Fayette County Democratic Party
Newsletter for July 2023
Hello Again…
The record hot temperatures keeping us all inside is getting old. Mornings are a mad dash to water everything before the sun delivers its merciless daily burn. Just a second ago, at 10 pm, I realized I still had a slow drip hose watering a Sycamore tree. Gosh, I need an Excel spreadsheet with alarms set just to keep track of what is being watered and for how long.
That same crazy hot weather kept the FCDP float off the parade route in Round Top this 4th of July. With so few committing to ride, for good reason, we had to pull our parade application. In its place, my husband and I attended an Independence Day party and something disturbing happened there. I overheard two women going on and on about Democrats, pointing to our failings, our crimes, “Hunter Biden’s laptop”, and the “Biden crime family”. “Those Democrats are just not patriotic!”. Unsettling, right, but even more unsettling was that I quietly backed away and said nothing, always the polite guest. I should have respectfully said, “Hey, I am a Democrat and I am patriotic, the same as you!” My failure to respond was a lesson for me and next time I won’t be backing away. Our goal for this newsletter is to be about not backing away from bringing attention to those never ending political topics of the day. So, let’s get to it.
Courage IS in short supply
A similar scenario is being replayed now during the Special Legislative Sessions going on in Austin. For example, with Abbott’s School Voucher Bill I have to believe there are many Republicans in the Texas Legislature who know the bill is a scam and bad for their own rural public schools. But they won’t stand up to Abbott. If they don’t, they will wish they had! They lack the courage to truly represent their constituents, just like I failed to stand up as a proud Democrat with those two ladies on Independence Day. The message here is to be proud of your Democratic beliefs.
Why a Donkey?
I got to wondering about how the Democratic Donkey became our party’s symbol and found this explanation on The History Channel’s website to pass on to you:
“The origins of the Democratic donkey can be traced to the 1828 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. During that race, opponents of Jackson called him a jackass. Rather than rejecting the label Jackson was amused by it and included an image of the animal in his campaign posters. Jackson went on to defeat incumbent John Quincy Adams and serve as America’s first Democratic president.”
That beloved symbol of the Democratic Party is known to stand for the party’s commitment to hard work, determination and stubbornness in the face of adversity. It also symbolizes the party’s roots in the working class and its dedication to fight for the rights of every American. I especially like this kicking one!
Why not partner with us as we advocate for those afore mentioned Democratic Party ideals. And yes, it takes money (that ugly ask), but your financial gift will help us pay for upcoming newspaper & radio advertising, mailers, and postcards. Dare I dream of a billboard on Highway 71 or US 290? (And why not!) A reoccurring contribution of even $10 per month, especially from many, can add up to a lot and be enormously important to see us through the remainder of the year and beyond. At this rate, Gov Abbott’s policies are sure to turn Texas into a pariah state and no one will want to move here. And equally important, voting out Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in 2024 must not take a back seat if we care about keeping the Democracy we love. We thank you for your kind generosity in advance should decide to donate. (Clicking on the button below will open the FCDP’s Act Blue secure donation web page. Act Blue is an online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and organizations.)
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Contest Every Race (CER) awards grants to rural county Democratic party organizations and offers training, coaching and tech tools to help grow local parties and increase volunteer participation. Shockingly, over 70% of electoral races go uncontested! The goal is to recruit a Democrat to run against every Republican! A happy surprise arrived in our FCDP Inbox recently letting us know our CER grant application was successful. Yay!! Grant funding is connected to the completion of required actions over time which are designed to guide us in growing our numbers and influence. Not wasting a beat, we’ve jumped in with both feet by attending several CER virtual meetings already. Linking up virtually with other rural Democrats around the US provides a rich environment for learning how to build volunteer networks and, especially important, to understand how to recruit candidates. We’ll be working through the CER training program for the next several months and will keep you posted.
Upcoming Events
August 17th – Democratic Neighbors Luncheon, Thursday, 11:30, La Marina Mexican Restaurant, La Grange
August 31st– September 3rd – Visit us at the Democratic Party Booth at the Fayette County Fair. (Exact location to be announced, we are trying for the same spot as last year.)
July Democratic Neighbors Luncheon
A little short on male attendance this month, but who can complain when several new faces brightened the private room at La Marina Mexican restaurant. Since starting these luncheons in May, they have developed a certain familiar characteristic… an energetic buzz that always makes me smile for days afterwards. Kudos to Patty Reid for supplying flowers for the tables and Linda McCall who brought a vase of beautiful home-grown flowers for our sign-in table. Laura Logan created a new “Welcome Neighbors” sign using her artistic superpowers for which we are always grateful. And next luncheon let’s give a big FCDP thank you to Kelsy, our waitperson at La Marina. How she keeps track of our orders is a minor miracle! Our next luncheon will again be on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Join us on August 17th, 11:30 am, La Marina Mexican Restaurant, La Grange. And not to be forgotten, Joan Schenker won our Book of the Month Door Prize - congratulations and happy reading.
