WHY I SUPPORT MIKAL WATTS
by: leftshoe
Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 00:47:42 AM CDT [subscribe]
I have been frequently reading the Burnt Orange Report for going on about six months now. I have never felt the need to inject my opinion into the fray because A) I'm not as articulate as most, and B) Most of everything I would have said had already been said better than I would have said it. However, as we edge closer to 2008, I feel as though I finally have a point of view that isn't being adequately represented on this site. That point of view being the support of Mikal Watts in the upcoming Democratic Primary for the U.S. seat.
We are all aware that Watts is a pro-life Democrat (I am as well). We could go about in circles and generate arguments about this one issue for hours, and only accomplish one thing: to shift the focus away from the fact that we have a set of different, but wonderful candidates. So let us shift focus away from the divisive issue, and come together, with an open mind, to discuss the positives of a candidate that has given himself to the fight to unseat the money-shaking Bush lackey, John Cornyn.
So, what does Mikal Watts bring to the table? Besides a career of fighting for the little guy as a trial lawyer, he brings something to the table that we have to look at and accept as a must have; electability. For starters, regardless of how strongly we dislike the idea, money is necessary to wage a strong campaign. With his own personal funds, he has already matched, and then doubled what John Cornyn had in the bank. You combine this with the fund raising that could be done on his behalf, and Mikal Watts is a DEMOCRATIC, financial powerhouse. That is something that we don't get to say very often about Texas Democrats. A lot of people like to go back to the Tony Sanchez campaign, which was quite wealthy. The difference is that Sanchez made no effort to build Democratic infrastructure across the state of Texas, and rather spent the vast majority of his money on media efforts. Watts has declared that the former is his main priority, and while we can never be sure about the intentions of our candidates, I believe that the logic says that we should give the chance to the man in which it would not be financially difficult to pull off.
Another thing that opponents bring up when talking about Mikal Watts is that some of his money has went to Republican candidates for office. Most depressingly Rick Perry and David Dewhearst. This sort of thing happens, especially when you donate to PACs and the sort. However, if you are willing to overlook this and look into his Democratic loyalty, you will learn that his introduction into politics was through his grandmother, who did union work and was a hardcore Democrat. Also, you will learn that, through a fund raiser he organized, Watts raised something like 1.6 million for the national Democratic Party. Well over 90% of his money goes to Democratic candidates, so I am not going to condemn the man for a few odd donations.
Finally, I would like to bring up the Texas political landscape. I don't think that anyone would try to make the argument that Mikal Watts is at all more progressive than Rick Noriega. However, I think it should be rather obvious that Watts is more progressive than Cornyn, and thus, (most of us) would be much more satisfied with Watts in the senate than Cornyn. So, we have to at least take into consideration that Watts' more centrist political leaning offers him a somewhat more electable edge in center-right Texas than the more progressive Noriega. My main goal in this election is to kick out Cornyn, as I don't think we could do much worse. So, while Watts may not be the ideal candidate to some progressives, he has a leg up in kicking out the neoconservative, Bush puppet that Noriega might not have going into the election.
I am grateful that you guys have given me the chance to speak on behalf of my candidate and I hope the discussion can continue in the most friendly way possible. Regardless of who gets the nod, I hope that we can all rally around the candidate and make a much needed change in Washington. :)