The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance calls on Congress to deal seriously with the plight of the long-term unemployed as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff previews the upcoming hearing on Texas' ban on same-sex marriage with a bold prediction of how it will likely play out.

Horwitz at Texpatriate recaps the recent runoff election in the city of Houston.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is glad Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are running to support public education. Too bad all of the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor are running to teach the Bible in place of science. Psst: The earth is not flat, nor does the sun revolve around our planet.

The first in a series of profiles of the candidates appearing on the 2014 statewide Democratic ballot appears at Brains and Eggs.

Eye On Williamson has the the list of Democratic candidates that filed for 2014. They give us reason for hope in Williamson County in 2014: Williamson County races with Democrats on the ballot.

Neil at All People Have Value wrote that a picture of a Christmas wreath on a door is as good as the real thing. Friendly and flexible people know that it is the shadow that sells the substance. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

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

LawFlog asks if George P. Bush is padding his resume.

Rep. Mike Villarreal celebrates the increase in health insurance enrollments by Texans on the federal exchange.

Egberto Willies analyzes the exchange from yesterday's This Week between Robert Reich and Newt Gingrich regarding who and what is responsible for the vast income equality gap.

Megan Randall documents her experience with Healthcare.gov, which got her a better policy than what she previously had at a lower price.

Grits for Breakfast argues that state fire marshall Chris Conneally should be named Texan of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.

Offcite explores the Houston townhouse as "a formal expression of laws that make no explicit claims to form".

Progress Texas crowns the Ten Worst Texans of 2013, though how they narrowed it down to ten remains a mystery.

Paul Kennedy looks at how corporations take money from taxpayers to pay executives a king's ransom.

Sunday Funnies

"Wal-Mart announced this week that the best-selling item on Black Friday was a pack of towels that sold for $1.74. So heads up, kids: Christmas is gonna suck."

-- Seth Meyers

Megyn Kelly: For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white.

Stephen Colbert: Yes. Thank you. For all those kids watching Fox News at 9:40 at night, Santa is white. Besides, a black Santa is a terrible idea. If a homeowner in Florida sees a black man coming down their chimney, he is going to get shot. 'Officer, I was only defending my milk and cookies!'"

-- The Colbert Report

"Santa is just white? Who are you actually talking to? Children who are sophisticated enough to be watching a news channel at 10 o'clock at night, yet innocent enough to still believe Santa Claus is real, yet racist enough to be freaked out if he isn’t white."

-- Jon Stewart

President Obama shook hands with Cuban dictator Raul Castro. Or as Fox News reported it: "Foreign communist shakes hands with the leader of Cuba."

-- Conan O'Brien

Incumbents bounced in H-Town

With voter turnout failing to reach 30,000, 37,000, a significant anti-incumbent sentiment ruled the day (and night).

Two Houston City Council incumbents and two incumbents on the Houston Community College board lost their seats Saturday, according to unofficial runoff election results.

With all precincts reporting, controversial first-term council incumbents Helena Brown, in northwest Houston's District A, and Andrew C. Burks Jr., in At-Large Position 2, fell to their challengers, as did HCC trustees Yolanda Navarro Flores and Herlinda Garcia.

Brown lost her rematch with Brenda Stardig, the incumbent she defeated to gain the seat two years ago.  [...]

Burks fell to challenger David W. Robinson, a civic leader and former city planning commissioner. Robinson raised far more campaign cash than did Burks, who had run unsuccessfully numerous times before winning his seat two years ago.  [...]

In the At-Large 3 runoff, bail bondsman and civic activist Michael Kubosh, best known for leading the charge against Houston's red-light cameras, topped former Harris County Department of Education trustee and former mayoral candidate Roy Morales.  [...]

In south Houston's District D, lobbyist Dwight Boykins bested businesswoman Georgia D. Provost. Boykins had thumped the 11 other candidates in fundraising heading into November. Term-limited District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams was elected to the Houston ISD board.

In a very low-turnout race in the East End's District I, Harris County jailer and civic activist Robert Gallegos beat Graci Garcés, who is chief of staff for the term-limited James Rodriguez.

Political analysts had pointed to a larger rivalry in the race, given that Gallegos served eight years as an aide to former eastside Harris County commissioner and now-state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, and that Garcés worked for former council member and now-State Rep. Carol Alvarado. Alvarado and Garcia waged a bitter campaign earlier this year for the post Garcia now holds. [...]

In the Houston Community College contests, District 1 incumbent Flores lost to challenger Zeph Capo, a vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. In District 3, Adriana Tamez, an education consultant, beat incumbent Garcia, who was appointed to the post after the resignation of the prior trustee. In the runoff for the open District 5 seat, businessman Robert Glaser topped commercial real estate agent Phil Kunetka.

Sorry about all those ellipses; I'm just not as fond of Mark Jones' opinion as the Chron is.  But he does get one thing right: the Sylvia Garcia-Carol Alvarado dynamic is now the one to watch in the East End (Sylvia's team is 2-0).  Who aligns with whom in the future may make the biggest difference in who wins, which is far more interesting than seeing who raised the most money.  But the worst news is that some of these downballot races didn't have 5000 votes in total cast in them.  Positively dismal.

Noah live-blogged the evening and has the vote tallies by race as Clerk Stanart slowly managed to get them counted  -- an hour after polls close before the EV comes in ?!? -- so you can see that the largest trend that Election Day reversed was Capo's win in the HCC 1 contest.

No disrespect intended to tonight's victors, but if Mayor Parker just traded Helena Brown for Michael Kubosh, then there are no real winners or losers.  But if you look it as Melissa Noriega traded for Kubosh...

Corporate Super PACs now allowed in all Texas elections

I rail on about the poisoning influence of money in politics for many reasons.  This is one of them.

The Watchdog wants you to know how Texas government and politics are about to change in a fundamental way. A little-noticed lawsuit has cleared the way for a historic switch. For the first time, corporations can make direct contributions to super PACs to influence state, county, local and school board elections in Texas.

You mean like that U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision that did the same for federal races?

Exactly. In lawyer talk, this aligns Texas with the federal ruling.

Cut the lawyer talk. What does this mean for the average voter?

In the darkest scenario, a millionaire donor from out-of-state could chuck gobs of money into a school board race and overthrow a board. Woe to a town mayor who upsets a big company. Small-town races could suddenly see a massive influx of corporate money handled through what state officials call “direct campaign expenditure only committees.”

I don’t get it.

Corporations were not allowed to donate to Texas elections through committees or any other way. Now they can pool their money with individual donors in these new political action committees. And these super PACs, although not allowed to make direct contributions to candidates, can spend unlimited amounts to campaign for one side or another. They will supposedly operate independent of the candidates.

