I'm Trusting Christian Menefee Despite Deep Wariness Of Elected Officials

Fundraising e-mails are a lot of horse hockey, but one from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee recently caught the attention of the Houston Democracy Project.

County Attorney Menefee is a good public official who has been willing to oppose the State of Texas and stand up for the best democratic and pluralistic values of Harris County.     
    
​Here is some of what he said in his fundraising pitch:

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2024. We don’t need to speculate what type of President that Trump will be. We already know. 

Trump’s term as President was filled with attacks on local control, upheavals of our political norms, and undermining the will of the people. On top of that, Trump has also said that if reelected, he will be a “dictator on day 1.”

​I’ve stood up to Greg Abbott and his Republican allies in Austin’s repeated overreach of our rights in Harris County, and I will gladly stand up to a President Trump as well.

We will be doing everything we can to reelect President Biden, but we cannot be as caught off guard or ill-prepared as we were in 2016. 

2024 is shaping up to be an even more chaotic and divisive election. But if we organize from the grassroots, I know we can propel President Biden and Texas Democrats to victory.

I'll do something I rarely do and take a politician at face value. I believe Mr. Menefee cares about the full Democratic slate, about democracy and is willing to involve and encourage grassroots & rank and file voters in the fight for freedom. He is saying things here that all elected Democrats in Houston and Harris County should be saying no matter what office they hold.  

Here are three suggestions-       

*Prepare and make public a detailed written plan for increasing November voter turnout. Encourage other elected officials to do the same. The plan could discuss the hiring of canvassing teams, how these teams will trained and what they will be paid, what groups and organizations will be worked with, how he will team up with other local elected Democrats to boost turnout, what permanent structure to boost turnout the effort will leave for the next election cycle & whatever else I'm missing here.  This high turnout is needed to hold Harris County for Democrats, defeat Ted Cruz and strongly oppose Donald Trump.   
 
*Actively encourage citizen involvement by specifically asking Harris County residents to contact the Harris County Democratic Party to become a trained poll-watcher in 2024.

*Help create a political climate where involved citizens outside the insular network of elected officials, connected non-profits and Whitmire-endorsing unions have a voice with people with power such as Mr. Menefee.

I'm deeply cynical of elected officials. But I'm keeping hope alive for Mr. Menefee.    

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

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