Why Democrats shouldn't nominate Republican donors

Because Republicans will pwn them.  In this corner, the challenger David Alameel, with the egg all over his face.  In that corner, the defending champion "Big Bad John" Corndog.  This is the response the good doctor received to his request for a refund of his donations to Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, Mitch McConnell, and all the other GOPers he's written big checks to over the years.

“Thanks in part to your support for Texas conservatives like myself, Gov. Perry, Attorney General Abbott, and others, Texas has implemented a successful pro-growth agenda, marked by prolific job creation thanks to lower government spending, less taxes, and limited regulations,” Cornyn wrote in an open letter released by his campaign.

“Without your help, conservatives across Texas could not have fought back against the big-spending, big government, pro-choice agenda that Democrats in Washington, D.C. have tried for so long to impose on our state,” the letter said. “That fight continues, and, regrettably, it is one for which no dollar can be spared.”

I am at a loss as to why Wendy Davis endorsed this guy.  Update:  And Leticia Van de Putte as well (despite her obviously pointed and kind words for him).  Well, at least until the first-quarter campaign finance reports come out, anyway.  The only thing worse than Alameel being the Democratic nominee would be Kesha Rogers being the nominee.  And if those two are in the runoff...

Let's hope the Dems have at least learned that you should just say, "I made a mistake", and not "I want a refund".  You don't often hear wealthy people say that, though.  Even when they are Republicans running for office as Democrats.

More at Texpate and Off the Kuff.

More on what BGTX is up against

Really good stuff here from Greg Wythe on the non-standard and varying interpretations of the voter/photo identification legislation implemented in Harris County last fall.

The fundamental flaw in the “no big deal” argument is the logic that only the most dire outcome (a voter being turned away) or the most stringent cure (a provisional ballot) represents the entirety of the law’s negative impact. It’s somewhat similar to evaluating the crime rate based on the number of state executions carried out in Huntsville. Among the secondary problems are things like lengthening lines at polling places or dissuading voters from registering to vote if they feel a photo ID is all that is needed. There are other concerns, as well. But we likely won’t get a full taste of that until November 2016.

There's more you should read at the link, and Greg's going to have some followup posts but the end result is the same: lots of confusion, plenty of aggravation for voters, and an atmosphere of intimidation which results in people leaving the polling place without casting a ballot.  And for Republicans, that's a feature and not a bug.

When you see Steve Stockman walk out of the SOTU, when another Congressman threatens to throw a reporter over the Capitol railing, and another throws a temper tantrum on teevee, just keep in mind that Republicans love them some democracy so much that it makes them crazy.  But they only love it as long as they're the ones in power.

Do you think Greg Abbott understands what the greatest challenge to him getting elected governor is?  It's not the he said/she said BS, it's not how much money he can raise or spend, it's not which side has the most volunteers or enthusiasm.  It's not the unpredictable, intangible events that happen through the course of a campaign season to sway the electorate.   It's not even some combination of all those factors.

It's this.  Making voting by people who won't vote for him as difficult as he possibly can, in order to discourage them from voting at all.  Getting Texans to vote who have a poor habit of doing so is the mountain Battleground Texas must scale, and Greg Abbott is at the top of it, pushing boulders down at them.

I almost typed "kicking boulders", but thought that might seem insensitive.

Charles has some more.

Update: Greg's second post detailing some of the things he experienced last November as an EV clerk at the Bayland Park poll in southwest Houston is up.