Archive for the ‘Texas’ Category
Monday, March 5th, 2018
With the 2018 Texas primaries tomorrow, here are a few last-minute election tidbits:
George Soros is trying to buy the Bexar County DA’s office.
Soros’s current target is Bexar County, Texas, District Attorney Nico LaHood, Peter Hasson reports in the Daily Caller. LaHood is a Democrat who opposes sanctuary cities and describes himself as “a conservative guy.”
Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, is the fourth most-populous county in Texas. Knocking off LaHood would be a significant step forward for the Soros agenda.
Soros has already blown through around $70,000 supporting LaHood’s primary opponent, Joe Gonzales, by way of Texas Justice & Public Safety, a political action committee or PAC. The sum includes more than $30,000 devoted to mailers attacking LaHood as “bigoted,” “racist,” and “Islamophobic” in both the English and Spanish languages.
Michael Quinn Sullivan is really getting under the skin of Charlie Geren. Geren should probably worry more about primary opponent Bo French.
“Donors pumped a total of $67 million into state-level campaigns from the beginning of 2017 through Jan. 25, and a whopping $57 million of it, or about 86 percent, went to GOP candidates.” Note: That’s article covers only state (rather than federal) races. Tidbits: Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott not only raised more than all his Democratic opponents combined, he raised more than the next ten names on the list combined. And the aforementioned Bo French shows up in 22nd place.
On the other hand:
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, an El Paso Democrat, once again reported raising more money than Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in what is shaping up to be an intense general election matchup.
Over the first 45 days of 2018, O’Rourke raised $2.3 million — almost three times more than Cruz’s $803,000, according to new reports filed by Cruz and O’Rourke with the Federal Election Commission.
O’Rourke spent $2 million, while Cruz spent $1.2 million, according to the filings. They also show a narrowing cash-on-hand gap: O’Rourke reported having $4.9 million in the bank, compared to Cruz’s $6 million.
A Tweet from the 45th President of the United States of America:
And one from your humble blogger:
Tags:2018 Election, 2018 Texas Gubernatorial Race, 2018 Texas Senate Race, Annie's List, Beto O'Rourke, Bo French, Charlie Geren, Donald Trump, Elections, George Soros, Greg Abbott, Joe Gonzales, Nico LaHood, Republicans, Ted Cruz, Texas
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Saturday, March 3rd, 2018
Because I blog about national and international events as well as state and local events, I haven’t covered some state issues as extensively as I might have.
One of those is the down-ballot race between incumbent George P. Bush and Jerry Patterson (who formerly held the office before his unsuccessful Lt. Governor run in 2014). I didn’t want to vote for Bush, or against him, based merely on his last name. Also, I still haven’t had time to research the Alamo controversy that’s one of the key bones of contention in the race.
And then I came across this tweet of Land Commissioner Bush campaigning for Republican State Representative Jason Villalba:
Actively campaigning for Villalba, a RINO who is clearly one of the worst legislators currently in office (and who you may remember from such hits as Let’s Make It illegal For Gun Owners and Bloggers To Photograph the Police and I Have A Whole Lot of Stupid Ideas) bespeaks of a distinct lack of judgement on Land Commissioner Bush’s part.
Based on that lack of judgement, BattleSwarm Blog is endorsing Jerry Patterson in the Land Commissioner’s race.
Texas can do better.
Tags:2018 Election, Elections, George P. Bush, Jason Villalba, Jerry Patterson, Land Commissioner, Republicans, Texas, The Alamo
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 28th, 2018
The Twenty-First U.S. Congressional District, the seat held by retiring Republican Lamar Smith, runs from Austin to San Antonio, encompassing much of the western Hill Country. It’s heavily Republican and largely white, though with a significant Hispanic population.
There are no fewer than 13 Republicans candidates for this seat, including a former U.S. Representatives, Ted Cruz’s former chief-of-staff, a State Rep, two previous candidates, and not one but two candidates who are ex-CIA. Also worth noting: The candidate who has the raised the most money so far is a Democrat.
Republican
Ivan A. Andarza: Austin lawyer and a former or current member of several state boards. That suggests and ability to self-fund that might get him into the runoff…in another race. But I don’t see him making headway in this packed race.
Eric Burkhart: Has an interesting history as an ex-CIA agent. But I can’t tell his current job, and thus don’t see an ability to self-fund.
Former U.S. Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco: Unseated Ciro Rodriguez for the U.S. 23rd congressional district in the Republican wave year of 2010, and who was unseated in turn in 2012 by Pete Gallego in 2012. (Disclaimer: I donated money to Canseco in 2010, because I perceived (correctly) that he had a good chance to knock off a Democratic incumbent.) However, Canseco’s fundraising doesn’t even show up in the latest report, suggesting he’ll struggle mightily to make the runoff, name recognition or not.
