Closing the gap in East Texas, could put Beto over the top

Plus, Louie isn't going away without more speechifying

From all appearances, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is itching to run for president. To do that, though, he would first have to win re-election as governor. A Republican who cannot carry Texas — especially when it is his home state — is not a viable candidate.

(Even winning as Texas governor doesn’t make a presidential run successful. See: Rick Perry.)

Which is just one more reason why the Democrats are so hungry for standard-bearer Beto O’Rourke to retire Abbott in November.

They face an uphill battle, but not an impossible one. Since the primary, O’Rourke has shown strength in polls when paired directly against Abbott. Unless something dramatic happens, this is going to be a close race in either direction.

That would be of little solace to Democrats if they lose, of course because it still would not put a Democrat to lead any statewide office. That’s the way it has been for decades in Texas.

It would be shocking if O’Rourke won any East Texas county and it is my bet that he knows this as well as anybody. But close does matter when it comes to the votes within counties.

Shaving off Abbott’s margin of victory in East Texas (rural West Texas, too) could well be a significant key to O’Rourke’s chances of winning statewide.

How likely is it that this will happen?

I can’t say for sure, but I do know that East Texas Republicans are not nearly as excited about Abbott as they once were. Years of his blather have worn them down, that and the fact that he has not been as forcefully conservative as they would have wished.

Some would probably wish for Vladimir Putin but he’s not eligible.

Lack of enthusiasm for Abbott could help Beto if he can add a little fire to his own supporters. After failed runs against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and for the Democratic nomination for president, there’s a bit of Beto fatigue, too.

I’m betting that Democrats are hungrier for a victory than Republicans but that still doesn’t guarantee a win.

A victory for Democrats would be historic but Democrats can’t neglect the legislative races that they need to win if they are ever to reverse some of the truly damaging measures that have been passed by the Texas House and Senate over the last decade.

O’Rourke, as governor, would be able to veto bad bills, true, but he cannot forge his own agenda unless he has a legislative majority. Until Democrats control at least one chamber of the legislature, they can neither stop bad bills nor undo the damage done.

Unfortunately, East Texans do not have many good opportunities to change from Republican representation to Democratic. Every East Texas county is represented by a Republican and it likely will remain that way.

Politics is a tough business, and most people don’t jump in a race to lose just because it might help someone else a few years later. There are qualified, good Democratic candidates in East Texas who could draw plenty of money for a legislative run.

They are waiting on the sidelines for the right time. If they continue to sit, they could be waiting for a very long time.

Even if O’Rourke is not successful, changing the makeup of the legislature would be huge in Texas and at least has the possibility of stopping some of these egregious laws we must deal with.

———

Speaking of the necessity of dealing with problems, we won’t have U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert to kick around for that much longer.

Gohmert who decided to end his days in Congress to run for Texas Attorney General fared miserably in the Republican Primary, coming in a distant third behind incumbent Ken Paxton and current Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Truthfully, if was never much of what Gohmert did in Congress, as he was unable to do much at all, but he did talk a lot and what he said made all of East Texas seem a bit, uh, primitive.

Gohmert is still talking. On April Fool’s day he gave one of his long screeds on the “Issues of the Day.” Gohmert used the speeches, which were typically quite long and made to an empty House of Representatives, to bloviate about whatever crossed his mind.

His latest speech did have one remarkable moment, in which he bluntly said: “Putin is a thug.” That’s further than many of his Republican colleagues are willing to go.

Of course, much of what he said after that was how this was all the fault of Democrats and that the Russians would never have invaded the Ukraine if former Pres. Donald Trump had remained in office.

Gohmert has always had a penchant for fantasy.

This newsletter, “Voices From Behind the Pine Curtain,” is free. If you find it useful, please consider subscribing to support the reporting.

Phil Latham writes another newsletter, “American Slave Stories,” recognizing those who did the grunt work of building America. If the subject interests you, the newsletter costs $5 per month or $50 per year to cover the cost of the necessary research.