Walleye snot nosed hissy fit:
There’s very little talk among political junkies in Texas this morning about anything else except Wendy Davis’ stunning and unexpected announcement that she favors open carry in Texas. That means strapping a gun on your hip and parading around town like something out of a damn John Wayne movie. Oh yeah, Texas needs more guys with tiny winkies strapping on holsters.
It’s pandering plain and simple. I know that no candidate is going to agree with me about 100% of things. However, I do expect the candidates I support to be honest with both me and themselves. We have lost every statewide race in Texas since Elvis died because our political consultants say we have to pander to the rightwing to win.
This is not about agreeing with me. This is about dumb campaigning. It is about a notion that the only way you can win in Texas is to be untrue to yourself. This one in particular is about sacrificing your children’s safety on the alter of winning.
Let me tell you one thing. Given a choice between a Real Republican and a Democrat who talks like a Republican, Republicans will pick the Real Republican every damn time. And your base Democrats will stay at home. I have statistics to prove that.
As Paul Begala says, “Texas is not a Republican state. Texas is a non voting state.” And the non voters are Democrats who have had nothing to vote for.
Wendy Davis did not get national attention by pandering to Republican voters. She got it by talking to the base. Hear this one thing: there is not a persuable voter universe out there. Repeatedly, it has been shown not to exist. But, there are a lot of Democrats not voting.
The Davis campaign has had a rough month. They’ve been insular and unnecessarily rude to reporters. And have paid dearly for it. I can tell you that way back last year I was involved in a fundraiser with Wendy in Galveston and her campaign threatened to not let her speak unless we got the reporter from the Galveston Daily News out of the room. Here we were with 400 people who paid $50 each to hear her and her campaign is threatening us? Holy crap, Son, what part of “me profit, you overhead” did her consultants not understand? No, we didn’t tell anybody about it because it was so damn embarrassing – to her campaign.
She up and endorses a candidate for the senate race who is rich, rich, big ole Texas rich and has lavished money on Republicans like bread on the waters. But he also lavished money on the Davis campaign’s lead consultants back when they were going hungry. The whole thing stank like a goat with two week old catfish in his back pocket.
Then Texas writers began writing. Columnists, bloggers, and tweeters asked when the hell that campaign is going to get its act together.
So in response, almost shockingly ironic, the campaign doubles down. Out of the clear blue, they come out in favor of open carry. Open damn carry. Like that’s something that helps education, health care, jobs … you know, the things Texans care about. The things Wendy is not discussing because she’s constantly having to defend herself while her consultants play audio tape games with Abbott’s campaign consultants. They are playing inside baseball when Texans need health care. It makes me want to storm in the headquarters with a paddle and threaten all the little consultants to grow up or get the hell out.
I thought her running mate, Leticia Van De Putte, summed it up best. Leticia has been Wendy’s biggest supporter and left her father’s funeral to stand beside her during the filibuster.
Asked about her position on allowing Texans with a concealed handgun license to openly tote their pistols, Van de Putte publicly broke with Davis on the issue. The Associated press reported Thursday that Davis supports open carry legislation.
“I’ve had law enforcement back home say they don’t think open carry makes their jobs easier,” she said. “This is one where Wendy and I disagree … I’m with my law enforcement on this one.”
And Van de Putte also addressed whether she’d be running a joint ticket with Davis or whether they’d have separate campaigns and strategies.
“We’re both on the Democratic ticket, but Wendy is running her campaign. Let’s face it their campaign has had a tough couple of months. But I did not put my name in the lieutenant governor race because I want to help Wendy.”
James Moore, the guy you see on MSNBC with strong liberal credentials, blew up this morning and I can hardly blame him.
Even stranger, there’s no real polling that justifies Davis’ position. Never mind the fact that this is the type of issue that the average voter isn’t even thinking about, there was not a single Democrat in the Texas house that signed onto an open carry law, and a survey by Texas Politics on gun control indicates that 72% of the state’s Republicans are either in favor of stricter gun control laws or leaving the present regulations unchanged. Where is her constituency for this ill-considered pronouncement? And why now? Or why ever?
It is mid February. If this campaign doesn’t get back on track soon, it’s over. We’ve sacrificed another Democrat to a nonexistent “persuadable Republican,” when all we had to do is excite the base in urban areas and South Texas.
I feel sure her campaign is telling her, “What’s your base going to do? Vote for Abbot? They won’t do that because he’s worse for them than you are.” No, they won’t vote for Abbott. They just won’t vote and that is the worst thing you can do to Texas.
Your base is running away, Wendy. You better find where they are going so you can led them there.
I know I’m going to get hollered at for having this hissy fit. That’s okay. I consider tar and feathers to be a fashion accessory.
