Texas and California stand as similar states heading in very different directions. Both are territorially large and boast large urban centers and robust high-tech industries. Both are racially diverse. Both have extensive coastlines and large energy and agribusiness industries. Both share borders with Mexico and have outsized economies. If either California or Texas were their own country, they would rank in the global top 20 and outmuscle most other countries on earth.
But California, a Democrat stronghold, suffers from unemployment about two points above the national average. Its state and city budgets flirt with bankruptcy, and its population is fleeing. Unions and their demands clog the public sector, making government in the state increasingly unaffordable, so taxes keep going up. Texas, a Republican stronghold and right-to-work state, has unemployment well below the national average, its books are balanced, and it’s always at or near the top in population growth over the past decade. Business survey after business survey rank Texas as one of the top states in which to do business; they rank California at or near the bottom. Companies are moving to Texas, and away from California. Property values have been stable in Texas despite the national bubble; they have rollercoastered in California. California’s tax burden remains one of the highest in the nation, while Texas’ is one of the lowest.
With much fanfare and hullabaloo, President Obama’s former campaign, Organizing for Action, recently launched a 10-year effort to turn red Texas into a true swing state. The plan, officially unveiled in a meeting in Austin on February 26 by Obama operative Jeremy Bird, hails the onset of Battleground Texas. Texas is not a swing state, at least not yet, but Battleground Texas intends to treat it like one in a sustained and systematic way so that it becomes one.
Democratic groups have tried, and failed, to turn back the clock on Texas’ shift from Democrat fortress as late as the 1980s to the Republican bastion that it is now without success. The most publicized of these, the Lone Star Project led by Washington, D.C., activist Matt Angle, was funded by trial lawyer cash to fight tort reform, voter ID, and push for left-wing policies. Its goal was to elect a Democrat speaker of the Texas House of Representatives by 2010 and elect a Democrat to statewide office — any statewide office. That year, though, Republicans made unprecedented gains and turned the Democratic caucus in the state House into a tiny club. Several Democratic officeholders defected to the GOP, further reducing the party’s power. Gov. Rick Perry trounced Democrat challenger Bill White, and no Democrat came close to winning any statewide office. Angle’s Lone Star Project is a lavishly funded failure.
Bird’s effort is different.
And we can't do the same thing why? This bugs the expletive out of me because how hard is it really to develop a nation-wide conservative infrastructure; the only reason Romney won the primaries last year was because he had the money and the "boots on the ground" volunteers while the other candidates split the... (show more)
And we can't do the same thing why? This bugs the expletive out of me because how hard is it really to develop a nation-wide conservative infrastructure; the only reason Romney won the primaries last year was because he had the money and the "boots on the ground" volunteers while the other candidates split the conservative vote. And yet Romney's political infrastructure come general election time was ultimately swamped by the Obama campaig's get-out-the-vote efforts in key major cities in swing states and amongst the youth. Make no mistake this political infrastructure will remain in the hands of the DNC.
Of course the crux of the RNC's "autopsy" was simply: vote for amnesty and screw the rule of law. The "people at the top" of the GOP don't realize that it is not about policy, it's about who is communicating that policy and how good they are at communicating. Democrats have an edge in this since any controversial statement made by a Dem will only make the local media (see: Colorado gun debate involving concealed carry and rape on college campuses) while any controversy a conservative or Republican makes is turned into a national scandal (see: Akin and Mourdock) which obviously brings down the image of the GOP as a whole. We don't need to change our platform we need to change how we deliver that platform to voters and who delivers that platform to voters. If RNC officials can grasp that then we can actually divert resources into fixing a real problem that can be fixed instead of attempting to fix an imaginary problem that will do nothing but depress turnout amongst the base. Sorry for the length of this rant. (show less)
They don't move on to the next 4 or 5 prospects. We already know our mind but they don't. There's nothing more frustrating to a salesperson than working with someone who gives every impression of buying... and then walking away.
Take that concept into the macro realm. Don't fight them, drain them. Demand answers without making assertions which can be rebutted. Accuse them. Question their motives. Belittle them. Be relentless. Take no joy in the task. Do it dispassionately, like taking out the trash. Pivot. Get 'the children' into it. If the subject is the military, make it about an 'at-risk child.'
If it's about wealth disparity, make it about the... (show more)
They don't move on to the next 4 or 5 prospects. We already know our mind but they don't. There's nothing more frustrating to a salesperson than working with someone who gives every impression of buying... and then walking away.
Take that concept into the macro realm. Don't fight them, drain them. Demand answers without making assertions which can be rebutted. Accuse them. Question their motives. Belittle them. Be relentless. Take no joy in the task. Do it dispassionately, like taking out the trash. Pivot. Get 'the children' into it. If the subject is the military, make it about an 'at-risk child.'
If it's about wealth disparity, make it about the unions not ponying up their fair share. It's easy. In fact, it's TOO easy.
