Texas Politics in the Presidential Race

It seems like everyone is paying attention to the presidential race this year. This is good news of course. The more people who are involved in politics the better. The more options that can be heard the more unbiased the results will be. What about the Texas government? With some many people focused on the presidential race, who is paying attention to what is happening in Texas? This editorial I found in the Dallas Morning News proves that someone knows what is going on. The author seems to be speaking to all of us that are wrapped up in the countries politics that we have forgotten our state.

With so many counties and politicians in Texas the author knows this can be confusing “Dizzying, yes, but these moving parts underscore why this election matters to Texas.” I had not realized how ignorant I was to Texas politics. The delicate balance held in the legislator can be tipped by a few counties. The most important counties in this race seem to be the large urban areas “If Harris County goes blue and Dallas County remains Democratic, a Democrat will have Texas' two largest urban bases from which to run. If Harris doesn't flip, Democrats will face a hard fight.” I’ve always viewed Texas as a Red state no questions. But it appears that my vote could help or hinder the Democrats from controlling the urban counties.

The author claims that too many Texans are not paying attention to Texas politics. I am ashamed to say that I am among them. I will attempt to heed this call and do my part in Texas politics as much if not more than I do for presidential politics.

Straight-ticket Voting

I am a new voter. So it is very appealing to me to walk into the booth and vote on the grounds of party. Even if I don’t know the candidates or the issues, at least I will be flying my flag. After searching for a while on a topic I felt passionate enough to write on, I found an editorial in The Dallas Morning News. The points raised in the article are so logical that I am ashamed to have ever considered straight-ticket voting. By voting just on party I may have voted for a candidate in some obscure office that may negatively affected me in some way. I could essentially be shooting myself in the foot. Issues are more important than parties. Many candidates only subscribe to a party to get the parties nomination. On one issue a candidate may be on the right and on another the left. Upon examining my own standing on issues it became evident that I, and I assume many others, are like that as well. Sometimes it is just better to go with the lesser of two evils, “Democratic voters might reflexively reject state Sen. Chris Harris, an irascible Republican who sometimes struggles to work with others in his own party. But a closer look at Melvin Willms, the unprepared Democratic challenger who could not name his state representative, should convince even left-leaning voters that they would be better represented by Mr. Harris.” For some offices it seems like party shouldn’t even matter at all. Judges for example should not have to run with parties. A judge’s personal beliefs on issues should not be able to affect whether the best judge wins. What is wrong and what is right by the law of the land is what a judge is supposed to know, and we should choose the Judge that is most fair and honest. “Voters who fall back on the straight-party option also will bypass legal heavyweights seeking judicial posts – jobs that have little to do with partisan politics.” The best thing a voter can do is to know who they are voting for before they enter the booth, no more or less. Don’t vote for someone just because you recognize the name or the party. If you don’t have an opinion on who should run an office, don’t make one up without knowing the issues.

81st Legislative Session

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A678059

What exactly the takes place at the Texas Legislative sessions has often confused me. Upon finding this article I gained some insight into what will take place at 81st session of the Texas Legislature. On the table for discussion this year is; how the state plans to deal with the damage from Hurricane Ike, how the fallout from the nations economy will affect Texas, and issues with the next governor election.

The next race for governor’s office isn’t until 2010. It seems a bit early to worry about that but it seems it will be a hot issue at the session this year. The article states, “Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's potential resignation to run for governor could initiate a domino effect of jockeying and angling for higher office, leaving the session bereft of leadership.” After reading this I realized why the sessions would want to discuss this, without the leadership in place very little can be accomplished.

It seems that the issues of the margins tax and gas tax have been raised before and with little result. Senator Kirk Watson was quoted as saying, “Are we gonna fix some of the things we said we were gonna fix last time?” Apparently the sessions aren’t as fruitful as some members believe they should be. Now that I have read this article I can watch and see if the issues I care about are addressed, like hurricane damage and taxes, or if the session spends their time arguing about the problem of leadership that wont be relevant for a year.