The Democrats arrive today for three days of fellowship and non-insane party platform construction. As noted before, I'll be mostly limited to the blogger caucus tomorrow - and if you can, you really should try to make it - but many familiar Texas bloggers will be a bigger presence throughout, and at least one of them promises some live conventionblogging.
Meanwhile, Byron notes this bit of optimism from Dem State Chair Charles Soechting.
The leader of the state party intends to help Democrats wrangle control of the Texas House away from Republican power this November. He'll attempt to give the anemic party a boost at the Texas Democratic Convention Thursday through Saturday in Houston."It starts this time. You can't violate the voters' trust and insult the voters' intelligence and be as arrogant as they have been about their method of governing and not expect that you have consequences," he said.
Republicans now hold an 88-62 advantage in the House. Winning back the majority will be a tall order to fill for Democrats, but ever-optimistic Soechting has set his sights on wresting 15 seats from the GOP in the November election.
[...]
Soechting began his battle by recruiting 35 candidates to oppose Republicans in state House races. His plan of attack: recapture the "forgotten" middle class.
"This middle class is a tremendous group of people who get up and go to work everyday and play by the rules and do everything the way they're supposed to, and then just watch government take advantage of them with no regard for what's going on in their lives," he said.
By Soechting's calculations, soaring gasoline prices, unaffordable prescription drug costs, millions wasted on redistricting efforts and a failure to untangle the state's current school funding quagmire are just a few of the ills suffered by Middle America at the hands of Republicans in power.
"This middle class is a tremendous group of people who get up and go to work everyday and play by the rules and do everything the way they're supposed to, and then just watch government take advantage of them with no regard for what's going on in their lives," [Schoecting] said.
He's got that exactly right. Exactly. Very rare perspicacity for a Democrat.
Posted by: Another Rice Grad on June 18, 2004 1:53 AMIt is amazing that a fellow, Schoecting, who has been married nearly more times that you have fingers on one hand, speaks of middle class values. Moreover, I don't believe that taking advantage of the middle class started with the Republicans since the Democrats controlled both houses of the national congress for over 25 years when federal income taxes were raised and not lowered. True, the democrats created many "programs." But, my father and mother never got the benefit of one of those programs since they were truly middle class and not members of some minority "supported" by the Democrat controlled congress.
Posted by: Really on August 18, 2004 9:34 AM