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Down but not out: the chance of a democratic upset in the 2006 governor's race is as likely as, well, Bill Clements winning in '78. Or Mark White winning in '82. Or Ann Richards winning in '90. Or ...

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"But, Peter, how do we "Fly, of course.... It's easy.... All it takes is faith ... and trust and a little bit of pixie dust. Now think of the happiest things. It's the Same as having wings."

--From the Walt Disney film Peter Pan

Speaking of flights of fancy, is there any better way to describe a Democratic quest to win back the governorship of Texas in 2006? It would seem easier to defy gravity. Texas is the reddest of red states these days, with Republicans in control of every power base "from the courthouse to the White House," as the saying went in LBJ's Heyday. Democrats have no statewide officeholders, no source of money, no obvious candidates. Meanwhile, the lone announced challenger to incumbent governor Rick Perry is singer-novelist-humorist Kinky Friedman, who will run as an independent, but only if he can get the necessary 45,539 signatures of registered voters who didn't participate in either party's primary. [paragraph] The first question that comes to mind is, Should the Democrats just forget the whole thing?. "We're not ready to win yet," says Austin-based political consultant George Shipley, the leading Democratic consultant in the glory days of the Democratic party, who helped elect the likes of Lloyd Bentsen, Bill Hobby, Bob Bullock, and Ann Richards. The numbers aren't right." But no serious political party can allow the opposition a free pass at the top of the ticket. Even if a Democratic victory is next to impossible, there are still local candidates for Congress, for the Legislature, and for county offices who need a standard-bearer to articulate the party's message. And the way the current legislative session is going, there may be a lot to articulate, such as putting tax cuts ahead of education.

Another reason the Democrats have to...

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