Texas Democratic Party shames itself again
The presidential election of 2008 is our chance to end the Iraq war. Americans sent the message last November that they wanted the war to end, but President Bush ignored the results of that election and ordered a surge. Democrats in Congress then turned their backs on the American people by approving war funds every single time George Bush asked. Last weekend, the leaders of the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) again failed to listen to its own members working against the war, and this time the message was crystal clear: If the troops are not home by the end of George W. Bush's term in office, then on the first day of the next president's term, he or she should sign an order to bring all the troops home.
On Saturday, the TDP's State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) had a chance to approve placing an Iraq war referendum on the TDP primary ballot. The referendum initiative had been approved by several local Democrat groups, including the South Austin Democrats, the Central Austin Democrats and the executive committee of the TDP.
The text of the proposed referendum was: "Do you believe that President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress, in support of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces, should end the occupation of Iraq and plan for the immediate withdrawal of all United States forces?"
Thanks to the undemocratic refusal of party insiders to allow a vote, the resolution will not be on March's primary ballot. Now, there will be no direct referendum on the Iraq War for Texas Democrats. Madeleine Dewar, a member of the SDEC and one of the official sponsors of the Vote Us Out of Iraq resolution, called the meeting a "disaster," and said that she had the 32 votes needed to pass the resolution in advance of the meeting.
According to Scott Cobb, who initiated the campaign last summer to get the referendum on the ballot, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that had passed the California Legislature on Aug. 31 to put an Iraq referendum on the ballot.
"The Texas Democratic Party should be ashamed of itself for acting like Schwarzenegger and preventing a referendum on Iraq from being on the ballot," Cobb said.
Resolutions calling for universal health care and reform of education and campaign finance were also tabled. Michael Apodaca, SDEC member and University of Texas at El-Paso alum, sponsored a resolution calling for re-regulation of tuition and tax-free textbooks.
Retiring Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who has years of experience prosecuting corrupt politicians, even came to the meeting to plead in favor of public financing of elections. These advisory referendums could have energized the Democratic base and increased the voter turn-out of these important primaries.
This is not the first time TDP leaders have acted to suppress the voices of its own members. On June 10, 2006, during the TDP state convention in Fort Worth, members of the Impeach Bush Resolution Campaign delivered a petition of 1,357 signatures (30 percent of delegates) to the party. The resolution called on the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors and for willfully violating his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Convention chair Bob Slagle did not place the resolution as a "next order of business," finally bringing it up at the end of the event in a nearly empty convention hall containing only 250 of 4,300 delegates. The resolution failed in a close vote.
It is time for us all to live up to the words spoken at the funeral of Bobby Kennedy 39 years ago, during an era when many Americans desired to end a different war. Ted Kennedy said his brother "saw war and tried to stop it." We have all seen the Iraq war on TV. We have felt its impact in our communities among our families and friends. Almost 4,000 Americans have been killed. More than 29,000 have come home wounded in body, and hundreds of thousands more wounded in spirit. Any candidate running for any office in 2008 must take the position to end the occupation of Iraq immediately and bring the troops home.
If you are a Democrat, remember these two things: TDP Chairman Boyd Richie's phone number is (512) 478-9800, and the Texas Democratic Party elects a new chairman and committee chairs this summer during the 2008 state convention.
Hedayati is a government junior, Students Against the Death Penalty President and a Center for American Progress advisory board member.
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