Taking the message of empowerment directly to the people

[David Van Os]

Dear Fellow Inhabitants of the Democratic Underground:

With the help of many participants in this forum, I've spent the last 12 months organizing the base for my real Texas reachout and now it has begun. Most of my available time from now to November is going to be spent going directly to the people in every part of Texas. With the message of self-empowerment of the people to take back their government from the powergrabbers and gangsters who've stolen it, I'm going personally to every County Courthouse in Texas and speaking to the people at their seats of government.

It began last Tuesday (March 28) at the Taylor County Courthouse in Abilene and continued on Wednesday as Rachel and I stumped through Callahan, Coleman, Brown, McCulloch, and Mason Counties, stopping and talking to people along the way and visiting, talking, and listening at every county courthouse. In front of the Callahan County Courthouse in Baird, a local resident told us, "Everybody here hates Republicans. People around here realize they got fooled again just like with Nixon but this is the last time. What people are trying to figure out and are waiting for is to see if the Democrats will offer them real choices this time." On less than 8 hours notice the local Democratic Parties in Brownwood and Mason had mini-rallies ready for us and the press coverage was great. In Mason the County Attorney and County Tax Assessor-Collector, both Democrats, came out from their courthouse offices and stood with me. Everywhere, people were glad to meet us and hear what I had to offer, and were happy to pose for photos. My webmistress, Sherry Monarko the Magnificent, will be getting photos of the trip up on the website in the next few days.

Wednesday (April 5) Rachel and I will be in far Northeast Texas. At 4:00 p.m. on the 5th we'll be at the Red River County Courthouse in Clarksville. Earlier in the day on the 5th we'll be visiting the county courthouses and local citizens in McKinney (Collin Co), Bonham (Fannin Co), Paris (Lamar Co), and possibly another one or two depending on how evolving plans end up. On the evening of the 5th we'll gather with local citizens in Clarksville to meet, greet, and kick up our heels and relax. On Thursday the 6th we are tentatively going to New Boston (Bowie Co), Texarkana (Bowie), Linden (Cass Co), Daingerfield (Morris Co), Pittsburg (Camp Co), and Mount Pleasant (Titus Co). Thursday evening I'l be speaking to the Titus County Democratic Party in a public meeting. Friday we'll probably be hitting Mount Vernon (Franklin Co), Sulphur Springs (Hopkins Co), Cooper (Delta Co), and Greenville (Hunt Co), before getting back to Love Field in Dallas for the flight home to San Antonio.

Looking back at what we as Democrats have been doing in the political process for such a long time, I'm amazed at how we've hibernated ourselves into talking to pre-set, pre-defined audiences in controlled venues, and stopped going to the people, all the people. Looking back at it, our decline as a party was inevitable. It can be turned around in a heartbeat. People all over America and especially for us, all over Texas are hungry for the Party of the People to come back. Harry Truman, come back. Whistlestop Tours, come back. Great Society, come back. Fighting Democrats, come back. We the people want you back.

If you're interested you can check my website, www.vanosfortexasag.com, for details and updates of the April 5-7 schedule as it evolves and gets firmed up. If you're in Texas, I'll be at your county seat and county courthouse between now and November 7. The website will post the schedules as they become known.

Also keep you eyes open for the 24-hour Citizens' Filibusters that I'm calling. April 17-18 in Austin at the Capitol Building for the opening of the education special session, May 5-6 in downtown San Antonio for Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day at the Hidalgo County Courthouse, Juneteenth in Galveston, and more as the year progresses. There is also a tentative possibility for a Filibuster at the San Jacinto Monument coinciding with San Jacinto Day, April 21. The Filibusters and the courthouse to courthouse barnstorming are extensions of each other.

Fight 'em till hell freezes over, and then fight 'em on the ice.

[WestHoustonDem]

1. Right on target as always David!

Empowerment begins with early voting today!

[VelmaD]

2. Any rough idea when...

you'll be in Greenville - around what time? That's where my parents live and where I grew up. :)

[crispini]

3. My heart agrees with the idea of going everywhere in Texas....

but my mind knows that 80% of the Texas population is now urban/suburban. Why not also do a solid week in each major metropolitan area? Each city has a thousand villages in it -- local rotary clubs, neighborhood associations, etc. The trick to getting votes in a large city is to find the villages, I think.

[David Van Os]

4. Reply

A statewide candidate must rely on the Party organizations to turn out the base in the big urban areas. To find those thousands of villages would require a depth of staffing that I don't remotely have. In the small towns and exurbs, it is much more likely to get press coverage. The metropolitan dailies don't cover campaign news unless it's something scandalous. Therefore going to the county seats is the best bet for reaching people beyond those who attend the particular appearance in person. That is, unless you have tons of money.

[crispini]

8. Oh boy.

"A statewide candidate must rely on the Party organizations to turn out the base in the big urban areas." -- NO WONDER we're screwed! Speaking as someone who lives in one of those large urban areas, I was severely underwhelmed by the county party's committment to blockwalking and GOTV during the last election. Now, we HAVE had a change of leadership since then, but we're still not where we need to be.

No, you can't expect to come to Dallas and get covered in the Dallas Morning News, but if you spoke at an Old East Dallas Democrats meeting we could probably get you covered in the White Rocker, and if you went to Garland we could probably get you covered in the Garland paper, and if you went to Richardson I bet the Richardson paper would cover it. And people (who vote and are interested in politics) actually READ those local rags-- because they cover local news! Honestly, sometimes I think the White Rocker covers more local news in four pages once a week than the DMN covers every day. That's the most contentless rag I ever laid eyes on.

Anyway, just sort of thinking out loud here. :hi:

edited to add: do you suppose this is why TX is often a jumping off point to nat'l politics? Because if you can get statewide office here you can do it anywhere? :shrug:

[sonias]

5. K & R

David and Rachel Van Os are the hardest working couple on the candidates campaign trail. David is doing his version of the 50 state strategy and doing a 254 TX county strategy.

:applause:

Sonia

[David Van Os]

6. Thanks, Sonia

Sonia, you get the point. Thanks.

Everybody, my campaign's Volunteer Coordinator Sonia Santana is the hardest working activist for social justice and for progressive gain through the political process you could ever know.

DVO

[Vincardog]

7. Congratulation David you made the Greatest page again.

[Czolgosz]

9. K & R