SocraticGadfly: What if #WendyDavis was "nudged" into her Alameel endorsement?

January 17, 2014

What if #WendyDavis was "nudged" into her Alameel endorsement?

If you, like me, are still scratching your head over why Wendy Davis, who rocketed to fame over her pro-choice filibuster during last year's Texas Lege special session (ignoring her claims on the Today Show that "I'm not an overnight sensation,"), would endorse a possible closet pro-lifer, David Alameel, in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, as I have been, well, here's the latest from my thinking cap.

I started with the issue of part of her semiannual fundraising money, in her claims to media, actually being joint fundraising with political organizations, the seeming spinning, if you will.

I then got to thinking:

What if Battleground Texas or Be One Texas or whomever suggested,  or even pushed for, her to endorse Alameel?

Reasoning? If he wins, of course, his self-financing means that in-Texas (and non-Texas) Democratic money flows almost totally to her, assuming that Democrats who win the nominations for other statewide contests aren't considered glamorous at all outside of Texas, and not hugely so inside.

That's one possibility.

Another?

This falls in line with my scolding her for pandering to moderates in Waxahachie last fall.

In this case, the big gun gurus suggest this as another way of establishing herself as moderate, and nuanced. Given that Alameel's is almost certainly right in portraying himself as the most conservative Democrat in the Senate primary (I don't know what the hell to call LaRouchites). Davis gets to portray herself as broad-minded, etc.

If, in either case, the hired guns suggested this, it's no wonder the likes of a Michael Li will protest so much when her campaign contribution spinning is pointed out, but won't talk one bit about why she endorsed Alameel.

Update, Jan. 30: Lite Guv Democratic candidate Leticia Van de Putte has also lost me. Perhaps her "Handlers" gave similar advice.

Ted McLaughlin, proprietor of Jobsanger, notes this related fact. He says Davis' own website mentions nothing about her stance on reproductive choice. 

More proof for this? Outside of abortion, Davis arguably is not that liberal on a lot of issues anyway. Her Fort Worth City Council history, especially in her relations to big business, and doubly so to big businessmen whose last names were connected to the oil bidness, indicate that.

Alameel was fairly much back of the pack in his 2010 Congressional race, which went to runoff without him. He has seven weeks to try to run out the clock on being non-responsive ...

IF he can win without a runoff. I doubt that. Maxey Scherr, who looks like the best candidate to me, and Michael Fjetland, together, will keep him below 50 percent.

At some point, he'll have to start talking. Even more, in a 1-on-1 runoff.
 

3 comments:

PDiddie said...

This is real good stuff. I'm going to have to collect a few thoughts and add something to yours.

Gadfly said...

Michael Li first led me to this. I got into a Twitter back-and-forth over Davis' campaign contributions spin work, and I finally said, "Why aren't you asking about the Alameel endorsement?" Then I realized none of the BG type hired guns were. I just finished writing this, then I saw what Ted has about Davis' own website.

Michael Fjetland said...

Alameel's 2012 Congress site, now erased, listed him as "pro life." FYI.

As far as the best candidate, it will be the one who can help Wendy bring in the 5% or so of independent vote needed to win. That's where F-Jet fills the bill.