Mauro Garza: Former Director of Grants and Contracts at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research. Nothing about his profile or website suggests he’ll be a serious contender.
Foster Hagen: Has a barely-used Facebook page, and his website is missing. So I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest he’s not going to be a factor…
Texas State Rep. Jason Isaac: Normally being a State Rep at least gives you a good shot to get into the runoff, but probably not here. He’s got some good endorsements (including Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian), but nothing the level of Chip Roy’s endorsements. Has raised $203,050, third among Republicans. A chance to make the runoffs, but it appears to be an uphill struggle right now.
Ryan Krause: Not seeing any indication he’ll be a competitive candidate.
Matt McCall: Already run twice for this seat and got clobbered by Lamar Smith both times. Has raised $168,606, which is not trivial, but I don’t think the third time is the charm for him.
Susan Narvaiz: Formerly lost to Lloyd Doggett in the U.S. District 35 race. Lagging in fundraising, I don’t see her making any headway in this race.
William Negley: Another former CIA member, a former member of Kay Baily Hurtchison’s staff, and backed by deep-pocketed businessman Red McCombs, which explains how Negley raked in $307,127, second only to Chip Roy. A serious contender to make the runoff with Chip Roy.
Al Poteet: A veteran and former CEO of Humana Veterans Healthcare Service. Nice hat, but he’s at the very bottom of fundraising for the race.
Autry Pruitt is a black media commentator. Maybe he’s flown below my radar, but seeing that his fundraising doesn’t even register, probably not.
Chip Roy: Ted Cruz’s former chief of staff, who has been endorsed by both Cruz and Rick Perry, has raised $372,574 (the most of any Republican candidate), and the odds-on favorite in the race. It’s possibly that he wins without a runoff, but with so many candidates in the race that seems unlikely.
Jenifer Sarver: Former Kay Bailey Hutchison staffer who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Enough said…
Robert Stovall: Chairman of the Republican Party for Bexar County. Not enough money raised to compete with the heavyweights here.
Samuel Temple. Pro-illegal alien Republican who promises to be “data driven.” Someone needs to tell him that Technocracy peaked in the 1930s…
Peggy Wardlaw: Want to do YouTube videos of your positions in addition to stating them on your website? Fine. Want to do YouTube videos of your positions instead of stating positions on your website? Not fine.
Anthony White: Former Marine Colonel. I couldn’t find a webpage, but his Twitter feed has 24 followers…
Democrats
Derrick Crowe: Former Nancy Pelosi staffer. Has a bunch of endorsements. Has raised $119,392, or less than one-sixth what Joseph Kopser has. A solid chance to make the runoff, but it may be hard for him to overcome Kopser’s fundraising muscle.
Joseph Kopser: At $772,335, he’s raised twice as much as anyone in the race, Republican or Democrat. (Notable donors include game designer Richard Garriott, plus lots of lawyers and CEOs in New York, San Antonio, New York City and Washington, D.C. “Kopser is a U.S. Army veteran and has worked in private industry. Leading up to the 2018 primary election, he was serving as president of the advisory and analytics firm Grayline as well as a member of the Defense Council of the Truman National Security Project. His other professional experience includes serving as the director of Texas Lyceum, a member of the board of directors of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the chairman and co-founder of Bunker Labs Austin. Kopser’s military experience includes serving as the department chair and professor of leadership and strategy at Texas Army ROTC and as the special assistant to the Army chief of staff. Kopser spent several years deployed in Iraq. He graduated from Harvard University with his M.P.A. and from the United States Military Academy at West Point with his bachelor’s in aerospace engineering.”
Elliott McFadden: He may have only raised 1/7th what Kopser has, but he’s been endorsed by The Daily Texan and The Austin Chronicle! Yeah, he’s toast.
Mary Wilson: Her about page talks about her love of math. Thanks for playing!
Kopser probably has better chance than Roy of avoiding a runoff, just based on the sheer size of the Republican field. Otherwise, expect a Roy/Negley runoff among Republicans, and Kopser/Crowe runoff for Democrats.