How did this happen?

A group called Texans for Free Enterprise filed a federal lawsuit against the Texas Ethics Commission. The state lost. Dallas lawyer Chris Gober is the winning lawyer.

What does he say?

He says, “It’s very controversial. Some people certainly take the position that the more money in politics, the worse. What this particular decision represents is us requiring the state of Texas to recognize the bounds of the First Amendment that have been established by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Corporations still cannot donate directly to candidates, Gober says. “What the law still does is prevent corporations from actively engaging with candidates and giving direct money to candidates in ways that create the danger of quid pro quo corruption.”

Do you think that’s true, Watchdog Man?

We’ll see. What we do know is that corporations will have more power to influence Texas elections than ever, and they were no shrinking violet before this. Gober says, “A lot of people believe that corporations are affected by government policies more so than individuals, that they have the right to engage in the debate to determine how the people are going to be governed.”

Are there limits to the donations?

No limits.

What does the losing party, the Texas Ethics Commission, say?

Officials are changing state election law. TEC general counsel Natalia Ashley says, “It’s hard to know how it’s going to impact races since this is the first time it will be allowed.”

Watchdog, did you talk to a political expert?

I did. Cal Jillson, the SMU political science professor, says that since individuals could already donate unlimited amounts to Texas races, this won’t have a dramatic effect. He suggests that some corporations will be hesitant to get involved in races: “Their customers are on both sides of divisive issues.”

What about Allan Saxe, over at the University of Texas at Arlington?

Saxe tells The Watchdog: “I’m for free speech. It may be unfair, but the First Amendment doesn’t talk about fairness. It talks about freedom, and that’s what the case is based on. In our society, everybody is trying to be fair and make everybody equal. … Money is not fair. But as long as people earn their money honestly and legally, I have no quarrel with it.”

What can the rest of us do, Watchdog?

My suggestion: Voters must pay attention to where political money comes from, why donors are giving and what they hope to get out of it. Contributor information and PAC registration will be available for free viewing on the Texas Ethics Commission website.

Obviously there are far too many people invested in the status quo -- all the way down to university political science professors -- for this development to be slowed down, stopped, or rolled back any time soon.  The efforts of organizations like Move to Amend simply can't keep up.  Of all of the recent developments suggesting that the tide is turning in Texas, this one law will see to it that the corporate politicians on both sides of the aisle will hang on much longer than we the people want.

To paraphrase Jesse Ventura, they're already dug in like an Alabama tick.

What they taught me in Boy Scouts about how to remove a tick was to light a match, blow it out, apply it to the tick's backside, and when he releases, grab him and crush him.  Trust me, it works.

That's the only way we're going to get rid of these blood-sucking insects attached to our democracy.

Houston municipal election turnout anemic, and other local updates

-- Early voting concluded Tuesday, and a bit more than 20,000 Houstonians have cast ballots.

The total number of early voters was lower than the 2011 runoff elections for city council seats. More than 23,000 people voted early that year.

How embarrassing is that?  Forty thousand votes is going to be a stretch for this runoff.  The total will probably be closer to thirty.  Update: Charles' spreadsheet makes it look as if 50K might be reachable.

This Saturday is your last chance to be counted.  Kuff has the info you need, including the links to the runoff particulars, if you still need help deciding.  Just keep in mind that money doesn't matter, no matter how many times the political consultants say it.  All that counts is you.

-- Annise Parker opposes the attempt by the Houston historical commission to designate the Astrodome as an historical landmark.  Even though the Dome is outside the city's juridiction -- it's always been the purview of Harris County -- the Dome needs friends in high places and this doesn't help.

After all the good she'd done lately, she was bound to disappoint me in some fashion.  There was no need for her to weigh in publicly on this small detail, whether she supported the effort or not.

-- City council members are furiously and repetitively tagging (delaying via parliamentary procedure) the payday lending ordinance.  Once the elections are passed, you start to see the real people and their priorities.  Al I can say here is: 'remember their names'.  Stace and Noah have more.  Update: And also Burnt Orange.

-- The most-watched television station in Houston (by number of viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic) is... the local Univision affiliate.

Univision 45 announced this week that it is now the No. 1 station in the Houston market beating out local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates.

With two days remaining in the November 2013 sweep period, KXLN Univision 45 is Houston's No. 1 broadcast station among Adults 18-49 in major dayparts including: daytime, early news, primetime and late news, regardless of language.

The tide has already turned, and (almost) no one noticed.

-- Finally, there's going be a great documentary next week about the tumultuous 1993 football season experienced by the Houston Oilers.

“A Football Life: Houston ’93,” which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NFL Network, begins with audio/visual doom and gloom: a shot of the deserted Astrodome and, amid NFL Films composer Dave Robidoux’s ominous musical score, the voice of narrator Josh Charles recalling the team that broke the collective spirit of Houston football fans 20 years ago.

“It sits crumbing in the Texas sun, dwarfed by Reliant Stadium,” Charles says. “The Houston Astrodome, once dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World, now looks like a practice bubble.

“Trapped inside this portal to the past are the ghosts of the Houston Oilers. Here in 1993, they were one of the most talented teams in NFL history – and, perhaps, the most dysfunctional.”

That was the year that two of their coaches got into a fistfight on the sidelines, that an offensive lineman missed a game to attend the birth of his child and was criticized by the team's owner, and that a defensive lineman shot and killed himself after he wrecked his car, killing his childhood friend.  I can still remember hearing the 911 tape, with the sound of the gunshot.

Makes this year's Texans travails seem piddling, doesn't it?

Keystone XL finds new life

Remember what I wrote last month?  Back from the dead.

Refusing to be denied, TransCanada is "repurposing" the pipeline that has cost them so  much money and bad publicity in order to relieve the glut of oil being stored at the nation's midsection hub of Cushing, OK.

“TransCanada is pleased to confirm that at approximately 10:04 am Central Time on Saturday, December 7, 2013, the company began to inject oil in the Gulf Coast Project pipeline as it moves closer to the start of commercial service,” company spokesman Shawn Howard told the Houston Chronicle.

The announcement was an indication that the $2.3 billion, 485-mile pipeline is another step closer to completion. The corporation previously said in a letter to regulators that the pipeline would begin service on January 3. It later retracted that claim, stating that it would not be in service before mid-January. 

More on that oil backlog.

Increased southbound pipeline and rail service has reduced a crude oil backup at the Cushing, Okla. pipeline hub, but has created a glut on the Gulf Coast—possibly presenting  opportunities for investment in transportation infrastructure.

Alembic Global Advisors said in a report this week that the smoother flow through Cushing has sent more crude to the Gulf Coast from prolific fields including the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Permian Basin in West Texas.

