For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Texas Democratic Party Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) May 10, 2011 --

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For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Texas Democratic Party Chair

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http://www.fidelacevedo.com

In 2006, I remarked that what the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) needed was leadership. Today I stand by those remarks of four years ago. I have previously asked that the current TDP Chair resign his position so the party can start afresh with someone new with new ideas that can dust of the cobwebs of an outdated message, give the party a jump and re-energize the TDP. Although, the Party Chair has not tendered his resignation, he has announced he will not seek reelection, for many Democrats this is welcomed news. I will be the first to say that this is a step in the right direction, now he must go the extra mile and step down. There are very few individuals that are willing to tackle the job, and even fewer with the proven leadership skills to bring a ragtag party back to its place of glory, the party of the people. I cannot interject enough that a new leader must arise out of the ashes to represent the TDP.

I understand that one of the people seeking to be State Chair is Gilberto Hinojosa from Cameron County. I am familiar with Mr. Hinojosa. I was one of the several Democratic candidates for Governor in 2010. Hinojosa is the one who said that according to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) only Bill White could win a state-wide election and that everyone should unite behind White, the anointed one. Whoever declared it so, whoever was responsible should have stood up and declared an error in judgment, but as in all things political that is unheard of. However, now we can evaluate the tremendous error in judgment. As a declared candidate for governor who paid his filing fee, I traveled through South Texas making contact with county chairs. As I traveled, I kept hearing, “I just got a call from the TDP and told to support Bill White.” I am confident that this alienation did not just happen to me, it likely happened to all the gubernatorial candidates who paid their filing fee. Hinojosa was one of those county chairs who did not answer our many requests to visit Cameron County and now Hinojosa wants to lead the party. If Hinojosa had opened the door to all the gubernatorial candidates he would have found out that each of these candidates was driven by a passion to improve the quality of life of millions of Texans. They did not have millions of dollars or political clout, both of which history has shown does not help Democratic candidates, but they were confident they could do better. He might have learned these candidates were expressing values that would have helped rebuild faith in the Democratic Party. Most importantly he would have shown the leadership qualities that the TDP needs by demonstrating his knowledge of Texas politics. As it was, all of us were invited to different functions where we were well received and applauded for our positions on issues, but the estrangement would limit the exposure and possibility of actually getting our message to those whom it was the most critical, the voter.

We know the outcome; Hinojosa duped many Democrats into believing that he was some sort of clairvoyant who possessed the wisdom to lead the TDP to victory in the governor’s race by anointing his preferred candidate. Many Democrats, county chairs, and group leaders yearning for a statewide win followed the pied piper into yet another debacle. In my opinion, Hinojosa embodies the worst of Latino politics in South Texas, the patron. And, as a patron he lacks the vision to lead the Texas Democratic Party.

To quote Hinojosa directly from a recent article,

“The November 2010 Elections should be a wake-up call for Democratic and Hispanic leaders in Texas. When we lose elections like this, the short term and long term social, economic and political consequences are devastating. We need to decide that, until we learn to politically engage the Hispanic community, and the rest of the Democratic base that isn't voting, we will continue to lose elections and continue to have the erosion of our political and economic rights that we are experiencing today. The demographics and electoral results in this State just don't add up.”

For someone who wants to be State Party Chair, he lacks foresight. He is one of the leaders he mentions. If the last elections were a wakeup call, he did not hear the clangs from the clock tower. For someone who considers himself qualified to be leader of the TDP, he fails to recognize, much less acknowledge his role in the dismal state of the TDP. Hispanics are engaged and the Democratic base is voting. Democrats are not losing elections because Hispanics do not vote, or because Democrats do not come out to vote. The reason the Democratic Party is losing elections is simple, it continues to fail miserably at representing and standing up for the values of the electorate. Perhaps he needs to take a lesson from the TEA party and that is to present one message, a message that exerts tremendous influence on Republican politicians. If the message is solidarity then solidarity it should be for all, not the chosen few.

Hinojosa is the same old wine in the same old bottle, just more acidic. Hinojosa represents all that decades’ of activism have battled. He brings what Texans, in all walks of life are against - the status quo. He is not what the TDP needs. I don’t know about you, but I say we Democrats have been duped long enough. Texas Democrats, Texas residents do not need boss rule. The TDP needs a leader that recognizes where we have been, where we are going and what we need to do to get there and that leader is Fidel Acevedo. I invite you to visit with Fidel at www.fidelacevedo.com.

More information can be found online at http://www.fidelacevedo.com

Felix Alvarado     Fidel Acevedo     Gilberto Hinojosa     Texas Democratic Party     Texas Democratic Party Chair     TX Democrats