Not sure where to start, so for what few Team Blue friends I have left, I'll ease into this with some recent reporting (which, both inside and outside the state, has been terrific all year). Jim Henson, whom regular followers know conducts the polling for UT and the TexTrib, does my aggregating.
In which @gromerjeffers looks at #tx2022 while the #txlege is on a temporary hiatus (sorry abt the reminder that it's not really over).
— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) September 3, 2021
After summer of legislative warfare, Texas Republicans, Democrats prepare for 2022 election season https://t.co/4KsO6tebdz
In a week in which Republicans are running the table the state's political system, @davidsiders channels Beckett in a piece for @politico on the Waiting for Beto dynamic in Texas https://t.co/gA34DO3wlP #tx2022
— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) September 1, 2021
You could stop with those two pieces if you didn't want your sensibilities offended by what comes next. But I try as hard as I can to tell the truth here. And the truth is brutal.
Toonist Mike Fluggenock's excerpt from The Atlantic above implies what I've been saying for awhile now: there will be no Congressional relief from the ravages of SB1 (or SB8), and the litigal and judicial remedies are far away and uncertain as hell.
And with redistricting teed up, Dems in Texas are in deep doo-doo.
"Until torch-bearing Texans — by whom we mean perpetually stunned Democrats, independents, traditional Republicans and newcomers from more progressive states — rise up, the monster among us will continue to rampage," The Editorial Board writes. https://t.co/JmWicv8EIm
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 6, 2021
Some of those who would be most likely to break the quarter-century losing streak at the statewide level -- Beto, a Castro -- realize these circumstances, and will not respond to the exhortations of those who wish to hang their hopes on someone, anyone, which without the FTP Act or a liberal SCOTUS would be more of an albatross around their neck than a laurel wreath on their head.
Still, it seems the best-connected TexDonks don't understand this.
I swear I’ve been a Democrat all my life and at one time I was the ED of the Texas Democratic Party but if I have to go another 48 hours without a credible candidate for Governor announcing I’ll lose my shit. I’m about to be WAY off the reservation.
— Harold Cook (@HCookAustin) September 5, 2021
Read the whole thing and weep (if you care, that is) at the elitist white privilege.
Ahhh. The generation of Democratic consultants whose message was so lost that only brute strength demographics can overcome their lack of a message. Love those guys.
— Should Of Known Better (@JasonHGTruitt) September 2, 2021
Similarly one has to wonder at what point "are you mad about how grossly and obviously inept our party is? Well you better give money to one of our candidates" stops working on people. https://t.co/yrw7tfVVju
— Anti-Heathenry Aktion (@WestTXLibsoc) September 7, 2021
There's more, and it's worse.
Real opportunity for literally any Texas Democrat to run for governor https://t.co/z4AhRDvn0r
— Evan (@evan7257) September 4, 2021
Read all the replies. It turns out that "literally" does not mean literally.
This might be less embarrassing for Evan if no Democrat was actually running for Texas governor, but there are three listed here and a few more possibles here. What Evan and Harold and others such as Charles Kuffner mean is both heavily insinuated and plainly stated: you're not worthy of consideration unless you can raise the millions of dollars necessary to hire political consultants to tell you what to do, who will earn commissions from TV, radio, and direct mail media buys, and so on and so forth.
As if this was the model of success for Texas Democrats over the past 25 years. Repeating myself again: if Greg Abbott loses in 2022, it will be in the Republican primary, and 'money raised' won't have a got damn thing to do with it.
Abbott raised $2.27M during the first special session. His largest contributors for the period were Houston foundation president Nancy Kinder ($250K), Midland investor Douglas Scharbauer ($100K) and San Antonio alcoholic beverage distributor Alan Dreeben ($75K).
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker Dade Phelan, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, Comptroller Glenn Hegar, Land Comm. George P. Bush (running for AG against Paxton), Agriculture Comm. Sid Miller and Railroad Comm. Wayne Christian -- all also on the GOP primary ballot in 2022 -- raised $450K combined during the same period.
Former Republican Party of Texas chair Allen West raised $404K during the period, including $160K from Lake Forest, Ill. shipping supply company owner Richard Uihlein. Texans supplied 42% of West’s contribution total. In addition to Uihlein, West raised $73K from out-of-state donors.
(Since I'm on this topic -- and since Chuckles Kuffner doesn't seem to be reporting it yet -- Lee Merritt, one of the two Democrats running for the right to take on Paxton in the fall of 2022, collected more than all of the AG GOP contenders combined. So there's that.)
The Texas Special Session Financial Report is out. We killed it.
— Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) September 8, 2021
We out raised every Republican candidate in the race one grassroots donor at a time.
We raised 285K (7/7/21-8/6/21)
Paxton raised 39K
Bush raised 157K
Justice Guzman 193Khttps://t.co/HsYPgxsR36 pic.twitter.com/Hp4auO739G
Still, Progress Texas keeps throwing out wish lists.
This week @edespinoza writes about three factors impacting the Texas Democratic race for Governor - and offers a list of potential candidates. #txlege https://t.co/UF3yIXSKnh
— Progress Texas (@ProgressTX) August 29, 2021
I simply don't think anyone who broke quorum and then slinked back to the Capitol -- that excuses Gilberto Hinojosa's daughter -- is going to be running for a promotion to the Mansion. I could of course be mistaken.
I want to see the names of every person running against each of the Tx Democrats that got cold-feet and returned, allowing all this insidious legislation to move through #txlegehttps://t.co/4R85tl3UCZ
— Do No Harm & Take No Shit (@ItsAllAbsurd) September 10, 2021
There's a link in that story with a list, Do.
Remember: Kuff is the one who said this was always going to happen, so I suppose he's not as upset about it as others. The Vote Blue No Matter Poo crew is like that.
People rightfully bitch about Eddie Lucio on this bird app but don't sleep on @RyanGuillen voting with the GOP on the abortion bill. He's been in office for almost 20 yrs & like many RGV Dems, has gotten way too comfy in his seat. The Valley needs more women in office. #txlege https://t.co/YJIU7BBYEn
— Denise ABORTION IS LEGAL Flores (@TheDeniseFlores) September 7, 2021
When #txlege OK'd @GregAbbott_TX’s plan to hugely boost border security $, only 6% of House Democrats went along. But 38% of Senate Democrats did, incl'g @TxChuy, whose home county nixed Abbott nudge to declare a disaster. Here, Hinojosa explains his votehttps://t.co/NKh17f1aQH
— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) September 3, 2021
“You must vote for Democrats so if a Supreme Court justice dies they can appoint another to grow old in there and hopefully die with a Democrat as president” doesn’t seem to me a winning strategy.
— Jack'sHouseOfPancakes (@RegimeChangeInc) September 5, 2021
I. Am. Not. Falling. For the Banana. In the Tailpipe. Trick. Again.
Why would someone who is a constant gardner not want to consider green party? I'm a native Texan, healthcare worker.. yes I help care for patients with covid! A mother, artist and activist. Please know that the democratic establishment has encouraged the party to move right. pic.twitter.com/8QQ2uEmL6U
— DelilahForTexas💚☮🌻🌎 (@DelilahforTexas) September 4, 2021
A third party cannot win as long as you continue to not vote for them.
— The_Pale_H0rse☭ 👻🎃💀 (@The_Pale_H0rse) August 29, 2021
That's it. That is what's stopping it.
Stop buying the, "but we'll lose" bull and stand for something you want and be counted for it. If you forgo your principles for the sake of winning you already lost.