Tag Archives: Texas News

Red Endorses Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate

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Last week Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D- El Paso) announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate seeking to unseat “Lying” Ted Cruz (TP-Texas).  O’Rourke comes from a political family – his father was El Paso County Judge.  O’Rourke himself has been in politics for about 12 years – first serving as an El Paso City Councilman and then barely unseating 8-term Congressman Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary in 2012.

O’Rourke carries some baggage from his days as a rock musician and two arrests – neither of which resulted in a conviction.  Since then, he has operated a successful business – making enough money to venture into politics.  His legislative track record is light, but that would be expected from a Democratic Congressman from Texas serving in a GOP dominated House of Representatives.

O’Rourke has taken strong stands on legalization of marijuana and protecting LGBT rights, but he kicked off his “campaign” when he and Rep. Will Hurd (R-San Antonio) embarked on a 3 day road trip to D.C. when airline flights were cancelled.  The two representatives live-blogged their discussions as they drove east and created remarkable internet buzz by rationally and civilly discussing the issues.

It is worth noting, that no one from El Paso has ever been elected to state-wide office and that O’Rourke is a long shot against the Cruz publicity and money machine.  The only hope would be that Cruz’s overweening ambition and narcissism will turn off enough moderates to consider making a switch.  Still it would be remarkable if O’Rourke could crass the 45% threshold.  But when faced with a choice of “Lying” Ted or a long shot, Red is not afraid of big odds.  Red is fully on the Beto Bandwagon.

If you are interested in O’Rourke’s campaign, you can find out more at betofortexas.com.

Two Texas Judges Leave GOP – Will the Trickle Become a Flood?

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In the past two weeks, two Texas judges have said, “Enough” to the Tea Party dominated Texas GOP.  First Terry Jennings of the First Court of Appeals in Houston switched to the Democrats.  According to Jennings:

 “The Democratic party- and the Democratic party alone- presents our country with a positive and optimistic vision for the future of all Americans, not just a select few.”

Then this week, Judge Lauren Parish of the 115th Judicial District which serves Upshur and Marion Counties returned to the fold.  Parish had served as a Democrat but changed teams as those  rural counties turned more and more red.  Parish cited her Christian values in making the decision to return to the Democratic Party.

“The Grand Old Party of Lincoln no longer exists today. The current Republican Party has abandoned all the principles instilled in me by my parents, my church and my community.

I was brought up to respect my fellow man and to respect authority, to love my neighbor, to help those who cannot help themselves, and to help build people up not tear people down.

I see no way of reconciling my Christian beliefs with the manner in which the Republican Party is conducting itself. That is why I feel compelled to stand up and come back to the Texas Democratic Party.”

Almost too predictably, the Republican powers that be in Upshur County are now contemplating suing Parish after she issued an order making it easier for prospective jurors to do their civic duty.  Parish ordered the court house to be opened at 7:30 on jury days with the metal detector operating.  That got up the hackles of the Tea Party controlled county government and the county commissioners have hired an Austin law firm to investigate whether to sue Parish.

Red doubts that this signifies a larger trend.  It may be that some RINO judges in Harris County join Jennings in abandoning the GOP ship, but it seems unlikely right now.  If the Democrats sweep in November, Red may be singing a different tune.

 

Today in Texas History – July 22

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From the Annals of the Weeklies –  In 1887, Henry Harold Brookes published the first edition of the  Panhandle Herald.    The Herald is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Texas Panhandle. The paper has been mostly a weekly except during about 3 years during the 20’s when it was published semiweekly. The paper has been owned by the Panhandle Publishing Company since 1932.

Secessionists Take Heart from Brexit Movement

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Secession fever never completely cools among certain Texans.  And the Texas Nationalist Movement in particular is taking advantage of the impending Brexit vote to pump for a similar vote on Texas secession.  The Guardian has the story from Daniel Miller, the leader of TNM, and his group’s plan to create an independent Texas – one suspects with him at the helm.

