On August 9th, President Obama is coming to Texas. He will be attending private fundraisers in Austin and Dallas, but it is expected that he will also have a public event in Austin to tout the accomplishments of Democrats in the last year and a half. Some might think Texas Democratic candidates would flock to Austin to show their support for the president and their party, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
In fact, only one statewide candidate is willing to be seen with the president -- Linda Chavez-Thompson, candidate for Lt. Governor. Ms. Chavez-Thompson will be attending a luncheon for President Obama at Austin's Four Seasons Hotel. But then Ms. Chavez-Thompson has never been ashamed of her progressive and union roots or her party.
But the other statewide candidates are running away from President Obama like he had a combination of ebola and swine flu, and they could catch it just by being caught in the same county as the president. They may be running on the Democratic ticket, but they'd just as soon the voters of Texas forgot that when they go to the polls in November.
Democratic candidate for governor, Bill White, will be campaigning in Johnson county while the president is in Austin -- a couple of hundred miles away. This doesn't surprise me since White has never claimed to be a progressive or a supporter of the national party's goals anyway. He's an unashamed corporate-owned conservative Blue Dog, and he's trying to convince voters that he's not like those "Washington Democrats".
I'm a little more disappointed in the other statewide candidates. They ran as true progressives in the state primary, but are now trying to run away from that label. Candidate for Attorney General, Barbara Radnofsky, says she preoccupied with her own race and won't be appearing with Obama. Ditto for Land Commissioner candidate Hector Uribe. Agriculture Commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert and Railroad Commissioner candidate Jeff Weems have not said where they'll be, but I'll bet it's nowhere near President Obama.
Now I'll admit that Texas is a pretty solidly Republican state (there are no statewide Democratic officeholders), but it's pretty sad when Democratic candidates run away from the leader of their party. How do these candidates expect voters to vote for them when they act like they are ashamed of their own party?
Even worse is the fact that the state Democratic Party, led by chairman Boyd Richie, is not planning any kind of welcoming event for the president. Richie said, "Texans are patriotic people and proud to support our president, but at the end of the day, we've been winning Texas elections on Texas issues, and that will again be the case this November." What a load of crap!
The truth is that Texas Democrats have NOT been winning any statewide races on any kind of issues during Richie's tenure, and that's very likely to be repeated again this November (to my disgust). And why should they win? Why should any Texan vote for any Democrat who's afraid or ashamed of the party label?
Texans (and voters everywhere) like candidates who are proud of their beliefs and their party, and Texas Democrats will not start winning again until they get some of those candidates (and state party leaders willing to support proud progressive Democrats) -- not a bunch of wimps running away from their own leader.
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Meanwhile, in other Texas political news, the Fort Worth Star Telegram has printed a list of the 10 richest and poorest Texas members of the U.S. Congress. Here is their list (which does not take into account their congressional salary):
RICHEST
1. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Houston).....$38.08 million
2. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Coppell).....$11.89 million
3. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin).....$7.14 million
4. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Lubbock).....$5.19 million
5. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio).....$2.81 million
6. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).....$2.76 million
7. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Midland).....$2.08 million
8. Rep. Al Green (D-Houston).....$1.65 million
9. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Lake Jackson).....$1.64 million
10. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas).....$1.44 million
POOREST
1. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler).....-$150,000
2. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio).....-$45,000
3. Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso).....$16,000
4. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Plano).....$17,000
5. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas).....$18,000
6. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Humble).....$22,000
7. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Arlington).....$32,000
8. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco).....$106,000
9. Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston).....$190,000
10. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands).....$229,000
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