James Sullivan, an analyst with Alembic, wrote that a resulting oversupply is depressing Gulf Coast  prices, and may increase enthusiasm for more investment in transportation from the Bakken and Permian directly to the east and west coast.

“We would expect to see the Bakken rail terminals to the east coast filling up again and renewed talk of a Permian-to-west-coast pipeline, which had been shelved due to lackluster shipper interest,” Sullivan wrote.

A whole new set of problems for our energy producers here in Texas and across the country.  Where's that tiny violin of mine?

Keystone XL (this time I'll condition it slightly) likely remains very dead for the transportation of tar sands oil, which was its original purpose.  Here's why I say that.

John Podesta's return to the White House could dim prospects for the Keystone XL pipeline's approval, environmentalists said Wednesday, as the Democratic Party elder and Keystone critic crafts policies to curb climate change.

Podesta, who was chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, will have the title "counselor to the president" and chiefly advise President Barack Obama on energy and climate change issues, the White House said this week.

In the past, Podesta has aligned himself with environmentalist foes of TransCanada Corp's 1,200-mile (1,900-km) pipeline that would carry 830,000 barrels a day of oil sands crude from western Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The $5.4 billion link between Alberta oil fields and Texas refiners is expected to spur production of a fuel that environmentalists say worsens climate change.

B-B-But, you say, Podesta has recused himself from input on KXL.  True enough.

On Tuesday night, the White House said that because of his pre-existing views on Keystone, Podesta would recuse himself from the matter. "In discussions with Denis," a White House aide told the New Yorker, referring to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, "John suggested that he not work on the Keystone Pipeline issue, in review at the State Department, given that the review is far along in the process and John’s views on this are well known. Denis agreed that was the best course of action."

I'm sure he'll never offer an opinion, even if he is asked.  Right?  Let's go back to see what former EPA head Carol Browner said just a couple of months ago...

Speaking on a panel in October, Brown predicted “there will be some twists and turns” in the debate over the Keystone XL pipeline but “at the end of the day [Obama] is going to say no.” 

Now let's review.

Despite the fact that it is riddled with holes from shoddy welding, the Keystone XL pipeline will transmit oil south very soon.  Just not tar sands oil.  Tar sands oil will still get here (to the refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, the only ones in the country that can process it) by rail, however, and is probably doing so even as this is posted.

That's at least a lose-lose-lose by my count.

And as we learned above, oil is now backing up at the Gulf refineries, waiting to be produced into the various petroleum products the world depends upon, because the nation's refining operations are at peak capacity.  As a result, we (that is to say, the US) may begin exporting to other countries, since demand here -- due to improved consumption efficiencies, a sluggish national economy, and other factors -- is soft.  This was one of the original arguments against KXL; that the gasoline, etc. refined from tar sands oil, or even the crude product itself, would be sold to China.

The only thing that we might be able to point to as a 'win' is lower gas prices in the short term.  Which in the long term discourages weaning the nation off of oil in favor of alternative fuels and perpetuating the boom-and-bust cycles that benefit oil companies, oil traders, and market speculators.  And also punishes those who consume gasoline, those who must breathe the air made toxic by the refining, and those who live in the global climate made unstable by greenhouse gases from fossil fuel consumption and with the political instability created as wars continue to be fought over oil.

So it's all about the invisible hand of the free market, and none of the long-range consequences.  Isn't capitalism wonderful?

The 2014 Democratic statewide ballot

This first in a series reveals a decent ticket for the Blue team. Not bad at all; just a few warts.  Where the candidate's name is hot-linked, you will find additional information, which may be a post of mine, their website or Facebook page, or some other online news.

First, the good...

US Senate

David Alameel
Maxey Scherr
Michael “Fjet” Fjetland
Kesha Rogers
Harry Kim

I think that list is representative, at least for today, of how the order of finish will be in March.  Alameel will put a substantial amount of his $50 million fortune into the race; Scherr will run a progressive populist campaign (she is already), Fjetland will stress his international experience and moderate Democrat background, and the other two candidates (appearing in 'ugly' and 'bad', respectively) will do whatever they will.

Any of these three should be able to acquit themselves honorably in November, and if Steve Stockman pulls off an upset of John Cornyn in the GOP primary, could actually have a hell of a chance to be the next senator from the Great State.  Wouldn't that be something.

Update: Be sure and read Ted at jobsanger's post: "Texas Democrats have 1 Progressive, 1 Unknown, 2 Blue Dogs, & 1 Nutcase Running For Senate".

Governor

Wendy Davis
Reynaldo “Ray” Madrigal

Lieutenant Governor
Leticia Van de Putte

Attorney General

Sam Houston

Comptroller
Michael Collier

Land Commissioner
John Cook

Agriculture Commissioner
Hugh Fitzsimons
Jim Hogan
Richard “Kinky’ Friedman

Railroad Commissioner
Steve Brown
Dale Henry

Supreme Court, Chief Justice
William Moody

Supreme Court, Place 6
Lawrence “Larry” Meyers

Supreme Court, Place 7
Gina Benavides

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
John Granberg

This likewise is a reasonably strong slate.  With the non-filing of Maria Luisa Alvarado in the lite guv race, only Collier and Granberg have no prior experience as an elected official* (a qualification possessed even by gubernatorial challenger Madrigal, who is mentioned here as a magistrate judge from Sea Drift, near Corpus Christi).  The ticket is unfortunately bereft of African American candidates, save Ms. Rogers and Mr. Brown. From BOR, this with regard to Fitzsimons.

Hugh A. Fitzsimons has filed to run for Texas Agricultural Commissioner. He is from Carrizo Springs, Texas and is a fifth generation rancher. He currently raises bison with Thunderheart Bison. Mr. Fitsimmons (sic) currently sits on the Wintergarden Water Conservation District and has said water and responsible environmental protection will be some of the main issues behind his campaign. You can read more about Mr. Fitzsimmons (sic) in the following New York Times article on water fracking in Texas.

... and this on Granberg.

He is a lawyer from El Paso who practices criminal law at the state and federal level. He is licensed to practice in both Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Granberg had previously run for a Justice of the Peace position in El Paso many years ago. 

One of the things that stands out to me is that El Paso is ably represented on this slate, with Scherr, Moody, Cook, and Granberg.  More to come about candidates down the Harris County ballot, and other parts of Texas after that.

*Not quite. Some corrections appear in the comments.

Update: And read this also from Battleground Texas about Judge Meyers: The Switch.

Texas Green Party fields over 50 candidates for 2014

Socratic Gadfly was first, and The Texas Tribune has left all of them off their brackets so far, but from the inbox...