(show less)
A Houston Talk Radio Host sat in for Bill Cunningham (Drudge's former program) this last Sunday night. Someone called in from California reporting dire personal constraints caused by his State's taxing and spending. Our Texas Host kindly offered a goodly list of Texas merits including its lower cost of living and much lower taxes. He noted its successes and the positive directions it is heading in. He completed his encouragement by letting the caller know other Californians had moved and were reporting welcoming and positive experiences in Texas.
For our purposes the merits of the West Texas native and the Houston Talk Radio fellow is that they are/can also openly and naturally describe to a Texas audience Texas' merits followed by why they exist, are... (show more)
A Houston Talk Radio Host sat in for Bill Cunningham (Drudge's former program) this last Sunday night. Someone called in from California reporting dire personal constraints caused by his State's taxing and spending. Our Texas Host kindly offered a goodly list of Texas merits including its lower cost of living and much lower taxes. He noted its successes and the positive directions it is heading in. He completed his encouragement by letting the caller know other Californians had moved and were reporting welcoming and positive experiences in Texas.
For our purposes the merits of the West Texas native and the Houston Talk Radio fellow is that they are/can also openly and naturally describe to a Texas audience Texas' merits followed by why they exist, are occurring and, with more of the same, can be expected to continue and increase.
Next strategy ... how to get these types of information from these types of sources out to persons/groups that need to be better informed/educated. (show less)
There are more endocannabinoid receptors in the body than any other receptor type. The endocannabinoid system is a major regulator in the body implicated in almost all diseases including cancer.
Medical Marijuana prohibition is a crime against humanity and a violation of the religious precept - heal the sick.
Some time, if you are interested, do a casual perusal of "endocannabinoid NIH" on your favorite search engine. Even better go to the NIH site and search "endocannabinoid". If you are a "conservative" you will not be amused.
There are more endocannabinoid receptors in the body than any other receptor type. The endocannabinoid system is a major regulator in the body implicated in almost all diseases including cancer.
Medical Marijuana prohibition is a crime against humanity and a violation of the religious precept - heal the sick.
Some time, if you are interested, do a casual perusal of "endocannabinoid NIH" on your favorite search engine. Even better go to the NIH site and search "endocannabinoid". If you are a "conservative" you will not be amused.
Pot hasn't made anybody smarter, just more likely to vote Democrat.
Pot hasn't made anybody smarter, just more likely to vote Democrat.
<a href="http://weaselzippers.us/2013/03/22/texas-school-system-teaching-students-america-responsible-for-911/#disqus_thread" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://weaselzippers.us/2013/03/22/texas-school-system-teaching-students-america-responsible-for-911/#disqus_thread</a>
<a href="http://weaselzippers.us/2013/03/22/texas-school-system-teaching-students-america-responsible-for-911/#disqus_thread" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://weaselzippers.us/2013/03/22/texas-school-system-teaching-students-america-responsible-for-911/#disqus_thread</a>
And we can't do the same thing why? This bugs the expletive out of me because how hard is it really to develop a nation-wide conservative infrastructure; the only reason Romney won the primaries last year was because he had the money and the "boots on the ground" volunteers while the other candidates split the... (show more)
And we can't do the same thing why? This bugs the expletive out of me because how hard is it really to develop a nation-wide conservative infrastructure; the only reason Romney won the primaries last year was because he had the money and the "boots on the ground" volunteers while the other candidates split the conservative vote. And yet Romney's political infrastructure come general election time was ultimately swamped by the Obama campaig's get-out-the-vote efforts in key major cities in swing states and amongst the youth. Make no mistake this political infrastructure will remain in the hands of the DNC.
Of course the crux of the RNC's "autopsy" was simply: vote for amnesty and screw the rule of law. The "people at the top" of the GOP don't realize that it is not about policy, it's about who is communicating that policy and how good they are at communicating. Democrats have an edge in this since any controversial statement made by a Dem will only make the local media (see: Colorado gun debate involving concealed carry and rape on college campuses) while any controversy a conservative or Republican makes is turned into a national scandal (see: Akin and Mourdock) which obviously brings down the image of the GOP as a whole. We don't need to change our platform we need to change how we deliver that platform to voters and who delivers that platform to voters. If RNC officials can grasp that then we can actually divert resources into fixing a real problem that can be fixed instead of attempting to fix an imaginary problem that will do nothing but depress turnout amongst the base. Sorry for the length of this rant. (show less)
The Dems can't wait to destroy another state, another feather in their cap like NY, Illinois & California.
The Dems can't wait to destroy another state, another feather in their cap like NY, Illinois & California.
What they Left is peddling simply has no resonance with the life experiences, never mind beliefs of the locals.
The ethos is simply that free people come together to forge common solutions when necessary. The Left wants some bearded doofus reading from a book, with no authority of either experience or character. Might as well send a parrot.
What they Left is peddling simply has no resonance with the life experiences, never mind beliefs of the locals.
The ethos is simply that free people come together to forge common solutions when necessary. The Left wants some bearded doofus reading from a book, with no authority of either experience or character. Might as well send a parrot.