In case you haven’t heard, Roy ended up in fourth place, as predicted by all. So how did he change the dynamics? Well, according to those “smart” people, he pulled votes from Peter Brown, allowing Gene Locke to “sneak” into a runoff with top vote getter Annise Parker. What a load of crap. These guys (and gals) are too smart for their own good, never leave the comfort of their own little clubs and have totally missed the underlying reasons that Roy impacted the race.
Did he pull votes from Brown? Possibly. Two/three percent, max. Perhaps there were organizations out there doing exit polls that will be able to point to a solid number but it will not be higher than that. Roy pulled his votes from Gene Locke, pure and simple. If it were not for Roy, Gene Locke would have been the top vote getter and Annise Parker a distant second. Peter Brown was never going to be in a runoff and, as Bob Stein noted on KHOU last night, probably helped Locke by including a picture of him in his mailer, thus sending the black vote his way rather than Brown’s. If the “smart” people would get their heads out into the sunshine, they could have seen it coming.
First off, the establishment Republicans were behind Gene Locke. If you don’t think that made a difference to conservative voters, you have missed the entire point of the Tea Party movement. Loser: Bob Eckels. Loser: Beverly Kaufman.
Secondly, the Obama administration sent their team into Houston to help Gene Locke. Again, if you don’t think that made a difference to conservative voters, you have missed the entire point of the Tea Party movement. Gene Locke represents the worst of both things considered vile to conservatives: back room power brokers deciding the outcome of elections and socialistic government expansion. Get a clue people.
Whether or not you think he is a lightweight, Roy was the only candidate on the ballot that was in line with conservatives on every single issue. It made zero sense for them to vote for the Republican choice of the day. Over time, the Harris County Republican Party realized that and in a bid to help his reelection as chair, Jared Woodfill allowed the party to endorse Roy. He then waited until after the first full week of early voting to let people know. Loser: Jared Woodfill.
So while these “smart” people are spending the day revising and spinning their very poor predictions, conservatives should be enjoying their resurgence in City of Houston politics. Sen. Dan Patrick may think the city cannot elect a Republican but a bunch of us haven’t given up. The truth is that Roy’s campaign was run almost entirely by volunteers in their very first campaign. The Democrats are used to running like this but conservatives, because we actually make money, were used to letting money talk. This model will no longer work: see Peter Brown for an example. No, we will have to get out and do the hard work now. And Roy’s campaign is an indication that we can do that. The best is yet to come.
We can do that with people like Alvin Walker. Alvin is what I’ll call a super volunteer for Roy. There were many others of course, Becky Flowers and Nina Garza come to mind, but I got to know Alvin pretty well from seeing him everywhere. And I mean everywhere! If there was an event, Alvin was there to support Roy. Sign placement, errands, whatever, Alvin was there. I asked him one time, Alvin, why are you doing this? His reply: I want to make a difference.
Now the really hard work starts, at least for conservative Republicans. The March primary is approaching fast and we must replace the current chair if we are to remain relevant. Jared Woodfill is a nice guy and no matter how many times I kick him in the groin, he is friendly to me and continues to push his vision of what conservatism should be about. I disagree with that vision. We cannot continue to shrink as a party just because he wants social conservatives to maintain power over the county group. If Harris County continues to turn blue, Texas will turn blue. I’m surprised that state party leaders haven’t realized the dire straits we are in but then again, I shouldn’t be. They just elected Cathie Adams as state chair, which pretty much reaffirms their commitment to be a minority party.