Posted on 11/09/2013 7:00:59 AM PST by Kip Russell
Dave Wilson chuckles as he talks about his unorthodox political campaign.
"I'd always said it was a long shot," Wilson says. "No, I didn't expect to win."
Still, he figured he'd have fun running, because he was fed up with what he called "all the shenanigans" at the Houston Community College System. As a conservative white Republican running in a district whose voters are overwhelmingly black Democrats, the odds seemed overwhelmingly against him.
Then he came up with an idea, an advertising strategy that his opponent found "disgusting." If a white guy didn't have a chance in a mostly African-American district, Wilson would lead voters to think he's black.
And it apparently worked. In one of the biggest political upsets in Houston politics this election season, Wilson -- an anti-gay activist and former fringe candidate for mayor -- emerged as the surprise winner over 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin. His razor thin margin of victory, only 26 votes, was almost certainly influenced by his racially tinged campaign.
"Every time a politician talks, he's out there deceiving voters," he says.
Wilson, a gleeful political troublemaker, printed direct mail pieces strongly implying that he's black. His fliers were decorated with photographs of smiling African-American faces -- which he readily admits he just lifted off websites -- and captioned with the words "Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson."
One of his mailers said he was "Endorsed by Ron Wilson," which longtime Houston voters might easily interpret as a statement of support from a former state representative of the same name who's also African-American. Fine print beneath the headline says "Ron Wilson and Dave Wilson are cousins," a reference to one of Wilson's relatives living in Iowa.
"He's a nice cousin," Wilson says, suppressing a laugh. "We played baseball in high school...
(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...
He owes Republicans nothing. Now let’s see him turn his base into conservatives.
I think it’s C. Thomas Howell in blackface.
Yeah, Obama just showcased his black side and let people think he was "really" black. Even made a few trips to Kenya with a camera followed by book authored by Bill Ayers who added a bunch "black" details.
What Wilson did was to prove that the vast majority of blacks vote for a person's skin color rather than the content of their character. MLK would be disgusted.
bttt
Mayor!
Good point, it never explicitly says. I had to do some digging...it was for a seat on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees.
Disgusting? I think it’s both hilarious and instructive. It is a clear demonstration of black racial solidarity and general ignorance of candidates, at least in his district.
Other than as a curiosity, I kinda can’t see this as a good thing. Just what we need: another lying politician with no integrity.
exactly!
such outrage- article is pretty good at showing
how just a little money and “implied” “I am one of you”
works! - by the way must have been an unbelievable bunch
of losers in Mass. to vote for warren- but if the LSM
in Massachusetts propped her up... so be it.
Bill Clinton ran as the first “Black President.”
Har har har.
Too bad the piece didn’t point out the obvious racism of the black voters there. His opponent essentially said that he had no chance of being elected because he is white. No racism there.
Imagine the smear on white voters this would have been had the colors of the candidates and voters been reversed.
I would be very afraid of some pissed off black folks if I was him
Hope & Change
LOL. Funny picture.
Did he actually lie? It sounds more like he played his hand close to his chest.
Where MLK had failed was in believing his target audience would understand what he was preaching. They revered the man but still don’t understand what he said. He was just black.
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