Spot on, Michelle! Especially this: The only thing standing between Texas and a blue wave isn’t voter registration. It’s whether enough of us give a damn to turn that paper advantage into a real one.
I agree 100%. I will not be at the Capital Saturday. 😢
I am supposed to teach basic VAN to new precinct chairs. I can’t reschedule it. Tonight as I taught Developing Your Precinct; I told the class. If we work hard and GOTV for the Democratic Party candidates. We have done our job. After all Governor Abbott only won with 25% of the vote. Out of 100% of the vote, 75% did not vote for him. We have to encourage 75% of the Texas Electorate to vote. I’ll pray they vote for the Democratic Party Candidate. The Candidate needs to convince them to vote for them.
Today I went to an event Bexar County had called “Where is Chip Roy” Rally. I met a candidate Gary Taylor.
Thank you for your work, Eva Camacho Guzman. I registered around 30 high school seniors in May in 45 minutes with the assistance of a wonderful Safety Resource Officer in this crazy red, dysfunctional county and it felt good. We have to keep doing what we can, where we can, when we can!❤️
Thank you so much for your work. I tried to do the work you are doing and I could not do it. I almost started hyperventilating when I tried. It takes a certain personality to do what you do. So again, thank you. The fine on the VDR application scares me to death. I know that was the GOPs point when they passed that law the last legislative session. (I think it was passed on the last one?). So, if we all do what we can. Texas will be successful. Even if it’s just helping your precinct chair with 10 voters that live close to you. I say that because I want Texas Readers to reach out to their precinct chairs and ask, what can I do to help. If the precinct chair says nothing. That is a sign they aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing. File for precinct chair. Filling starts September 9, 2025. Ends December 8, 2035.
The encouragement for Texas voters to engage should not be "your vote matters." It should be "take back government from those who do not represent their constituents." The fundamental struggle we're in is economic, with the wealthiest Americans, of both parties, engaged in a massive power and money grab from the bottom 75%. Spend one week reading the New York Times, and you will see that the strategy is to always shift focus away from economic issues. The tactics are (1) shifting any debate to left v centrists by stoking conflict between progressive leftists, the working class and unions, and the educated liberal elite in the Democratic Party, (2) advocating DEI to the exclusion of economic equity issues, (3) removing anyone from party power who breaks through the narrative control to advocate economic issues. David Hogg, Zohran Mamdami, Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, AOC and others are being targeted from within their own party. The justification is that they're too "radical" to win elections, but the truth of the matter is that their own party donors don't want them to win elections. Shifting focus to DEI is false advocacy for the 75%, in the sense that existing law protects people from discrimination, but the social safety net and progressive taxation that spreads wealth down the income distribution, are vulnerable. The propagandists who create these narratives are cynically indifferent to party and policy, and operate only from a platform of protecting their own wealth and control. There is no difference between the parties, for them, for a reason. The Republican and Democratic party elites both rely on the Jedi mind trick of relentlessly shifting focus away from economics to the culture war. The elected representatives of neither party represents their constituents, but rather, their wealthy donors. So convincing Texans that their vote matters is difficult, at best. Why should they bother to vote when the results are the same, no matter who is elected? The only argument that has a chance of landing with them is "take back control of the Democratic Party so it works for you." Thankfully, Texas Dems have leadership that is working for the people now, like Kendall Scudder, so it just may work.
I’m a precinct chair and co-founder of Hands Off Central TX, the group that’s been leading protests and organizing nonstop.
Your “show up, knock doors, do the work” line?
Been doing it. For years. Have you?
Come block walk with me. And when someone says, “Didn’t Democrats leave town just to come back and let it all happen? Same old politics — both parties are the same,” you can show me how to sell “nuance” to a disengaged voter.
That’s the reality on the ground right now.
This is one battle. Not the war. So was D-Day. It was a turning point. The sacrifices made at that time make being away from home with financial consequences seem pretty pale, don't they?
I don’t know how to sell nuance to disengaged voters, I’m here trying to sell people highly engaged in politics.
I’ll sign the petition, but beyond that, I don’t know what else to do besides encourage people to keep their head up and believe everything will be okay, and I do think it will be okay. These GOP maps won’t hold up under anything more than a 50% voter turnout next year.