How closely is Daniel Miller tracking the news ahead of the referendum about whether Britain should leave the European Union? “Hourly!” he grins. The Sun’s recent editorial calling for the UK’s departure got him quite excited.

Miller, though, is not from London or Liverpool. He hails from Longview, Texas, and we are talking in a cafe in the bleakly industrial Gulf coast town of Port Arthur, some 5,000 miles from Westminster.

Culturally, too, we are a long way from Europe. Heck, we are even a long way from Dallas. But the referendum matters deeply to Miller and like-minded Texans. As the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which wants Texas to secede from the United States, he is hoping for a Leave vote that he believes will ripple all the way from Austria to Austin.

“There are a lot of people asking, if Brexit why not Texit?” he says. “I do talk with some folks over there on a pretty regular basis that are involved in Ukip and the Conservative party.”

Ted Cruz Accused of Campaign Violations

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) has been accused of campaign violations in the conduct of fundraising for his presidential campaign.  Texas Democrats claim that Cruz violated federal election law by illegally coordinating with the Super PAC that is promoting his candidacy but which is supposedly – wink, wink, nudge, nudge – completely and totally separate from Cruz’s official campaign juggernaut.

The complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission alleges that Cruz national co-chairman J. Keet Lewis violated federal election laws at an official campaign fundraiser in December by asking Cruz supporters to donate unlimited amounts, as well as to make corporate contributions to the pro-Cruz Stand for Truth PAC  (you read that right – “Lyin’ Ted’s” Super PAC is named “Stand for Truth”).

Under federal law, a candidate or agent of a candidate can solicit donors to a PAC.  However, it is illegal for them to solicit unlimited contributions or corporate contributions to a Super PAC.

The  complaint names Cruz,  Lewis, Cruz for President treasurer Bradley Knippa and Stand for Truth Treasurer D. Eric Lycan as respondents.  The primary allegations involve remarks Lewis made at the December fundraiser where he told the crowd, “If you hit your max then we have a table for you that is the unlimited table. It can take corporate dollars, it can take partnership dollars, and that’s the Super PAC, Stand for Truth.”

Lewis denies the allegations, but the complaint seems to be just one more in a long line of ethical questions plaguing Cruz’s campaign as it head into the final stretch of primaries over the next month.

Sid Miller Uses Tax Dollars to Promote – Wait for It – Sid Miller

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Texas Politician Rips On Lawmakers With Passive-Aggressive Gas Pump Label

Red knows that many elected office holders will attempt to use their office to keep their name in front of the voters as much as possible and gratify their all-consuming egos.  You can’t go anywhere in Texas without finding a County Commissioner’s name on a sign within a half-mile.  But Agricultural Commissioner Sid “Cupcake” Miller is taking it to a higher level with his new stickers that every Texas gas station must place on fuel pumps.

The sticker is topped by Miller’s name in large print and then after a friendly “Howdy Neighbors!” (Red admires proper use of an exclamation point!), Sid goes on to disclaim responsibility for motor fuel taxes and make sure the driver knows that the dastardly U.S. Congress and Texas Legislature are to blame.

When asked why Miller’s name was so prominent on the new stickers, the Texas Agriculture deputy commissioner’s response was: “The individuals involved in the design are not currently in the office.”  If only the same could be said for Sid.

 

Texas GOP Ready to Play the Gay Bashing Card One More Time

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The Houston Chronicle gets an early jump on the 2017 Legislative session by looking at proposed GOP legislation that would legalize discrimination against gay Texans based on one’s religious beliefs.

Get ready for another round in Texas, too. For state Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican, the fight here extends to legislation next session that would “supplement the state’s existing law to allow business owners to refuse services to people whose lifestyles clash with their religious beliefs,” as reported by the Austin American-Statesman’s Tim Eaton.

