I'm partial.
Ok, I've admitted it. I'm impartial about a bunch of stuff, but it's quite hard to be impartial about politics, especially when the future of your country will depend on you and your fellow Americans' "partialities" (pardon me if I just coined another Bushism). As a result, in my "partiality" towards the Democratic Party, I tend to look for candidates for office that I like and that will help my party gain power throughout the nation. In 2004 I found a bumper crop of such "favorites" of mine, who for the most part were unsuccessful this year (with the notable exception of Melissa Bean). However, those candidates gave me inspiration and drive to work hard for victory in 2004, and I intend to continue the practice in 2005 and 2006. As of now, I have found three such candidates who I hope to work hard for online and to help achieve victory. The first of "Yellin's Yellers", as I'd like to call them, is Barbara Ann Radnofsky. Look at the extended entry to find out why I think so highly of her:
Name: Barbara Ann Radnofsky
(Likely) Mission: To be the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen first was in 1970.
People to Help Barbara Win: The Blogosphere!
I hope to do for Barbara what I (accidently) did for Ginny Schrader. To those of you unfamiliar with Ginny, I wrote an article about her the day her opponent, Congressman Jim Greenwood, retired unexpectedly, urging the "blogosphere" to unite behind her. The result was a massive outpouring of small donations to the tune of $30,000 in just 48 hours. Ginny became a blogosphere icon, and while she didn't win in November, she ran a credible race that wouldn't have occured without that spark that I lit. I hope to do the same for Barbara, but with far more time to get the job done.
Why? Well, for starters, she's a remarkable woman. At age 16 she went to college as a Merit Scholar, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston. At 19 she published her first doctoral article (for law) and proceeded to become a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Texas bar. Since 1979 she has been a well-known attorney with Vinson & Elkins, LLP (V&E), a pre-eminent firm in Texas that is based in Houston. In 1988 and 1989 she was named as "Outstanding Young Lawyer" of both Texas and Houston, and in 1993 was named one of America's top lawyers in a nationwide profile. In more recent years, Barbara has been recognized as a "Superlawyer" by Texas Monthly and as one of "The Best Health Care Lawyers in America" by the Corporate Counsel. Over the course of her career, Barbara has delivered over 140 speeches and written scores of arguments, essays and opinions for the courtroom and the boardroom alike.
But there is also another side of Barbara, which makes her truly qualified to serve the human part of being of US Senator. An experienced mediation teacher, she donated her services "pro bono" for teaching mediation to Upward Bound and to private and public school students, including middle school students for the Houston Bar Association "Peer Mediation in the Schools" project. She serves as Secretary of Friends of World Foundation Aids Research and Prevention, a major fighter in the war against AIDS. She also is on the Board of the Southwest USA Regional Sector of the Anti-Defamation League. I know her personally as a kind, warm and sincere friend who is not afraid to tackle tough problems or to propose solutions to those problems. Heck, she read, re-read and edited my 113-page play, all in 48 hours! (Long story, but I'll save it for another day)
Barbara is leaning towards entering the race for the US Senate seat of Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is up for reelection in 2006. It appears certain that Hutchison is going to run for Governor in 2006, challenging GOPer Rick Perry in what will be a rough primary fight. With Hutchison's seat open, the chances of a Democrat winning it increase greatly. Despite holding all statewide offices, the GOP has a suprisingly unknown group of office-holders, and of those four who are known, two are running for Governor (those would be Perry and Comptroller Kathleen Strayhorn). That leaves Attorney General Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, neither of which have strong statewide support. A moderate Democrat (Barbara is pro-gun, but also pro-choice, just like KBH) like Radnofsky could easily take advantage of the upcoming GOP civil war and make the Senate race competitive.
Barbara's website is http://www.radnofsky.com (it fully went up yesterday, so check it out!). It already features a (somewhat primitive) blog, and as she moves closer towards a candidacy you can expect the site to expand much more that it currently is. I urge all of you to take a look and see for yourself what I see in her: the potential to be a great US Senator for the Lonestar State! And wouldn't it be nice to stick it to President Bush in his home state? And for those of you who don't think it can be done, they said the same thing about Ginny Schrader on July 18th, 2004...