have a chance to elect a person who would look out for their interests instead of, like many in the country, being represented by someone who is mostly interested in political expediency, their own pocketbooks, their own bigotries, and/or their own fears.
Many people know me and are aware of my ideas and ideals and I hope you know I would not be endorsing someone, much less giving my full resources of time and money into electing a candidate, unless he/she would be acceptable to the majority of the Kos community and would also be electable in a heavily rural, somewhat conservative, racially diverse, and in many ways liberal district.
Some of you may be aware of a dust-up over at MyDD that occurred last month where Matt Stoller got the mistaken idea that Roger was against raising the Minimum wage and universal or single payer health care. This is what Roger wrote at MyDD concerning these issues.
...Along with tying the minimum wage to the cost of living index, it would also have to be "area specific". Another index to consider is the disparity between the average wage of a worker versus a CEO's compensation package of a given company. Maybe a CEO's compensation package should be tied to the average worker's wage in that company. And to exceed that limit could be subject to a "punitive tax". I think you would find that it would then be in a CEO's best interest to advance the pay scales of the rank and file employees.
In reference to national health care, we should take what already exists under various other programs. And establish/move it to a national health care program. Once established, then it would be easier to tweak/expand that program.
From this quote you will see that Roger is not only for raising the minimum wage, but would tie it too the cost of living both nationally and locally, and he is also in favor of creating a healthcare system that guaranteed everyone has access to healthcare while reducing the cost to the government and the people as a whole.
In conclusion I hope I have proven to your satisfaction that TX-01 is a winnable district and that Roger Owen is the right man to truly represent the people of my home district.
Please come to Roger's website and support us in any way you can.
P.S. Roger's website is a little unorthodox, but he likes it that way. It, like Roger, does not fit into the mold's that the cookie cutter elite wants us to fit into.
P.P.S. Roger has not done any fundraising and has funded everything out of his extremely frugal pockets and he could use whatever he can get for transportation to local events and the usual investment in sign's and stuff. Roger will us any investments like it was his own money. He will do whatever he can to get the most out of every dollar collected. Just like he would try to make the country do.
P.P.S. If you can devote time or any other resource to the campaign please e-mail me at this address.
P.P.P.S. Help wanted: Experienced campaign manager; must be willing to work for leftovers or at least willing to take a few moments to let Tom know what he need to do the job. If you e-mail a phone number Tom will call it on his own dime, without any guarantes as to what agencies might be listening.