Ok, please pardon the attempt at humor in the title. But those who refer to themselves as "real" Texans quite often believe anyone not from Texas is a foreigner to one degree or another. In fact, Some Texans don't really trust Texans who live close to any border, much less anywhere the other side of the Red River.
This is intended as a helpful reference for anyone not from Texas who is helping with the Texas efforts, by phone banking, etc. I encourage others with pertinent Texas insights to jump in, as I certainly don't claim to be a one-stop-shop for all Texas knowledge.
Texas Democratic Primary and Caucus -- March 4
Texas will hold both a primary and caucus on March 4. The campaign is referring to this as The Texas Two-Step (a rather unfortunate decision in this case, as that name, while recognizable, has some downside implications when used in politcal reference). 126 delegates are at stake in this primary.
You may will get questioned about this. A good many Texas Democrats, let alone potential independents and Republicans, do not know how we handle presidential primaries. Reasons: it is a complicated process, and it's rarely required. The last time Texas truly mattered in a Democratic presidential primary was 1988, when Michael Dukakis, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Gary Hart, and Richard Gephardt were battling it out.
What it boils down to is this. A person needs to vote, early or on primary day. That counts for the primary results. To get all we can out of this process, any person who voted, early or not, can participate in a caucus. The caucus will be held at their respective precinct polling place, beginning at 7:15 pm, or after the last voter has voted. To participate in the caucus, the person must be able to prove they voted in the Democratic primary, and are in the correct precinct. That done, all the voter has to do is sign in for the correct candidate. They are free to leave afterwards. 42 additional delegates are at stake from the caucuses.
Early Voting - In person or by mail
Early voting begins Tuesday, February 19 and ends on Friday, February 29. Any registered voter can early vote, not to be confused with absentee voting. Early voting should be encouraged. Voters can learn the location to early vote from the local newspapers, local government websites, or by a quick phone call to their county's election office or tax assessor/collector (the voter registrar). Early voting can be done by mail, by request to the local election office or tax assessor/collector, but they need to hurry. Requests for ballot by mail must be received by the proper authority no later than close of business on the 7th day before the election (Feb 26), and good luck with that turn around.
Make a point to mention to early voters about the caucus procedure, and how important their involvement in that process is to our campaign.
More information is available at the texas.obama.com site.
Issues
Before I begin here, let me give you some demographic disclosure. I am a middle class white guy, in my late 40s. My network of friends, acquaintances, and contacts are for the most part: aged 30 to 80 with a probable average age of 52-55, roughly 5:3 men to women, about 9/10 have children, about 1/3 have children of various ages living at home. They are mostly white, African American, and Mexican-American, and mostly middle class. A fairly even I offer those demographics as a basis for the information I want to share below. Use it for what it is worth to you.
Non-Issues you may encounter
*My "top ten" argument goes something like this. When someone brings up their "hatred" of gays and lesbians, I ask why? "Were you molested?" Never have I been told yes. I most often hear some misquote of some version of the Holy Bible. Usually "it's abominable to God". Hum, I say. Yeah it does say something like that in that in Leviticus. By the way, I ask, do you eat shrimp or lobster? They don't usuallt get the point of that question, even though also in Leviticus eating anything from the water that doesn't have scales and fins is termed an abomination. But they shut up when I say, you know, it's odd to me that in the one part of the Bible that is stipulated to be the absolute, direct word of God, the Ten Commandments, doesn't mention gays, lesbians, transgendered, cross dressers, frat boys in cheerleader outfits or even Joe Namath. Not one peep. A mention of your neighbor's ass is as close as it gets. So in his/her very own Top Ten List, God doesn't condemn homosexuals. Just murderers, thieves, adulterers, blasphemers, idol worshipers, liars, parent dishonorers, beholders of graven images, worshippers of other gods, people who work 5 or fewer days a week, and those who work on the Sabbath. When you get right down to it, seems he's getting after absolutely everyone BUT gays and lesbians.
*Christian minister confirm's Barack Obama is Christian.http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-JNYmqkbMk
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