Sunday, May 27, 2018
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Hidalgo v. Emmett
Before I start ripping the skin off the Texas Democratic slate (thanks to Horwitz in the comments yesterday for helping me get warmed up, by the way), I'll say something nice about the locals, .i.e. Harris County executive races. Dr. Diane Trautman (County Clerk), this blogger being a longtime fan, and Marilyn Burgess (District Clerk) both prevailed in Tuesday's runoff and should be able to do the same against hapless Republicans Stan Stanart and Chris Daniel in the fall.
One of those is more hapless than the other, as even Harris Republicans clearly understand.
More on that race at a later date; from my inbox late yesterday came this press release and poll from the Hidalgo for Judge campaign that -- despite its D lean -- has to have surprised a few people. Under the header "Hidalgo leads Emmett 53% to 47%" ...
Perhaps more than the usual polling caveats apply. There's no link to the poll in the email and none that I can find on Hidalgo's website; mighty Kuffner hasn't gotten around to this news yet. (Speaking of slow reactions, if he ever wrote anything about the debate between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White, then I missed it. Candidly I'm of the considered opinion that his blog has gone so far downhill so fast it's not worth much of my time any longer, but YMMV. He very rarely blogs about anything I haven't already read in the Houston Chronicle or the Texas Tribune. Like Blue Dog Ted at jobsanger, though, Kuff coughs up his 4-6 posts early every morning, so there's that. Consistent quantity counts for something even when quality suffers.)
More from the poll:
Hidalgo is very likely the most progressive woman on the Harris County ballot. Bar none ... at least until Janis Richards gets qualified to run for governor as an independent, which we should know about soon, as her 500 signatures are due in Austin shortly to be verified. But most importantly, Hidalgo and Lupe Valdez and Sylvia Garcia and all of the rest of the Latinos and Latinas on the statewide and county ballot are a reminder that 2018 is a no-excuses year for Latin@ turnout. Nobody should be compelled to buy any keys to turnout from Marc Campos, either; he's the same moron he's always been. (I give Campos a lot of crap, but his blog wins awards this blog has never won, you know. So I'm jealous of all the #winning.)
David Collins, himself a previous Harris Judge contender, approves of Hidalgo, and since I have not met her yet, that's good enough for me.
Let's expect that our endorsements don't piss off any bitter #StillbornHerz so much so that they can't vote for Lina out of spite for me or Collins. I'd like to believe those folks are bigger persons than I am about petty purity politics, after all, but with the Churchill Downs stable of horseshit and slander I read against Laura Moser and continue to read about Bernie Sanders ... well, let's just say Kuffner is wrong again, but has a chance at being right in time for November. Maybe he can use his clout to talk some sense into his team; something like, "there's not very many of those awful progs, and we can replace their votes with Republican crossovers, so just put PDiddie on 'ignore'" or something.
Stace is happy, so maybe we'll read more there about politics and less about Tejano music. (Really and truly, dude. It's not as bad as Greg Wythe's defunct blog posts about Trinity Euless football, or the latest from Lakewood Church, but it's close. Go the full La Raza or get back to what you used to do best, is all I'm sayin'. Us gabachos lack insight into the Mexicano mindset which we can't get from Lalo Alcarez or News Taco. Don't regress to the level of Neil A-Queen-o, for cryin' out loud.)
Okay then. The rest of my acid gets directed at all the white NeoDemocrats running for office who will spend the next five months chasing conservative votes. Another clarification of the definition of 'progressive' is sorely overdue. That's on the way, haters. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and don't forget why we observe it.
One of those is more hapless than the other, as even Harris Republicans clearly understand.
If you’re wondering why #FireStanStanart trends every #ElectionDay, I have literally watched as Republican elected officials call the Harris Co. Clerk & chew him out about returns, and they’re in the same party. #tx2018— Miya Shay (@miyashay) May 23, 2018
More on that race at a later date; from my inbox late yesterday came this press release and poll from the Hidalgo for Judge campaign that -- despite its D lean -- has to have surprised a few people. Under the header "Hidalgo leads Emmett 53% to 47%" ...
The Lina Hidalgo campaign for Harris County Judge today released the results of its first county-wide poll, showing the Democratic challenger leading the Republican incumbent by a stunning six percentage points; among Harris County voters who plan to vote in the County Judge race, 53% plan to vote for Lina Hidalgo and 47% say they will vote for Ed Emmett.
The poll, conducted by Texas Democratic Party-authorized polling firm, Change Research, surveyed more than 1700 registered voters in Harris County on May 11, 12, 13, 19, and 20, and has a margin of error of +/- 3%.
Perhaps more than the usual polling caveats apply. There's no link to the poll in the email and none that I can find on Hidalgo's website; mighty Kuffner hasn't gotten around to this news yet. (Speaking of slow reactions, if he ever wrote anything about the debate between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White, then I missed it. Candidly I'm of the considered opinion that his blog has gone so far downhill so fast it's not worth much of my time any longer, but YMMV. He very rarely blogs about anything I haven't already read in the Houston Chronicle or the Texas Tribune. Like Blue Dog Ted at jobsanger, though, Kuff coughs up his 4-6 posts early every morning, so there's that. Consistent quantity counts for something even when quality suffers.)
