Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I'm in Austin for the Netroots Nation. It officially starts tomorrow, but I got in last night. Love this town. I got to see my good friend, Bruce Elfant, last night. He's a constable here in Travis County -- and one of the most committed Democrats in the state. I can tell you, Bruce is pumped about the Democratic prospects for November.

I keep going back to the Politico article about the Obama campaign's plans for the state, which I wrote about last month:

The Obama campaign is using its resources not only to win the presidency, but to insure more Democrats are elected. And, they're not limiting those pick ups to House and Senate seats at the federal level. Steve Hildebrand explained to Ben Smith Obama's campaign wants to also help with state house races, which will impact re-districting. This is revolutionary thinking for Democrats:

Barack Obama will focus his resources largely in 14 states George W. Bush won in 2004, his chief field operative said Tuesday, hoping to score upsets in places such as Virginia, Indiana and Georgia.

But winning the White House won’t be his only goal, deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand told Politico: In an unusual move, Obama’s campaign will also devote some resources to states it’s unlikely to win, with the goal of influencing specific local contests in places such as Texas and Wyoming.

“Texas is a great example where we might not be able to win the state, but we want to pay a lot of attention to it,” Hildebrand said. “It’s one of the most important redistricting opportunities in the country.”

Texas Democrats are five seats away in each chamber from control of the state Legislature, which will redraw congressional districts after the 2010 census.

Things are looking more blue in Texas. Very exciting.

I'll be posting updates from the conference once it gets rolling.

Now, thread the news.