Category: Our Revolution

Whaddaya Know? OR Endorsed Beto after All!

2/11/2018

I'm tired of talking and writing about Election 2018, and chances are you're tired of hearing and reading about it. As of today, we're five days away from it being well & truly over, and from the beginning of the incessant Wednesday-morning quarterbacking that inevitably follows. My electoral dysfunction stems in part from inability to develop any enthusiasm for the candidate with whom many progressive friends have fallen ass-over-Whataburger-cup in love.

However, electoral talk has become a reflex for me over the years, like clonic twitching in my sleep. This is mostly because I enjoy sharing the perspective of a US voter who has overcome the duopolistic view of politics that dominates the discussion (cue audio clip from Beto) in this country. In 20-plus years as a Green voter, I have become an evangelist for multi-party democracy and a prophet railing against the insidious evils of the two-headed Corporate Party.

Speaking of Mr. All 254 Counties, a couple of months ago I reported that the Our Revolution chapters in Harris County and Texas had released lists of endorsees that did not include Rep. R.F. O'Rourke for US Senate. Socratic Gadfly picked up on this news and ran quite a distance with it.

Since then, I guess Our Revolutionaries have changed their collective mind. To my recollection, I never received an email from OR Texas announcing that Beto had been added, but by gum, there he is.

Sema to Appear at OR Harris County Saturday

4/10/2018

Our Revolution Harris County informs us that the guest speaker at this Saturday's monthly meeting will be none other than Sema Hernandez, proudly socialist Democratic candidate for US Senate in 2018. She is starting the process toward challenging John Cornyn for his seat in 2020, and she embodies the maxim that democracy does stop at voting.

Sema is a daughter of immigrants, oldest of 7 siblings and first American born child in her family. She grew up in a migrant working family and she understands the struggles of people who are burdened by crushing debt, job insecurity, and lack of healthcare coverage, among the other struggles of the working poor. Sema is a passionate Human Rights advocate, activist and organizer who made a historic run for U.S. Senate in the 2018 primary election.

Although Sema did not win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, she continues to remain active, organizing as the Co-Chair of the Texas Poor People’s Campaign, empowering voters to challenge their elected officials and candidates based on the issues to end systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the distorted moral narrative. Sema will be discuss[ing] the Poor People's Campaign and efforts to organize for progressive change.

WHERE: Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama St., 77006 (just east of The Chocolate Bar)
WHEN: 2 pm, Saturday 6 October.
RSVP: click here.

Our Revolution Harris County's Endorsement List

10/9/2018

There are days I'm really glad I got on Our Revolution Harris County's mailing list. Today is one of those days. I haven't been to any of the county or state OR meetings since February, and I have my doubts about whether OR's leadership will think outside the bipartisan box. I also wish that they had chosen a .org domain rather than .com, but whatevs. Nevertheless, I support their mission of developing and promoting progressive candidates for public office.

UPDATE: Our Revolution, Texas Gulf Coast Region, has released its list. It has all the same names, plus a few additional for offices on ballots in Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties. Their email does not provide a web link.

This past weekend, in lieu of its monthly meeting, OR-Harris held its endorsement forum for the 2018 general election. Here is the list of candidates endorsed, for offices in Harris and surrounding counties. It pleases me to see that Lina Hidalgo got the nod for Harris County Judge, not that I expected otherwise.

Do you notice anything odd about the list? I'll give you a few seconds.

That's right: nobody for US Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, any of the state executive offices, of the State Board of Education; nobody for Congress in Districts 7, 9, 18, or 22, just to name a few. Rock DJ-emerita Dayna Steele, running in District 36, has exhibited sufficient progressive bona fides to meet OR's criteria.

It's easy to forget that political organizations of this type do not endorse candidates who do not first seek their endorsement. Consider it common courtesy: You wouldn't want an unsolicited endorsement from an organization whose mission you oppose. I learned the hard way that nobody gets the Houston GLBT Political Caucus's endorsement without submitting an official written request. It help if you show up at their meetings, as many of the candidates in OR's list did.

