The

Bluebonnet
Newsletter for Texas College Democrats Affiliates
TCD FALL CONFERENCE HOST APPLICATION The opportunity to host the TCD Fall Conference has come. To gain this honor, fill out the application below, courtesy of Programs Director Christie Squiers. Please keep your responses under 1000 words and email Parts I and II to TCD President David de la Fuente (ddelafuente@txcollegedems.org) and Secretary Lizzy Joyce (ljoyce@txcollegedems.org). STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE DIAL4DEMS: WISCONSIN By Amber Hastings On July 26th, Governor Perry signed the State Budget into law. In a state ranking highest in the nation in high school dropout rates, the Republicans of the state legislature successfully decreased the education budget $844 million, in addition to $4 Billion from a school finance bill. In 2010, Applications are due August 5th at 5pm. Governor Perry outlined his four principles of governor; one of the four Part I: Necessary Information points he made was to, have an accountable public school system, giving Chapter Name: the community a skilled work force. In signing this state budget, Perry has Chapter President Name: gone against his own principles in sacrifice to the conservative economic President Email: ideal. Rather than increase state revenue, Republicans in congress have President Phone: thrown hardworking educators under a bus driven by debt. Across the state, City of Chapter Location: teachers face layoffs and significant payment deductions around 10%. Yet Part II: Application Questions in Amarillo where the budget became law, Perry boasted the cuts as respon1. What are some of the projects your chapter has sible rather than reckless, all the worked on over the past year that makes it a great while $6.5 Billion sits ideally by in a Rainy Day fund. place to host TCD Fall Conference? As you might know, Wisconsin is in the middle of great turmoil regarding its elected officials. Republicans in the State Senate have pushed through legislation that will allow education to be cut substantially, stripped workers of union rights, and gave tax breaks to major corporations. Because of this, Wisconsinites are currently in the midst of a unique situation. They are trying to remove six Republicans from the State Senate, based on their actions. The Wisconsin State Senate is in an impervious situation. The balance of power is contingent on these recall elections. Currently, the Republicans hold a 19-14 majority. Democrats need a net gain of 3 seats to gain a majority. This is where you come in. The Texas College Democrats is holding an event in conjunction with CDA: The Dial4Dems Wisconsin initiative. While we encourage you to participate whenever you can, TCD is doing our drive on Tuesday, August 2. We strongly encourage you to participate in this day, as college students from every corner of Texas join our greater CDA family in a great cause. Why does this matter to you? Well, it is the fall of 2011, and one year from now, we will be deep in the middle of the general election season. If we can mobilize Democrats from every area of America, then we can show the country that we are a force to be reckoned with. We are not complacent simply because there are no presidential primaries in our party. Moreover, the TCD drive will show everyone that we are a serious group, and we do have power. We need to up the ante on political participation, and this is a very easy way to get started. Whatever the outcome is in Wisconsin will reflect directly on those who participated in it. This drive is imperative to not only the future of Wisconsin, but INTERN WITH also to the future of America. These recall elections set OBAMA FOR AMERICA precedent for 2012, and even if for that reason alone, by David de la Fuente you should participate. I had the opportunity to do an Please check out our Facebook event and invite your 8-week internship with OFA this sum- friends: mer and it has been a very rewarding experience. I learned valuable skills in In order to sign up, please register at the CDA website: reengaging base voters, using VoteBuilder, hosting political events and developing a personal story to connect with potential volunteers. If you want to intern with a political campaign during this fall semester, I would strongly encourage you to consider applying to be a fall fellow with OFA. Applications are due on August 11. If you have any questions, please contact OFA Regional Field Direct or Lauren Coffee at Cof feeL@DNC.org.

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that make it an exciting choice for Fall Conference this year? If selected to host Fall Conference, what amenities would your chapter be able to provide? For example, would you provide breakfast or lunch, or help visiting chapters find a place to stay, etc. Is your chapter able to secure a location either on or off campus for Fall Conference? Please provide an idea of what space you would host Fall Conference in. Please list anything else that would make your chapter a great candidate to host Fall Conference this year.

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PERRYWATCH 2012 Many eyes are on Governor Perry, and the question is quite bold, is he running for President? With the travels the past few months, its evident the waters have been tested. When asked if he would run, the governor swept his hand through his hair and repeatedly used the terms, its moving ahead but would backtrack by making the point, Im not going to do something that would embarrass myself, and/or my supporters. Governor Perry is set to host The Response, a prayer rally in Houston on August 6th with an expected crowd exceeding 10,000.

WANT TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR CHAPTER? SHARE VIA THE BLUEBONNET Email TCD Communications Director Trenton Garza tgarza@txcollegedems.org