Wells Dunbar from the Austin Chronicle (speaking of which, have you voted yet for Best of Austin? *hint, hint*) stopped by the Annie's List get-together last night for a wrap-up of the Democratic convention and chatted with some politicians in attendance about Obama's possible effect on local/state elections. ...

Abbott's office has seemed to focus the investigation on highly Democratic areas of the state and has "prosecuted 26 cases – all against Democrats, and almost all involving blacks or Hispanics," yesterday's article points out. People who mailed ballots for disabled or elderly people have been fined, and only 8 of the cases have involved real suspect activity such as voting for a dead relative, an attempt to double-vote, and registering non-existent people at actual addresses....

Before we let Texas fade off the political radar for a while, let's take a look at the Texas Democratic elite who will likely have the final say in who their nominee for president will be. ...

Unlike past primaries where the Presidential nominees were already decided by the time we voted, Texas' votes are quite significant this year. After the polls close this evening, the party's not over; it's precinct convention time! This whole caucus thing is new to us, so we thought it was worth posting a refresher....

Today both the Clinton and Obama campaigns announced upcoming town hall meetings. Obama's will take place tomorrow at the Austin Convention Center, while Hillary's sounds like more of a "virtual" town hall meeting - on TV the Monday before election day....

Photo from the Austin History Center archives Since so many of you wrote in asking about places to watch the Democratic Presidential Debate, we went ahead and called around town. Below are your best options if you missed out on the Alamo's watch parties or the Texas Democrats' party—both are now sold out. We still recommend calling ahead to make sure the folks below haven't changed their minds, and feel free to share any that......

If you'd been holding out hope to attend next week's historic Presidential Debate at UT Austin, you're in luck! Make that a tiny bit of luck....

At least it has a cool roofUPDATE: The Statesman has just released information from Hector Nieto of the Texas Democratic Party that attendance to the Feb. 21 Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton debate will be by invitation only. Well, while we were all was guessing The LBJ Library, Hogg Auditorium or The Frank Erwin Center, UT has announced that the February 21 Democratic Debate will officially be held at The Recreation Sports Center. Yes, this no name......

Meanwhile, both Obama and Clinton are pulling out all the stops to appeal to our state's Hispanic population, which account for as much as 25% of Texas' eligible voters, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Obama today launched a Spanish radio ad (mp3) stressing his humble working-class roots. Each campaign is also spending upwards of $1 million on TV ads that began running this week....

So, I guess I just got kicked out of another My Little Pony forum. :( Here are the results of the University Democrats (UT-Austin) & Central Austin Democrats (CAD) endorsements for Travis County and statewide elections. A Travis County election judge claims he's discovered 1,800 active registered voters who were inadvertently deleted from county voter rolls since 2004. Art: Stuffed wild animals turned inside out. Why sci-fi is the last great literature of ideas.......

Democrats debate in Iowa, everybody yawns. Al Gore blames you. "If you wanna get down, down on the ground..." It is so freaking cold in the midwest! Call your grandma and check on her. New Jersey is set to abolish the death penalty. Paris Hilton likes to show skin. Wastewater spills into Bull Creek tributary.......

Details on the murder that occurred on Juneteenth were sketchy when we posted yesterday (as we mentioned). More details of the event have been culled since then, and here is what the police think happened at this point. Two men in a Ford Taurus were driving near the Booker T. Washington housing development Tuesday night and accidentally hit a 2-year-old boy. The driver of the car got out (to check on the boy, perhaps)......

Charles Manson, up for parole again. Good luck with that one. The cruel, cruel FDA just approved a Pill that eliminates menstrual periods altogether. What will poor male standup comics have left to joke about? US Muslims are well-assimilated, middle-class Democrats. Hear that, Hannity? What's scarier than mere sharks? Shark virgin births. Some show is ending its season tonight, or something.......

A day after President Bush vetoed a bill that would have allocated $124 billion for the Iraq/Afghanistan war funds but required the total withdrawal of U.S. troops by March, hundreds of local grassroots organizations and individuals have mobilized to stage simultaneous protests across the country. At least a dozen different rallies will take place within a 300-mile radius of here. Austin Operation Democracy Council, the local MoveOn group, is staging its protest in front of......

“Currently, students' voluntary religious expression is being treated as second-class speech, and sometimes worse, in public schools. School children are being censored and reprimanded at school, leaving them in fear of punishment for their religious beliefs. Due to hostility toward religious expression, children are being forced to defend their First Amendment rights in courtrooms all across Texas, and throughout the nation. “School districts' practices and policies continue to violate the free speech rights of students,......

Despite being removed from office, Tom DeLay is up to his old tricks: comparing Democrats to Nazis; comparing himself to the Duke students falsely accused of rape; proclaiming that if the liberals can take down Don Imus, the conservatives can get Rosie O’Donnell off the air; and now this, the most egregious of his statements. In what is one of the most disturbing things we have heard in the wake of the shootings at Virginia......