The Texas Green Party has recruited more than 50 candidates for state and local office across Texas to occupy the ballot in 2014. This is historically the largest number of Green Party candidates that will appear on the ballot in Texas.

"We are very excited to be running so many principled progressive candidates throughout the state," said David Wager, co-chair of the Texas Green Party.

"Our goal is to provide a progressive alternative to the other two parties in Texas and offer voters more voices and more choices than they might otherwise have on the ballot," Wager said.

The most widely known candidate is food safety advocate and whistleblower Kenneth Kendrick of Wilson, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner.

Kendrick was a former manager of a Plainview peanut plant, operated by the now-defunct Peanut Corp. of America, where he alerted authorities and the public regarding alleged food safety violations. PCA went bankrupt after a nationwide salmonella outbreak that was traced to the Plainview plant. Seven people died and hundreds suffered from severe illness.

Many Green candidates, including Martina Salinas of Fort Worth, who is campaigning for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, advocate regulating, limiting, or banning the oil and gas extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing.

"With our state's future and the future of our families in mind, we need to hold all fracking operations, especially waste water disposal, to a high standard," said Salinas. "Even if it means stopping operations, we must ensure that our children's children and beyond can enjoy the beauty that is Texas."

Other Green candidates for statewide office include Emily Marie Sanchez of Del Rio for United States Senate; Brandon Parmer of Dallas for Governor; Chandrakantha Courtney of Houston for Lt. Governor; Jamar Osborne of Dallas for Attorney General; Deb Shafto of Houston for Comptroller; and Ulises Cabrera of Bryan for General Land Commissioner.

A full list of candidates will be released and a press conference held on Thursday in cities across the state. Details to follow.

Parmer ran against Joe Barton in CD-6 two years ago.  Courtney's husband, David, ran in 2012 for state Senate against Joan Huffman (garnering almost 9% of the vote without a Democrat in the race).  Shafto was the Greens' candidate for state representative against Garnet Coleman two years ago, and the party's candidate for governor four years ago.

No mention here about statewide judicial candidates, which would appear to be key to securing ballot access in 2016.  In 2012, two Greens cleared the 5% threshold for the party to acquire ballot access this election season; one was Charles Waterbury, who ran for state Supreme Court.  Texas Democrats left vacant the Place 8 slot on the SCOTX, and two positions on the state's Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4 and Place 9.  If there is a Green running for those, then the absence of a D is usually enough for the GPTX to clear the ballot-access bar.

I'm also looking forward to the reveal of the Congressional candidates, as I heard some interesting rumors about a challenge to Sheila Jackson Lee.  According to my sources it's Remington Alessi, who ran against Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia in 2012.  Another intriguing campaign will be David Collins' bid for Harris County Judge.  The Democratic candidate in that race has been already been disparaged by the mighty Kuffner (scroll down to the third paragraph after the excerpt there).  I would expect Charles to vote for the Republican before he voted for a Green Democrat he didn't like, as he did in the last cycle in the DA's race.

More on the Democrats' filings, state and local, later today tomorrow.

Update: Via Indy Political Report, the Texas Libertarians.  They can also be found on the TexTrib's brackets at the top link.

Update II: Video of the Webb County Green Party press conference, en Espanol.  And the Laredo Morning Times...

Democratic incumbents U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, State Rep. Richard Raymond and State Rep. Tracy King were all expected to run unopposed.

However three candidates from the Green Party announced Monday that they plan to challenge each representative for their respective seats. Michael D. Cary of San Antonio will look to unseat Cuellar, who has held the office since 2005...

Both King and Raymond will be challenged by Green Party newcomers Marco Buentello and Nicolas Serna III for their respective district seats. King has represented District 80 for nearly 20 years while Raymond has been in office since 2001.

"I'm a little teapot"

I'm telling you, start ordering your popcorn by the boxcar...

Stockman will primary Cornyn

Get your corn popped now.

Stockman, 57, walked into the Texas Republican Party headquarters in Austin at about 5:45 p.m. — 15 minutes before the filing deadline — and withdrew his filing for his congressional seat, then filed a new application as a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, said Spencer Yeldell, a GOP spokesman. “Until then, it was a pretty laid-back day,” Yeldell said.

 Taegan Goddard links to WND for the exclusive (I won't):

Stockman blamed the incumbent GOP senator for undermining Sen. Ted Cruz's "fight to stop Obamacare."

Said Stockman: "We are extremely disappointed in the way he treated his fellow congressmen and broke the 11th commandment and undermined Ted Cruz's fight to stop Obamacare. And now, it looks like Cruz was right and Cornyn was wrong. He sided with the president, essentially, in making sure Obamacare became law while Cruz did everything possible to stop it."  

This is going to be some funny shit.  Once Cornyn pinches off that brick, he'll get to work Tweeting some more insanity to the far right.  As for the Congressional seat Stockman leaves behind, there remain three Republicans who filed in CD-36: John Amdur, Phil Fitzgerald, and Kim Morrell.  (Update: This, from Texas on the Potomac, adds the additional names of Chuck Meyer, Doug Centilli -- who is believed to be the chief of staff for Cong. Kevin Brady -- and Dave Norman.  Unless these freaks start cannibalizing each other before next March, I won't post on them again until two of them are in a runoff.)

John Amdar, an attorney from Houston and city council member in nearby Nassau Bay, has filed for the seat. So has Phil Fitzgerald, who owns a construction business in Hull.

Also in the running is Kim Morrell, who ran for the seat in 2012. He’s a former city councilman in Seabrook who owns a printing and shipping company. Morrell says he’s pro-life, pro-gun, and against Obamacare. He’d been thinking about running again for a long time, he said, but Stockman’s Senate run convinced him.

“My sources told me Steve wasn’t going to run for the seat, and so I made a last-minute decision to run,” he said. He says he’s hired a campaign manager and hopes to have the rest of his team put together very soon.

And Michael Cole has filed, this time as a Democrat.

Meanwhile, Michael Cole has had his eye on the heavily-Republican district since 2012, when he ran as a Libertarian. He got about 6,000 votes in that election.

Now Cole, a 38-year-old teacher from Orange, Texas, is running again as a Democrat. He says he has a campaign team in place, has been crisscrossing the district, and is about to file his first report on fundraising to the Federal Elections Commission. He said he’d focus on getting things done and charged outgoing Stockman with wasting time on politics.

“I can listen to what my constituents want instead of just showboating against Barack Obama,” he said, noting that his major focus would be on middle-class job growth.

Cole explains his conversion from Lib to Dem here.  Update: This Daily Kos diarist has written a few about a Cole, with some links and embedded video.

Things just got a lot more fun for those of us who track these things.

