Woke Agenda: 'How Dems Can Win Texas'

Texas Democrats Need to Wake Up

Our country, our state, and our Democratic Party are broken. We fucked up big time when we didn't seize the opportunity presented to us after the travesty of Donald Trump's election in 2016. There were so many disillusioned Republicans who were ready to jump ship, but instead of embracing them with open arms, we let the loud, progressive minority within our party push them away. We went so far left that we left no room for moderation or compromise.

Even before 2016, we started alienating our own. We embraced identity politics and basically said, "if you're not a minority, female, or gay, then screw you." We let young people, with their internet-fueled sense of superiority, dismiss the value of experience and demonize older white men, even those who fought for justice and diversity.

When I ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020, I was constantly asked why I, as an older white man, was running when there were younger, more diverse candidates. When I tried to explain that my presence in the race contributed to the very diversity I had always fought for, no one wanted to hear it. I was told, "I really like what I’m hearing but you’re a white man and I believe white men are responsible for everything that’s wrong." Am I saying that white men should be absolved of all blame? No, but let's not paint all of us with the same broad brush.

If we want to win in Texas, we need to learn to work together, even if we don't agree on everything. We need to stop being afraid of political correctness and start having honest conversations. No one wants to be called a racist or a sexist, so they stay silent instead. This silencing of discourse is bullshit and needs to end.

Texas Democrats, it's time to wake up. We need to stop blindly following the national Democratic agenda and start tailoring our positions to fit our state. When we talk about getting rid of fossil fuels, Texans worry about their jobs and our economy. When we mention gun control, they see it as an attack on their personal freedom. There are ways to make progress on these issues without resorting to extreme measures.

And please, can we stop being the "tax and spend Party"? No one wants higher taxes. It’s not what the Democrats have ever stood for. JFK, for fuck's sake, wanted to lower taxes! We need to look at his "New Frontier" agenda, which stimulated the economy and brought more money into the government.

If we want to win, we need to make some changes. This agenda I'm proposing? It's one that could fix a lot of what's wrong with our state and our country. If we don't, we might as well get used to losing.

Chris Bell is a lawyer, former U.S. congressman and Houston City Council member, and the host of iHeart Radio’s “Reasonable Minds.” This commentary appears exclusively in the American-Statesman: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/contributors/2023/07/12/texas-democrats-need-accept-partys-broken-chris-bell-analysis/11864372002/