Why is this so hard for so many people? For the politically engaged, the election is front of mind and they become excited about the potential outcomes.

For the majority of the population, they get up, struggle to get the kids to school on time, work, pray they make it to school before the penalties for being late kick in, feed the kids and it is 7:30. They forgot to cast a ballot. They mean to, really they do. It just wasn’t as important as the daily demands of life.

And yet, the things that complicate those daily demands – the traffic that makes them late to school, the education their children are receiving in that very school, the fuel they put into the car and just about every other step of their day is affected by the outcome of the election.

“Too busy” is just not an excuse. As we often state on this blog, we have a representative government. We get the government that we deserve. If that traffic jam has any impact on your stress levels, then get out and vote. Think about the fact that the billions of dollars being spent to upgrade 290 will not include HOV lanes because government officials couldn’t come to an agreement.

Think about that test in school that your child is preparing for and whether or not they will be taking Algebra II in high school. Will they be college bound or will they be directed to a vocational course and how they have to make that decision in 8th grade.

When you close the door of your house upon your arrival home, ask yourself if you will be able to keep paying the ever increasing property taxes on the place you like or the ever increasing rents?

These are the reasons you need to cast a ballot. The day-to-day routine of your life is seriously impacted by the decisions that will be made today.

So take 15 minutes and VOTE!!!!!

But, the voter ID debate has been a shoulder shrug for the most part. Until…. I just realized that I have messed up my sweet Dad’s ability to vote.

Most of the debate and testimony centers around minority voting rights and the fact that many minorities and the poor may not have a valid driver’s license. Hey, it’s expensive in both dollars and time to get a driver’s license. If you don’t drive, do you really need one?

But I have heard little about the debate involving and effecting the elderly. Thus, I was a little shocked when I realized that I had not taken care of my Dad’s issue.

In the last year, my sweet Dad has taken a significant turn for the worse in his health care. He has moved into a nursing home. I have taken over all of the paperwork and brought his car to my house.

Through much of the changes this year, I did not realize that his driver’s license had expired and that he had no formal identification other than his VA card. Uh oh.

I also forgot to move his voter registration and just truly messed up, admittedly. Now I am in deep trouble. My Dad, who has rarely missed an election in his entire life, is not going to be able to vote this year. I couldn’t get a mail ballot for him due to the move and change of address.

No problem, I thought, we’ll just go in person to the address he last voted. Well, he doesn’t have any identification. Thinking I could still fix it, we went to the DPS office to try and get an ID. HAH!!!! What an experience that turned out to be for us. As my Dad doesn’t pay any utilities or any bills in his name, we couldn’t get the card. We had no identifying papers with us to confirm his residence though we did have his expired driver’s license.

We were told that we could have the nursing home prepare a notarized letter that he is a resident and bring that back for review and consideration. Really?

So, one of your biggest advocates for voting and participating in a democracy, has truly made a mess of things.

The saddest part is that it might be his last opportunity to vote and I have dropped the ball.

I am humbled. And to all of you voter ID bashers out there, remember to include the elderly in your discussions. And when someone responds that “they can always vote by mail”, remind them that it doesn’t always address the issues that arise with rapid health decline and changing addresses that occur with our elderly.

When you make it difficult for our most seasoned and experienced citiznes to vote, the democracy is truly in trouble.

By the way Republicans, my Dad is a solid Repbulican and a Fox news watcher so this one cost you a vote……..

The whole population is the key phrase here. In America, we have the right to vote. We select our representatives. I’m astounded at how many people refer to “them” and “those divided leaders in Washington, Austin”, etc.

By the shear nature of democracy, “those” and “they” are you! You! The voters select their leaders. “Representative” government means that they represent YOUR point of view.

And yet, it is likely that less than 50% of eligible voters in Texas will select the leaders of our state and representatives we send to Washington.

The candidates have worked their hearts out. The small percentage of the population that engages in volunteering with campaigns have worked and walked until they have blisters. And yet, very few people will actually vote.

It is time to put downt the electronics, take a few extra minutes in your day and cast a ballot. Early voting starts today!

If you do not vote, please do not complain to me or to others. You have chosen not to participate in choosing your leaders so you have no right to speak out.

As Grover Cleveland said, “The ship of democracy will ultimately sink by the mutiny of those on board” (paraphrased). The ship is sinking rapidly unless you do your part and vote.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

From the beginning of the cycle, it has seemed as though most pundits, business leaders and even many voters consider the outcome of the election a forgone conclusion. Yet, the candidates have done their best to engage voter interest and appear to be engaged in a contest.

Voters always tell pollsters that they detest negative campaigning. But in fact, data repeatedly shows that turnout increases when the campaigns become more negative.

