The Biggest Problem Faced By Texas Democrats

by Michael Handley

The biggest problem faced by Texas Democrats is that too many Democrats don't vote because they have been fooled into thinking that their vote does not count. They have been convinced by the popular media that Texas is a RED state that Republicans will win because the state has more Republican than Democratic Voters.  Democrats, don't believe the Republican propaganda.

Texas is the only minority/majority state in the Union where Democrats are not winning statewide elections.

If every voting aged person who rejects the Republican Party's platform agenda for Texas and America will register and vote in the coming election, President Obama will win Texas' 37 electoral college votes and Paul Sadler will be Texas' next U.S. Senator.

Do the addition - it adds up - Texas is a blue state by voting age population!

Whoever wins in November will likely have the opportunity to appoint at least one and possibly up to three justices. And remember, it is the U.S. Senate that confirms the president's court appointments. So think about that before you skip the U.S. Senate ballot position, when casting your vote.

Are you a voting age person who believes every woman should have the right of privacy to make her own health care and family planning choices?  If Romney wins, he will certainly nominate extremely conservative justices to appeal to the Tea Party elements within his party.  President Romney would appoint conservative justices who support Justice Scalia's position that women have no constitutional right of privacy to choose to use contraception or choose to have an abortion, even when her life is at risk from a pregnancy.  If you are a voting age Texan who rejects these Republican policy positions, then you must make sure you are registered to vote and vote a straight Democratic Ballot.

Are you a voting age person who believes every child has the right to a quality education in an adequately funded public school system and who rejects the Republican position that our American school system should be privatized and corporatized with vouchers?   If you are a voting age Texan who rejects this Republican policy position, then you make sure you are registered to vote and vote a straight Democratic Ballot.

Are you a voting age person who believes that every American, particularly retired Americans who have spent a lifetime building a better America, have a right to life guaranteed by access to health care and who rejects the Republican policy position that the Affordable Care Act must be repealed and that Medicare and Medicaid should be privatized and corporatized with vouchers?  If you are a voting age Texan who rejects these Republican policy position, then you must make sure you are registered to vote and vote a straight Democratic Ballot.  And, by the way, don't believe the Republican lie that Medicare is  going bankrupt - it's not.

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More Differences Between Texas Democratic Party Platform and Republican Party of Texas Platforms

Reception For Democratic Candidates On The Ballot For 5th District Court of Appeals

Today, there is a reception at Plano Parr Library for the Democratic candidates for 5th District Court of Appeals. This is your opportunity to talk with the judicial candidates to find out why it is so important who serves on your Court of Appeals.  The reception is sponsored by Democratic Precinct Chairs of Collin Co. The reception is today, Thursday, September 27, 7:00pm at Plano Parr Library, 6200 Windhaven Pkwy, Plano, Tx. (map) For more information, contact Barb Korman at silverfox1026@aol.com.

The Texas District Courts of Appeals are distributed in fourteen districts around the state of Texas. The Courts of Appeal have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases appealed from district or county courts. Like the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals are elected to six-year terms by general election.

The Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas, which includes one Chief Justice and twelve Justices, has jurisdiction over appeals from both district and county courts located in Dallas, Collin, Grayson, Hunt, Rockwall and Kaufman counties. The Court hears both civil and criminal appeals.

No Democrats currently sit on Fifth Court of Appeals. In the 2012 General Election, five Democratic Candidates are running for the 5th Court of Appeals:

• Tonya Holt for 5th District Court of Appeals Place 11
• Penny Phillips for 5th District Court of Appeals Place 5
• Larry Praeger for 5th District Court of Appeals Place 12
• David Hanshen for 5th District Court of Appeals Place 9
• Dan Wood for 5th District Court of Appeals Place 2

Penny Phillips talks about Court of Appeals Justice. Penny is an Air Force Veteran, 20-year attorney, and dedicated leader. Penny is an experienced lawyer with a long history of dedicated public service.

Both civil and criminal appeals are typically heard by a panel of three justices, unless in a particular case "en banc" hearing is ordered, in which instance all the justices of that Court hear and consider the case. (Graphical Guide to the Court System of Texas) (map)

Women At Risk Of Being Disenfranchised

Women add to the list of voters who are potential casualties of disenfranchisement from restrictive voting laws, as reports show that women have an increasingly difficult path to obtaining proper photo ID.

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Discrepancies over a voter's legal name and the name displayed on their photo ID could stand in the way of their ability to cast a ballot in states that have enacted strict photo ID laws.  That means if a woman's name or address has changed due to marriage or divorce and her photo ID does not reflect the change, she could be turned away at the polls.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, as many as 34% of voting-age women—who have proof of citizenship—do not have documents with their current legal name.

And as MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry points out, in Pennsylvania where a controversial voter ID has returned to a lower court, recently married or divorced women face an uphill battle in order to vote.

In an asterisk section at the bottom of the Pennsylvania Department of State Voter ID rules, the requirements reads:

* In this example a voter who recently changed her name by reason of marriage presents a valid Pennsylvania driver's license or Pennsylvania ID card accompanied by a PennDOT update card, which is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Voter ID law regarding proof of identification.

"You need not one, but two forms of ID if you are a [woman]—there is officially a tax on being a woman in Pennsylvania if you want to vote," Harris-Perry said.

Ari Berman, who has covered voter ID laws extensively for The Nation magazine, added that Pennsylvania voters would also be subject to the individual discretion of workers at over 9,000 different polling places.  "We're talking about, at the very least, a lot of chaos on election day," he said.

Sarah Silverman Explains Voter Photo I.D. Laws

  Caution - It's Sarah Silverman! You will hear words some might consider "inappropriate."
Comedian Sarah Silverman explains why 12 states have passed laws requiring voters to present select government issued photo I.D. photo identification before casting a ballot. She explains that new voting laws passed by Republican controlled state legislatures since 2008 require voters to present select photo I.D that up to 25 percent of some population groups do not hold. And those population groups, including African Americans and young people of every ethnic and racial group, voted predominately for Pres. Obama in 2008.

Bluntly, Silverman said that “lawmakers are trying to fuck you in the asshole” and ended up recommending everyone buy guns, because states like Texas and Tennessee have passed laws that say gun permits work as voter IDs, but Social Security cards and student IDs do not.