Want to Write a Guest Column? We're looking for folks who will work on a sliding scale -- from nothing to almost nothing -- for the satisfaction of seeing their opinions and observations, on issues small and large, expressed in print. We want passionate, well-written, well-reasoned, well-reported columns of about 750 words, which will pass our lawyer's libel test and, frankly, don't froth at the mouth. They should be on mostly local subjects, although we will delve into statewide, national and perhaps international subjects from time to time. Please don't send us self-promotional columns or ones that have been mass-mailed to editors around the country. If you have a column in mind, please contact editor Gayle Reaves at 817-321-9787 or gayle.reaves@fwweekly.com or 1204-B W. 7th St., Suite 201, Fort Worth, 76102.

Politics is weird, in a fun way. What I love is trying to figure out what the politicians and their election staff really mean, as opposed to what is coming out of their mouths. It's usually not that hard.

In the fall of 2000, I was a reporter on Vice President Dick Cheney's campaign plane, as he stumped for Bush. About five times a day, we would land at some small town in the Midwest. His theme at every stop was how President Bill Clinton had failed to provide the military with enough spare parts for their war machinery. Spare parts? A big issue?

So I asked some of the Cheney people about the military spare parts talk. They said that the reason for all this mindless campaigning was the fear in the Bush camp that letting Cheney speak on big issues might make him look smarter than Dubya. So he spoke over and over again about nothing. (Although he made a lot of retired military guys happy that their issue was gaining attention.)

So last week, I'm sitting at Colonial Country Club listening to local Democrats speak to a large audience about supporting Presidential nominee John Kerry and the other Democrats running for office in November. It was a big crowd, more than 200 meeting in what many would consider Ground Zero of the Bush camp. That was the theme for the most part -- how the Democrats in Tarrant County were coming back so big and loud that they could meet at Colonial Country Club. The poor underclass was meeting in a place dominated by the power elite, we were told.

But in listening to the speakers, it became very clear that local Democrats had come to the conclusion that, in order to get back in the mix in this conservative county, they better start acting like their opposition. This was an event geared toward the white, rich folks the Democrats feel they need in Tarrant County. There were some Hispanic and African-Americans in the audience, but those on the dais were definitely white folks.

Oh, excuse me. They let Lico Reyes, Hispanic Democratic candidate for the 26th Congressional District, sing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA." This, of course, was just before the GOP was lambasted for its "recent and peculiar identification of the Kingdom of God with the Republican Party." It was an interesting mix.

In some sense, it was nice to see the Democrats get up and say nasty things about the Bush. Local attorney Terri Moore, who lost to District Attorney Tim Curry in 2002, compared our nation's Republican leadership to the Nazis. "If you don't see a similarity between Nazi Germany in 1938 and today, you've been asleep." Then she said that Democrats need to "get out of the closet" and embrace a view of civil rights that includes sexual orientation. When Moore mentioned the homosexual marriage issue, two women at my table stood and cheered -- but only for a few seconds. "We better sit down," one woman said to her friend. "These people here might think we're lesbians."

Joel Gregory, a former Baptist preacher who publishes a magazine devoted to chile peppers, said Republicans are unfairly using evangelical Christians, who "were so weak they were using political power to get their agenda done." I asked Gregory how he felt about the Bush administration's push for a constitutional ban on gay marriages. "We shouldn't be using the political agenda to make churches feel that they are too powerless," Gregory said. "I don't need the government to enforce my agenda."

I got the feeling that he felt churches should be leading the way against gay marriages. No offense, Joel, but that doesn't sound all that different from what the Bush folks are saying.

The sad truth never came out at this event. Republicans outnumber Democrats three to one in Tarrant County. Of the 47 races on the county ballot this November, only 18 have Democrats running. And while Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairman Art Brender told the crowd that "Texas is a battleground state," I'd be surprised if John Kerry ever shows up here to campaign. This county hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in almost three decades.

What the Democrats need to do in this county is stop meeting at country clubs and get the Hispanic, African-American, and blue-collar voters out en masse. Kerry may help that cause. The political world is so divided right now, and Tarrant County Democrats need to claim their side of the divide. This means focusing on economic issues, health care, civil rights for everyone, tax relief, and educational spending.

Hooking on with Kerry's campaign may not be a bad way to get back into the game. But this party must realize that appealing to the "have-nots" means convincing minority voters, the growing segment of Tarrant's population, to vote and run for office. You don't do that by calling Bush people Nazis and meeting at a country club. And growth has to come from the bottom up, not top down. Acting like Republicans may make some local Democrats feel good, but it ain't going to win too many elections.