Davis et.al. finally pushes back, and more Texas roundup

A little bit, and hey, it only took a week.

State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, delivered a ferocious defense Tuesday night of her life story and her parenting of her two daughters, declaring that Attorney General Greg Abbott has “picked a fight with the wrong Texas gal.”

“I won’t let anyone take my family’s truth away from me,” said Davis, speaking even as President Obama was delivering his State of the Union speech. It was the most passionate and powerful defense of the now-contested personal narrative that has been central to her message as a candidate for governor.

“Greg Abbott can sink as low as he wants, but I won’t let him drag me down with him. He can run a campaign about my past; I’m going to run one that’s about your future,” Davis told the Travis County Democratic Party’s Johnson-Bentsen-Richards dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel. “But there’s one thing I have to say before I leave Greg Abbott and his allies to play in the gutter once and for all. And I want to say it right here, right now, with Texas listening – because I want to make sure our opponents can hear it loud and clear. You can attack my record. You can challenge my ideas. You can play holier-than-thou with my life story. But I draw the line when it comes to lying about my family.”

First there was the assist from Greta Van Susteren of Fox, which was prolly the best thing of all.  Then there was the letter from Wendy's two daughters, and the gift of the shotgun that belonged to Ann Richards.  There was also a populist fundraising appeal.  But that was sandwiched around the non-endorsement from the HGLBT Caucus, which had to stress that was no big deal.  (Those folks made a couple of other weird choices. Gonna have a post on that at a later date.)

The takeaway for me is that if the Davis campaign is going to take 7-10 days to do rapid response...

Update:  As remains the case over the past two weeks, there's just not much local blog coverage about the Davis campaign developments beyond the LGBT-specific postings of Lone Star Q linked above, Socratic Gadfly, The Inanity of Sanity, and Burnt Orange Report.

-- It was US Rep. Randy Weber's turn to take the dumbass pills, and right before the SOTU last night, he swallowed the whole bottle.

On floor of house waitin on "Kommandant-In-Chef"... the Socialistic dictator who's been feeding US a line or is it "A-Lying?"
— Randy Weber (@TXRandy14) January 29, 2014

This is troll bait, of course. He's seen how much attention Steve Stockman can command with this soapbox, and since Louie Gohmert can't figure out Twitter, Weber has come to the realization that there's a void to be filled.

-- John Culberson wants you to know that it was he who killed light rail on Richmond Avenue.

"I'm very proud to have been able to protect Richmond and Post Oak from being destroyed as Fannin and Main Street were destroyed," Culberson told CultureMap following a fundraising luncheon at Tony's, which not so coincidentally is located on Richmond.

Culberson trumped METRO in his long-running feud with the local transportation agency. He has been threatening and attempting to get his law passed for several years. "It's a permanent federal statutory law. So it's a felony if any governmental entities attempt to spend any federal money to push rail on those routes," he said.

[...]

"This is the end of all federal funding on Richmond," he said.

The Democratic primary in CD-7, for the right to challenge this numbskull, is taking a sad but familiar path.  More on that also in short order.

Update: Charles digs deeper.

-- Congratulations to Celia Israel, who won the special election yesterday to replace the retiring Mark Strama in Austin.  She gives the Texas Legislature its second LGBT elected representative, which is the first time that has ever been the case in the long history of the state.  The times they are a-changin'.

Sometimes when I see SOTU, my dyslexia processes it as STFU

That is not intended to be a negative inference toward the president.  When I criticize Obama, it's without passive aggression and only occasionally with snark.

What the president will say tonight...

Democrats expressed confidence that the economic message Obama is expected to push in his speech will work to their advantage.

“He’s going to put a spotlight on this defining issue, and that spotlight will grow in the coming months,” said Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “This campaign is going to be about who’s on your side. On that issue, the contrast between Democrats and Republicans in Congress could not be clearer.”

Democratic strategists consider the debate over the minimum wage and unemployment insurance important in some of the most competitive races.

What he should say...

-- Go big on economic inequality.

-- Demand an end to "too big to fail".

-- Put his weight behind the push to increase the minimum wage.

-- Quit pushing the TPP and KXL.

... and what he won't say.

