Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast has repeated his cry of woe that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will remain in Republican hands — simply for lack of any Democratic candidates signing up for the contest. I’m baffled whenever there is an uncontested contest during a major, presidential election year. How could such major posts be completely devoid of Democratic interest?
Are there no Democratic lawyers? How can there be not a single Democratic lawyer yearning for an impressive and authoritative position? Is there some danger that running against the established judges may ruin one’s career?
The basis of civic participation is not voting. The basis is representation, meaning that each of us has an obligation to represent our friends and neighbors. We don’t each have to sit on every committee, but if we all participate, there will be far, far less for any one of us to do.
We all have friends and neighbors that we respect and hold high regard for. We can do more to encourage the best and brightest around us to take on the extremely light work of representation. At the very least, we need to make sure that if someone is seeking office in order to plunder the funds that they have to work hard in the attempt.
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