Generally speaking I prefer to stay out of the Democratic primaries and simply support the candidate most Democrats choose. I would only get involved for two reasons.
Reason number one is if a Blue Dog is running against a real competent Liberal. My values dictate that I support a competent Liberal Democrat who will likely move the country forward as opposed to the Blue Dog that at best does not move us at all or is in effect a Republican lite.
The second reason I would get involve is if I perceive or am convinced that Democratic Party shenanigans that could have a detrimental effect on our party is being used. There seems to be ample information as revealed in several Houston Chronicles articles(Hart,Editorial) that makes this actuality more plausible than not.
One should never allow themselves to be used or appear to be used as a stooge in our political process. It is a disservice to one’s self but mostly a disservice to the voters. It is important that no candidate is ever rewarded for said action or appearance thereof.
Houston Chronicle Editorial: Kirkland for 215th criminal district court
It is unusual but not unheard of for a sitting state district judge to draw a challenge in his or her party primary. What is unusual about the challenge that’s been drawn by Judge Steven Kirkland, the one-term Democratic incumbent in the 215th State District Court, is not his opponent, but the circumstances surrounding her challenge.
Elaine H. Palmer’s run against Kirkland is being financed almost exclusively by local plaintiff attorney George Fleming, who not incidentally lost a major judgment in the 215th court that could cost his firm millions of dollars.
Palmer, a 14-year attorney with a blended civil, criminal and traffic/misdemeanor practice, appears to be the chosen instrument of Fleming’s effort to oust Kirkland. Fleming’s law firm and a PAC he funds have contributed $35,000 to Palmer’s primary campaign.
An unintended consequence of Palmer’s candidacy to the county Democratic Party, well explained by Chronicle columnist Patricia Kilday Hart ("A little mystery over primary opposition to judge," Page B1, April 19), is the clear potential it has brought for creation of a schism between the party’s crucial black and GLBT voting blocs. This would be destructive to Democrats well beyond a single contested primary race for a civil court bench.
Either way, we conclude, Palmer is the apparently unwitting partner to potentially damaging mischief to both Kirkland and the local Democratic Party.
And so we offer our emphatic endorsement of Steven Kirkland in the May 29 Democratic primary. We strongly encourage the party’s voters to support this highly qualified, deserving candidate.
Kirkland’s tenure on the bench has drawn overwhelming approval from his legal peers in the Houston Bar Association poll, as well as a host of individual and organizational endorsements.
Particularly given the evidence of chicanery aimed his way, Kirkland deserves Democratic voters’ spirited support.
