ustxtxb_obs_2003_09_26_50_00003-00000_000.pdf

Texas Observer VOLUME 95, NO 18 A Journal of Free Voices Since 1954 Founding Editor Ronnie Dugger Co-Editors Jake Bernstein, Barbara Belejack Session Reporter Dave Mann Managing Publisher Jim Ball Associate Publisher Charlotte McCann Circulation Manager Rosie Bamberger Chavez Art Direction Buds Design Kitchen Poetry Editor Naomi Shihab Nye Copy Editor Roxanne Bogucka Webmaster Adrian Quesada Interns Jessica Chapman, Kate Harrington, Emily Rapp, Adriane Sack, Allison Stuntz Contributing Writers Nate Blakeslee, Gabriela Bocagrande, Robert Bryce, Louis Dubose, Michael Erard, James K. Galbraith, Dagoberto Gilb, Steven G. Kellman, Lucius Lomax, James McWilliams, Char Miller, Debbie Nathan, Karen Olsson, John Ross, Brad Tyer. Staff Photographers Alan Pogue, Jana Birchum. Contributing Artists Sam Hurt, Kevin Kreneck, Michael Krone, Gary Oliver, Doug Potter, Penny Van Horn, Gail Woods. Editorial Advisory Board David Anderson, Chandler Davidson, Dave Denison, Sissy Farenthold, John Kenneth Galbraith, Lawrence Goodwyn, Jim Hightower, Kaye Northcott, Susan Reid. In Memoriam Bob Eckhardt, 1913-2001, Cliff Olofion, 1931-1995 Texas Democracy Foundation Board Ronnie Dugger, Marc Grossberg, Molly Ivins, D’Ann Johnson, Jim Marston, Gilberto Ocafias, Bernard Rapoport, Geoffrey Rips. The Texas Observer contents copyrighted 2002, is published biweekly except every tion, 307 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Telephone E-mail [email protected] World Wide Web DownHome page www.texasobserver.org . Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas. Subscriptions One year $32, two years $59, three years $84. Full-time students $18 per year; add $13/year for foreign subs. Back issues $3 prepaid. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates on request. Microfilm available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N. Zecb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Indexes The Texas Observer is indexed in Access: The Supplementary Index to Periodicals; Texas Index and, for the years 1954 through 1981, The Texas Observer Index. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Texas Observer, 307 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. The Books & the Culture section is partially funded through grants from the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission and the Writer’s League of Texas, both in cooperation with the ‘Timis Commission on the Arts. SAVE THIS DATE! Molly Ivins & The Texas Observer Host author, economist, and New York Times columnist PAUL KRUGMAN Signing his latest book THE GREAT UNRAVELING: Losing our Way in the New Century “The most dangerous liberal in the country” National Review Online ……………. ……….. ………. ………….. Saturday, October 18, 2003 5:30 PM 7:30 PM Threadgill’s 301 Riverside Drive, Austin To benefit The Texas Observer 1 n politics, a well-organized minority will defeat a disorganized majority. One need look no further than the rise of the radical right to see this truism borne out. What the minority does with its spoils is another matter entirely. And so, an interesting development threatens to disrupt the establishment of the Rove-Republican dynasty. The party with the best claim to the mainstream appears to be waking from its slumber, shaking off its lethargy, and organizing with a vengeance. The 500-strong crowd of boisterous partisans who packed the senate gallery to greet the return of the 10 Democratic senators was a case in point. The redistricting exile did more than just twice land the Texas Legislature on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” Their defiance energized many of the senators’ constituents and engendered a new activism. In his speech to the cheering crowd, where it was due. “I want to thank Tom DeLay and Karl Rove for doing something that we couldn’t do ourselvesthat is to unite this party,” he said to initial boos that became sustained applause. It’s not just in Texas. The passion the Clinton administration wrung out of the Democratic Party seems to be returning. It comes from a growing realization that America cannot afford the revolution underway. “The reason why we fight thisand I don’t want to sound naivebut it’s because we have to,” says Wes Boyd. Boyd is president and co-founder of Move0n.org . The website began around the time of the Clinton administra tion. Its first online petition called for continued on page 16 EDITORIAL Signs of Life 9126103 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 3