Find out which Dems caved, and we can start working on primaries. Because from what I understand, there were some who wanted to stay and some who could not.
And the nine from the border, they sold us all out.
Most everyday people live in a very black and white world, at least when it comes to something they have no interest in, like politics.The average voter's habit of demanding perfection from Democrats and forgiving all sins from Republicans is a learned trait. It is carefully cultivated by a pre-existing culture in Texas where all politicians and politics are suspect, plus targeted RW media propaganda. Republicans made the rules of the game wherein Democrats are suspect and must prove they are not. Democrats don't have to play that game.
It takes a constant and intentional effort on the part of Republicans to keep voters in a bad mood and hating the world. This is why they are freaking out right now. Reality is breaking through. Republicans may have given up on trying to keep the manipulation going. Now, they are just going to brute force legislating regardless of public opinion. Therefore, we should target the contrast between what Republicans say they are going to do and what Republicans are actually doing. Blaming Democrats is an avoidance tactic for voters deeply identifying with an idealized Republican personal identity.
Politically, this is our chance to drive the wedge. Don't defend or explain the nuance. It's virtually impossible to prove a negative. Instead, invite questioning of Republicans and what they are doing. Make it a binary choice between Democrats who try to do the right thing and fail and the guys who try to do the wrong thing on purpose. We might be surprised at the result.
Sigh. I will be honest. I was hoping till december and i am not quite pleased they decided to come back but at the same time that is true. Your state has a significant amount of voter apathy and suppression that makes it difficult for democrats to win statewide. If you are able to address that somehow Texas can flip. But the republicans know this and this is why they make these laws. This laws are not designed to change people lives for the better. These laws are designed to push people not to participate in the political process and lose hope. Fascism feeds into people fear and apathy towards the political system and that leads to them winning. They only win if they push people far enough that their voice and power have no influence.
Here in the DSA and being a leftist. We call revolutionary optimism. Its a discipline and a practice. For us its always considered revolutionary to be optimistic as being a doomer wont solve anything. Hell even if you cant be optimistic at least stay alive long enough in spite of these fascists to lose power permanently. Sometimes even hatred can keep you going.
Nuance is the spinach nobody wants to eat while screaming for cake. Texas Democrats didn’t “sell out” — they played delay, bait, and bleed, which is the political version of keeping the enemy in a slow cooker until they fall off the bone.
But try telling that to the “burn it all down” crowd who think politics is a Marvel movie. They want the final boss battle now, credits rolling in two hours, everyone in matching t-shirts. Meanwhile, the GOP just put their racist intent on tape, in public, gift-wrapped for federal court. That’s not caving, that’s setting the trap and letting them walk in wearing clown shoes.
We’ve got more likely-Democratic voters on paper than Republicans do. But paper doesn’t vote. People do. And too many of ours would rather doompost than drag three friends to the polls.
The long game isn’t sexy. It’s boring, relentless, and usually smells like bad coffee in a volunteer break room. But it’s the only way Texas turns blue. So either pick up a clipboard or get out of the way of the people who will.
this can't be good: wags at US Chamber say........
"The US Chamber of Commerce estimated this month that the country has about 236,000 small-business importers—those with fewer than 500 employees. In 2023, the goods they bought from abroad were worth more than $868 billion.
They now face a combined annual tariff hit of $202 billion and are finding it difficult to navigate all the red tape required to comply with the president’s levies (the legality of which is yet another variable, given ongoing litigation)."
Approximating Democratic party voter by looking at who pulled a Democratic Party primary ballot may actually underrepresent the number of Democrats. In Texas, you can vote in whichever primary you want, then vote your own party ticket in the general election. I always vote in the Republican party primary against the most egregious candidate, then vote a straight Democratic party ticket in the general.
Thanks for an informative article but will you please clarify the following as to how you are getting the number for “new voters who lean blue”?
“ But if you look at the last few decades of Texas voting data, the number of people who have voted in Democratic primaries (plus new voters who lean blue) does outnumber the folks who’ve shown up for Republican primaries. That’s not fantasy, that’s math.”