Except Krause isn’t only after a law, which would require simple majorities in both chambers and Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval. He wants to send the question to voters as a proposed constitutional amendment — the first time they will vote on something remotely related to gay rights since 2005. Krause has to clear a high bar first, though. He needs to win the support of two-thirds of the House and Senate to get it on the ballot. Still, the issue is that important to him, Krause told Eaton.

“I wanted to put it in the constitution to make it even stronger,” he said. “It is still something I think is very important.”

Should Krause get the election he desires, it will create some crucial challenges and opportunities all around that may well define the political contours of this fight in Texas for years to come.

Red supports the proposed amendment.  Red is anxious to discriminate against numerous of his fellow citizens who have raised Red’s holy ire.  Red’s religious beliefs will prohibit him from providing services to left-handed owners of dogs that weigh more than 50 lbs (the dogs that is), drivers who fail to follow the “every other car” rule,  anyone who claims soccer is boring, stockbrokers, people who fart in elevators just before exiting, Rep. John Culberson, Dallas Cowboys fans, lake trash, Bluetooth cell phone users, anyone appearing on a “Best Dressed” list, several of Red’s in-laws and a few cousins, Aquarians, ethnic Albanians, and high-school science teachers.  There are probably a few more, but this is a good start.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds One Man One Vote

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In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge by two Texas citizens that would have upended the doctrine of One Man, One Vote.  The case, Evenwel v. Abbott, was masterminded by highly successful Supreme Court lawyer Ed Blum and his erroneously named Project for Fair Representation.  Blum and the plaintiffs claimed that Texas State Senate districts were unconstitutional because they were drawn on the basis of total population instead of the number of eligible voters.  The argument was a clever ploy to redirect political power from more liberal urban areas to more conservative rural areas who have higher numbers of eligible voters as a percentage of total population.   Although the U.S. Constitution mandates that congressional districts be drawn on the basis of population, there is no such mandate for state legislative districts.  Alas, the ploy failed and the Court held that Texas could legally apportion its legislative districts on the basis of total population.

Adopting voter-eligible apportionment as constitutional command would upset a well-functioning approach to districting that all 50 States and countless local jurisdictions have followed for decades, even centuries . . . Appellants have shown no reason for the Court to disturb this longstanding use of total population.

Unfortunately, the Court left open the question of whether a state could use some other basis to draw its districts.  Expect another run at this naked attempt for the Republicans to maintain their stranglehold on Texas politics.    Right now, the population difference between the largest and smallest districts in Texas is about 8 percent. If the State were to change and instead use the number of eligible voters in each district for apportionment, there would be about a 40 percent difference between the largest and the smallest districts.  That would be a remarkable shift of power back to more conservative rural areas and result in unbelievable redistricting battles.

Rob Morrow -Just Crazy Enough to Represent GOP

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Robert Morrow ‏@RobMorroLiberty 12h12 hours ago

Robert Morrow Retweeted scrape GOAT

Go to Dallas and see where LBJ murdered JFK.

Robert Morrow added,

I’m traveling to Fort Worth tomorrow. First time in Texas. Any advice?
Nice.  Mr. Morrow throws around the murder accusations rather freely.  Among other things, he claims Pres. Obama murdered a gay prostitute.

Shame on Oklahoma (and Alaska).

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) won the Oklahoma primary with 34.4% of the vote followed by Donald Trump at 28.6%.  At least Texas has an excuse for letting him win the Texas primary (albeit with less than 44% of the vote – compare that to Bernie’s win in Vermont) as we are responsible for putting the irascible junior senator into the national spotlight (or more accurately the blame should be placed on the 631,136 GOP voters representing about 5% of the Texas electorate who decided that David Dewhurst was not conservative enough in the 2012 GOP runoff).  In other words, Ted may be a deceitful dirty trickster, but he is our deceitful dirty trickster.  Oklahoma has no such excuse.  And who knows what goes on in an Alaskan caucus?