Bill White's black community problems...

I wrote a blog about Bill White's struggles in the environmental community (link). Excerpt follows...

I don't know about fracking, it might be just a fine procedure... I don't know much about all of that. What I do know is that it was really strange that he began serving on the board of BJ Services after he became mayor... and was paid 2.6 million dollars... you have to think there was some kind of connection there. BJ Services saw him as an important ally... and whether they intentionally polluted ground water or not I don't know... but Bill White has to be held responsible for making 2.6 million dollars while he was full time mayor to do... what exactly... for this company?

Now Bill White is losing ground in another key constituency... black voters (link). Excerpt follows...

HOUSTON - It could be more heat than former Houston mayor Bill White expected in his bid for governor.

The latest fallout is this scathing article written by Akwasi Evans of the Nokoa Newspaper in Austin.

He writes White has snubbed President Barack Obama's visit to Texas while taking the African American community for granted.

[SNIP]

While this article is written by only one newspaper publisher - there's a chance it could be in a long list of African American newspapers around the state.

The Texas Publisher's Association will decide if its membership should run the article. That's more than a dozen newspapers with websites.

"Bill White doesn't have a prayer if he doesn't come in with 95% of the African American vote," Chris Begala is a political consultant. he says.

That's why Begala says White should take the article seriously.

The consultant says the black vote is part of the base in the Democratic party.

"I think the African American turnout statewide is going to be down and he can not afford to alienate any section or any or even a minute section of that demographic so it's a very serious issue he needs to jump on it and I think he will," Begala tells FOX.

Bill White's campaign is caving in around him. While he is jaunting around talking to handfuls of peeps in rural Texas counties, his core supporters are turning on him...

Bill White may be losing significant portions of the environmentalist vote... he may be losing big portions of the black vote... he is also angering the few liberal bloggers (like Eileen Smith at In The Pink) who are not paid by Back to Basics PAC or the Texas Democratic Trust to write nice things about Bill White (link)... and more than losing or winning he is just plain depressing these important constituencies.

Put this together with some of Rick's endorsements from Democrat sheriffs, valley Democrats, and others, plus the grumbling I am increasingly hearing from Democrats in Austin who feel like Bill White's entire strategy is me me me and damn the collateral damage I do to the rest of the party...

Bill White's move to the right has yielded very little from real Republicans and has backfired among certain key Democrats. His angry tone is not connecting... and he is overreaching on his attacks.

What is the next traditional Democrat constituency to be angry with Bill White... unions? gay and lesbian groups? Jewish voters? Young naive college students?