Update: So if anybody else wants to file as a Repuke in CD-36... you still have some time to do so.  Thanks, GOP!

CCA Judge Meyers switches parties, to run for SCOTX as Democrat

Burnt Orange, Quorum Report, and PoliTex appear to have it first.

Longtime Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence "Larry" Meyers announced Monday that he is leaving the Republican Party to run as a Democrat for the Texas Supreme Court.

Meyers, of Fort Worth, filed Monday on the last day of filing to seek Place 6 on the Supreme Court, currently held by Jeff Brown.

How long ago did I say that there would need to be a lot more of this sort of thing before the media people would start sitting up and taking notice?  About six weeks.

Meyers was rumored to have contemplated switching parties two years ago.  The significance of his flip today is that he will still be on the CCA as a Democrat even if he does not prevail in his bid for election to the state Supreme Court.  So the Dems just picked up a statewide officeholder.  More filing updates later.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is doing its best to stay warm as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff highlights the introductory campaign video by Senate candidate Maxey Scherr, who vividly links her opponent Sen. John Cornyn to his junior master, Sen. Ted Cruz.

Texpatriate opened voting for its 2nd Annual Person of the Year contest. Please consider voting for who YOU think had the biggest impact on Houston and Texas politics by clicking on the link!

Eye On Williamson is still, yes still, blogging at our temporary home. Without any new ideas, the Texas GOP resorts to scare tactics: Fear and the Texas GOP.

Nelson Mandela and the life he lived taught us much about human rights and peaceful protest, observed PDiddie at Brains and Eggs, but the conservative response to his passing taught us almost as much about them.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that the GOP candidates for lieutenant governor are vying for king of the racist homophobes, aka the Republican base. Will David Dewhurst outdo Todd Staples?

Neil at All People Have Value posted a picture of the oldest structure in Harris County, Texas. The longstanding virtues of home and family are only strengthened when we add the more modern values of full inclusion for all our fellow human beings. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

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

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

Austin Contrarian explains the difference between "filtering up" and a general rise in rents.

Robb Fickman concludes that one of the biggest problems in our criminal justice system continues to be how we treat the poor.

Paul Burka eulogizes Texas historian T. R. Fehrenbach.

Zippidy Doo Dah gives an update on Rep. Steve Stockman.

Lone Star Ma criticizes the principal that forbade students from speaking Spanish at school.

The Bloggess promotes her annual holiday philanthropy project.

Sunday Funnies

Sid "Sonogram" Miller, Ted Cruz, and Louie Gohmert

The updates are flying in over the transom as we close in on Monday's candidate filing deadline for 2014.  Let's focus on the news of the weird... and that -- generally speaking, at least -- involves the TXGOP.

The former state legislator responsible for the Texas sonogram law -- in which women must have a wand inserted in their uterus, and must look at the generated image of the fetus before the clinic can perform an abortion -- is, naturally, running for Texas agriculture commissioner.  And it seems he thinks as highly of his prized quarter horses as he does the women of Texas.  First, Gator in The Bayou...

Former state representative Sid Miller wants to be the next Agriculture Commissioner of Texas. He was fired by his constituents in a 2012 Republican primary run-off election.

A serious candidate for the Republican primary, Sid hired ‘Nuge’ as his campaign manager. Yes, Ted Nugent.

Now the hopeful and self-described ‘arthur’ of the Texas sonogram law has been accused of mistreating his high-dollar, prize-winning quarter horses.

It happened at the Alamo Quarter Horse Breeder Association show in San Antonio back in May of this year.  He tied three of his horses to a trailer and pulled it with a truck.

And from that DMN article...

 “If anybody thinks that I would tie three half-million-dollar horses to a trailer and they had a chance of getting a scratch on them or injuring themselves, I would have to be an idiot,” (my emphasis) said Miller, who raises and sells the animals. “My horses get the very best of care that they can get, and not just because they are worth a lot of money, but because I think a lot of them. I love my horses.”

Sid, you took the words right out of our mouths. Sid also seemed to eventually come to an agreement with himself that he indeed is an idiot.

“I shouldn’t have done it. I just wasn’t thinking. It’s just such a common practice for me that I really didn’t think nothing of it,” Miller said. “I just should have known better because not everybody understands it.”

There's some excuse-making in there -- he's probably not going to trot his quarter horses behind a truck when anybody else can see him doing it -- but since this is Sid Miller, half-baked contrition still qualifies as progress.

I ran this cartoon by Ben Sargent last month that explains exactly why Sonogram Sid is going to be the Republican nominee, and it has nothing to do with Ted Nugent or quarter horses.

All Sid needs to do now is go on an Obamacare rant and he'll have the nomination locked up.

-- Speaking of rants, Ted Cruz seriously misjudged the depth of the bigotry among his base.  He posted a respectful acknowledgement of the passing of Nelson Mandela to his Facebook wall, and what he got back from his followers almost defies belief.  For that development we go to Burnt Orange.

... (O)ur Senator Ted Cruz shared kind words and condolences to Mandela's family and the people of South Africa. Unfortunately, the response to his statement on his Facebook page did not reflect this sentiment. And while Ted Cruz's Facebook page has never been ground zero to discover human intellect and compassion, the outpouring of racism, bigotry, and ignorance was absolutely unprecedented to see for a man who had just recently passed and did so much for the country he led. Instead, the majority of comments referred to Mandela as a communist and a terrorist.

BOR has posted some screenshots of the filth, just in case the original should disappear.

Apparently the people who comprise Ted Cruz's supporters think it's better to be a racist than it is to be a communist.  This really shouldn't surprise anybody.  More on this from TFN Insider.

-- Finally, ahead of John Cornyn's hilariously ridiculous Tweets, ahead of Joe Barton declaring he would vote to repeal the minimum wage, and even ahead of Pete Olson and Steve Stockman circulating proposed articles of impeachment (of the attorney general and the president, respectively)... we have the undisputed king of the dipshits, Louie Gohmert.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) seemingly tied Christianity to U.S. national security during a bizarre speech on the House floor on Thursday, the Huffington Post reported.

“If you were completely areligious, completely atheistic, but you wanted to have a free country, and you wanted to have it safe and protected, then it would sound like, from historical purposes, that it might be a good thing to encourage those who believe in God to keep doing so,” Gohmert said. “Because when a nation’s leaders honor that God, that nation is protected. It’s only when it turns away that it falls.”

The remarks came during a speech about what Gohmert described as the continued persecution of Christians worldwide. The Tea Party congressman also referred to Israel during his remarks, which came less than a month after he criticized President Barack Obama’s administration for not using Biblical prophecy as the basis for U.S. policy in dealing with the country.

