No "Obsession" this week, folks. I've been attending the Texas Democratic Party convention (as delegate for SD12), and boy, is my left wing tired!
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(this pic is mine – all following pics are from kut.org)
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Turnout Friday at the convention was unbelievable. It was standing room only at many of the caucuses. The caucus rooms were huge, but the crowd was huger.
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The sole unifying factor of the attendees (other than enthusiasm)?
There wasn't one.
Young, older, men, women, caucasians, hispanics, blacks, etc etc, a true cross-section of this state. This makes me feel better than good – it makes me feel hopeful.
Even the Gun Owners caucus was SRO – for some reason, the prevailing attitude was anger at the Gun Nuts.
Gun owners don't like Gun Nuts a lot, it appears.
What is a Gun Nut? Glad you asked.
A gun owner goes to the range. A Gun Nut takes his AR to Chipotle.
A gun owner removes the bolt/slide from any gun in the house before company comes over with their children. A Gun Nut leaves everything loaded and easy for people to get to, because the revolultion is coming.
A gun owner detests the NRA with a white-hot passion (at least the gun owners at the caucus do). A Gun Nut thinks the NRA are the last bastion of defence between the New World Order (or whatever they're calling it these days) and freedumb.
A gun owner accessorizes his Bushmaster with cool aftermarket assemblies and sights. A Gun Nut thinks he needs an AR to stop the M1A1 Abrams tank that Obama is going to send to his house to take his stuff.
A lot of talk about mental health issues was talk talked, as was the futility of legislation in removing guns from a country awash in them. I took notes and smiled. After the caucus, I buttonholed one of the keynoters, Mr. Mark Greene (who is running to take the SD12 away from Kay Bailey Hutchison) and proposed a novel idea:
A concerted PR push by gun owners to shame Gun Nuts.
He looked skeptical. I advised: "You think PR doesn't work? Why did you buy the brand of shoes you're wearing?" I went on to explain that pressure from non-gun owers was worse than useless, because it was coming from (according to Gun Nuts) people with no knowlege of guns – the old "Do you, an auto mechanic, take car advice from a plumber?" routine.
I want to let you all in on a little secret. Gun owners despise Gun Nuts. On user boards like Glock Talk, disdain for the "open carry" enthusiasts currently making all gun owners look like morons is well documented. The only outcome the gun owners would like to see in the "open carry" movement would be a few negligent discharges that only involve the open carriers. They know, however, that any NDs would involve innocent bystanders – because the "open carry" entuhsiasts are morons. These people are hated with a passion by gun owners, because they make us all look like morons.
Hence, my idea of peer-shaming.the Gun Nuts. "Cmon, man – nobody's gonna pull a gun on you at Chili's. And frankly, if someone with a CHL sees you coming in with an AR, they're not gonna wait to see if you're gonna tell everyone to get on the floor and hand over their wallets.". Peer pressure is a very very powerful tool, and no one wants to look stupid to his/her peers.
OK – back to the convention - Enthusiasm, good ideas (very little blue-skying), and most of all, engagement.
Also, the Texas GOP's – um – approach to women seems to be bearing fruit – just not the kind they had planned on. From WOW to HCDW, women were attending. In massive numbers. And pissed. REALLY pissed.
Good.
One last thing – this convention produced the best Wendy Davis photobomb in recorded history:
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Anyway, my AFIB eventually did me in (having to park a statute mile from the convention center didn't help much), and I reluctantly came home and got horizontal. And yes, I missed all of the parties afterwards.
I was mostly there to see if my fellow delegates have things well in hand (this year's appointments and elections were a done deal).
Do they EVER!
This old guy can take a break now and let the young'uns handle the jubilation.
Back next monday with the usual mockery and buffoonism.
A very positive report, TT. Thanks.
I wish I could share your optimism about gun nuts caring about what other gun owners thought, but look at what happened when the NRA called members of Open Carry Texas “weird” for taking their guns to Chili’s. The gun nuts made the NRA walk it back:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/06/03/nra-apologizes-texas-gun-protests-not-weird/
Walking back the NRA isn’t much of a feat. The idea here is to have the non-crazy gun owners (the large majority) gently mock the crazies. Peer pressure can accomplish what legislation never will.
Tommy
A walk down the path of history is crunchy with the crispy corpses of
those who pooh-poohed or ignored the clown car of ridicule when it
pulled-up to the curb.
Stephen Jones, from alt.religion.scientology
Thanks for this — we’re not all crazed rabid rightwing nut jobs in Texas.
Yeah, I take my rifle to the range. Not to the FreeBirds (Chipotle? That’s TexMex like NPR is liberal.)
Having a family member who moved to Texas and how they went off the right-wing cliff, there are dems in Texas ?????
In all seriousness, hope a lot is accomplished. Look forward for both a final report and return of the Obsession.
Tommy T, my husband and I were also at the Convention, and agree with you about the enthusiasm and the PO’d WOMEN!
The people we met at mealtime were from all over the state–not just from Austin (where people assume all the Texas liberals are concentrated). Our “research” revealed that there are very dedicated liberals in the Panhandle, in Victoria, in North Texas, in West Texas, and in East Texas.
And we heard from some up-and-coming superstars like Annise Parker (mayor of Houston), Joaquin Castro, Trey Martinez Fischer, and of course Leticia Van de Putte and Wendy Davis.
I attended a great panel of YOUNG women activists, and I tell you, it gave me hope for the future. They are smart, focused, and so much more savvy than I was at their age.
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