If I can find more information on whether the O'Rourke, Hernandez, Collier, Pannill Fletcher, Sri Preston Kulkarni et al campaigns even bothered to ask, I'll post a follow-up.

If I were on the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, I wouldn't be hot to endorse this year's Democratic darling for US Senate; from what I've read, Rep. O'Rourke seems more interested in winning over Republican voters than progressives anyway. I do so like the photo on the HealthCare page of his website, with folks holding MEDICARE FOR ALL! signs, challenging O'Rourke to cosponsor H.R. 676 or at least explicitly add an Improved Medicare for All plank to his platform.

More on OR Endorsements, FWIW

9/2/2018

Something I forgot to work into this entry earlier: Sema Hernandez on Redacted Tonight VIP.

Yesterday I did not check my Junk folder, so I missed the other message that I received from Our Revolution. The message contains some the information found in this document, listing state and regional OR endorsements for various races, including Congressional contests in which Gulf Coast residents might vote. Be advised that the hyperlink at the top of each page directs you to a Google documents page containing the candidates' statements.

In addition to the lack of an endorsement for US Senate, the document mentions no endorsements for any statewide races. I presume they're holding off on that until after the primaries, but why? If I find out, I'll post something about it here.

Also, since Lina Hidalgo is unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Harris County Judge, they have opted to wait on that race as well.

OR-TX Gulf Coast Reports from OR-TX State Convention

8/2/2018

Our Revolution Texas had its statewide convention in San Antonio two weekends ago. Just this morning I received the Gulf Coast delegations report via e-mail. As disorganized and as unreliable a correspondent as I tend to be, it would be wrong to give them shit for the long delay.

I'm pleased to report that the OR Gulf Coast delegation chose my former fellow First UUer Luigi Bai to be its state Steering Committee representative. The message notes that Luigi also played a major role in drafting the state body's bylaws, which are still subject to revision and approval by regional groups.

In addition, seeing that populist firebrands Jim Hightower and David Van Os were not only in attendance but actively participating in this confab fills my heart with light and warmth.

Sema Not Endorsed
The paragraph below was not the only one in the message containing flagrant use of the passive voice. As for the development in relates, I'm not sure how I feel:

The Harris County OR Delegation made their unanimous motion for OR Texas to endorse Sema Hernandez for state senator. There was lengthy debate as to the appropriateness of the motion. It was decided the motion was appropriate and arguments were had for and against the endorsement, and for and against the appropriateness of this particular process for endorsement. After much debate and procedural maneuvering, the motion failed. We hope the new Statewide Steering Committee will work promptly to develop a process for endorsing candidates for state-wide office.

Bravo, Our Revolution Texas, Gulf Coast Region!

21/1/2018

Normally I would wait until Monday to post reflections on a Sunday afternoon political outing. But I couldn't wait that long to give some online kudos to the crew at Our Revolution. Mainly thanks to Facilitator Ann Rosenwinkel, the two-hour Texas Gulf Coast regional quarterly meeting at the Havens Center was well attended, ended well ahead of schedule, and accomplished quite a bit.

Mostly, the meeting gave members a chance to chat with some candidates and choose their delegates to next weekend's state meeting in San Antonio.

Sigh. Once upon a time, the Harris County Green Party could run a meeting that accomplished a lot and left attendees feeling energized afterward. Even when some members occasionally used meetings as soapboxes for their pet issues, we got stuff done.

Now that I have signed into an Our Revolution meeting, apparently I'm a member of something. Do I feel sufficiently jazzed by the experience to want to pour my blood, sweat, and tears into OR? Nah. But even if I have lingering suspicions about it being just another way to keep wayward progressives voting for Democrats, I must respect the way they ran this meeting and the group's sense of purpose.

Whaddaya Know? OR Endorsed Beto after All!

Sema to Appear at OR Harris County Saturday

Our Revolution Harris County's Endorsement List

More on OR Endorsements, FWIW

OR-TX Gulf Coast Reports from OR-TX State Convention

Bravo, Our Revolution Texas, Gulf Coast Region!

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