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The Texas Blue
Advancing Progressive Ideas

The Texas Blue: Articles

The Politician and the Nine Lobbyists

He wore a green ultra-suede suit. It was amazingly terrible. He talked fast. He had an entourage. He also had a meeting with the Mayor of the City of Phoenix.

How Will You Connect to Candidates in 2008?

MySpace, YouTube, PartyBuilder, and the myriad of web sites enabling online social networking and mass communication play a vital role in the outreach strategies of the 2008 presidential campaigns.

Why Pending "Redistricting Reform" Should Be Revised or Opposed

On Wednesday, May 2, 2007, the House Redistricting Committee of the 80th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature conducted a public hearing on several proposals inspired by the emerging movement for “redistricting reform” in Texas.

Senator Watts?

Mikal Watts is regularly among the five most prolific givers to Democratic candidates in Texas. He's 39 years old, with a wife and three kids, and has spent the better part of the last 20 years in Corpus Christi, involving himself in Democratic politics to varying degrees. As a plaintiff's attorney, he's garnered settlements and verdicts for his clients totaling over $2 billion. You may be further interested to know that he's seriously considering a run against John Cornyn.

A Health Care Plan for the Two Americas

By 2016, one out of every five dollars Americans spend will be on health care. This alarming estimate was published online recently by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a governmental agency. The U.S. already leads the world in per capita health spending, which will double in the next 10 years to $4.1 trillion. The biggest problem indicated by these staggering figures is the inefficiency of the system.

What to Say About Guns?

Last week, a gunman on Virginia Tech's campus killed 32 people. The debate has been on since then — should there be more restrictions on guns? What can we do to avoid another Virginia Tech?

TEXVAC Celebrates Democratic Sweep

The Texas Values in Action Coalition (TEXVAC) grew out of a basic reality of Democratic politics in Texas: Democratic candidates need lots of money to start and run their campaigns, and there was no local organization to help them with money and message to give them a winning start.

Lopping the Head to Spite the Face

US policy on international students began evolving since the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. However, September 11 attacks in 2001 resulted in a marked increase and more pronounced effort to evolve policy faster and further than government considered necessary or warranted in the past.

The Panhandle Campaign Trail

For the four-day period of Tuesday, September 12, through Friday, September 15, 2006, my wife Rachel and I toured the 20 northernmost counties of Texas, the Upper Panhandle. Our tour of those 20 county seats over five days turned out to be one of the most refreshing, rewarding, and inspiring segments of our 254-county tour of Texas.

Invest Today, Prosper Tomorrow

Since 1836, Texas has stood as an icon of the American dream.

From humble beginnings, we built a state with the firm belief that every Texan might rise as high and as far as their spirit, hard work, and talent might carry them. For many Texans today, however, the American dream is distant.

On Wednesday, January 31, we released a report called Texas on the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States. Leadership means dealing with the facts today to inspire all of us to make a difference tomorrow. Texas on the Brink shows the hard facts about where Texas is today.