The "Stealth" Democrats

Looking at the plummeting numbers of Georgie and his fellow Republicans last Spring, I had visions of good Democratic candidates taking back the state of Texas, and restoring good government here. Now I am not so sure this is a possibility. In a very unscientific little experiment of my own last week, I decided to see how well the Democratic candidates are doing. I asked some of my co-workers if they knew who the following people were: Barbara Radnofsky, David Van Os, Hank Gilbert, Maria Luisa Alvarado, Fred Head and VaLinda Hathcox.

I was not pleased with their answers [and these are people who WILL be voting in November]. I did not ask these people who they would be voting for, but only if they knew who these people were. Barbara Radnofsky fared better than the others. Most knew that she was Kay Bailey Hutchinson's opponent. They were familiar with the names of David Van Os and Hank Gilbert, but had no idea what office they were running for. None of them had any idea who the others were. It's possible that I just happen to work with unknowledgeable people, but I think they are pretty representative of many Texas voters. How can this be with only six weeks left until election day?

I think it began at the Democratic Convention last June, when the party shoved Alvarado, Head and Hathcox out of prime time, so they could argue over who would lead the state party. While this is an important issue, most Texas simply do not care. Democrats would have been better served to put their candidates in prime time, and save the party fight for later. The state party has not done much better since the convention. It is almost as if they are running two candidates - Radnofsky and Bell. The others are forgotten. But the party is not the only one responsible for the creation of "stealth" candidates.

The mainstream media must accept their share of the blame. TV and newspapers have focused almost entirely on the governor's race, with some coverage of the senate race [but not much]. Van Os and Gilbert get a little coverage, but only because they kick up a fuss and refuse to be totally ignored. But when was the last time you read a story in the main-stream media about Alvarado, Head and Hathcox. I've seen them ignored even when they are in town campaigning.

We bloggers are not immune to blame either. Many of us are so tied up with the race for governor, that we tend to ignore the other races. I am guilty of this, and so are many others.

The candidates themselves must also shoulder some of the blame. I'm not sure that all of them are doing everything they can to get their name before the public. As an example, shortly after the convention I asked each candidate to put me on their e-mail alert list. Since then, I have heard regularly from Van Os and Gilbert [as I said, these men refuse to be ignored, even by a small blog]. But I have received nothing from any of the other candidates, and that surprises me. I would think that an unknown candidate would be jumping at the opportunity to get their name out there in any kind of media.

The stealth airplane is a good idea. It's stealth allows it to survive in a war zone. But a "stealth" candidate is a terrible idea, because most people simply will not vote for a candidate they do not know. By focusing only on the governor's race, we are in the process of blowing a golden opportunity.