Abbott and Davis, the candidates for Governor, have slung mud and engaged in repeated debates. Their negative campaigning has been respectable and within limits. Neither has ignored the other and among those who care, their have been clear cut differences between the two.

Patrick and Van de Putte, the candidates for Lt. Governor, have been somewhat different. Initially, Patrick was quieter after recovering from a bruising primary campaign. However, he released a television ad this week that actually mentions Van de Putte. She has been aggressively campaigning all along.

However, the money reports show the outcome and for the most part, predict the victors. Greg Abbott is sitting on so much cash in his campaign account that he may end the season with money leftover, even if floods the airwaves and ground war over the next month. Last estimate has him with $30 million cash on hand.

Davis is barely staying afloat with a mere $4.7 million on file.

Dan Patrick has nearly a two-to-one margin in funds over Van de Putte.

These two women candidates have run hard for the office and will continue to reach out to the “folks” in hopes of winning the election. But every ounce of outreach requires some funding and organizational budgets.

On rare occasions, the candidate with less money wins an election. Ann Richards became Governor after having been seriously out spent. However, her opponent made a couple of major mistakes during the campaign. Congressman John Culberson of Houston beat a well-funded opponent in a Republican primary with a powerful grass-roots organization driven by Republican women and others. It does happen.

If you believe in one of these candidates, you best get moving now and do the most you can to generate interest in the election and support for the person you most want to see win.

This blogger believes that the finances are a fair predictor of the election outcome……

For the 4th year, the Texas Tribune hosted a festival with bold-faced name keynotes and multiple tracks on energy, health care, transportation, immigration, open government, public education, higher education, justice and environment.

I attended with two colleagues from Pierpont Communications and it took us a week to sort out the sessions we would attend and required the building of a spread sheet so we could keep track.

We watched the gubernatorial debate on Friday night with a large audience and heard from candidate for Land Commissioner, George P. Bush. On Saturday, we were all scattered across multiple sessions and collecting valuable information for our clients.

One of the most fun sessions we attended included a panel of national politically focused journalists discussing the 2016 campaign. To a person, they had already nominated Hilary Clinton for the Democrats and had lively discussions about potential Republican nominees.

The very best part of the event was spending time with other people who work in or enjoy politics as much as we do and sharing insights and analysis of the various panels and policy discussions.

One of the biggest take-aways we garnered from the Festival is that the next Legislative session is going to be tumultuous. Most attendees have already elected Abbot and Dan Patrick in their models and are viewing policy through that window. Though money is always an issue, it is not in as short of supply this year. The bigger question is how Republicans will work together to actually solve problems when they are very splintered among themselves.

Thanks to the Texas Tribune for another great nerd nirvana weekend!

Dan Patrick, the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, took out the incumbent David Dewhurst in the primary run-off. It was a brutal, long primary but Patrick won convincingly.

The Democrats have nominated veteran State Senator Leticia Van de Putte.

Van de Putte is campaigning hard across the state with a grass-roots campaign. Patrick continues to reach out and connect with the party faithful. The Houston Chronicle addressed this subject earlier this week.

On Monday, we discussed the active campaign between Abbott and Davis. The complete opposite is occurring in the Lt. Governor’s race. Dan Patrick is not visible, not debating and simply ignoring his opponent.

Let’s face facts, a Democrat hasn’t won statewide office in 20 years. Patrick is hanging the curtains, considering his committee appointments and thinking about hiring staff. There is only a very small likelihood that he would be defeated.

We have a great contrast on our hands. Will Abbott win by a greater margin than Patrick? Will Patrick be victorious by staying completely off the campaign trail?

The deeper question is about democracy. Should a candidate be expected to engage in a political campaign? Not really. They have to raise so much money and voters should be tuned-in enough to notice.

We often put the blame for our issues with government on others. The fact is that we should take responsibility. We have the right to vote, to determine who runs our government. If we default on democracy, it is our fault.

“The ship of democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.”
Grover Cleveland

Not Greg Abbott. Even though the polls show him with a comfortable lead over Wendy Davis, he is not taking anything for granted. She is running hard and he is answering her every move. They have dueling television ad campaigns and dueling arguments on the trail.

Davis does not hesitate to attack Abbott and he does not shy away from mentioning her name either. Greg Abbott wants to become Governor of Texas with a mandate from the people. He wants to not just win but win big and show the Legislature that he has support for his agenda.

The more aggressively Davis campaigns, the more it empowers Abbott if he is the eventual victor. I’m just thankful that they are present and campaigning for the office.

Governor Perry refused to do anything other than tightly controlled campaign appearances during his last couple of races. When facing Bill White, he would not appear jointly with him or engage him in debate.