More from the poll:
94% of Harris County voters report feeling more interested (56%) in or equally as interested (38%) in the 2018 election as they have felt about prior elections.
President Trump is viewed unfavorably by 60% of Harris County voters
Voters report that the three issues that will drive their voting behavior most in November are:
1. Government transparency
2. Education
3. Jobs
Hidalgo is very likely the most progressive woman on the Harris County ballot. Bar none ... at least until Janis Richards gets qualified to run for governor as an independent, which we should know about soon, as her 500 signatures are due in Austin shortly to be verified. But most importantly, Hidalgo and Lupe Valdez and Sylvia Garcia and all of the rest of the Latinos and Latinas on the statewide and county ballot are a reminder that 2018 is a no-excuses year for Latin@ turnout. Nobody should be compelled to buy any keys to turnout from Marc Campos, either; he's the same moron he's always been. (I give Campos a lot of crap, but his blog wins awards this blog has never won, you know. So I'm jealous of all the #winning.)
David Collins, himself a previous Harris Judge contender, approves of Hidalgo, and since I have not met her yet, that's good enough for me.
Let's expect that our endorsements don't piss off any bitter #StillbornHerz so much so that they can't vote for Lina out of spite for me or Collins. I'd like to believe those folks are bigger persons than I am about petty purity politics, after all, but with the Churchill Downs stable of horseshit and slander I read against Laura Moser and continue to read about Bernie Sanders ... well, let's just say Kuffner is wrong again, but has a chance at being right in time for November. Maybe he can use his clout to talk some sense into his team; something like, "there's not very many of those awful progs, and we can replace their votes with Republican crossovers, so just put PDiddie on 'ignore'" or something.
Stace is happy, so maybe we'll read more there about politics and less about Tejano music. (Really and truly, dude. It's not as bad as Greg Wythe's defunct blog posts about Trinity Euless football, or the latest from Lakewood Church, but it's close. Go the full La Raza or get back to what you used to do best, is all I'm sayin'. Us gabachos lack insight into the Mexicano mindset which we can't get from Lalo Alcarez or News Taco. Don't regress to the level of Neil A-Queen-o, for cryin' out loud.)
Okay then. The rest of my acid gets directed at all the white NeoDemocrats running for office who will spend the next five months chasing conservative votes. Another clarification of the definition of 'progressive' is sorely overdue. That's on the way, haters. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and don't forget why we observe it.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Yay establishment.
Woo hoo moderates and centrists. Clap for the conservaDems (and for that matter, the same standing-in-the-middle-of-the-road armadillos in the TXGOP.) Dilly "pragmatists".
Moser was being complimentary; it's simply not accurate to call non-voters a voting bloc.
How's that worked out for ya in the last twenty years, Donks?
That question was answered emphatically: 'let's keep doing the same thing we've always done, and hope for a different result'. Good luck in November, Mules.
Expect a #DemExit again. It's really not an even split as the toon suggests, but the prags do get the ass. I like the red shirts on the left, too.
I'll have a lot more about last night later.
(Laura Moser) spent a recent Saturday walking from door to door in the Houston suburb of Cypress, trying to convince voters who rarely come out to the polls in Texas’s Seventh District to support her progressive agenda in the Democratic primary runoff Tuesday.
These are the voters Texas Democrats want to see turn out in droves during the 2018 midterms. But in past years, they haven’t had a lot of success convincing them.
“You’re the most powerful voting bloc in the country,” Moser told one skeptical resident. “If everyone voted, you would get people representing you who looked like you.”
Moser was being complimentary; it's simply not accurate to call non-voters a voting bloc.
Houston is Moser’s hometown, and like the rest of the state, it has diversified since she grew up here. Many people working on their lawns or sitting outside in Cypress spoke Spanish, and a group of Latino and African-American children raced their bikes up and down the cul-de-sac.
Several neighborhood residents told Moser they don’t often see candidates for Congress knocking on doors as she encouraged them to get out and vote during the May 22 election.
This lines up with how Democrats have historically tried to win races in Texas — paying more attention to voters they know will turn out reliably. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) typically backs moderate candidates who they believe will appeal to independents and Democrats, and be more competitive against Republican incumbents.
How's that worked out for ya in the last twenty years, Donks?
The DCCC is following the same playbook this year, favoring Moser’s opponent in the runoff, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. The DCCC hoped Moser wouldn’t make it this far, dropping an opposition research file on her ahead of the March primary — a decision that backfired and seems to have helped propel Moser into this week’s runoff this week. The organization has stopped short of explicitly backing Fletcher ahead of the runoff, but she’s clearly their preferred candidate.
Tuesday night (tested) which path appeals to Texas Democrats: Are they are still rooted in the center, or does their future lie in changing demographics and embracing a progressive ideology? More broadly, the TX-7 race has become emblematic of the conflict between the Democratic establishment and its newly emboldened progressive base, who wants to see the party swing left.
That question was answered emphatically: 'let's keep doing the same thing we've always done, and hope for a different result'. Good luck in November, Mules.
Expect a #DemExit again. It's really not an even split as the toon suggests, but the prags do get the ass. I like the red shirts on the left, too.
I'll have a lot more about last night later.
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