Burnt Orange Report

Why The Texas Democratic Party Matters

By Andrew Dobbs

There has been a lot of talk about the nature of the Texas Democratic Party, all prompted by Damon’s posting of our most recent online fundraiser. I want to start out by thanking those of you who gave to this effort—it means a lot to all of us who are working hard down here. As for anyone else, I would like to address some of your concerns.

To begin, I’m going to do something I never do. I never take credit for my work, because it isn’t about me, it is about the party and the people we are fighting for. The idea behind this campaign, the graphic and the text of the pitch were all created by yours truly. That’s what I do. I’ve also designed stuff for some of our candidates, I keep our website up to date, I do opposition research for many of our candidates, write press releases, speeches, Op-Eds and a whole host of other things. Some campaigns can’t afford a full-time press guy, and I am happy to help them out. By the way, I’m also a full-time student and I can say that the TDP is helping put at least one kid through college.

Some people complain that we don’t do anything down at the TDP. I don’t know where this comes from because I’m here 40 hours a week and I know that is not true. Earlier this year we sent one of our field staffers out to Ector County for a County Commissioner’s race. Last year we had field staffers in every corner of the state. We send people out to campaigns all of the time to help them learn the voter file (which we provide to campaigns for free), develop a campaign strategy and raise money. We are also recruiting candidates for races all over the state right now.

As for our consultants, we don’t have many and most don’t make a whole lot of money. Kelly Fero worked for the Party all last year, coming in almost every day, working constantly to help organize this state for the Democratic Party. For all of this his annual salary from the party was $7,200, the same amount a Texas legislator makes. He now does a lot of the same work pro bono. Oh, and the $9,200 a month someone keeps whining about was actually for a fundraiser, not a consultant, and she raised more money than her salary, so that was actually a net gain. Other consultants have done great work for us, some paid, but most for free. Philip’s dad, Ed, is one of them.

In terms of communication, much of what you see in the news that makes the GOP look bad or us look good came from our office one way or the other. TRMPAC wasn’t a story at all until some TDP consultants started talking to reporters on background and giving them the info they need to get those stories out there. This is a service that you can’t see every day. But it is one of the most important things we do because the more our position becomes conventional wisdom, and the more people know about what the GOP is doing down in Austin, the better we’ll do in 2006 and beyond.

As for finance, we do a lot to help out campaigns. We provide many campaign services for free and help campaigns raise their own money. Our indefatigable comptroller, Shelley Smith, also helps out many campaigns with compliance issues. We also gave out tens of thousands of dollars in cash and in kind over the 2004 election cycle, much of it to challengers who are laying foundations in communities that need Democratic outreach. We don’t make a huge deal when we spend this kind of money on campaigns. Maybe we should, but there is something to be said for keeping the emphasis on the candidate.

The fact of the matter is that people are right when they say we should do more—and we are. We are developing new programs and tools all the time to help Democrats get elected. But to say that we do nothing now or that we are ineffective is unfair and untrue. We do a lot of good and we want you all to be a part of it. Come by our offices at 707 Rio Grande in Austin and we’ll put you to work. Call us up at (512) 478-9800 and we’ll help you get connected to your local party. Sign up for our email list so you can keep informed, and become a Sustaining Member so you can brag that you are a “card-carrying Democrat.” Most importantly, email me or leave a comment here telling us what we could be doing better.

I hope this clears things up a little bit, because it is important that we start working together. Complaining won’t win any elections; coming down here or calling us and letting us know what you need where you are will. Let’s get started!