Here's a story about some Democratic activity going on in Tom Craddick's back yard.
To develop a strategy and move ahead with honing a local political voice steeped in Democratic political ideology, Democrats have forged the West Texas Convocation. Slated for Saturday, the all-day event is billed as "04 and Beyond: A New Era of Optimism."The event will include speeches, special events and dignitaries to address building a cohesive support system. For the past several months, local Democrats have been meeting to develop an action plan to attract more local Democratic voices.
"The whole idea is to try and get these people out to vote. There are a lot of (young) people ... who say they see no difference. One party gets in power. Another party gets in power. No one really is listening to (the young) age group," [Midland County Democratic Party chairman Gilberto] Garcia said. "We're going to see what we can do to get the 25 to 35 age group to get out and exercise their rights. That's one of the things we'll be looking at ... how to energize the party."
A luncheon at noon will feature a keynote address from Liz Carpenter, White House secretary for President Lyndon B. Johnson. Bettie Richie, of the Texas Democratic Women, will focus on "Solutions for Winning," with other sessions billed as "Getting Started" and "Building a Core of Young Democrats." A second keynote address will be delivered at 7:30 p.m. by State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, a member of the group of 50 Democratic House members who fled the state to Oklahoma and became known as "Killer D's" to thwart a vote on a redistricting bill in May.
"I think whoever the Democratic [Presidential] nominee is will have a real chance to win," said Gloria Grier, event chairman for the convocation. "If I didn't think he did, I wouldn't be doing this. There is always hope."
Wow, that is impressive to see. If I weren't working, that would even be worth a road trip. Hopefully, with Garnett Coleman there, we might see something along these lines closer to Texas. I vote for Tom DeLay's back yard of Ft. Bend county.
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Posted by: Laura in DC on September 17, 2003 2:50 PM