Brilliant points. Number 2 is especially worth keeping in mind. Let's not underestimate the chain reaction. —And... I've said this before, but I'll say it again: As someone who was a poll worker for 10 years, I can attest to the fact that Democrats are notorious for NOT voting in local and state elections. In elections where voters were given party ballots, 95% of the folks who showed up were REPUBLICANS! So, to Democrats who think local and state elections don't matter: GET UP OFF YOUR BUTTS! REGISTER TO VOTE AND GET TO THE POLLS. IN EVERY ELECTION. Because voting in every election DOES matter!
Not going to engage in gloom & doom. I deserve to feel good about a lot of what Dems have been doing lately. One minor thought on registered to a party or not. I do say we do not register by party because one can change party voting at any time without having to do anything except walking to a different location in the voting polls
must have been tuff...they were in a good hotel. comfortable and all....please advise if any were at say........the Midnight Motel or the Ajax on the South Side of Chicago...I am guessing no
breakways before stayed out much longer
and the Alamo...those guys gave their life to Texas
our crowd, not so much
not heros but quitters and capitulators
spin it how ur like, and u all are getting pretty creative...
but no Tex Dem showed the spine of my backyard garden lizard
But the thing about the Alamo was it ignited Texans' will to fight and San Jacinto came next. Although our legislators did not sacrifice their lives, they made enough of a sacrifice that they very well may have ignited the will of Texans and the nation.
Of course, it will take a lot of time, toil and trouble to make political hay out of it. We cannot know what the ripple effects will be. Also, Greg Abbott is a pretty good match to Santa Anna.
Spot on, Michelle! Especially this: The only thing standing between Texas and a blue wave isn’t voter registration. It’s whether enough of us give a damn to turn that paper advantage into a real one.
I love this
Actually I love your presentation of this messy situation
Wish it was easy BUT I’d rather wrestle with reality
than fantasy and you give me / us a good serving of real
👍
I agree 100%. I will not be at the Capital Saturday. 😢
I am supposed to teach basic VAN to new precinct chairs. I can’t reschedule it. Tonight as I taught Developing Your Precinct; I told the class. If we work hard and GOTV for the Democratic Party candidates. We have done our job. After all Governor Abbott only won with 25% of the vote. Out of 100% of the vote, 75% did not vote for him. We have to encourage 75% of the Texas Electorate to vote. I’ll pray they vote for the Democratic Party Candidate. The Candidate needs to convince them to vote for them.
Today I went to an event Bexar County had called “Where is Chip Roy” Rally. I met a candidate Gary Taylor.
Thank you for your work, Eva Camacho Guzman. I registered around 30 high school seniors in May in 45 minutes with the assistance of a wonderful Safety Resource Officer in this crazy red, dysfunctional county and it felt good. We have to keep doing what we can, where we can, when we can!❤️
Thank you so much for your work. I tried to do the work you are doing and I could not do it. I almost started hyperventilating when I tried. It takes a certain personality to do what you do. So again, thank you. The fine on the VDR application scares me to death. I know that was the GOPs point when they passed that law the last legislative session. (I think it was passed on the last one?). So, if we all do what we can. Texas will be successful. Even if it’s just helping your precinct chair with 10 voters that live close to you. I say that because I want Texas Readers to reach out to their precinct chairs and ask, what can I do to help. If the precinct chair says nothing. That is a sign they aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing. File for precinct chair. Filling starts September 9, 2025. Ends December 8, 2035.
