Tornado Alley (PROG)

[arizona1]

FreedomWorks: What I Witnessed In Austin This Weekend Shook Me To My Core

Texas is the sleeping giant in the United States. It turns out that Battleground Texas is starting to scare the hell out of the Right Wing Tea Party Texas Republican Party.

It turns out that FreedomWorks blogger Shane Wright wrote a blog piece that lays it out pretty well. He says,

Top-level Democrats and OFA strategist are on the ground all across Texas registering hundreds of new voters every week. Currently Battleground Texas reports that they are on pace to register approximately 600,000 new Democrats by the 2014 midterms. Considering Rick Perry won the gubernatorial race in 2010 by less than 700,000 votes, Texas could be in real trouble. Mathematically speaking, the path to the White House could be lost for an entire generation if Democrats are able to turn Texas.

In a state with a population of over 26 million, that margin of votes is minute. What is not stated is a much higher percentage of Republican voters are registered than Democratic voters. The assumption is that most Latino, Black, and other voters generally have an affinity for the Democratic Party.

FreedomWorks is scared.

Wright attended Tribune Fest at the University of Texas Austin, a gathering similar to Netroots. This is supposed to be Red Texas. He was completely taken aback. He blogged the following.

What I witnessed in Austin this weekend shook me to my core. This isn’t simply an ideological grassroots battle; we are up against a full-fledged frontal assault from the entire liberal political machine. Battleground Texas is well funded, motivated, highly organized and damn good at what they do. We are fighting an uphill battle to keep Texas reliably red, which has trickle down effects across the country.

Shane Wright and FreedomWorks are in panic mode. They have finally realized that the movement to turn Texas blue is real. They likely realize that the their voter ID suppression tactics and the new voter suppression tactics against women will not be sufficient. There requirement that all volunteer deputy voter registrars are deputized in every county they intend to register voters will not be enough.

Wendy Davis running for Governor Of Texas means she will earn the vote of both Democratic and some Republican women. After all, Republican misogyny does not end at the party line.

Texas has the lowest voter turnout in the country. If Texans voted its true demographics, it will be a solid blue state. Given the outcomes of statewide races, mostly Republican, it is safe to assume that the vast majority of all new voters will be Democrats. That is FreedomWorks biggest fear.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/24/1250367/-FreedomWorks-What-I-Witnessed-In-Austin-This-Weekend-Shook-Me-To-My-Core

The infighting isn't going to help Republicans, who are trying to distance themselves from themselves:

Americans For Tax Reform Policy Director Blasts 'Defund Terrorists'
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/americans-for-tax-reform-director-blasts-defund-terrorists-on-conservative-listserv

Go Dems!

PPP Poll: Dems Could Win 'Sizable Majority' in House in 2014 - Pickup Opps in 49 of 61 Districts
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023893429