If Obama were being perfectly honest, he’d explain to a nationwide audience that Washington politicians mostly plan to sit on their hands in 2014, with posturing for political advantage in the November elections far more important than helping strengthen the U.S. economy. That's why Obama will reportedly be more aggressive in using executive authority to pursue pet projects, in lieu of authorization from Congress.

Voters, for their part, also have a dwindling appetite for government solutions to economic problems. It’s not even clear there’s much Washington could do if it wanted to. “My fellow Americans,” Obama might say if administered truth serum, “this year, you’re on your own.”

He won’t say that, of course, and the press has been dutifully reporting all the new initiatives the president’s aides have been leaking to them. But the U.S. economy has now decisively shifted from crisis mode — in which the feds pump out emergency funds to make up for cutbacks in spending elsewhere, as with the big 2009 stimulus program — into recovery mode, with spending in other sectors bouncing back. State revenues, for instance, are approaching new record highs, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported, allowing governors to propose tax cuts, new spending on education and other moves typically categorized as “stimulus.”

In other words, blahblahblah*standingovationfromDems*sittingandsulkingfromRs*blahblahblah rinse repeat.

Four boobs on the tube

All four want to force a woman to give birth to a child that is the product of rape or incest.  All four said that the judge who compelled the hospital to end life support for a brain-dead pregnant woman carrying a deformed fetus was wrong, and would support a bill in the next session to prevent another judge from doing so.

All four support the teaching of creationism in public schools.  All four are opposed to the decriminalization of marijuana.  (Only Patterson among them favors the use of medical pot.)  All except Patterson want a fifty-foot-high wall at the Rio Grande border armed with machine gun turrets and high voltage current running through the concertina wire at the top.  (That's barely an exaggeration.)

Dan Patrick wouldn't pay back the debts he went bankrupt on, even now that he has the money.  Jerry Patterson can say "tetrahydrocannabinol", several times, without mangling it.  Todd Staples' head is still too large for his body.  And Dewhurst is so confident of victory that he didn't bother to work in any time for debate practice.

No questions about infrastructure, or water, or the environment, or the Texas economy, or education, or Medicaid expansion, or predatory payday lenders, or anything of substance to anyone outside the Tea Party base of the Texas Republican Party.

Thus, the winner of last night's Texas lieutenant governor debate was... Leticia Van de Putte.

Update: More from Wayne Slater (who still has miles to go to redeem himself, IMHO)...

If a single candidate doesn’t win a majority of the vote on March 4, the GOP primary fight will go to a runoff between the two top vote-getters.

The political calculus Monday night was finding a way into that runoff — either by saying something appealing about yourself (Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson declaring himself the friend of guns in virtually every public place in Texas) or critical of an opponent (Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples telling Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst he ought to put more money in education and less on his personal security detail).

Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston targeted Dewhurst all night with a Texas equivalent of “Who lost Panama?” Patrick asked who created Democrat Wendy Davis — and pointed straight at Dewhurst.

In Patrick’s telling, Dewhurst bungled the handling of an abortion-restrictions bill last year, allowing the filibuster that catapulted the Fort Worth state senator to national prominence.

If there’s anything conservative Republican primary voters probably agree on, it is that they don’t care for Davis.

“Barack Obama and the Democrats created Wendy Davis,” Dewhurst protested. And he predicted: “Davis is going down faster than she went up when [likely GOP gubernatorial nominee] Greg Abbott beats her in November.”

Well at least they're not yammering like chauvinistic pigs.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance reveled in the insane clown posse (apologies to the actual ICP) that the TXGOP put on display last week.  But t wasn't all Greg Abbott and John Cornyn and David Dewhurst and Louie Gohmert.  It was also Ted Cruz on Face the Nation, and Steve Stockman gone MIA as a sideshow act.

Here's the best from the Texas lefty blogs from last week.

Off the Kuff presents interviews with Reps. Alma Allen and Carol Alvarado, as well as with challenger Azuwuike Okorafor.

Horwitz at Texpatriate discusses the least crazy Republican lieutenant governor candidate, Jerry Patterson.

Eye On Williamson has an update on the race for Congress in TX-31. Tea party Congressman John Carter has some serious competition in 2014: Get To Know Louie Minor -- Democrat For Congress in District 31.

