Alvarado Blog

Democracy Banana Republic Style

Felix Alvarado — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:19:12 +0000

Overheard yesterday. “The Democratic Party wants to win a statewide election, it just does not want to be democratic about it”.

Turning Texas Blue

Felix Alvarado — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:39:02 +0000

I attended a funeral yesterday and like most funerals it was a very sad affair especially when it is someone you know and remember fondly. I saw around me and heard all the kind words of sadness, sorrow and encouragement. I could not help but think of politics. I recall comments that I read about the candidate for state chair from South Texas and his plan to turn Texas Blue. I thought to myself, “I do not believe anyone in here cares a rat’s rear what color Texas is. They just want something better, not so much for themselves anymore, but for their children”. The cuts in education hit this group of people hard. In one of my political interviews I was asked, “when does a person stop paying for a crime? When you speak of a male adult with children who is being denied the right to vote, the punishment extends to the children. The Democratic Party has for years had a loyal following of Hispanics and African-Americans. As I look around I see why some of these voters are looking elsewhere for political power. Will redistricting really change anything around here? When we say ”Turn Texas Blue” are we no better off than someone saying, ”Make Texas more conservative”. Both sides miss the point. The point is about making Texas better. Does anyone out there have a ”how to plan?????”

Happy New Years

Felix Alvarado — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:52:03 +0000

Now that everyone has recuperated from all the celebrating it is time to get down to business and figure out how to get Democracts elected. Of course, there are some Democratic candidates that I support and others that I believe should reassess their ability to move the party forward. Certainly, I hear the same old worn out rhetoric about how to turn Texas blue. The old saying about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result rings true in many corners. There are so many experts out there, people who believe that they have the answer, that they have a winning formula, etc, etc. Folks. You want to make Texas blue???? Start with the TDP chair.

Maslow

Felix Alvarado — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:45:40 +0000

Abraham Maslow had it right when he wrote his hierarchy of Needs. Perhaps it is time that Congress read Maslow so they can understand this situation about jobs, unemployment, Social Security and Medicare. It is time for we Americans to wake up and smell the roses, jobs are being created, they are just not being created in America. President Obama is in charge. Unfortunately, he has many opposed to his ideas. Right wing radio is on 24/7 literally attacking his ideas. There are not many people standing up supporting the President. Any president to follow GWB was going to have an awful journey. We have a problem. It was not created in Washington, it was created right here by the people we elected to Congress. Only we can change that.

The race for the one statewide office Democrats cannot lose.

Felix Alvarado — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:48:09 +0000

Last night I attended a meeting of the Arlington Area Democrats. The folks there are the base of the Democratic Party. They are the ones that need to be consulted and respected. They were not there to fight with each other but to communicate with each other. Refreshing. Attending was Fidel Acevedo candidate for TDP Chair. This is the only statewide office democrats cannot lose. But we need a really, really good candidate. I was pleased by the quality of questions asked. Yes, democrats want to see a change, starting at the top of the TDP.

This is the reason we need change…

Felix Alvarado — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:01:21 +0000

http://brownsvillevoice.blogspot.com/2011/06/cameron-county-says-no-to-gilberto.html

And bringing in the same status quo will help how?

Downgrade

Felix Alvarado — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:00:48 +0000

Now that the credit rating of the US has been downgraded it is time for us common folk to assess responsibility (point the finger) at who or what was the most likely cause for what happened. We do this (point the finger) after each major event, good or bad. The group that was the most responsible for this action was the TEA Party. I saw most of the deliberations on TV and time after time what I heard was that the TEA Party did not want to negotiate or compromise. In a democracy when you fail to negotiate or compromise you are working your way into a dictatorship. Most people in America knew the debt ceiling was going to be raised. Shutting down the government was a non-starter and that was the position of the TEA Party. Yes, there were other considerations, but when you point the finger you can only point it in one direction, the TEA Party. We do not know what the after effects will be but it is WE the American people who will continue paying the price because we have a dysfunctional Washington. Remember 2012. I hear presidential candidates address the problem as a lack of “leadership”. In Texas we would probably say “bunk”.

Cameron County attorney running for Texas Democratic Party Chair

Felix Alvarado — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:09:00 +0000

A former Cameron County Judge is seeking to become the Lone Star State’s top Democrat.

via Cameron County attorney running for Texas Democratic Party Chair.

Budget War

Felix Alvarado — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:54:14 +0000

Now that the budget war is over another war has begun, the elections next year. Many Democrats are disappointed the way that the issue was decided. I believe that the Democrats gave up a lot more than the Republicans. Yes. Balancing the budget is important. But creating jobs is more important. The Republican idea of giving more money to corporations and the filthy rich is a non-starter. The corporations and rich are not going to guarantee job creation in America where the jobs are needed. We need to crank up our junior colleges to start teaching skills that the economy has. Is this going to cost money? Yes it is. But think of the alternative. Republican rhetoric or what we call in West Texas “chewing the cud” is not going to create jobs. None of the Republican candidates for president has said anything about the economy that makes sense. Balancing the budget is NOT fixing the economy. Making education better will. It is time to start acting like an organized party and get ready for the next war. That means the Boyd Ritchie’s and the Gilberto Hinojosa’s need to stand aside and let some real leaders take charge. Our children are going to be the real losers if Republicans win it all.