Abbott and Davis have agreed to meet at least twice in debate. How can Texans, in all honesty, choose a leader without public debate? Well, we just vote party apparently.

Kudos to Davis and Abbott for running actual campaigns and letting Texans know there is an election coming up. And for you readers out there, it is time to engage, study the candidates and make an informed decision.

It is refreshing to visit Texas counties with populations of 20,000 and chat about state politics with local elected officials.

On a trip this week, post Labor Day, I met several county officials of both party persuasions that are on the ballot this fall. It seemed that they were ignoring the top of the ticket. Neither nominee, Abbott or Davis, inspired much conversation. While we saw many political signs for local offices, we did not see a single Abbott or Davis sign across 6 different rural counties.

We further noted that many of the local officials and candidates did not include party affiliation on their signs. One local official admitted that he was a Democrat in rural Texas and that made him a dying breed. He then proceeded to tell us that Democrats would control the state completely in eight years. He said he just had to hang on……

After about 300+ miles across central Texas, I had to wonder if there is a state election happening this year. Are there campaigns out there? If so, you could not tell it across the part of rural Texas I visited this week.

I thought people in Houston were just ignoring it, even with the multitude of ads. But, hey, those statewide candidates better get to organizing. My biggest fear is that apathy will win the 2014 election.

After all these years, we will have a new Governor and a new Lt. Governor. Does anyone out there care?

I love the start of a new semester and a new school year. We get to make all new resolutions and the students come ready to conquer the world. It will be an exciting semester for me to teach Women in Politics with female candidates all over ballots this year and a few females talking presidential politics as well.

It’s also back to politics. As families get the kids back to school, they will slowly tune back in to politics. Most consider Labor Day the official kick-off of the political season and that is probably still accurate. However, in the world of permanent campaigns, it is really the final stretch for the candidates.

We’ll keep our eye on happenings in Texas and Harris County with an occasional glance across the country, when appropriate. It has been a volatile summer on many levels. Will issues such as Ferguson stir more voters to the polls? Will significant areas of international unrest cause more Americans to pay attention to their divided home government who can’t agree on solutions?

Wendy Davis, Democratic Candidate for Governor, has already launched attack ads on her opponent who seems to be basically ignoring her presence. Abbott’s strategy worked well for Rick Perry in the past. He is clearly operating on the theory that recognizing your opponent empowers them.

Meanwhile, the Lt. Governor’s race seems to have captured more attention than Governor. After an embattled and bitter Republican primary, Dan Patrick has taken the summer to shore up his base and refill his campaign coffers. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic nominee, has been making tracks all across Texas and trying to inspire lackluster voters that the election matters.

In Harris County, we have a heated race for District Attorney between two female candidates – incumbent Devon Anderson (R) and challenger Kim Ogg (D). They have already garnered media attention and the race proves to be one of the most interesting battles in a county that splits its votes.

Harris County is one of the few in the state that remains in play as a “swing” county. We should see lots of action this year.

So happy back to school to all and back to more traffic, too. Welcome to a heated Texas political season!

The platform included language that appears to be out of step with societal norms, even among conservatives. The most obvious of these was a statement calling for the “reparative therapy for gays” which means that gays can be rehabilitated. There are also statements on the role of women and children in society and bashing of international organizations. Overall, it is a most entertaining document to peruse and will make you wonder when it was written, this century or the 19th century.

Party conventions are even more conservative than party primaries. As you know, this blogger always refers to party primaries as the “family feud.” If the primary is the family feud, the convention is the gathering of the family, with plenty of discord and debate over who will ultimately inherit and all the dysfunction of any family. If only 10-15% of eligible voters vote in primaries and only a few of them become delegates to a convention……. Hopefully you are getting the picture. This is the most loyal and committed element that plays at the convention level.

The Democratic platform will also represent the most extreme version of its party membership. Granted, after 20 years out of power in Texas, they are a smaller bunch with less discord. They are not arguing over slices of the pie but to even move from the children’s table and have access to the pie.

Many bloggers and other inside players have written extensively about the Texas Republican platform and the national media loved playing with it to illustrate those crazy Texans, once again.

Ultimately, though, that is the last you will hear about it. Will Wendy Davis dangle the Republican platform in front of her opponent? Will he remain loyal to it? He has to win a general election with many urban voters and will distance himself from the more radical elements of the document. He will claim that he doesn’t believe this or that and couch his phrases carefully.

This is the way it has always been. The state conventions of summer provide a modicum of entertainment for the insider crowd of political theater observers. In the end, the platforms are not relevant to the campaigns and the focus will turn to personalities.

The question remains – will anyone vote or does anyone out there even care about the leadership of Texas?