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.

Northwoods

I really enjoy Swamplot, the local real estate blog that works in some awfully good snark at opportune times.  Here, they catch what the daily let sail right over their heads.  First, the Chronic with the advertorial.

Toll Brothers is the latest in a long line of developers to use the word “wood” in the name of its new master-planned community on the north side of town.

The luxury homebuilder is calling its nearly 700-acre development Northwoods, joining other famous woods, including Kingwood, The Woodlands, Woodforest and Springwoods Village.

And now, the moneyshot.

You know the old joke about suburban developments: That they’re typically named after the natural features that they replace. But in proudly announcing the name it has chosen for the new 692-acre residential development the company is planning near the yet-to-be-built northern segment of the Grand Parkway between I-45 and U.S. 59, Toll Brothers may have made that cliché seem quaint. According to the publicly traded homebuilder, which is working with Cernus Development on the project, the top selling point for this new community is its proximity to the new corporate campus ExxonMobil is building just 6 miles to the west. Northwoods will have room for 1,000 homes built by Toll Brothers and other builders, along with “resort-style amenities that take advantage of the mature trees and topography,” including trails, parks, lakes, and a recreation center.

It’ll also have the same name as a 62-home subdivision in the Little Rock suburb of Mayflower, Arkansas, where an ExxonMobil pipeline accident last March resulted in the release of 210,000 gallons of diluted bitumen from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, onto the streets and back yards of the middle-class neighborhood.

Somebody needs a GPS device to locate the irony.  George Orwell couldn't have predicted this.

Immediately after the spill from the Pegasus pipeline, a quarter of the homes in Northwoods were evacuated. The gloppy nature of the oil product, which until the pipeline break residents had no idea was flowing near their homes, made cleanup very difficult. As of 2 months ago, almost half of the homes in Northwoods had either been listed for sale or been bought up by ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil demolished 3 of the 20 homes it bought after a soil assessment found oil had leaked into the foundations. After months of complaints by residents who said they were still feeling effects of the toxic fumes, Arkansas governor Mike Beebe ordered free medical exams for Northwoods residents.

Keystone XL runs a little to the east of Northwoods Texas, so I'm sure they'll be okay.  Happy househunting, all you new XOM managers!

Is it insensitive to say Greg Abbott is "running" for governor?

The so-called nefarious intent implication that Greg Abbott's sycophants have tried to link to Wendy Davis' unofficial campaign slogan has already been batted away.  There's a question still worth pursuing, and it's this entire business of whether simple words, phrases, or images used to describe elections, or by politicians in the course of their campaigns, is in some way unfair or unkind.

John Coby raises a real good point here.

His unfortunate story is known to most political savvy people. He ran under a tree and was paralyzed when it fell on him. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps after winning the $10 million lawsuit lottery. He then permanently latched himself to the tit of the government as an elected official. Everyone, including me, wishes he had used a treadmill that day, or ran on the other side of the street, or ran on a high school track, but he needs to stop painting himself as a victim on a daily basis.

Over the next few months there will be statements made such as "Greg Abbott has no legs to stand on concerning... " or "Abbott is running on a campaign of fear". These are common political statements and should not be construed as an attack on his unfortunate situation.

Abbott's attacks on his opponent will be as fierce and low-life as his party's attacks on former Senator Max Cleland, a decorated Vietnam war veteran who lost both legs and an arm. Abbott is expected to stoop as low as a political crack whore in order to win. What is not expected or appreciated is his constant whining when someone returns the political favor.

"Standing with Wendy", "On Her Own Two Feet", "walking a mile in her shoes", and other similar innocuous bipedal references are being twisted into pejoratives presumably aimed at the Candidate on Wheels.  The most notable of those efforts was pulled off by convicted criminal and serial liar James O'Keefe, with a helping hand from corporate media that should know better (and do better).

Going a step further: if vermin like Erick Erickson want to keep adding to their doll collection, then "Coathanger Ken" moves into fair play.  And it's just a short hop from there to "Crippled Ken".

See what I did there?

Greg Abbott needs to pull up his big boy underwear, stiffen the steel implant in his spine and get ready to take it, especially if his minions are going to keep dishing it.