It's a new year for everyone and everything, including the Affordable Care Act. Despite endless obstuction, Republicans were unable to stop its arrival in Texas. Though as Texas Leftist found out, they were able to weaken the law, and endanger Texas hospitals in the process.

PDiddie at Brains and Eggs summarizes a blistering week in Texas politics.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says watch out for the energized young, Democratic voters emerging in the Valley.

Neil at All People Have Value wrote about how the government in Ukraine has used people's cell phones to track down and send messages to individuals taking part in anti-government protests. Neil says folks are mistaken if they think our own government won't do the same to intimidate people taking part in lawful protests in the U.S. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

==================

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Juanita Jean offers some advice to Dan Patrick and Jared Woodfill.

Texas Vox reports on the opening of the southern half of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Lunch Tray continues its advocacy against chicken that has been processed in China being served in school lunchrooms.

Grits rounds up some coverage of Court of Criminal Appeals races.

The Texas Green Report checks in on the earthquakes in Azle and Reno.

Mean Green Cougar Red attended a presentation on the proposed high speed rail line between Houston and Dallas.

Nonsequiteuse thinks Greg Abbott is applying for the wrong job.

Progress Texas and Unfair Park gather some of the more colorful reactions to recent stories about Wendy Davis.

Finally, Ileen Haddad tells you everything you need to know about surviving the winter in Austin.

More postscripts to the week's developments

-- Greg Abbott rolled out to a pro-birth rally in Austin yesterday and did that thing he does so well.  No, not sue Obama; pander to the freak right wing.

Abbott touted his own record, as Texas attorney general, of defending state abortion laws, including 2011’s sonogram law, which requires abortion-seekers to receive a sonogram and listen to a description of the fetus at least 24 hours before they can get the procedure.

He also mentioned his role in upholding HB 2, the sweeping abortion bill that cleared the Texas Legislature this summer despite Wendy Davis’s 11-hour filibuster. The law bans abortions after 20 weeks and imposes new restrictions that have led to the closure of as many as one-third of the state’s abortion clinics.

“I am a reminder that it does not take legs to take a stand. It takes backbone,” he said, in reference to his own use of a wheelchair and Davis’ campaign slogan “Stand With Wendy.”

You don't have that either, buddy; you got an implant.  The most significant thing inside your torso is a bulging sac of self-loathing and guilt.  Have you considered an empathy transfusion?  Does the state insurance plan not cover it?  Are the millions of dollars in your personal bank account -- and the many more millions in your campaign account -- still not enough for a down payment?

“The person who led the fight for late term abortion is now running to govern this great state,” he said, referring to Davis’ efforts to beat back House Bill 2.

“She’s partnering with Planned Parenthood to return Texas to late term abortion on demand,” he continued. “They support abortion even when it causes pain to a child in the womb. ”

Liar.

(Though there is no conclusive evidence that fetuses at 20 weeks can feel pain, most scientific research suggests that brain connections required to process pain are not developed until at least 24 weeks.)

I sure hope some Democratic activists are getting motivated by those words right about now.

-- Speaking of responses or lack thereof, Burnt Orange is one of the very few Texas progressive blogs -- outside of Socratic Gadfly (who's been solid in his coverage but is certainly no ally) and Eye on Williamson and McBlogger -- that picked up the gauntlet this past week to either defend Senator Davis from the unrelenting conservative smears, or push back on a topic that the so-called liberal media hasn't mentioned.

There is an unsettling trend on Greg Abbott's Facebook page: routine death threats against Wendy Davis. Not only are the threats violent and full of sexist bile, but they continue without comment from Greg Abbott -- though he and his staffers certainly haven't shied away from promoting sexist attacks on Davis in the past.  

Of course it's not just on Facebook, but also everywhere else on the Internet where a goon sitting in his underwear can figure out how to log in and post something full of hate and badly misspelled words.  And when it's not actual death threats, it's the normalizing-via-repetition of the misogyny.

Both the threats and general attacks against Davis on Abbott's page have a uniting theme beyond antagonism towards "liberals" who are trying to take over Texas. It's the same theme that runs through articles that claim Davis is "too stupid" to hold statewide office and all of the variations on "Abortion"/"retard" Barbie thrown Davis' way. All of them are mired in sexist vitriol. Davis is sexualized, a "Barbie," or a "skank." She is either too pretty to be taken seriously, or not valuable because she isn't attractive enough. She once had brown hair (gasp!) that was frizzy (oh no!) and so obviously she cannot be trusted to run for statewide office. She has been both criticized for being a single mother and reprimanded for having relied on her ex-husband during their marriage. As a woman facing a sexist society, there is nothing Davis can do to negate the fact that she is, in fact, a woman.

