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.

Rachel and I were treated with the most extraordinary respect and hospitality everywhere we went for the next four days, starting with our visit to the Oldham County Courthouse in Vega at 8:15 Tuesday morning, where a cluster of about 10 to 12 people, including the County Democratic Chair, the County Judge, and Democratic Congressional Candidate Roger Waun were waiting for us in front of the county courthouse on a gorgeous West Texas pre-autumn morning.

In my courthouse addresses I spoke about We the People having the right and the duty to fight back against the robber barons and defend our Bill of Rights with everything at our disposal, because democracy means that the people govern themselves instead of being governed by money power; about the Trans-Texas Corridor as one of the worst examples of the combined evils of corporate greed and government arrogance; about my serving notice on Big Oil that I was going to fight them and their greed on behalf of the people; about cleaning the twin corruptions of the money chase and the cult of self-promotion out of the political system; and about the uniqueness of Texas and its deep traditions of populism and love of liberty, and each generation’s moral duty to advance the profound revolutionary vision set forth in the American Declaration of Independence.

Contrary to what elitist Beltway dogma says about this part of the world, most of the people we met and spoke to clearly, unmistakably, agreed with and liked these messages. To those who would point out that I lost these counties, I can only say that Rachel and I, and those who observed first hand, know what we saw, heard, and experienced; clearly people we actually met and spoke with in person were won over, but the simple fact is that we had no megaphone.

There are no “highlights” of the Upper Panhandle tour, because every day, every courthouse, every person we met was a highlight. There are only examples, of which I will mention a few I recorded in my journal.

Like the corn farmer who met me at the Hartley County courthouse in tiny Channing, who told me that his fuel bill was running $13,000 per month due to the high prices of gasoline and diesel, and that he had ordered a 4x8 “Notice to Big Oil: I’m Coming After You” sign from my campaign so he could put it up in a prominent spot on the edge of his farm; like the justice of the peace in Hansford County, where there is no Democratic County Chair and there has been no Democratic Primary conducted in years, who told me that he respected me for coming to his county where everybody is a Republican, and who after listening to me at the courthouse said, “You have my vote,” sent an email to his personal list advising his supporters and friends to vote for me, and after the election sent me a personal note expressing disappointment that I didn’t win.

Like the county commissioner in tiny Claude, Armstrong County, where likewise there is no Democratic County Chair and no Democratic elected official, who told me over lunch that he was excited to hear a state-level political candidate finally tell the truth about the greedy (expletive deleted) oil companies; like the radio talk show host in Hereford who planned to have me on the air for 10 minutes but kept me on for 35 because so many favorable calls were coming in, or the KXIT talk show host who said on the air, “I’m as conservative a Republican as you’ll find and I really like your message; it definitely is time we stand up for the little guys;” like the Moore County maintenance supervisor who called himself “a Democrat who voted for Bush twice and Perry once but never will vote for a Republican again,” and who took it on his own to lower the flag to half-staff for the passing of Ann Richards, despite receiving no word to do so from government officials; and like Carson County Judge Lewis Powers, a former Democrat turned Republican, who stated in front of his constituents that Mr. Van Os is right, the greed of Big Oil is America’s biggest problem.

Like the wonderful McClellans in Stinnett, who chauffeured Rachel and me the rest of the day to all the next towns after our rented vehicle broke down; like the former American Agriculture Movement leader to whom County Chair Lonnie Sims introduced me at a restaurant in Wellington, who drove his tractor to Washington, D.C. in 1979 for the farmers’ tractor blockade of Washington; and like the incredibly gracious wife of the Hansford County Republican Chair, who introduced herself to us and asked Rachel to write a story for her Internet magazine about Rachel’s experience as a candidate’s wife on a statewide tour.

Like the waitress at lunch in Canadian who wanted to know all about our county-to-county tour, then gave Rachel and me a sack of extra food and dessert to take with us on the road. Like the gorgeous fields of bright wildflowers we saw driving from Lipscomb to Canadian, which we learned were the spring flowers just now growing in September because last week’s rain was the spring rain finally come after months of drought; and like the sunset driving across the rolling plains from Hereford to Lubbock on Friday evening, with towering white clouds and dazzling cream, orange, pink and red colors that led Rachel and I to agree this was the most beautiful sunset either one of us had ever seen.

Everywhere, the people we met in the Upper Panhandle were extraordinarily warm, friendly, welcoming, respectful, and receptive, including all the Republican county judges and elected officials who greeted us at their courthouses.

The experiences of our 254-county tour profoundly affected Rachel and me. We both fell even more deeply in love with our beautiful Texas. I am certain the majority of the grassroots people of this great state, regardless of party, political affiliation, or geography – urban or rural – instinctively and passionately cherish democracy over aristocracy. I am certain they are primarily friendly, unselfish, and compassionate. I am certain that they care deeply about Constitutional and human rights. I am also certain that the grassroots Democrats and grassroots Republicans have more in common with each other than they do with the elite of either party; their qualities and values are greatly misrepresented by self-serving politicians and news media editors who deliberately lie to them about the affairs of the wider world, play upon the worse parts of our nature, and peddle a false image of ignorance and selfishness for nothing other than cynical, deceitful, and manipulative self-interested purposes. The grassroots voters who have been voting Republican are not our enemies; the enemies are the ruthless political hustlers who have been lying and manipulating them out of their precious votes.

To my fellow Democrats, I say gently, too often we have treated our party and its messages as the domain of a private club, exclusively targeting select audiences. Too often we have forgotten the message of Harry Truman, to tell the truth and trust the people. If we still believe in the premise of our nation’s grand vision of republican democracy, that the average citizen is capable of self-government, then we must relearn to trust all the people with our messages. We must stop confining ourselves to private, select audiences. We must relearn to believe in and trust democracy to its fullest.

To the hard-working Democratic County Chairs and other grassroots activists who organized the courthouse welcomes and lunch and dinner receptions, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. To the rural journalists who covered the tour, I thank you all for your courtesy and openness. To the many gracious local elected officials who took time out from their busy days to greet us, I will never forget your hospitality. Last but not least, to the many grassroots donors whose financial contributions kept Rachel and me on the road, no words can ever adequately express my appreciation for your sacrifices and your commitment.