Bexar County Dems: A Party at War

irmamath — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:39:23 +0000

Felix,

Can we say that Bexar Democrats are a reflection of Texas democrats? If they are – we will be seeing a lot of red in 2012. What a sham and shame that Bexar County Democrats idea of exercising political power came at the sacrifice of one of their own.

I hope that no other county party behaves in such manner.

Anyway, you would think that a Democrat in leadership role would use some common sense when criticizing a fellow democrat, especially in a public domain since they already have a bad image…no need to expand on that topic. You may recall that there was opposition to Ramos forced removal, but unfortunately his supporters were not given equal media coverage, or equal voice, but this is San Antonio, you know how that goes. However, just when I thought Bexar democrats had satisfied their lust for power, imagine my chagrin at reading comments by an SDEC member.

I finally encounter a democrat exercising his freedom in support Ramos and in support of our democratic process. He makes this bold statement…

“I believe that any future correspondence or communication regarding BCDP, should be signed or sent out by Dan Ramos, who is the duly-elected (by 60% of Bexar County Voters) BCDP Chair, to counter the misleading information citing Choco Meza as “Chair” and to avoid any further confusion. This is especially true regarding any letters sent out to the Secretary of State, Attorney General or to Jackie Callanen.

The LAW is THE LAW. Neither Nelson Wolff, who is only a county judge and NOT a Supreme Court Justice, nor anybody else, has the authority issue any “orders” setting aside the votes of an official election – nor should they place themselves above the law.”

BCDP’s insane approach to address Ramos comments was just that “insane.” I forgot what Ramos said, but I recall all the comments and letters written to oust Ramos, even to extent of criticizing his appearance and intelligence. It was a long reach for power and it worked. It would be nice if the power they were reaching for actually did some good, but not the case as Texas voters have yet to elect a Democrat statewide. I attended some of the meetings prior to lynching Ramos and they were just that…lynching parties…like in the old days….way back…

And from what I understood there was no precedence in this case, hence why emotions ran high and logic and order were no where to be found.

Political incorrectness, however seems to pervade democratic halls…read on. These are a couple of responses to the statement above.

From: NovaCamp

To: “B Shvetz” <

Date: Saturday, July 30, 2011, 8:20 PM

No body is listening to you losers. Look at your pathetic web site. Morons.

“Losers” “Morons” These individuals are part of the same organization. What does the website have to do with anything?

From: B Shvetz

“Nova Camp who sent a hate email to me …”

To: Don’t step on my freedom of speech…

Obviously, these ranting are due to the division caused by the removal of Ramos, which continues to smell of foul play. Nevertheless, the BCDP’s scandalous behavior has surpassed anything Ramos said…

Comments made by another SDEC member were just as disturbing. BD shout intolerance yet they too are intolerant to the point of daring to silence the voice of opposition.

“You are beganing to sound like that loudmouth and very vulgar Dan Ramos formerly the Bexar County Chair till we took a stand and ousted him. If you want to build any type of following you need to temper your speech. I doubt I would support you.” Ralph Galvan SD 26 committeeman

This Nova Camp individual is a member of the BCDP and SDEC . Why is this representative for Texas Democrats making such comments to other democrats who are simply exercising their freedoms in supporting Ramos?

Choco Meza was conveniently “elected” by party members, many of which were newly appointed precinct chairs. However, Ramos was voted in by popular vote, even though Meza had support from many of the local elected democratic officials, SHE LOST! I guess it was not easy to eat that slice of humble pie. I guess Bexar Dems were going to get their person in one way or another.

It baffles the mind that many democrats found Ramos comments distasteful, but many of those same democrats are in perfect agreement with name calling, bullying, and directing hateful comments at Dan Ramos and his supporters. Come on, two wrongs do not make a right.

This is a case for the pot calling the kettle black. It’s not OK for Ramos to make comments about special interest groups shoving their agenda down the throats of voters, party members and such, but it QUITE ACCEPTABLE! for democrats to heave deragatory comments on Ramos and his supporters. Again, I guess Bexar Dems are like the preachers that don’t practice what they preach.

Oh and this just in: Boyd Richie made a remark that stunned a lot of folks who believed that the Bill White campaign was directed to some degree by Boyd. He told us that he thought it both dumb and wrong for Bill White to have run a Republican Lite campaign and not support the down ticket candidates. Richie said he had no control and little input. He also said that he has been upset for sometime with the DNC finance folks who call Texas donors and tell them not to contribute to the TDP.

So, why is the DNC supporting/endorsing Hinojosa for party chair? Why is the BCDP on a quest to silence the democratic voice? Whatever these politiqeros are cooking up, it does not look like anything Texas Democrats should bite into..but that’s just my opinion.

What do you think? Are you ready to run for governor again? I think you should.