Tags:2018 Election, Al Poteet, Anthony White, Austin, Autry Pruitt, Bexar County, Chip Roy, Democrats, Derrick Crowe, Elliott McFadden, Eric Burkhart, Foster Hagen, Francisco "Quico" Canseco, Ivan A. Andarza, Jason Isaac, Jenifer Sarver, Joseph Kopser, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Mary Wilson, Matt McCall, Mauro Garza, Nancy Pelosi, Peggy Wardlaw, Red McCombs, Republicans, Robert Stovall, Ryan Krause, Samuel Temple, San Antonio, Susan Narvaiz, Ted Cruz, Texas, William Negley
Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Saturday, February 24th, 2018
I haven’t done a roundup on the Texas 7th U.S. Congressional District race because Republican incumbent John Culberson is not retiring, and he won his two most recent races by 56.2% to 43.8% in 2016, and 63.3% to 34.5% in 2014. That’s not exactly swing district territory, but Clinton carried the district in 2016.
Because of that, Democrats seem to be taking a real run at the seat with four different Democrats pulling in between half a million and a million in fundraising for the race. That’s some pretty serious cheese.
Even more surprising: One of the Democratic candidates is Laura Moser, a pro-abortion woman and part of #TheResistance, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY’s list have both come out hard in the race.
Against Moser:
EMILY’s List is dumping big money into an upcoming Democratic primary in Texas’s 7th Congressional District, pitting the women’s group against a pro-choice woman who was, in the months after the election of Donald Trump, a face of the resistance.
Laura Moser, as creator of the popular text-messaging program Daily Action, gave hundreds of thousands of despondent progressives a single political action to take each day. Her project was emblematic of the new energy forming around the movement against Trump, led primarily by women and often by moms. (Moser is both.)
It was those types of activists EMILY’s List spent 2017 encouraging to make first-time bids for office. But that doesn’t mean EMILY’s List will get behind them. Also running is Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a corporate lawyer who is backed by Houston mega-donor Sherry Merfish. EMILY’s List endorsed her in November.
The 7th District includes parts of Houston and its wealthy western suburbs, and Merfish and her husband, Gerald Merfish, are among the city’s leading philanthropists. Gerald Merfish owns and runs a steel pipe company in the oil-rich region and Sherry Merfish, who worked for decades for EMILY’s List, is a major donor to the Democratic Party and to EMILY’s List.
Actor Alyssa Milano, another face of the Trump resistance, is backing Moser, and plans to drive voters to the polls as a campaign volunteer. “I like EMILY’s List a lot but I feel like they missed the boat on this one,” Milano told The Intercept. “Laura is a proud progressive Democrat and her values are the values of the majority of the country, which is evident by the success of her grassroots campaign and her broad base of support.”
The Houston district is one of scores where crosscurrents of the Democratic Party are colliding. Democrats, who in the past have had difficulty fielding a single credible candidate even in winnable districts, have at least four serious contenders in the race to replace Republican John Culberson. Moser, who has more than 10,000 donors — more than 90 percent of whom are small givers — and cancer researcher Jason Westin make up the progressive flank, while Fletcher and Alex Triantaphyllis are running more moderate campaigns. Triantaphyllis, a former Goldman Sachs analyst who doesn’t live in the district, has the backing of some establishment elements of the party.
“Alex T has been open about being the chosen candidate of the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee],” said Daniel Cohen, president of Indivisible Houston, who is not endorsing any particular candidate.
For “more moderate” and “establishment” read “Clinton-approved.”
Indeed, until 2017, Moser was living in Washington, where she worked as a writer, and only recently relocated back home to Houston. Her husband, Arun Chaudhary, a partner at Revolution Messaging, which did media and email work for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, hasn’t gotten around to updating his bio, which still suggests that he “lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, son and daughter.”
And that seems to be the real reason the Democratic establishment has come down on her in the primary like a ton of bricks:
Indeed, the Democratic Party seems more than willing to block and purge candidates that don’t toe the line.
It seems it doesn’t matter how pure your progressive credentials or positions are, if you’re the wrong kind of people. Those not already approved by mega-donors and the Clinton machine need not apply…
Tags:2016 Presidential Race, 2018 Election, 7th Congressional District, Alex Triantaphyllis, Alyssa Milano, Arun Chaudhary, Bernie Sanders, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democrats, Elections, EMILY's List, Gerald Merfish, Hillary Clinton, Houston, Jason Westin, John Culberson, Laura Moser, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, Sherry Merfish, Texas
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Texas | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
In brief:
Texas state Sen. Carlos Uresti and co-defendant Gary Cain were found guilty on all charges in San Antonio federal court today in a criminal fraud trial that has stunned the city and state capitol.
It took the 12 jurors roughly 11 hours over three days to reach a verdict. Both Uresti and Cain are allowed to remain free on bond until sentencing, which was set for June 25.
