Scooping the O-Blog: Dean first on Texas ballot

Monday morning, Oklahoma for Dean made us proud by being the first to file petitions and place Gov Dean on the Oklahoma primary ballot. This morning, Texas followed suit by filing more than 12,000 signatures to put Gov Dean on our primary ballot. These signatures were collected at fundraisers, rallies, meetups, and outreach/visibility events by Dean's Texas Rangers. Those same volunteers spent hours meticulously verifying the signatures before they were presented. Fourteen year old Dean volunteer David Broockman filed the paperwork promptly at 8:00am:



David gave a wonderful speech as he presented the signatures. Here is the text:

It's an honor and a privilege for me to be able to file for Governor Dean to be on the ballot in the great state of Texas!
Instead of using the money of special interests, we, a just formed but substantial Texan community, have banded together and decided that Howard Dean will be our next president. We've all heard Governor Dean's speeches, and they always end with him telling each of us that message that underscores our entire campaign: "You have the power!" The names of over 12,000+ people across the state of Texas lay on these petitions, silently sending a powerful message. These names join another 20,000 who have signed up online through the Internet. If nothing else does, those names and this event represent that we do have the power.
When I started working in Glen Maxey's office for Governor Dean only five months ago, Dean was still a nobody, a long shot. But I believed in him. It is our hard work and the work of people all across the country that has allowed Governor Dean to lead in Washington DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, California, New Mexico and Maryland, as well as here in Texas and nationally. We have the power.
President Bush has taken the problems of today, and instead of standing up to them, has ignored them. He's created a huge deficit. He's destroyed schools with his so-called No Child Left Behind, which I can tell you from personal experience is a sham of an education policy. And he's devastating the environment by shamelessly letting polluters into our treasured forests. When I graduate from college am I going to be able to breathe the air or drink the water anymore? All these problems that our president has created will have to be dealt with in the future. We are the future and we don't need those problems. They can be dealt with today, and in fifty years when I retire, I'll be glad that we recognized America was on the wrong course, and that we elected Howard Dean.
This is a great day for Texas, and when Governor Dean becomes President Dean, we should all remember that we had a part in it. We have the power. Let's use it!

David was joined by volunteers from across the state and was supervised by our director Glen Maxey:



And while I'm talking about Texas, I'm going to plug tomorrow's Dallas fundraiser with Gov Dean. He'll be in town for a few hours and we'd love to have you there. Click here for the details on the event.

*photo credit goes to Romain Nayalkar of The Foto Store. He tells us he'll have large versions of these prints for sale online shortly.
*cross-posted at Blog for Texas & D/FW for Dean.