Austin: What is the state of the State Party?

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

I figure DU'ers in Austin would know best, but I recently got a call to donate to the TDP. Good on them. Email and snail mail are well and good, but I tend to put those aside and forget about them. But it's hard to say no to someone on the phone, so I gave, but I'm wondering if I'm throwing good money after bad.

So my question is, how does the TDP fit in the panoply of Democratic organizations situated in Austin, such as Keep Austin Blue, DFT, Travis County Party, etc... Is it a powerhouse? Is it broken? If so, how is it broken? I know their website sux. (Ever been to the Espanol link? I don't know what it says, but I can tell it ain't much. That's unacceptable.)

I know from where I sit, the TDP is just about invisible. Since I have to make a decision on who is going to head this organization, I thought I would solicit the opinions of those who have seen it up close. Thanks in advance.

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

1. Update

I just got back from my county party office. They had received 200 copies of the TDP's grassroots handbook. They're alive!:+
(..the party, not the handbook)

[jobycom]

2. I haven't been involved in the last two years, but my impression

is that they are pretty active and effective, given the lack of popularity of the party in the state. They have to keep a lot of factions happy, from the old Democrat parts of Texas where the moderate-to-conservatives still vote for moderate Dems, to the places like Austin, where the liberals are vocal and powerful, to the places like the Valley, where they win because the Dems have been better for Hispanic conditions. There are also populists and Connally style conservatives. Overall, Texas politics has a strong strain of libertarian in both parties (many conservatives in Texas are more libertarian than fundie), especially outside of the three big cities, so sometimes the party lines aren't as clear as they are outside the state. Because of the diversity of needs, people everywhere can find something to like and to hate about them, and they play on that.

Donations were low a few years ago because of a couple of entertwined factors. First, in-state Dems believed they were fighting a losing cause, and sent much of their money to parties and campaigns out of state. Second, we had people like John Sharp and Tony Gonzalez discouraging association with the national Democrats like Kerry and Kennedy, so the liberals out of state didn't bother sending money. Because of that, the TDP had limited funds to give to local parties. Like most places, there is always a dispute as to how much a party should conform to what the majorit wants, and how much they should try to win over the majority to their point of view.

But overall they are a strong organization, and good at being involved in everything. I think their general attitude is that they can't really win the state for the party, but they can keep everything running and ready in case the attitudes of voters change, so they will be there to take advantage. There are some who want them to take sides on more issues (be more liberal, be less liberal, chase off the DINOs, etc), but that doesn't seem to be their attitude so far. It may have changed in the last couple of years, and there may be issues I didn't really pick up on.

[sonias]

3. We can do better

We're not there yet, but we are alive. We'll see what the new chair does with the reins.

Sonia