Rick Noriega and Gen. Wesley Clark speak to Dallas Dems on Wednesday (w/audio)

by Erin Rice

Wednesday night at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Dallas was perhaps not a scene any local Texans would have predicted 10 or so years ago. It came less than two years after Dallas County Democrats swept 42 judicial races. It came a few months after thousands of North Texans waited in long lines, more than once, to hear a future Democratic presidential nominee speak. It came at a time when a Latino Democrat has the potential to unseat an incumbent Republican senator in the Lone Star State.

Wednesday's Rick Noriega fundraising dinner brought in around 500-600 locals, looking not only to contribute money to the campaign (at $200 a head to attend), but to listen to Noriega, General Wesley Clark, Texas House Representative Rafael Anchia, and others speak about the challenges ahead. And speak they did, to a friendly, well-wishing crowd of the local, liberal well-to-do. Nothing said tonight was particularly surprising, as the issues were broached less for the purpose of changing minds, and more for rallying open checkbooks.

Still, the evening was interesting one. Coming off of national attention for what some media outlets (if not most) deemed controversial statements regarding John McCain's presidential qualifications, General Wesley Clark was the night's featured guest speaker. The retired four-star general and former NATO supreme allied commander stepped up the podium, immediately relating his knowledge of Texas to the room, taking time to make jokes here and there about possible Fox News correspondents in the midst.

His speech was what one might expect from the outspoken general, detailing the failing economy and failing war (according to some... many... the majority). Despite uproarious support throughout, when he said, "Isn't that guy, George Bush, going back to Texas?" the crowd seemed more insulted than anything else. Bouncing back, Gen. Clark reminded the room that they couldn't be held responsible for all Texas residents.

After a video, Senate challenger and current Texas House Representative Rick Noriega stepped up to the mic, talking about the path Texas and the country have been on under leaders like incumbent Senator John Cornyn and President Bush. The Houston native thanked, at length, everyone responsible for the night, getting to the meat of his speech nearly four minutes in. He proceeded with a story about a five year-old-boy (hint: it's him) seeing President Kennedy's motorcade in person. His defining, Bill Clinton moment? Perhaps.

His speech promised a future of catchy one-liners we might see on campaign commercials or in news coverage soon. In one he noted that some U.S. leaders look at the Constitution and see the first line as "me the people." In another he said, "I believe that the Lone Star of Texas can be the north star on the American horizon, pointing us toward the path of prosperity, peace, and our common destination."

As the program continued, Melissa Noriega, wife and stand-in Texas legislator while Rick Noriega served a year in Afghanistan, spoke largely about how her husband was "a good man." Following her short speech, Rep. Rafael Anchia took hold of the mic. A rousing speech, which included several "hell yeah's," reached its climax when he released the following gem to address the concern that Texas Latinos are leaving the Democrats for Republicans:

"Latinos aren't going to vote for John Cornyn. You don't have to worry about that. He's like the bully in school that called the girl 'fat, ugly, and stupid' and then asked her to the prom. It's just not going to happen."

As the speeches ended, and the hungry Dems were finally promised dinner around 9 p.m., I couldn't help but wonder: Will this all be enough? Is the political climate such that a Democrat could beat a Republican incumbent senator in Texas? Can Rick Noriega ever, ever come up with a campaign commercial to rival Big Bad John's? Can it, too, get on the Daily Show? Clearly, he's got an uphill battle ahead of him.

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