Texas Democrats meet this week, but it’s all online: ‘At least the drinks are cheaper’
.JPG "Texas Democrats’ state convention is online this year, promoted with a Zoom video.")
Texas Democrats needed a really strong convention this week.
Instead, they’re getting an online show.
Right now, they need to show how they would lead Texas and America, and how they’ve united after 65 percent did not vote for Delaware Democrat Joe Biden.
But with a nation enraged and Minneapolis in the streets, instead Texas Democrats are home on their sofas. Their “virtual” state convention starts Monday, limited due to coronavirus.
Sure, thousands of Texans can watch online. But this isn’t exactly Netflix stuff.
The biennial party pep rally continues with highlights Friday night and Saturday, including a Senate runoff debate and a Biden video call.
“It’s hard to generate political enthusiasm when you’re confined to your house staring only at a lit screen,” said University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus.
“At least the drinks are cheaper.”
After an improved performance at the ballot box in 2018, Democrats want to put on a good show. They’ll have programs on two stages, special events and entertainment.
But conventions aren’t about what’s on stage. They’re all about backroom deals and bitter grudges, like in 2016 when a large faction of Bernie Sanders delegates loudly booed the state’s legacy African-American Democratic leaders for supporting eventual nominee Hillary Clinton.
State Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, brought one of the biggest cheers in 2016 when he called now-President Donald Trump “an overgrown tick … a bloodsucking parasite.”
Romero isn’t speaking this year.
“It will certainly be different,” he said, “but it’s what the times call for.”
Besides the pandemic, there’s the matter of 2.2 million Texans unemployed, and millions more facing hard times.
“The energy might not be palpable in the same way as an in-person convention,” Romero said, “but I can tell you that Democrats are fired up for this election. ... We’re ready to make America respectable again.”
State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, leads Texas House Democrats in a year when the state party’s No. 1 goal is to win back that chamber (in part by flipping four Tarrant County seats).
“Obviously, we will all miss the camaraderie that conventions bring,” he said, but he added that electing delegates and writing a platform might work better online.
He’s in the Round Rock studio on a panel Friday night. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke are also on the schedule.
“It will definitely be different,” Turner said, “but people’s health and safety is the most important priority.”
If nothing else, Democrats are tuning in.
Tarrant County Chairwoman Deborah Peoples of Fort Worth said local Democrats have better attendance for Zoom video calls than they have for meetings.
“Wow — [it’s] saving me the expense of travel to San Antonio and hotel,” she said.
Some of the party’s up-and-coming young challengers are not sure what to expect.
“It almost feels like something we would’ve seen on ‘The Jetsons,’ “ said Euless Democrat Jeff Whitfield, facing Bedford Republican Jeff Cason for an open District 92 seat.
Fort Worth Democrat Elizabeth Beck is in a high-profile race in southwest Fort Worth against Rep. Craig Goldman. She is speaking Friday from Round Rock on a socially distanced panel with other women candidates.
“We’re just trying to navigate how to do this,” she said.
“We’re not in rooms, shaking hands — we’re trying to create that experience from afar.”
Democrats can’t afford to fall behind organizing for November.
“Polls show Democrats are fired up to vote,” Rottinghaus said, “but they lag behind Republicans on this metric and are a lot more worried about the effects of the virus ... This is a bad banana bread recipe for winning.”
Still rebuilding after 26 years of chronic losses, Texas Democrats needed an energetic show of spirit.
They’re only getting the show.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
