Obama victory means tide could turn for Democrats

But all of that could change, provided the local party can figure out a way to tap into the groundswell of enthusiasm at the national level for newly elected Democratic President Obama.

You might recall the Greek legend. Sisyphus had angered the gods and was doomed for eternity to push a boulder up a hill, only to have it come rolling back down every time he neared the top.

Laboring under that curse, his task was never finished and his fate was marked by constant frustration. For all time he must roll that boulder uphill, only to watch it come speeding back down.

And then he starts over again.

Perhaps the same can be said of local Democrats, who for years have worked tirelessly to push a Democratic agenda in a county where 100 percent of elected leaders are registered Republicans.

This too must be a frustrating, mind-numbing exercise. Blue to the core, the Highland Lakes Democrats have lived in a traditionally red state. Yes, the large urban centers such as Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have virtual armies of Democrats, but that is of little consequence in the hinterlands.

This is the state that after all catapulted a Republican governor to the White House, who then served two terms and became one of the most unpopular presidents in modern history.

This is the state that overwhelmingly supported U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in his failed bid to become chief executive officer of the planet’s only superpower, ceding that destiny to Democratic challenger Obama.

This is the same state with two Republican U.S. senators, a sitting Republican governor, a House and Senate controlled by the GOP and, on the local level, two district judges, a county judge, the Commissioners Court and the sheriff all proud to call themselves members of the Grand Old Party.

Yes, the Democrats have had an uphill battle, just like Sisyphus rolling that boulder.

Yet things may at last may be turning a corner now for the Democrats, their star ascendant under the Obama political supernova.

For years Democrats were not only the underdogs, they were virtually invisible in local politics. Yes, they have clubs and hold meetings and do other political things, but they just never seemed to have the vitality of their Republican opponents.

Now that a portion of the American populace has chosen “change,” as Obama put it, local Democrats have a unique opportunity to tap into all that energy building from the national campaign and apply it to local races and initiatives.

Local party members have said Obama’s victory could convince more candidates to run as Democrats in Burnet County.

Perhaps, but the Republican hold on the area may prove too strong, even under a Democratic president and Congress.

Only time will tell. But if local Democrats want to ride the wave of optimism produced by the national election, they will have to strike while the iron is hot. They must take advantage of a burgeoning populist movement and somehow transform that initiative into a lively, energetic, local campaign.

They must seek out dynamic candidates, address grass-roots issues head on and add variety to elections in Burnet County.

Only then can Highland Lakes Democrats achieve the goals they feel they have been denied, and stop that boulder from rolling downhill again.