Tags:Carlos Uresti, Crime, Democrats, Texas
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Texas | No Comments »
Sunday, February 18th, 2018
Brandy K. Chambers, a Democratic candidate for Texas House District 112, currently held by Republican incumbent Angie Chen Button, used a picture of her with William Shatner taken at a convention in a campaign flyer.
Shatner was not pleased.
Did Chambers then apologize and promise to take it down? After all, that would be the logical, simple, respectful thing to do.
Of course she didn’t.
All other things being equal, it’s best not to use celebrity pictures in campaign literature unless they’ve, you know, actually endorsed you…
Tags:Angie Chen Button, Brandy K. Chambers, Democrats, Texas, William Shatner
Posted in Democrats, Texas | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 16th, 2018
This has probably been my busiest February on record. Enjoy a complimentary Friday LinkSwarm, try the waitress and tip the veal:
“It’s doubtful you can find a more succinct example of TDS than a seemingly inebriated Democrat Senator asking the aggregate intelligence apparatus, during a public session of congress, to give specific details of U.S. covert intelligence efforts to thwart Russian, Chinese and North Korean cyber-warfare.” Democratic Senator Jack Reed continues to long, proud tradition of questionable Rhode Island political figures…
In January, the first month under the Trump tax cuts, the federal government pulls in record tax revenues and runs a surplus. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“The Genius Of Trump’s Food Stamp Proposal: You’re Not Supposed To Like Being On Welfare.”
Michael Leeden thinks the Islamic Republic of Iran is doomed. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Reminder: Everytown’s “school shooting statistics” are pure fabrication.
“Democrats Fleeing Blue States, Infecting Red States With Failed Liberal Disease.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Not only are a new German frigate’s computer systems FUBARed, but the ship can’t even float right.
Wired writer doesn’t understand the difference between “Islamist” and “Muslim.”
“In Wake Of Corruption Trials, Maryland Ponders Disbanding Baltimore Police Department.”
For Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, illegal aliens are more important than bullet-proof vests for officers.
Asian student at Harvard discovers that identity politics is a dead end.
“Stop Trying To Shove Women Into STEM.” “There’s this big push to get girls into STEM — while there’s no commensurate push to get women into oil rig work, no complaints that there aren’t enough women hanging off the back of garbage trucks.” Also:
We’ve recently found that countries renowned for gender equality show some of the largest sex differences in interest in and pursuit of STEM degrees, which is not only inconsistent with an oppression narrative, it is positive evidence against it. Consider that Finland excels in gender equality, its adolescent girls outperform boys in science, and it ranks near the top in European educational performance. With these high levels of educational performance and overall gender equality, Finland is poised to close the sex differences gap in STEM. Yet, Finland has one of the world’s largest sex differences in college degrees in STEM fields. Norway and Sweden, also leading in gender equality rankings, are not far behind. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as this general pattern of increasing sex differences with national increases in gender equality is found throughout the world.
Moron thinks poor people are too stupid to cook food.
Do you need carbs for Thyroid health? Science says no.
Cool. (Hat tip: Borepatch.)
Texas Democratic state Rep. Dawnna Dukes’ campaign is more than $700,000 in debt due to legal fees from the (now dropped) felony charges against her. And she’s running for reelection.
Bill Crider, RIP.
Setting ablaze a giant matchsphere.
Every book I bought in the last half of last year.
Tags:Atkins, Austin, Baltimore, Border Controls, Crime, Dawnna Dukes, Democrats, Everytown for Gun Safety, feminism, Foreign Policy, Germany, Guns, Harvard, Iran, Jack Reed, Jihad, Maryland, Michael Leeden, Military, Obituary, Sally Hernandez, Social Justice Warriors, Tax Reform, technology, Texas, Travis County, welfare, Welfare State
Posted in Austin, Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Military, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, Welfare State | No Comments »
Friday, February 2nd, 2018
Happy Groundhog Day! To celebrate, just imagine that I’ve already posted this same LinkSwarm nine times already.
Supposedly the Nunes FISA abuse memo drops today. After that happens, I’ll no doubt have some thoughts…
Democratic Party freakouts over the memo seem to be reaching epic proportions.
“The Democratic party’s strategy for 2018 seems to revolve around reminding people how happy they are that Democrats aren’t in charge.” (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
“Recent rulings from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are a major contributing factor in the sharp rise in the number of family units and unaccompanied minors that have made the trek from Central America to the United States’ southwest border in the last few months, according to Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina is retiring.
