Texas Progressive Alliance taps Denton’s “fracktivists” Texans of the Year

From the Inbox:

In one of the organization’s more closely contested votes, the Texas Progressive Alliance — the state’s consortium of liberal blogs and bloggers — named Frack Free Denton and its diverse group of activists 2014’s Texan of the Year.

“The biggest win for progressives in the Lone Star State on Election Night happened in Denton, Texas,” said Charles Kuffner, president of the Alliance. “The people showed the powerful who is still in charge. No matter that the Texas Railroad Commission or the state’s Legislature may try to undo the will of Denton’s Republican, Democratic, and independent voters; for one day in November of 2014, those North Texans came together and said, “No more. No more polluting our air and water and poisoning our children for profit without accountability. The people together spoke, and they were heard.”

There were also three Honorable Mentions for the coveted award. Finishing a close second: the medical staff of Dallas Presbyterian Hospital, who were at the front lines of the nation’s Ebola crisis, notably Dr. Kent Brantley and nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, who all contracted the virus and lived to tell about it. In addition, two other large groups of Texans on either side of the political spectrum were selected: the 33% of Texans who turned out to vote in last month’s midterm elections, predominantly Caucasian male Republican voters; and the Democratic volunteer army of deputy voter registrars, blockwalkers, and those who spent long hours on their phones calling prospective voters to urge them to cast their ballots.

“To the victors go the spoils, someone famous once said,” noted Kuffner, in reference to the GOP base vote. “But no one worked any harder than the folks in their precincts, neighborhoods, counties, and across the state to turn back the tide, at least a bit,” he added.

The TPA’s member bloggers salute all the Texans who were nominated this year, which included several candidates, some elected officials, and other activist groups.

See here for the background. Always a little weird quoting myself in a post like this, but the award is well earned. The victory may be short-lived, but it was hard won and it made a strong statement. I wish them well going forward.

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