It's urgent Dems prepare for November
Also: Moran’s comment; migrant busing cost; every Latinx would suffer with new law
Regular readers of this mostly weekly missive might have noticed that it has not shown up in your inbox recently. Life has intervened in one of its more unpleasant ways, illnesses that required three separate stays in the hospital.
There was much needed to be written about politics and life behind the Pine Curtain during that time and I regret my absence. I hope I have now met my quota of unseasoned hospital food for the next few years. I’ll try to stay healthy for a while.
Speaking of near-death experiences, Texas’ Democratic Party primary was held during my absence and turnout was so poor in East Texas and across the state, the party faithful are still gnashing their teeth with worry about what this means for November.
It cannot be anything good.
Republicans are fond of taunting Democrats for being “woke,” but it would appear that most in our part of Texas are quite happy being snuggled away in their beds with visions of sugar plums. If this is “woke,” we badly need caffeine and lots of it.
Democrats obviously know this, but it has also been clear for the last several cycles and whatever tactics they are using aren’t working. In Texas, anyway, the passion for voting is held by Republicans.
Having said all that, some of the concern is overblown. Just who were we expecting Democrats to vote for? For statewide races there were only a few judicial races where Democrats had opposition. Districts were just as limited and all for posts that typically draw little interest among the public.
The one important race everyone could have voted in was the Democratic choice for who would run against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. As it turns out, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred easily won that primary over State Sen. Roland Gutierrez but a high number of voters would have boosted chances for the fall.
Across the region, a few counties might have had a single county commissioner’s seat or other minor office up for contest, but mostly Democrats did not run against one another.
Democrats didn’t even put up any opposition against Republicans for several important races in our region, notably for state representative in several regional positions. Party voters couldn’t even show their support for November. Republicans will win the offices by default.
Because Gov. Greg Abbott and his cohorts were targeting common-sense Republicans who voted against his awful voucher plan that will (of course) have much more of a negative effect on rural school districts, which have less opportunity to raise money.
Abbott’s crew won some of those races and now there will be no one to oppose the rightward tilt in November.
The bottom line is that candidates are needed to run for offices. Some of the people who are complaining about no one voting might consider filing for office next time. They should not start out running for a top office. Any office higher than the county commission is a mistake. The more candidates Democrats have running, the more people will vote in the primary.
What about the general election? Will Democrats show up to try to see that Joe Biden beats Donald Trump, or to try to unseat the loathsome Ted Cruz from the U.S. Senate?
The Trump-Biden race should help bring out Democrats but those who still believe Trump was sent by God to save America will also be encouraged. (Aside: What “god” would send Trump as a savior, Zeus? Odin?) Trump’s margin in the 2020 election slipped by about half from the 2016 election but it was still a 9 percent victory.
Trump’s support in Texas has obviously slipped but it will take darn near every Democrat voting to keep him from taking Texas.
The primary turnout was a definite warning sign but there are still possibilities. It’s too early to give up just yet.
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About the best thing that could be said about U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran so far is that he is not former U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert. That alone is an upgrade.
Unfortunately, Moran wandered into the forest of foolishness during the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing last week, indicating that perhaps Biden should be placed under guardianship as an “incapacitated individual” because of mental infirmities.
This makes me wonder about the validity of Moran’s decisions on mental competence as Smith County judge.
Yeah, I understand politics and that Moran is a political animal, but his comments aren’t worthy of either a judge or a congressman. For the record, I don’t believe that Donald Trump was incompetent, either. Mean and vindictive, yes, but not incompetent. Being mean does not disqualify one from being president.
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You can be shocked — SHOCKED, I say! — that Abbott’s claim that the busing of migrants around the country is largely paid for by private donations is nothing but a bunch of hooey.
It’s taxpayers who are paying for Abbott’s political stunt, made all the worse because it is adds cruelty to insult.
So far, Abbott’s “project” has cost more than $150 million, while receiving donations of around $550,000, or about 10 percent. The figure for donations is likely wonky, however, as some of those who are listed as contributing deny that they have with some harshly criticizing Abbott for his inhumane treatment.
Don’t misunderstand, however. No matter how much taxpayer money is used, the program will not be stopped. That’s because, unfortunately, many Texans have been convinced that this is a keen idea.
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It’s unclear whether the court system is going to allow Texas to have its own immigration system and allow state officers to arrest, jail and ultimately deport those they believe to be in the United States illegally.
Don’t believe that the law is only going to be aggressively enforced along the Texas-Mexico border. State troopers, local police officers, sheriff’s deputies, constables, game wardens and anyone else with a badge in Texas with the power to make arrests is going to have the opportunity to join in the party.
Smith County Sheriff Larry R. Smith sent a “hand-delivered” letter to Abbott saying that he supported and would enforce the new law. That means a whole lotta profiling will be goin’ on right here behind the Pine Curtain.
As an optimist, I’ll believe that most officers will exercise good judgment in using the new law but there are going to be a certain few officers — and perhaps a few departments that are less professional — that may not be as restrained as they should be.
Get ready for the immigration mess to get even messier in Texas with the possibility for Latinx citizens of Texas being mistreated. Abbott is going to be pressing that the law gets strict enforcement immediately.
Texas taxpayers will pay for this extra bit of enforcement, of course, and they will also pay for any civil damages that might result.
Still, the concept is a popular one, especially among Republicans, even though it also has the possibility of turning the border into a more chaotic situation than currently exists.
Who will speak up for Latinx who are indiscriminately targeted? It should be all of us. Keeping quiet and shaking your head does nothing. Make your voice heard.
Keep a close watch on this one.
I do not understand your aside. You imply that Trump is evil and Biden is the righteous choice. If you believe scripture, then you know that God has often used secular flawed people. (King Cyrus, Rahab the prostitute, and the Apostle Paul come to mind.) Trump has demonstrated that he is pro-Israel, pro-Christian, pro-life, pro-prayer, and will fight to protect Christianity. Joe Biden just declared Easter Sunday as “Transgender Day of Visibility.” If you believe scripture, this is an ideology that is an abomination to God, as it props up homosexuality, gay marriage, and sodomy. (I can cite many scriptures.) How blatantly blasphemous can Biden be? Everything about his administration undermines Jesus Christ. We have to look past the men and see their platforms.
Re: Democratic Primary Voting
Please consider that many life-long Democrats, like me, faced with few if any choices on "our" ticket, vote in the Republican primary in an effort to select the "best of the worst" candidate in that party. Unfortunately, that effort is often futile, as the R's continue to put up the "worst of the worst."
Regarding Moran:
I had hopes that his record as a grounded and pragmatic administrator would produce a more moderate representative. Sadly, his recent statements and votes indicate that in order to exist in his party one has to drink the Kool-Aide.