House Democrats have unveiled legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. We are pretty sure this will be as powerful as their non-binding resolution against the war in Iraq. Republican Sen. John Carona of Dallas and Democratic Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston want to legalize casino gambling in Texas. Austin City Council is expected to give the green light to the $2.5 million project for......

UPDATE: You can now reserve your ticket to Senator Barack Obama's speech to take place on February 23 at The Gregory Gym on The University of Texas campus. It's fast and easy and you can even sign up your friends! Just click here and follow the instructions. Good luck! Senator Barack Obama will be making his second trip to Austin in less than five months, speaking at The Gregory Gym on UT Campus, Friday......

Senator Barack Obama will be making his second trip to Austin in less than five months, speaking at The Gregory Gym on UT Campus, Friday February 23. Everyone wants to get their hands on this presidential hopeful--University Democrats, African American Cultural Committee and Texans for Obama are all sponsoring the event, billed as one of the first stops on his recently announced campaign trail. This is a free event, open to the public, but......

Pending a vote by the Austin City Council tomorrow, Congress Avenue Bridge is to be renamed in honor of Ann Richards, Texas' 45th Governor who passed away in September. [Excerpted from our previous post] From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. She began her political career by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats......

GOP members believe Rummy's resignation was a move to protect the White House. We always knew Bush loved Democrats. A key Republican has joined the Democrats in their opposition to John Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. There are still 8 seats in the House of Representatives awaiting a final outcome from this week's election bonanza. Bush is scheduled to meet with members of a blue-ribbon commission in an attempt to......

The Grand Old Party nearly swept the statewide race yesterday, led by Governor Rick Perry, who after beating Democratic nominee Chris Bell and independent candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn may very well become the longest-serving Governor in Texas. In a press conference this morning, Perry was vague when addressing rumors of a possible vice presidential bid, merely saying it was "up to the good Lord." Bell, who posted yesterday in his blog......

The war in Iraq is an unqualified mess, confidence in elected officials seems to be at a low and Republican leaders are scrambling trying to get some cover. Enter John Kerry. The former presidential candidate made a “botched joke” (his words, not ours) involving college students, the Iraqi quagmire and George Bush, and Republicans are taking the opportunity to turn the tables on the Democrats in hopes of generating some traction before next week’s mid-term......

Generally, people don’t think “Democrat” when they think about Texas. It wasn’t always like that, though. The Lone Star State was decidedly “blue” for over a hundred years before the Republicans swept in during the last decade. As a consequence, the Democratic Party, trying to allocate resources wisely, doesn’t generally send a lot of clout or cash our way. The times they are a-changin', though. Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party, came down......

Democratic National Committee Chairman and former presidential hopeful Howard Dean will be in Austin tomorrow night to meet with the faithful to discuss the DNC’s plan for victory. Amid growing concerns among some Democrats that the party is “confused” or becoming the party of “reaction,” Dean will try and provide some cohesion six weeks before the mid-term elections and raise some money for the DNC. To RSVP and contribute, or for more information, click here.......

Independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Cougar Keeton Strayhorn thinks Perry should stop taking money from lobbyists, but apparently it's okay to take money from tax consultants. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell has officially launched his ad campaign and we hope it is larger-then-life. Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman sees no reason to apologize for a racist remark made during a stand-up act he gave 26 years ago. Finally the Democrats are pissed; unfortunately it is......

One of the most well-known and influential political bloggers in America, Markos Moulitsas of The Daily Kos, will be at MonkeyWrench Books tonight to discuss Crashing The Gate. (And, word is Markos will be heading over to The Parlor for some pints and pie after the presentation.) The book is a scathing look at how the Republican party has failed Americans and how, in turn, the Democratic party has failed to step up to the......

From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. Her political career began by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats as former Congressman Henry Gonzalez, famous for demanding Reagan's impeachment, and former Senator Ralph Yarborough, co-writer of the Endangered Species Act and vaunted civil rights advocate. It was in 1988, though, that Richards attained national fame with her quip against then-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, "Poor George, he can't help it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." ...

The former staffer who stole from Lloyd Doggett and some other Austin Democrats has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. There will be no dirty dancing at McNeil High School's homecoming this year. Parents and teachers felt uncomfortable with the idea of possible bumping-n-grinding on the dance floor, so the homecoming dance is now cancelled. The rich get richer, and the middle-class gets screwed. Forget smash and grab. One Italian couple would smooch......

Look on any electoral map, and you’ll see Texas colored in bright Republican Red. Mention Texas politics, and most people will think of W and Delay and the conservative far right. But it hasn’t always been that way. In Barn Burning, Barn Burning, former Lieutenant Governor and political prodigy Ben Barnes discusses Texas’ Democratic past, the Democrats’ fall from power in Texas and nationally, and his own political career at a crucial time of......