“If the God who protected Israel since its inception through many generations until they stopped honoring the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — which, by the way, no country has ever fallen while it was truly honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” Gohmert argued.

The Post also noted that Gohmert has blamed atheists for the June 2012 mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater and for the increase in suicide among military service members.

This half agnostic/half atheist is going to take a pass on the encouragement to anyone of speaking to an invisible Duck-Dynasty-bearded senior citizen living in the clouds for any purpose whatsoever.  But you go ahead and pray your ass off, Louie.  Hell, you can even pray for me if it makes you feel better.

The rest of you Republican elected pikers can quit now; there's no topping that.  This week, anyway.

Greg Abbott, CPRIT, and an indictment

Despite the deep freeze Texas finds itself in this morning, Greg Abbott is lying in bed sweating and hitting his call button, trying to wake up the maid to turn down his thermostat.

Texas Democrats, including their presumptive nominee for Governor Sen. Wendy Davis, sought on Friday to make Attorney General Greg Abbott feel political heat for an indictment related to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. As the (Austin) Statesman first reported, former executive Jerry Cobbs was indicted in relation to an $11 million grant that did not go through the agency's proper review process. An agency audit faulted Cobbs for “improperly” putting the application of the company in question on a committee agenda.

“The indictment of a former CPRIT official confirms that Greg Abbott has betrayed Texas taxpayers by failing to show up to even one CPRIT oversight board meeting,” Sen. Davis said. “Abbott has yet to fully explain why he failed in his basic oversight responsibilities to Texas taxpayers.”

As Harvey Kronberg has noted at the link above: "nearly silence from Abbott's folks".  Maybe they're all snowed in.

Just one year ago, Glenn Smith predicted the cancer/cronyism scandal would engulf the GOP.  The fire has been smoldering all this time, and -- despite Harvey's casual toss-off as just some political maneuver -- is about to erupt in flames.  Then...

In a series of explosive articles, the Dallas Morning News has revealed that many of the grants went to Perry and Dewhurst’s allies and donors. The agency’s scientists that review grant proposals have resigned in protest. Those actions have already made the scandal news in international science journals like the well-respected Nature.

[...]

The Dallas Morning News video above gives a thumbnail version of the growing scandal. I would also encourage you to read articles here, here and here.

... and now:

A former top executive of Texas' $3 billion cancer-fighting effort was indicted over an improperly awarded $11 million taxpayer-funded grant that plunged the state agency into turmoil, prosecutors said Friday.

Ending a yearlong criminal investigation into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, prosecutors said a single felony count against former chief commercialization officer Jerald "Jerry" Cobbs will be the only criminal charge filed after an Austin grand jury declined to issue indictments related to other agency missteps.

Cobbs, 62, is charged with securing the execution of a document by deception. He is accused of allowing Dallas-based Peloton Therapeutics in 2010 to secure one of the agency's most lucrative awards ever even though the merits of the company's proposal were never scrutinized.

There's been lots written here about it, and lots more by others.  In July, the HouChron...

In the more than four years he served on the state cancer agency's governing board, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott exercised no oversight as the agency made misstep after misstep in awarding tens of millions of dollars to commercial interests.

The state's top lawyer and watchdog instead appointed one of his deputies, who missed about a third of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Oversight Committee meetings, and, by all accounts, was not much of a presence in the agency's questionable decision-making.

"It turns out that Abbott sitting on the oversight board was a green light rather than a caution sign," wrote Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic political action committee. "Businesses backed by Abbott contributors - many of whom are partisan Republicans - have received large grants and contracts from CPRIT without fear of any oversight at all."

And yesterday, the Texas Tribune.

Cobbs served as the institute's chief commercialization officer for three years, before resigning (in November 2012). In that role, he was responsible for presenting the Peloton grant to the Oversight Board for approval. Given the amount of the grant, and the allegations that Cobbs failed to disclose that it had not gone through the required review process, he is being charged with a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. He turned himself in (Friday) morning and was released on an $85,000 bond, according to the Public Integrity Unit's Gregg Cox.

Frankly I think Tom Pauken pulled out too soon.  But that assessment is dependent upon Texas Republicans finally discovering some understanding of the moral corruption and ribald incompetence of their presumptive gubernatorial nominee.

Based on the enthusiasm expressed in this advance from Big Jolly of Abbott's appearance at the Houston Pachyderm Club just this past Thursday -- I'll link to his slideshow of the festivities as soon as he puts it up -- I'm not holding my breath on them getting it.

Update: Slideshow linked.  They ain't getting it.

More on how this topic is a ready-made cudgel with which to beat on Abbott from Socratic Gadfly.  And from John Coby: Abbott's campaign wheels wobble.

Judge Susan Criss resigns, will run for Texas House

From her Facebook wall.

For fifteen years I was honored to wear a black robe for the people of Galveston County. Four times I raised my hand and swore, so help me God, to faithfully execute the duties of the office of the 212th District Court of Galveston County, Texas and to the best of my ability protect, preserve and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of Texas.

While I dearly love this job, it is time for me to serve my community in a different capacity. In order to do that I am required by law to resign from this position before December 9, 2013. I sent a letter to Governor Perry resigning from this bench effective at 5 pm December 6, 2013. I ask that he appoint someone to fill this term.

On Sunday December 8, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. I will file for the office of State Representative of District 23 at the Texas Democratic Party office in Austin.

For a decade and a half I administered justice to the best of my ability. I tried to be fair to everyone who appeared before my bench. When I was a young prosecutor, Judge Raymond Magee told me that the man who drives to the courthouse in a pickup truck deserves the same justice as the man who drove there in a Cadillac. I never forgot his words and aspired to live up to them every day.

I was addressed as “Your Honor”. That was an appropriate term, but not because I was special. It truly was my greatest honor to be able to serve the people of Galveston County in our justice system. I loved this job, the people I worked with, the lawyers who appeared before me, and the people I served.

One sign on the door of my courtroom reads: ”This court belongs to the people.” The other has a quote by Sam Houston: “Do right and risk the consequences.” Both signs reflect my beliefs about justice and about government service. The pink granite building in Austin also belongs to the people, the ones who drive Cadillacs, the ones who drive pickup trucks and the ones who cannot drive at all.

The people of District 23 deserve strong effective representation in the Texas House. I am excited about working hard to ensure that District 23’s voices are heard in Austin.

The news just gets better and better.

What Nelson Mandela taught us about human rights and peaceful protest

It’s easy to forget that apartheid was once a contentious issue in global politics. The anti-apartheid movement’s first big victory, a 1962 U.N. General Assembly resolution establishing a Special Committee Against Apartheid, was not followed by any action in the vastly more powerful Security Council. The State Department is admirably frank about the reasoning: “Defenders of the Apartheid regime” in the West “had promoted it as a bulwark against communism.” The United States, Britain, and other capitalist states saw South Africa as a useful ally, apartheid be damned.

