Posted on 11/09/2004 11:27:23 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
What with having their presidential candidate beaten by a decisive margin, and having lost seats in both the U.S. House and the Senate, Campaign 2004 was not a heck of a lot of fun for Democrats.
Don't get the wrong idea. The party is in no imminent danger of implosion. After all, a few shifts in a few states - Ohio, especially - could have installed John Kerry in the White House. And the Democrats' power base is very much intact. While virtually all of what you might call mid-America is firmly in the Red Zone, the Northeast, New England, the upper Midwest and the Pacific coast remain resolutely Blue.
Still . . . Democrats and their supporters are going to have to work pretty hard to put a happy face on this year's results. And Texas Democrats in particular see a grim political landscape: Where once cigar-puffing Democratic grandees dominated Austin, there is now smoldering rubble.
That's no accident. With relentless, unwavering determination, Texas Republicans did a job on Democrats - particularly those who held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The profoundly cynical, but effective, redistricting plan hand-crafted by U.S. House Majority leader Tom DeLay and executed by the GOP leadership in Austin steamrolled its way through three special legislative sessions. The package shamelessly gerrymandered district boundaries to the end of ousting incumbent Democratic congressmen. The new boundaries zigged, zagged and wiggled into the most bizarre, indefensible configurations, but the GOP leadership showed not even a sign of embarrassment.
In the end, the GOP plan succeeded. On Tuesday, four of the five Democratic congressmen targeted by the Republican redistricting map - Charles Stenholm, Martin Frost, Max Sandlin and Nick Lampson, with a combined total of 68 years in the House - were booted out by voters who cared not a whit for their seniority and their collected wisdom. The only survivor was Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, whose GOP opponent, Arlene Wohlgemuth, was so right-wing that even hard-right voters couldn't bring themselves to elect her.
It's a famous victory for Tom DeLay. For the districts that lost all that accumulated seniority, however, some pain awaits. And just as importantly, the Republicans' crude bulldozing of incumbent Democrats will make it that much harder for Texas lawmakers to summon up the mutual trust to fashion an urgently needed consensus on this state's needs.
Thanks, folks. For some reason, I had forgotten it was a 'RAT advantage before.Texas is now closer to representation as Texans VOTE now! Yay!!!
The failed to Pick off Texas' Number One Liberal Lloyd Doggett.
The focus will be sharper and more focused in two years.
We could pick off a few more then I bet.
Yes Doggett was targetted (district 10 moved) ... But Doggett ran in a Democrat district that was not expected to put a Republican in. Doggett could have stayed and fought in 10... but instead ran to a Democrat majority-hispanic district.
I live in travis .... sadly Travis County is the most Democrat county in Texas now, in terms of the vote margins it gave for the Democrats.
A liberal wrote this biased article.
"Arlene Wohlgemuth, was so right-wing that even hard-right voters couldn't bring themselves to elect her. "
GAG ME. The re-elected Chet - narrowly - because Chet pretended to be a conservative Democrat and played the Aggie card. pure and simple.
Arlene should have won.
A key point left out of all media references to DeLay's effort.
Democrats hate having to pay on invoices they cut. The Independent Counsel comes to mind.
I consider myself quite conservative, yet I have to admit to being slightly uncomfortable with her ads agains Edwards.
In particular, the gay marriage issue was hammered home too hard and too negatively. While I agree with the political position, those ads probably actually helped him.
The Texas 109th Congressional Delegation to take office in Jan., 2005. District Republican Democrat 1 Gohmert [W] Max Sandlin - Incumbent 2 Poe [W] Lampson - Incumbent 3 Johnson - Incumbent [W] Vessels 4 Hall - Incumbent [W] Nickerson 5 Hensarling-Incumbent [W] Bernstein 6 Barton - Incumbent [W] Meyer 7 Culberson - Incumbent [W] Martinez 8 Brady - Incumbent [W] Wright 9 Molina Green [W] 10 McCaul [W] Fritsche 11 Conaway [W] Raasch 12 Granger - Incumbent [W] Alvarado 13 Thornberry - Incumbent [W] 14 Paul - Incumbent [W] 15 Thamm Hinojosa - Incumbent [W] 16 Brigham Reyes - Incumbent [W] 17 Wohlgemuth Edwards - Incumbent [W] 18 Lee - Incumbent [W] 19 Neugebauer - Incumbent [W] Stenholm - Incumbent 20 Scott Gonzalez - Incumbent [W] 21 Smith - Incumbent [W] Smith 22 DeLay - Incumbent [W] Morrison 23 Bonilla - Incumbent [W] Sullivan 24 Marchant [W] Page 25 Klein Doggett - Incumbent [W] 26 Burgess - Incumbent [W] Reyes 27 Vaden Ortiz - Incumbent [W] 28 Hopson Cuellar [W] 29 Green - Incumbent [W] 30 Johnson - Incumbent [W] 31 Carter - Incumbent [W] Porter 32 Sessions - Incumbent [W] Frost - Incumbent Total Wins 21 11 [W] = won the election
This is what I get for working off the top of my head ...
21-11, I stand corrected. I'm not sure which race I missed.
As my economics prof at Central Texas College often said--"It's nothin but a vail of tears".
Heavenly Father. Please let all future years be as bad for all liberal democrats!
Amen.
Becky Klein was by far the better man against Doggett in 25!
hahahhaaa! Oh, yeah!! :^D
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of folks.
When I think of my short list of truly evil people, the RATS who collectively disenfranchised the majority of the state of Texas for the past two decades have to be in the top ten.
It wouldn't surprise me if Chet Edwards doesn't switch before the next election.
There are still 2 runoffs in Louisiana that could go Republican!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1269769/posts
There are always cheap motels in Oklahoma they can move to. Oh wait, they tried that already.
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