I was going to write my synopsis of what I think happened to Democrats leading up to the Red Storm, but this article by David Mann of The Texas Observer pretty much articulated some of my thoughts. So I’ll just add a few other things I think came into play with this past election season. Regardless what some might think, Texas Democrats were not ready to make the power play they tried this election season, but they did and now, as Mann states, it may have set progress back several more years afterwards.
To start with, Democrats in Texas have been wandering in the political wilderness for so long they are ready to see some glimmers of hope. The problem up to this point has been that they seem to think things could be like the days of Ann Richards and Mark White. While some either weren’t even born or where children during those days, many of the progressive old guard recall those days with hopes and dreams.
Add to that frustration with an ever-increasing conservative agenda promoted by Tea Party lawmakers. As budgets are cut for tax relief or socially conservative items such as abortion restrictions or voting changes make their way through the legislature without much opposition, the battle cries continue to build within Democrats that something has to be done.
The problem is that the state’s shift in power was so rapid, accelerated by the exit of the Dixiecrats to the Republican Party, that the party left really didn’t have the organizational skills to rebuild itself. It ended up having more a caretaker leadership than one that had the skills to counter the Republican onslaught. There were no Karl Roves in the Democratic Party.
Election after election, when it came time to find Democratic candidates to run against the Republicans, it was almost a game of seeing who would draw the short straw and become the sacrificial candidates, especially at the top of the ticket. Add to that false expectations by the Democratic faithful that a progressive message would resonate with Texans, especially minorities, and political observers would wonder when the Democrats would get tired of being stomped one more time at the polls.
So, when Davis exited the filibuster and achieved Democrat rockstar status nationally, including recognition by the president, the Democratic faithful felt they had found their “Moses” to lead them out of the wilderness. To her credit, she put the decision off as long as she could, dealing with family issues. But when Democrats get an idea in their head, it’s hard to shake it and Davis really had no choice but to answer the call.
For better or for worse, she was probably not the right candidate for the task. For starters, her only real claims to fame were filibusters, one for education and one for abortion. The first could probably be viewed as admirable, but the second was one that just didn’t resonate with Texans, much less most Texas women.
Secondly, as is usually the case for Democrats, there are never enough candidates stepping up to create a competitive vetting process like Republicans go through every primary season. Democrats informally picked Davis and her pink Mizunos and no one had better challenge her. In fact, most credible candidates really didn’t care to, mainly because they knew this wasn’t the election.
The Castro brothers, probably the most recognized rising stars of Texas Democrats, both bowed out of consideration. The only other pool of potential candidates would come from the same place Democrats found Davis, the Texas legislature. But none of the stars like Kirk Watson, Royce West, John Whitmire, or even Leticia Van de Putte would step up to put their hat in the ring. They were more than ready to put Davis on the altar for sacrifice, I mean, candidacy.
So we had Davis as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, getting ready to go up against a well financed, widely recognized, and seasoned Greg Abbott, who also had a rising star story that would be hard to beat, wheelchair included. But Davis needed a running mate, or at least that’s the way we seem to play politics in Texas. Even though the roles are so much different, we try to mimic the national model of president/vice president with our governor/lieutenant governor slate. But who?
Going back to that fateful night for Davis, one other star rose to the forefront when, after returning to the Capitol from her father’s funeral, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte entered the last hour madness of trying to run the clock out on the session. At one point, when it seemed like all hope was lost, she finally gained a minute from the speaker and uttered the now famous line, “Mr. President, at what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?”
That’s all Democrats in the gallery and across the state needed to pick her as the maverick firebrand to run with the rockstar candidate. Once again, the Democratic peer pressure mounted and Van de Putte became the candidate for Lite Gov, running against either the incumbent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Sen. Dan Patrick, Ag Commissioner Todd Staples, or Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, all seasoned statewide candidates.
So, I think you can see how both Davis and Van de Putte became the accidental candidates thanks to the overzealous intentions of Texas Democrats. Unfortunately, their candidacies never really had a chance and now it looks like the stage has been set for a new farm team of Republican statewides led by George P. Bush to move through the ranks and lock Democrats out of those offices for a decade or so.
That last part is really the problem I think Democrats fail to grasp. The path to statewide victories begins by building a farm team at the lower ranks. At some point, Democrats have to give enough confidence to a candidate running in the lower offices to eventually seat one to build the party. That’s how a Democrat turned Republican state rep ended up in the Ag Commissioner office and eventually become the longest serving governor in the state.
Hopefully someone in the party will figure this out and start reigning in this misguided enthusiasm.