By 1986, the international scene had changed entirely. Every one of South Africa’s most significant trading partners had placed onerous sanctions on the South African government, and the pressure was immense.

The global anti-apartheid movement, which took “Free Mandela!” as one of its most famous slogans, is of course responsible for this sea change. This loose network of Third World governments, activists, artists, and ordinary citizens, organized boycotts, pushed sanctions, and lobbied legislators to turn the Afrikaner government into a global pariah.

These activists succeeded, political scientist Audie Klotz writes, despite the fact that “the interests of great powers did not substantially change.” The world began moving against apartheid well before the end of the Cold War. Rather, Klotz’s research suggests, it was a “consensus around racial equality” as a defining moral norm of global politics, which began taking hold in the late 60s, that eventually turned the West against South Africa. The victory Mandela and the activists he inspired fought for was won by changing people’s beliefs about what was right. 

And what was wrong, of course.

When Mandela was released from prison in 1990, he told the world that “the sanctions that have been imposed by the United Nations and by individual governments should remain in place.” The reason, he suggested, was to avoid ”any situation in which those who are opposed to change in our country find encouragement to resist change.” The sanctions, for Mandela, were power he could wield: they demonstrated that, when he spoke to Afrikaner leaders, he spoke with the weight of the world behind him.

That the global community could, by deciding that racism was no longer acceptable in its ranks, provide freedom fighters like Mandela with such a weapon demonstrates the power of people to organize in the face of grave injustice, even to help people very much unlike themselves. It shows that it’s not hopeless naiveté to believe that people of great moral vision like Mandela can inspire the rest of us to practical action that to improve people’s lives.

The world could not fight black South Africans’ battles for them, and the “white savior” narrative in which the world, rather than Mandela and the ANC, principally ended apartheid is both false and terribly narcissistic. But recognizing the power of the world to develop a moral expansive consciousness, and the ability of that consciousness to allow people to help each other, is not the same thing. “We’re all moved,” Mandela said in that post-prison address, “by the fact that freedom is indivisible, convinced that the denial of the rights of one diminish the freedom of others.” His life, and the great global good it inspired, is proof that these words are not empty.

Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in a prison cell because he refused to accept that a government could be allowed to perpetuate injustices among its people.  He probably didn't expect that his life would serve as a model for all lives on the planet.  But once he realized that, he set about living up to the tremendous obligations the very premise represents.

So when slave laborers stand on a cold street corner asking for a raise, when women gather in the halls of power demanding the right to self-determine their reproductive options, when people climb into trees to stop the construction of a pipeline, or get arrested because they want a corporation to stop transmogrifying the food they eat...

... because of the life that Nelson Mandela lived, everyone will better understand their motivations.  What they are doing is a much bigger deal than their cause or even themselves.

In my lifetime, there have been but two people -- Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela -- that objected to the status quo and ultimately changed a nation and a world with the sheer force of their will.  America's conservatives, on the other hand, will always have Dick Cheney to look up to.

Only a few years will pass before they stop calling Mandela a "communist" and start saying "if he was alive today, he'd be a Republican".  Because that's how they roll.

Update: For the record... it's not just Cheney.

It's a constant theme of conservatism to falsely take credit for the progressive causes of yesteryear while attempting to destroy contemporary ones. It bears repeating: in 1776, a conservative was a Tory. In 1860, a centrist advocated more compromises and a conservative was a Confederate or Confederate sympathizer. In 1880, a conservative was a friend of the robber barons. In 1930, conservatives advocated that the elderly die in the streets rather than receive Social Security. In 1955, a conservative was a McCarthyite red-baiter. In 1965, a conservative was a Beatles-hating, MLK-hating opponent of Medicare, civil rights and birth control. In 1986 conservatives were calling Mandela a terrorist while clandestinely selling arms to Iran to funding fascist Central American death squads. In 1996 conservatives were led by Newt Gingrich and impeached Bill Clinton over sex acts. In 2006 they were committing war crimes in Iraq while trying to privatize Social Security and subvert the Justice Department.

It's not any different in 2013. The issues change, but the heart and soul of conservatism remains the same.

Green declares for Texas ag commish

Kenneth Kendrick, whose warnings went unheeded about the potential for contamination at peanut processing plants in Plainview, TX, and Portales, NM, has filed papers to become the Texas Green Party candidate for Agriculture Commissioner for the Lone Star State.

Kendrick once worked for the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America, which ran a peanut processing plant at Plainview, and, on occasion, purchased peanuts from Sunland, about 100 miles west in Portales.

PCA went bankrupt after the 2008-2009 nationwide salmonella outbreak killed nine people and sickened about 700. Four of its top executives are scheduled to go to trial early next year on a total of 76 federal felony counts related to the outbreak.

Sunland filed for bankruptcy more recently following a separate 2012 outbreak traced back to peanut butters it made. Some say it’s possible that, if Kendrick’s information had been more thoroughly investigated, both outbreaks might have been avoided.

(Sidebar: There are a couple of thin threads linking me to the PCA salmonella outbreak from five years ago.  Astute Brains readers may remember that I spent the mid-to-late '80s working for the Plainview Daily Herald.  Peanut Corporation of America came to town long after I left; they took over the old Jimmy Dean sausage facility there in 2005.  And the DSHS Council, which oversees the department, has as its vice chair my former podiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Ross.  He has made many financial contributions to Republicans in Texas and across the nation; I wrote about my experience with Dr. Ross in 2004 here.)

The Texas Department of State Health Services is still led today by Dr. David Lakey, who was appointed commissioner of the agency in 2006 by Governor Rick Perry.

Kendrick has kept the story in the public eye of the failure of the Texas DSHS -- and the Bush administration FDA -- to inspect the Plainview facility, or even respond to warnings that led to the peanut poisonings.  He's made several public speaking appearances and given many media interviews.  Via the Food Integrity Campaign, here's Kendrick speaking from 2011.



Kendrick is the highest-profile Texas Green candidate so far.  Here's to many more, as we close in on next Monday's filing deadline for the 2014 elections.

Texas News Roundup

-- Vote today, or any day until next Tuesday, in Houston's municipal runoff election.  I voted yesterday in less than 30 seconds, from sign-in to 'cast ballot'.  No excuses, people.

-- Fast food workers are striking today in a hundred cities across America.  Support them by not buying your lunch from the corporate welfare queens who don't.  Update: Houston, Beaumont, and Austin are participating.  Find the specific location via AMERICAblog.