The encouragement for Texas voters to engage should not be "your vote matters." It should be "take back government from those who do not represent their constituents." The fundamental struggle we're in is economic, with the wealthiest Americans, of both parties, engaged in a massive power and money grab from the bottom 75%. Spend one week reading the New York Times, and you will see that the strategy is to always shift focus away from economic issues. The tactics are (1) shifting any debate to left v centrists by stoking conflict between progressive leftists, the working class and unions, and the educated liberal elite in the Democratic Party, (2) advocating DEI to the exclusion of economic equity issues, (3) removing anyone from party power who breaks through the narrative control to advocate economic issues. David Hogg, Zohran Mamdami, Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, AOC and others are being targeted from within their own party. The justification is that they're too "radical" to win elections, but the truth of the matter is that their own party donors don't want them to win elections. Shifting focus to DEI is false advocacy for the 75%, in the sense that existing law protects people from discrimination, but the social safety net and progressive taxation that spreads wealth down the income distribution, are vulnerable. The propagandists who create these narratives are cynically indifferent to party and policy, and operate only from a platform of protecting their own wealth and control. There is no difference between the parties, for them, for a reason. The Republican and Democratic party elites both rely on the Jedi mind trick of relentlessly shifting focus away from economics to the culture war. The elected representatives of neither party represents their constituents, but rather, their wealthy donors. So convincing Texans that their vote matters is difficult, at best. Why should they bother to vote when the results are the same, no matter who is elected? The only argument that has a chance of landing with them is "take back control of the Democratic Party so it works for you." Thankfully, Texas Dems have leadership that is working for the people now, like Kendall Scudder, so it just may work.
"take back government from those who do not represent their constituents."--
that should be the excellent point of the day
I see it differently.
I’m a precinct chair and co-founder of Hands Off Central TX, the group that’s been leading protests and organizing nonstop.
Your “show up, knock doors, do the work” line?
Been doing it. For years. Have you?
Come block walk with me. And when someone says, “Didn’t Democrats leave town just to come back and let it all happen? Same old politics — both parties are the same,” you can show me how to sell “nuance” to a disengaged voter.
That’s the reality on the ground right now.
This is one battle. Not the war. So was D-Day. It was a turning point. The sacrifices made at that time make being away from home with financial consequences seem pretty pale, don't they?
Petition to ask TX House Dems to HOLD THE LINE - https://www.mobilize.us/handsoffcentraltexas/event/829020/
Yes, but I don’t live in Austin.
I don’t know how to sell nuance to disengaged voters, I’m here trying to sell people highly engaged in politics.
I’ll sign the petition, but beyond that, I don’t know what else to do besides encourage people to keep their head up and believe everything will be okay, and I do think it will be okay. These GOP maps won’t hold up under anything more than a 50% voter turnout next year.
Find out which Dems caved, and we can start working on primaries. Because from what I understand, there were some who wanted to stay and some who could not.
And the nine from the border, they sold us all out.
Most everyday people live in a very black and white world, at least when it comes to something they have no interest in, like politics.The average voter's habit of demanding perfection from Democrats and forgiving all sins from Republicans is a learned trait. It is carefully cultivated by a pre-existing culture in Texas where all politicians and politics are suspect, plus targeted RW media propaganda. Republicans made the rules of the game wherein Democrats are suspect and must prove they are not. Democrats don't have to play that game.
It takes a constant and intentional effort on the part of Republicans to keep voters in a bad mood and hating the world. This is why they are freaking out right now. Reality is breaking through. Republicans may have given up on trying to keep the manipulation going. Now, they are just going to brute force legislating regardless of public opinion. Therefore, we should target the contrast between what Republicans say they are going to do and what Republicans are actually doing. Blaming Democrats is an avoidance tactic for voters deeply identifying with an idealized Republican personal identity.
Politically, this is our chance to drive the wedge. Don't defend or explain the nuance. It's virtually impossible to prove a negative. Instead, invite questioning of Republicans and what they are doing. Make it a binary choice between Democrats who try to do the right thing and fail and the guys who try to do the wrong thing on purpose. We might be surprised at the result.
Sigh. I will be honest. I was hoping till december and i am not quite pleased they decided to come back but at the same time that is true. Your state has a significant amount of voter apathy and suppression that makes it difficult for democrats to win statewide. If you are able to address that somehow Texas can flip. But the republicans know this and this is why they make these laws. This laws are not designed to change people lives for the better. These laws are designed to push people not to participate in the political process and lose hope. Fascism feeds into people fear and apathy towards the political system and that leads to them winning. They only win if they push people far enough that their voice and power have no influence.
I think it will be okay, but I'm an optimist, and sometimes that can also be a flaw.
Here in the DSA and being a leftist. We call revolutionary optimism. Its a discipline and a practice. For us its always considered revolutionary to be optimistic as being a doomer wont solve anything. Hell even if you cant be optimistic at least stay alive long enough in spite of these fascists to lose power permanently. Sometimes even hatred can keep you going.