Regarding the media coverage -- corporate, social, and otherwise: surely we are not going to accept the wisdom and insight of Mark Jones at Rice University as worthy of careful consideration?  (If our name isn't Greg Groogan at Fox26, that is.)  While many locals remain silent, national pundits like Carl Cannon are happy to fill the void.  We're thankful that Jessica Luther didn't take the week off.

With the latest James O'Keefe video that legacy media reporters are promoting at face value, are there still some Democrats who are afraid it might be offensive to say that Greg Abbott is shaking in his boots because of Wendy Davis?  If so, then 'now' might be a good time to get on over that.  Then again, perhaps Liza Mundy is correct; maybe Texas just isn't ready for a single mother running for governor. 

nonsequiteuse is doing some counterpunching, and also pointing out the ridiculousness of Abbott's ongoing vendetta against the Affordable Care Act.  So there's that, at least.

-- John Cornpone has decided he's going to be against fixing the Voting Rights Act.  He gets a letter about that.

Dear Senator John Cornyn,

It’s me, Melissa. You told the editorial board of the Dallas Morning News:

“I don’t understand the rationale for discriminating against places that have made huge leaps and improvements in terms of minority voter participation by continuing to treat them as if it’s 1965.”

You don’t understand? Well, let me see if I can help. You are opposing a bipartisan bill (read it here) that will subject states with five voting rights violations in 15 years to greater federal scrutiny. Or one violation could be enough in an area with long-term low minority turnout. That means Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are in.

But it’s not discrimination. It’s a formula.

Now I know you want to focus on Texas’ “huge leaps” in the last 50 years, but let’s put those leaps in context – because Texas has quite a history. Back in 1848, even though a treaty ended the Mexican-American war and granted citizenship to Mexicans living in your state and others, Texas used English language proficiency, property requirements, violence and intimidation to keep them from voting.

During the Civil War in the 1860s, because Union troops never made any significant advance into Texas – well, your state became a place for slaveholders to stash their human property, while also suppressing news of Emancipation.

Then, after the 15th Amendment granted black men the right to vote in 1870, y’all down in Texas got real creative – not only implementing poll taxes and other Jim Crow voting tactics, but also creating the White Primary, which barred black voters from casting primary votes.

In 1917, your state banned interpreters for Spanish speaking voters at the Texas polls. And in 1962, residents in Houston’s minority communities received false warnings they might be arrested at the polls if they had outstanding parking tickets – and Latinos in Rio Grande got letters saying it would be better to stay home rather than risk arrest.

Your state’s history is relevant, Senator Cornyn, because it is a long and shameful litany of tools to abuse, coerce, and disenfranchise non-white voters in your state. For the past 50 years, the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act has limited your state’s ability to continue that history – though some abuses did continue.

Like in Waller County, where strict voting registration rules allowed county officials to reject voter applications, mostly from students at the historically black Prairie View A&M University. And Texas was second only to Mississippi between 1982 and 2006 in the number of Justice Department objections under the VRA’s Section 5. And it seems Texas couldn’t wait to get back to even more aggressive efforts, because when the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act last June, it took just hours for Attorney General Greg Abbott to announce that Texas would move forward with its voter-ID law.

A law that not only affects voters of color, but also disproportionately affects Texas women – including state Senator Wendy Davis! In the most recent election she had to sign an affidavit before casting her ballot because her voting record didn’t include her middle name.

So Senator Cornyn, I hope these reminders help you understand why Texas should fall under any new formula for pre-clearance. It’s really not about discriminating against Texas. It is about Texas’ history of discriminating against its own voters.

-- There's stupid, and then there's Louie Gohmert.  I hope he doesn't get diabetes or cancer or anything, but it's nice to know that if/when he does, Obamacare will still be there to cover him.  No pre-existing conditions, you see.

-- Steve Stockman may crawl out of his hole tomorrow. Does anybody really care?

Sunday Funnies