Dems Should Keep The "Texas Two-Step"

I arrived in Austin last night, and I'm really looking forward to the Texas Democratic Convention which will start Friday morning. This marks the seventh state convention I have attended, and promises to be one of the more exiciting ones. But there seems to be a movement afoot that I don't like.

There are those who want to change the way Texas apportions its delegates. Currently, Texas uses a combination of a primary and a caucus system. It has been commonly referred to as the Texas Two-Step.

The majority of the delegates are apportioned by the outcome of a statewide primary. Then on election night, a smaller group of delegates are picked by those who attend a party caucus at each precinct. The precinct delegates then go to a county or senatorial district convention and choose delegates to the state convention.

Some say the caucuses are unfair because there are those who cannot (or will not) attend. They point to the problems at some precincts and county conventions, and say it would be better to apportion all delegates by the results of the primary alone. I disagree.

These people are overlooking the valuable resource the caucus system has been to the state and local party. I have nothing against the primary part of the system. It gives those who only have time to vote a voice in the system.

But the caucus system does something even more valuable to the party. It identifies those who are willing to do even more for the party than just vote. It gives the party a way to identify and engage these people to help the party in other ways. This is especially important in a year like this one where many new people showed up at the caucuses. The caucuses help to build the party for this election, and elections in the future.

I am not speaking against the primary. It gives a large number of people a voice in the party's choice. I just believe the caucuses are too valuable for the party to abandon.

The problems experienced at some precincts and county conventions were not due to a flaw in the current system, but to a lack of leadership and training. They can be remedied without changing the system.

Currently, Texas has the best of both worlds. We should keep our system just as it is. The "Texas Two-Step" is good for both the people and the party. (Picture above is of a San Antonio precinct caucus.)