Texas Democrats Kick Off Democratic National Convention
August 17, 2020 - Statewide
The Breakfast Club. “Having Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House will make a huge difference to Congress’ effort to provide this vital Covid-19 aid as the country continues to heal from the impacts of the virus,” said U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar. Photo: Courtesy.
By Jade Esteban Estrada - Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Texas Democrats kicked off the first day of the Democratic National Convention Monday at a virtual delegation breakfast event
- The breakfast featured Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
The Texas Democratic Party kicked off the first day of the Democratic National Convention on Monday with words from congressional leaders at a virtual delegation breakfast.
The event featured four of Texas’ leading congressional leaders: Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), and Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33).
“In Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we have candidates who will bring compassion and values back to the White House,” said Escobar, whose district includes El Paso and its surrounding area. “Border communities like mine, which is 85-percent Latino, have been on the receiving end of some of the most hateful rhetoric. We have been demonized by this President like no other.”
“Having Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House will make a huge difference to Congress’ effort to provide this vital Covid-19 aid as the country continues to heal from the impacts of the virus,” said Cuellar whose district covers a strip in deep South Texas starting south of San Antonio and ending at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jackson Lee, whose district includes much of inner city Houston and the surrounding area, hopes that Americans will stand up as a nation that “does not demonize anyone.” She called to mind the legacy of the late Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968. “[She] had to grab a chair to make sure she had a seat at the table,” Jackson Lee said. “We now have that seat. We now have a seat to be heard, but I want this party to represent the voices yet unheard. I believe the Biden-Harris ticket, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, will take us as a nation to the mountaintop and lead us to the promiseland.”
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Veasey, who represents a Dallas-Fort Worth-area district that was created in 2010, reminded his fellow Democrats that their party made gains like no other state party in 2018, in areas many thought would never be competitive.
“We are going to continue to make gains in 2020,” he said. “Don’t be discouraged, we’ve had a lot of progress since 2016. We can’t let the clown in the White House slow us down.”
Democrats hope to take back the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the Texas Legislature come November,
On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence, usually the peacekeeper of the Trump administration, acknowledged the DNC in a campaign newsletter requesting donations.
“The Democrat Convention starts today, and we need to maximize our efforts if we’re going to stop Sleepy Joe, Phony Kamala, and their radical agenda,” he said.
Fasten your seatbelts, this is likely to be the most contentious election season in modern history.
Jade Esteban Estrada is a political columnist at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at jade@sasentinel.com.