HD 46: Is "Craddick D" The Same as a Racial Slur?
 Dukes in 2005 (AP/Harry Cabluck) |
The latest issue of Austin's altenaweekly, The Austin Chronicle, hits newsstands today. It includes a meaty piece by Richard Whittaker about the HD 46 race between incumbent State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, and newcomer Brian Thompson.
There's a lot to pick out of this piece, it's 1,384 words long. (That's about 13 hundred more words than a regular TV news story, but in my defense, simplifying does take a certain kind of talent, too.)
I recommend reading the piece in its entirety, but for the time-strapped out there, here are some tidbits we find in Whittaker's tome (I kid, I kid):
Who Knows A District?
Thompson has been accused of being a newcomer and Dukes of fleeing to the suburbs. A native of Birmingham, Ala., first-generation college graduate Thompson came to Austin in 2002 to attend the University of Texas School of Law. In 2006, he moved to East Austin. Dukes notes that her family has lived in East Austin since the 1800s, though she now lives in Pflugerville. Referring to Thompson as "the one that's lived in the district 13 months," Dukes dismisses the issue. "I've lived in that district for 44 years and five months. End of subject." As for her move, she said, "The district is the district."
Dukes Called 'Craddick D'; Spokesman Calls It 'Slur':
...Due to the support several of its members showed for Craddick during the unsuccessful challenge by Jim Pitts and later in the session, they have been tagged as Craddick Ds. [Colin] Strother, who is also Dukes' campaign spokesman, called it "comparable to using a slur, whether it be a racial or sexual. It's a lowbrow way."
Who's Lon Burnam?
Democratic state Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth, who called his support for Thompson "a clear statement that a vote for Tom Craddick is not only bad for your district, but it is also un-Democratic." Burnam is often a lone wolf on the House floor, and his stance in opposing "Craddick-crats" is simple. He believes that the deals that the Craddick Ds struck did not justify keeping Craddick and have borne poor results. "Just because they got incremental changes in the law doesn't mean they're really representing the people," he said. Dukes responded sardonically. "Lon Burnam? Who? You never know what he's going to do."
