Let's begin the first blog entry on this site by expressing gratitude toward Houston's most astute political blogger, liberal/progressive division, Charles Kuffner of Off the Kuff. A few years ago, Chuck's analysis of local events caught the eye of someone at the Houston Chronicle, who asked him to contribute to the online edition. In this posting, Chuck actually remembered that two candidates remain in the 2014 race for Harris County Judge after Ahmad Hassan dropped his candidacy, whereas the Chron's reporter had not remembered.
Let's continue our spate of gratitude with thanks to another Chuck, namely Jones, for inspiring the title of this entry. Yes, it's rather politically incorrect humor, but the cartoon Hassan isn't stupid because he's a stereotypical Middle-Easterner. He's a stereotypical Middle-Easterner who just happens to be stupid (or at least unable to outsmart a rabbit).
the Harris County Democrats couldn't find a better sacrificial lamb to run against the incumbent, alleged Republican Ed Emmett.
"Alleged," you ask? Judge Emmett is officially a Republican. Until recently it was difficult for a Democrat to win county-wide office here, and, well, he does have some conservative leanings. But as the Republican Party nationally grows more outrageous and Medieval in its ideology, Emmett stands out as a Republican in the mold of New York Mayor John Lindsay back in the 1960s, or even Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay in the 1970s without the crooked dealings.
Hassan better fits the label "alleged Democrat" because of his electoral history: He was the Republican nominee for US House District 18 in 2006. (That's Sheila Jackson Lee's seat.) Perhaps it's more appropriate to refer to him as a part-time Democrat.
Emmett clearly understands the importance of government and doesn't crack jokes about drowning it in a bathtub. In 2008, at the time of Hurricane Ike, he embodied the importance of government. This is part of why Hassan dropped out of the race. And when Hassan dropped out, even though I share his respect for Emmett, I concluded that I could serve Harris County better by staying in.
Am I going to win this race? Not likely. Can I be the non-Republican alternative for yellow-dog Democrats and true progressives who will bother to vote this November? You bet.
My next report to the County, due in a few weeks, will have fewer naughts on it, because now that I've actually begun this campaign, I have raised a few bucks. I also believe that I understand the issues of importance to this county better than Hassan, according to Kuffner's diagnosis after their 2010 interview.
As a worldwide energy capital, Houston and Harris County can and must take the lead in the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
As a region with an astoundingly diverse population, we can and must work to find ways to leverage that diversity to show the world how such a population lives harmoniously.
As the county that sentences more people to death each year than most states and many nations, we have acquired an international reputation as a pariah; we can and must stop behaving as if "justice" means "a dark-skinned fellow gets executed."