-- A new study finds that Texas will lose billions of dollars by refusing to expand Medicaid.

In 2022, the state would pass up federal money for Medicaid expansion equal to more than twice its haul that year in federal highway aid, according to researchers Sherry Glied and Stephanie Ma of New York University.

Texas would forfeit $9.6 billion of federal Medicaid matching funds in 2022. That’s one-fourth of what the federal government expects to spend on defense contracts in the state that year, the study said.

Nine years from now -- or in other words, as President Hillary Clinton prepares to leave office after two terms and welcomes her vice-president, Joaquin Castro, to the White House as president-elect -- the state of Texas (represented by Gov. Greg Abbott, if you can tolerate the thought of it) will be turning its nose up at the equivalent of 25% of what the federal government spends here with Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter, etc.

If Rick Perry and Greg Abbott and David Dewhurst cannot understand what Medicaid expansion means in terms of lives saved, perhaps they can get it if we talk about the money and the jobs part of it.

Last year, Texas took $17 billion in federal money for its $28 billion Medicaid program. It currently covers 3.6 million children, pregnant women, seniors and disabled Texans.

More than 1 million poor adults of working age would be added to the program by 2016 if Texas changed course and embraced expansion, according to the state Health and Human Services Commission.

[...]

Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income Texans, said the study highlights how Medicaid already is “a major job generator” in the state.

“It’s just hard to imagine that Texas would even consider giving up a quarter of our defense contracts,” she said. “We would consider it calamitous, yet in the current (political) climate, that’s the kind of decision that’s being promoted.”

-- Thousands of Texans are going to lose their unemployment insurance this holiday season:

As the EUC program is set to expire at the end of this year, an estimated 69,000 Texans still struggling to find work will lose benefits by December 28. And nearly 107,000 Texas workers experiencing persistent unemployment will not receive any long-term benefits as they run out of regular state unemployment insurance through June 2014—benefits previously available to jobless workers during the course of the economic recovery.

Since 2008, the number of weeks of federally-funded UI benefits available for unemployed workers varied based on a state’s unemployment rate. Because the Texas unemployment rate has remained stubbornly high during the recovery, the state qualified for 67 weeks of federally-funded UI benefits just two years ago. Due to federal cuts to the program, however, Texas now only receives 28 weeks of additional EUC benefits. These federally-funded benefits have been an economic lifeline for Texas families as nearly half of Texans receiving unemployment insurance have exhausted their regular state benefits during the past year.

Ebenezer Scrooge would be so proud.  It's just not going to get any better for the poorest among us until we vote these Republicans out of office.  So in that vein...

-- Maxey Scherr has her introductory video posted.



You might recall that I suggested this line of attack to Wendy Davis; that she run against Ted Cruz.  So I am delighted to see Ms. Scherr, who will have quite a bit more competition in her primary than Davis, take this tack.  Frankly I hope everybody running for office -- all the way down to the state representative level -- starts punching like this.

The GNOP wants to run against Obamacare?  Democrats should run on Medicaid expansion.

-- John Boehner intends to call a House vote on immigration reform.  It just won't happen until the filing deadlines for Congressional challengers to incumbents has passed.

Cowardly, but still good news for those who have long been in the crosshairs.  The most revealing thing will be how the moderate Republicans and those in swing districts vote.  If they approve, then the Tea Party will only have the 2014 option of voting for a Democrat -- or perhaps a Libertarian -- or not voting at all.

More from Burnt Orange.

"It's Election Day"

Election Week, actually.



Houston ain't the Five Pernts, but we still need to stand up and be counted.

As for the particulars, Charles did the lift (so I didn't have to).

Early voting runs from today through next Tuesday, December 10, from 7 AM to 7 PM each day except for Sunday the 8th, when it is from 1 to 6 PM. Odds are pretty good you won’t encounter any lines whenever you go to vote. Remember that precinct locations are likely to be heavily consolidated on Runoff Day itself, December 14, so voting early will avoid confusion for you.

Here's the list of choices.

At Large #2
Andrew Burks (incumbent)
David Robinson

At Large #3
Michael Kubosh
Roy Morales

District A
Helena Brown (incumbent)
Brenda Stardig (incumbent prior to Brown)

District D
Dwight Boykins
Georgia Provost

District I
Robert Gallegos
Graci Garces

HCC 1
Zeph Capo

I'll be casting my ballot for Robinson, Morales (with a clothespinned nose), and Capo. The other two races are geography-specific and I will leave recommendations for them to your judgment.

If 50,000 people turn out for this runoff, then that means that roughly 2% of Houston's population will have selected two members of city council that each represent the entirety of Houston, or about 2.5 million people. As comparison, just under 700K Texans live in any one Congressional district, and in recent years a number between 200-250,000 ballots were typically cast in those contests.

So saying 'your vote matters in this election' would be quite a bit more than the usual understatement. Now don't make me send Bill Cutting around to turn out your precinct.

The contenders for Cornyn

While our esteemed Senatah Box Turtle continues to make an ass of himself on Twitter -- yeah John, how about on your life? -- and with less than a week to go before the filing deadline, the US Senate challengers are lining up on both sides of the aisle.

Democrats could have a champion able to force Sen. John Cornyn to spend heavily to defend his job next year: David Alameel, a wealthy Dallas dentist who’s spent lavishly for candidates in both parties.

“I’ll just do whatever it takes. Money is not an issue for me. It’s more whether or not I feel I can make a difference,” Dr. Alameel said (yesterday) by phone. “We need new ideas. Not just the same politicians with the same redundant parroting of talking points.”

Alameel, 61, joins three other Democrats and a handful of Republicans gunning for Cornyn. The filing deadline for the March primaries is Dec. 9.

A very good backgrounder on the doctor at the link.  Alameel joins Maxey Scherr, Michael Fjetland and possibly Roman McAllen among the Democrats.  (McAllen announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination at George Barnstone's Final Friday event here in Houston in October, but has not filed and not returned a phone call to Brains as of yet).

The Republicans are many.  The latest development there is that Erick Wyatt, listed on the Wiki page, has withdrawn and endorsed Linda Vega.  Glenn Beck -- having struck out on David Barton and Louie Gohmert -- still wants someone more Teabaggerish and high profile, but has so far been rebuffed.  Libertarian Jon Roland has filed.

PPP revealed a month ago that Cornyn could be in real danger from an effective primary challenge.  That's what's driving his moronic Tweets; he's desperate to win street cred with the freak right wing.  And the Dallas News article says that Dr. Alameel makes four Democrats, but I can't seem to find the 4th (excluding the rumored Mr. McAllen).  Even the Godfather counts three.  Who are we missing?

Update: Noah and Charles both have the answer in the comments.