If Texas Democrats are to make gains in the top echelons of political offices in Texas, they are going to have to convince some Republicans to vote for them. Lt. Gov. candidate Mike Collier appears to understand this message and took advantage of the Republican Party of Texas’ shunning of the Log Cabin Republicans to start the process.
Houston, TX — TODAY, April 10th, Texas Lt. Governor Nominee, Mike Collier reacts the Texas Republican Party’s decision to exclude the LGBT group, Log Cabin Republicans, from their state convention.
From the Log Cabin Republicans Facebook page:
“(The) State Republican Executive Committee voted against allowing Log Cabin Republicans of Texas a booth at the Republican Party of Texas convention in June.”
“Shame on the Texas GOP for shunning a group of their own supporters from their convention. No Texan deserves to be denied their dignity,” Collier said in response.
“The Texas Republican Party, led by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, is clearly hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit a specific profile. Democrats welcome all Texans, and if the LCR of Texas want to have their voices heard, I welcome them to our Democratic State Convention in Fort Worth in June,” Collier added.
“By refusing to allow the LCR to have a booth at the State Convention, the Texas GOP has drawn a line in the sand. They do not stand for equality, even when it comes to some of their most strident supporters,” Collier said. “Furthermore, the GOP has done irreparable harm to Texas’ standing in the business community. Companies simply will not invest in a state that is hostile to the LGBT community.”
In the 2018 Texas primary, more voters chose Democrats or an alternative to Dan Patrick in the Lt. Governor election. Patrick’s opponent endorsed Mike Collier and has actively campaigned on Collier’s behalf. Democrats doubled their primary turnout from 2014, while the Lt. Governor saw an astounding 20% drop-off in votes from the Gubernatorial primary race.
Please visit CollierforTexas.com for more.
Much of the Texas political media have focused on the Senate race, Ted Cruz vs Beto O’Rourke. I’m pretty certain that’s because they pretty much hate Cruz and are hoping and wishing for an upset. And, you know, it’s the Senate after all.
But from where I sit on the coast of Texas in Harris County, the bigger opportunity for Democrats is the Lt. Gov. post. A relatively unknown primary challenger to Lt. Gov. Patrick was able to pull about 10 points closer to Patrick than anyone predicted, although Scott Milder fell far short of the 40% I thought he needed to spell trouble for Dan in the fall. The Lt. Gov. of Texas is a far more powerful position than a U.S. Senator for everyday Texans, as evidenced by how little Ted has been able to do for the state, even under a Republican president.
Collier is an intriguing candidate for moderate and fiscal conservative Republicans. A CPA, MBA, CFO – you get it, he’s got the acronyms down. But he also worked in the oil business. And he’s a Longhorn. Heck, he probably even goes to church!
On the issues, he’s taking Patrick head-on on Patrick’s signature issue – property taxes. Maybe other Republicans are like me and tune out when Patrick mentions property taxes and are willing to listen to a financial guy instead of political rhetoric. Who knows? After all, property taxes may be Dan’s signature issue but in his now 12 years in office (hard to believe, isn’t it), Dan hasn’t done anything to actually address the problem in any substantial way or we wouldn’t be talking about it, would we?
Of course, there are other issues, namely illegal immigration, and that is going to be a tough hill to climb for Collier, as it’s arguably the number one issue for the majority of Texas voters, moderate or not. And Dan is going to be pounding on that issue and the passage of SB4 to no end.
One issue where Collier should have a large advantage is public education. It’s a mess folks, a total mess. From financing to STAAR tests, it’s a certified mess. If Collier is able to put together a comprehensive package of reform ideas, perhaps teachers and parents will buy in. Patrick’s support of school vouchers does nothing to address the overall problem and even exacerbates the financial issues.
But back to the topic at hand, the Texas GOP’s shunning of the Log Cabin Republicans, I had a reader email saying “So what? The Dumbocrats don’t let us talk about pro-life and guns at their convention!”
Well, actually, they do. It seems that booths representing both of those issues have been rented out to groups that oppose the Texas Democratic Party’s official positions. Here is a link to an article about a pro-life group:
I caught up with the Texas leader of Democrats for Life of America, Lois Kerschen, at her group’s booth to better understand how she squares anti-abortion politics with progressivism, when for most Americans, the two seem to go hand-in-hand.
“The Democratic Party has always been the champion of the weak, of the defenseless, the underprivileged, the disenfranchised, and the unborn child fits all those categories,” Kerschen said. “So it would be more natural for the Democratic Party to defend the preborn.”
Huh. I guess the Democratic grassroots aren’t as skeered of different ideas as Republican grassroots.
I’m hoping to catch up with Mr. Collier and find out for myself if he has a chance at pulling this off. You never know what a voter is going to do when they walk in the booth. And with the Republican Party of Texas pushing out anyone that doesn’t pass their purity test, well, who knows?