Have you guys read the latest Bum Steer awards? OMG

[w8liftinglady]

you must, MUST come to the message board. Pro=life men abound.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/stand-desk/and-bum-steer-year

[shenmue]

1. Yipes

Oh dear.

[Gman]

2. Sadly, Texas Monthly is spot on

We didn't even have a viable candidate before Wendy made her stand so it's not like her commandint presence cleared the field and all yielded to her. It was a remarkable stand the way she filibustered, and she made it possible for us to run out the clock. She likely would have made a good governor. But I don't know if she is strong enough to deal with an omnipotent GOP. Overall, there were no viable candidates for the Democratic Party in Texas for governor. Actually, there were no candidates. Then voila. The last best chance for the party was Bill White. Now there's no one, frankly, stupid enough to run as a Democrat.

The whole thing was nothing ore than wishful thinking. The TDP has had a black hole void of leadership since TDP Chairman Bob Slagle stepped down after being overthrown by that same Bill White. There is no functioning party any more.

So yes, Texas Monthly is spot on. Sorry to be brutal about it, but the Democratic Party in Texas is in horrible shape with no leadership, no direction, and no viable plan. I stand and applaud every single one of the folks that gave hundreds of thousands of hours trying to turn Texas blue. But it never was going to be and the people that led them on thinking it might be possible are exactly the problem. I don't know what the answer is anymore. I thought I did 5-10 years ago. But not anymore. There will be warm breathing human on the ballot 4 years from now. But there are no more viable statewide candidates (emphasis on the word "viable&quot .

The SDEC is nothing more than a club that some think makes them leaders. They are so caught up in their own circle jerks they have no clue what to do. They're more about the hospitality rooms than anything.

I quit doing this in the state party when I saw these people wanting to throw out good solid leadership because they thought they were there too long. No plan, no ideas and above all no money. But they were there too long.

At this point, I've likely seen my last Democratic governor in Texas for my lifetime in Ann Richards. I was elected to the SDEC 3 times, 6 years in total when there was good leadership. I was a Clinton delegate to the DNC in 92 and a Kerry delegate in 2004. I know what good leadership is and it ain't there anymore. Bob Bullock was my friend. Ann was my friend.

Bob Bullock continues to turn flips in his grave. Ann just shakes her head.

I'll stop now!

[w8liftinglady]

3. It is sad how the party has devolved a bit.

Now, I AM working very aggressively for david Cozad ,who is running AGAIN against Joe Barton in 2016.We were literally abandoned by the state party in 2014...and by the national Party as well.Dems in our district are plentiful,but they're poor and work a lot of hours. We needed some air time and paper advertisement desperately.David would have convinced some moderates to at least vote for him (Of course, we thought the same thing about Cole Ballweg). We have a different game plan now. F%ck the national and state party. I am pimping David to every group I can.He WILL have commercials. He WILL have t-shirts. He WILL have meet and greets with constituents. His district is a gerrymandered 240 miles from tip to tip -with some parts being a few blocks wide.He WILL be able to go through the district meeting with different voting blocs.We are especially going to push medical blocs.I will also handle the lgbt Bloc and the college bloc.My friend will handle the union bloc, the minority blocs,the feminist blocs.David will tend to the education,environmental groups,Veterans and science groups, since those are his babies.

[Gman]

6. Keep it up

And don't count on the party for anything. You're doing it right.

[Paladin]

4. Sorry, I refuse to let "Texas Monthly" impact my Democratic status.

That magazine hasn't been worth a shit since the original staff departed to write their novels. In its present, sorry form, "TM" is nothing more than a pimping device for the Texas Republican Party. You don't believe that a flattering article can be rendered on the likes of Dan Patrick? You must have missed last month's issue---count yourself lucky. I just received the "Bum Steer" issue, the last of a free subscription a relative sent my way. It will be a cold day in hell before I pick up another copy of that Godawful publication.

There are plenty of reasons to be bummed out about how the recent elections turned out. But don't let a bunch of talent-free Republican suck-ups make it any worse for you. Ann Richards and Bob Bullock would not approve.

[Gman]

5. TM has no bearing on my views

I just agree with their assessment. My view and opinion is the same as it has been now for many years.

I think the biggest lesson can be learned from the Abott campaign. They beat the Democrats at their own grassroots game. They were doing voter registration with a purpose. Each registrar was paid and had a goal of so many valid registrations per week. If they didn't meet the goal they were let go. They ran it to get results and not a jobs program. They did other things textbook.

The end result was that just like the Obama campaign in 12 scoffed at the notion that Romney was winning, the Abbot campaign scoffed at any notion that Davis was close because they knew because they did everything right, just like the Obsma campaign.

A lot of money was put into tx for Davis. Then Tx has the lowest turnout in the country. Voters were apathetic, but all that money was squandered because they failed to motivate Democratic voters.