I’ve often written about the need to take the high road, focus on winning the person rather than the argument, adhere to the big tent philosophy, or other in general play nice types of articles. See here, here, here, here, here and here.  These posts and ones recognizing good done by others regardless of political affiliation such as Edward Pollard’s food distribution are done for times such as this – to establish the proposition that we are stronger when we work together.  All the chatter of real conservatives, RINO, real republicans, etc is to our detriment.

Right now the party is in the midst of outright disintegration as a cohesive entity, and it any major outside shock would lead us to virtual collapse since we have no leader who can address any major shock involving the party apparatus itself. We are our own worst enemy.  The Democratic Party doesn’t need to push on any big issues locally since they can simply sit back and let us destroy ourselves.  Why subject their candidates to scrutiny on positions when they can sit back and let us dig our own grave?

Chris Bell and Rodney Ellis likely don’t like each other, but you don’t see the dirty laundry aired in public.  That’s reminiscent of when we were winning at the county wide level.  All of our dirty laundry was kept behind closed doors. We, as a party, have to stop this very public fighting if we want to try and salvage any potential of taking back Commissioner’s Court next cycle.

Ramsey winning the seat for Commissioner’s Court is the biggest local race we face this cycle.  If he loses it doesn’t matter if we can find a candidate to unseat Judge Hidalgo next cycle – the democrats will have three of the four Commissioner Court precincts and have control for the foreseeable future.  This needs to be priority number one for the local party, otherwise all is lost countywide.

We have too many factions within HCRP to try and list.  With no effective leader it’s going to take the factions themselves regulating their members to try and bring some sense of cohesion to the party.  We have forgotten we agree on more than we disagree.  Covid and masks will not last forever, but the damage to the local party might.  That’s a touch hyperbolic, but the public warfare will lead to long lasting damage.  There’s the very real possibility that the damage occurring now is going to impact Ramsey’s race.  It also may create enough damage that we can’t come together in 2022 when vulnerable judges are up for reelection.

We have to stop the infighting, and stop now, lest we become an afterthought countywide.  If you think the county is poorly governed on the whole now, just wait until there’s no threat to democratic control on the Commissioner’s Court.  If Ramsey loses the fear of Commissioner’s Court possibly flipping next cycle is lost, and there’s no restraint to the flights of fancy they can push through.

It’s time to call a truce and come together for our own good. If we don’t we are regulated to an afterthought for the foreseeable future.