Last Film Standing at GSD&M

by Kaeri Pav

On Monday, the first day of the Mark Strama Campaign Academy, we visited GSD&M IdeaCity, located on West 6th Street in downtown Austin. They were kind enough to let us use their facilities (a very nice, large, theater-style room) to view a documentary by Paul Stekler entitled Last Man Standing. It chronicles the campaigns of Tony Sanchez and Ron Kirk against Rick Perry and John Cornyn, and the race for state representative between Patrick Rose and Rick Green in District Number 45.

The film takes a closer look at the rise and fall of our "dream team" ticket for governor and senator, and what happened that made it fall. In the race for representative, the documentary looks at the dynamics between the Rose and Green campaigns, taking a person look into each party's reactions from the beginning of the race until election day.

It also talks about the great enthusiasm that was seen at the 2002 State Democratic convention in El Paso, Texas, and the huge positive energy that existed therein. I know for a fact how optimistic we all were, because that was the very first convention I attended, and very one that got me interested in Texas Democratic politics.

It was an excellent movie, giving us a lot of insight into Texas campaign politics, and a great start for what is sure to be a wonderful Strama Campaign Academy.