"If it were not for hope, the heart would break."
Greek
Proverb
Nuance is the spinach nobody wants to eat while screaming for cake. Texas Democrats didn’t “sell out” — they played delay, bait, and bleed, which is the political version of keeping the enemy in a slow cooker until they fall off the bone.
But try telling that to the “burn it all down” crowd who think politics is a Marvel movie. They want the final boss battle now, credits rolling in two hours, everyone in matching t-shirts. Meanwhile, the GOP just put their racist intent on tape, in public, gift-wrapped for federal court. That’s not caving, that’s setting the trap and letting them walk in wearing clown shoes.
We’ve got more likely-Democratic voters on paper than Republicans do. But paper doesn’t vote. People do. And too many of ours would rather doompost than drag three friends to the polls.
The long game isn’t sexy. It’s boring, relentless, and usually smells like bad coffee in a volunteer break room. But it’s the only way Texas turns blue. So either pick up a clipboard or get out of the way of the people who will.
this can't be good: wags at US Chamber say........
"The US Chamber of Commerce estimated this month that the country has about 236,000 small-business importers—those with fewer than 500 employees. In 2023, the goods they bought from abroad were worth more than $868 billion.
They now face a combined annual tariff hit of $202 billion and are finding it difficult to navigate all the red tape required to comply with the president’s levies (the legality of which is yet another variable, given ongoing litigation)."
Approximating Democratic party voter by looking at who pulled a Democratic Party primary ballot may actually underrepresent the number of Democrats. In Texas, you can vote in whichever primary you want, then vote your own party ticket in the general election. I always vote in the Republican party primary against the most egregious candidate, then vote a straight Democratic party ticket in the general.
Thanks for an informative article but will you please clarify the following as to how you are getting the number for “new voters who lean blue”?
“ But if you look at the last few decades of Texas voting data, the number of people who have voted in Democratic primaries (plus new voters who lean blue) does outnumber the folks who’ve shown up for Republican primaries. That’s not fantasy, that’s math.”
Well, more demographic assumptions based on who we know typically votes (D), younger, urban, more diverse.
Texas prison held hostage by child rapist
https://www.rawstory.com/ghislaine-maxwell-bryan-texas/
this was sent to me by NOBODY at
TCDP
https://www.fwweekly.com/2025/08/13/ridin-with-beto/
Brilliant points. Number 2 is especially worth keeping in mind. Let's not underestimate the chain reaction. —And... I've said this before, but I'll say it again: As someone who was a poll worker for 10 years, I can attest to the fact that Democrats are notorious for NOT voting in local and state elections. In elections where voters were given party ballots, 95% of the folks who showed up were REPUBLICANS! So, to Democrats who think local and state elections don't matter: GET UP OFF YOUR BUTTS! REGISTER TO VOTE AND GET TO THE POLLS. IN EVERY ELECTION. Because voting in every election DOES matter!
Not going to engage in gloom & doom. I deserve to feel good about a lot of what Dems have been doing lately. One minor thought on registered to a party or not. I do say we do not register by party because one can change party voting at any time without having to do anything except walking to a different location in the voting polls
BOOM! Mic drop. Thank you. (lol “joining the priesthood”!!)
must have been tuff...they were in a good hotel. comfortable and all....please advise if any were at say........the Midnight Motel or the Ajax on the South Side of Chicago...I am guessing no
breakways before stayed out much longer
and the Alamo...those guys gave their life to Texas
our crowd, not so much
not heros but quitters and capitulators
spin it how ur like, and u all are getting pretty creative...
but no Tex Dem showed the spine of my backyard garden lizard
shame on u all
But the thing about the Alamo was it ignited Texans' will to fight and San Jacinto came next. Although our legislators did not sacrifice their lives, they made enough of a sacrifice that they very well may have ignited the will of Texans and the nation.
Of course, it will take a lot of time, toil and trouble to make political hay out of it. We cannot know what the ripple effects will be. Also, Greg Abbott is a pretty good match to Santa Anna.
i'd be more convinced if they tried to stick out another session
but i can see ur point