There is never enough time at our luncheon to actually conduct a little bit of business. What kind of business, you ask? Our mission is to find and gather together the like thinking folks here in Fayette County. But when we find you wonderful people, we wonder about what is important to you. Questions that come to mind are:
How long have you lived in Fayette County and is your voting address here?
How did you hear about the luncheon?
What political or public policy issues concern you the most?
What actions do you consider taking regarding any issue of concern?
Are you interested in becoming more active?
Why not take a moment to let us know in the “Comment” section at the end of the newsletter or send us your ideas and thoughts to fayettetxdemocrats@gmail.com or even call us at 979-484-7925 and leave a message - we’ll get back to you.
Courage was NOT in short supply
Josh Tutt and Eric Henke were two great examples of Democratic candidates “showing up” in 2020. Josh ran against TX Sen Kolkhorst (District 18) and Eric ran in the Primary Election for US House of Representatives (District 31). In the end, Republicans prevailed, but these two had the courage to run without any previous political experience.
In addition, Eric is a talented singer songwriter who I’ve had the pleasure to hear. His song/video, “Turn Texas Blue” is guaranteed to make you smile and maybe hum the chorus all day as well :)
Letters to the Editor
Thanks to Kirk Pate and Patty Reid for the following editorial contributions.
CONVICT KEN PAXTON By Kirk Pate
Most Fayette County voters believe in holding people accountable for criminal behavior. Now is the time to put those beliefs into action.
On May 27, 2023, the Texas House of Representatives, by a vote of 121 to 23, impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton on accusations that included bribery, dereliction of duty, disregard of official duty, and obstruction of justice.
Well-substantiated and corroborated Impeachment articles included seven of disregard of official duty, one of misapplication of public resources, two of constitutional bribery, two of obstruction of justice, three of false statements in official records, one of conspiracy and attempted conspiracy, one of misappropriation of public resources, one of dereliction of duty, one of unfitness of office, and one of abuse of public trust.
Explanation of Impeachment articles: (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/25/ken-paxton-20-articles-impeachment/)
But the story does not end with Paxton’s impeachment. The court of Texas public opinion must condemn Ken Paxton for his criminal behavior. With Paxton’s trial in the Texas Senate scheduled for September 5, 2023, everyone disgusted with Paxton’s criminal behavior must contact Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst now and demand that she votes to convict Paxton for his crimes. And she, too, must be held accountable according to her vote.
Call her, email her, visit her…Senator Lois Kolkhorst - lois.kolkhorst@senate.tx.gov 512-463-0118, snail mail address: P.O. Box 12068, Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711
CONTINUE TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!
OPPOSING SCHOOL VOUCHERS by Patty Reid
Americans deserve a free public education. We have depended on this necessity for years; and now we must fight for this right. Our Founding Fathers sought ways to promote the success of the fragile American Democracy. They decided it required an educated population. A free public education has been a right for all Americans to produce literate, productive citizens so that students from diverse backgrounds could interact and find common ground.
Here we are once again fighting for our Democracy and for the funding of free public schools. It is more important than ever in this divided America to keep our public schools fully supported. The political theater that Governor Abbott and Lois Kolkhorst are acting in promotes diverting the money meant for public schools to vouchers for private schools. Americans know the importance of public education. We must continue to fight the misinformation that diverting this money to vouchers won’t hurt our free public schools.
Note: On the subject of public education, Texas Monthly Magazine (August issue) has a must read article - “Going for Broke”. It discusses how proposed School Vouchers will likely bankrupt a rural West Texas school and gives the inside story on the inequities produced by the Texas school funding system.
Demand Action from Your Representatives
YOU CAN DO THIS: You can craft your own letter by using this simple messaging guide along with Kirk’s and Patty’s articles as examples.
State a shared value
Name the villain
Summarize and make a closing statement about what you want them to do
Include the names and contact details for your Reps and Senators
Easy, peasy! Send by email or snail mail.
P.S. It’s also nice for these hard working, tired, and probably frustrated public servants to hear your positive comments, too. So send them some love from time to time. It’s been a long hard year so far.
OR…
By clicking on the links below, you can easily and quickly contact your elected representatives without having to compose your own letter. Just follow their directions to send off a smoking hot letter almost automatically:
Texas Issues, Voter Information
South Central TX League of Women Voters
https://lwvtexas.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=979482&module_id=465924#/
Action items change depending on current issues, keep checking back for new items.
Education
Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT)
For information about teacher pay, school vouchers, charter schools https://www.texasaft.org/newsroom/
They host a site to send a pre-written letter to your US House Representative. It’s an easy way to make your voice heard and support our teachers and public schools in Washington. Use the following link:
Raise Your Hand Texas
https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/
Click on Policy Priorities to read about School Vouchers, School Funding, Teacher Workforce, etc. (Doesn’t support automatic letter sending)
Send comments/questions/concerns/ideas to: fayettetxdemocrats@gmail
In the words of our Texas Democratic Party information guru, Marco…
Sigue la lucha (The struggle continues)! Hang in there - Annette
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I'm hoping for lots of comments on how to handle the situation you describe at the Independence Day party. I would probably do the same, just stand by in silence, and I feel like I need a better solution.