As is Pennsylvania Democrat Robert Brady. Few people outside the state realize that Brady is the Democratic Party’s iron-fisted Philadelphia machine boss. I asked a Philly friend how corrupt Brady is: “Not as corrupt as Frank Rizzo, but pretty corrupt.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.
And even though that PhillyMag piece is from last year, it’s worth calling out this tidbit about Pennsylvania Democrats on its own:
Since 2000, law enforcement officials have investigated no fewer than 32 Philadelphia Democrats. The allegations seem to get more debasing — more Robin Hood-in-reverse — every year. Seth Williams, the sitting district attorney, was indicted in March for allegedly stealing from his own mother and seeking thousands of dollars’ worth of bribes in exchange for making people’s legal problems go away. Chaka Fattah, the former 11-term Congressman, was sentenced in December to a decade in prison for using cash from taxpayers and a charity to pay back an illegal campaign loan. Leslie Acosta, the ex-state rep, pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiring to commit money laundering.
Those are only the biggest and baddest examples of graft in the past year. The city’s traffic court was abolished altogether after nine judges were charged with ticket fixing in 2013. (Seven were later convicted on various charges.) In 2014, five state lawmakers — nearly a quarter of Philadelphia’s Harrisburg delegation — were accused of taking petty bribes; four have been convicted, some of lesser charges. The avalanche of indictments has left Philadelphians wondering whether their elected officials run for office to help anyone other than themselves.
Ace nails the SJW problem:
It is the common practice of Social Justice Warriors to infiltrate organizations and hobbies in which they have little to no interest — videogames, comic books, sports, science-fiction awards organizations, all academic fields, etc. — for the sole purpose of seizing “key nodes and critical infrastructure,” as Diversity and Comics notes (echoing US military doctrine), in order to turn non-political pastimes into never-ending propaganda echo chambers — or destroy them outright, if they cannot be made to serve the regressive left’s propaganda mission.
They’re deadly parasites for any organization that allows them to crawl inside their bodies.
But these organizations let them in — hell, they actively seek them out — just so that social justice blogs and websites like The Mary Sue or Buzzfeed will give them the Social Justice Warrior Stamp of Approval.
Trouble is, as Marvel Comics is finding out, Social Justice Warriors are not consumers of any of these products, and will not buy them even if they have been converted into full Social Justice Warrior propaganda outfits.
These organizations are being infiltrated by Social Justice Warriors not because Social Justice Warriors like them or the cultural products they produce, but because Social Justice Warriors know that non- Social Justice Warriors enjoy these products, and thus these cultural artifacts must be seized and repurposed to serve leftist indoctrination ends or simply destroyed.
If they cannot be remade to be useful indoctrination centers, then they must be destroyed, so that, at least, non-Social Justice Warriors will have one less enjoyable thing in their lives, and may be forced to seek Social Justice Warrior-controlled entertainments as an alternative.
What did the 2018 Women’s March produce? Trash. Lots and lots of trash.
“Chelsea” Manning is ineligible to run for office.
The MSM grapples with the truth about Sweden. (Hat tip: DirectorBlue.)
Republicans get more ObamaCare taxes delayed.
Sun Tzu predicted how President Trump would kick Democrats’ asses 2,500 years ago.
Obama paled around with Louis Farrakhan in 2005 and the media covered it up, because Democrat. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
Fidel Castro’s eldest son commits suicide.
“Reclusive Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss — one of the Democrats’ biggest and most secretive donors — is currently under investigation for a 2011 sexual assault, as originally reported in a handwritten complaint by his former employee Jacqueline Long.”
Seattle lesbian awakes from woke:
Herzog has awakened from “woke,” as it were, because she found herself attacked by her progressive comrades for Thoughtcrime. She has disagreed with transgender activists and defended Aziz Ansari, among other examples of her political incorrectness. Independent thinking by members of official victim groups — women, racial minorities, homosexuals — is dangerous to the Left because dissent undermines the identity-politics illusion of solidarity against the white heterosexual males who allegedly oppress everyone else. In the 21st century, belief in the pervasive evil of heterosexual white men has become the organizing principle of the Democrat Party, its raison d’être. To suggest to a Democrat in 2018 that perhaps this fathomless contempt for white males is misguided, or that not every member of an official victim group is suffering from oppression, is to commit a sort of political heresy, like denying the existence of witchcraft in 17th-century Salem.
Democrats have become vendors of ethnic outrage, gender resentment and economic envy, with no other commodity to provide voters in the political marketplace. Because everyone inside the cult of social justice is fanatically devoted to this zero-sum-game mentality, there is a constant competition among Democrats to strike a “more progressive than thou” posture and, as Professor Reynolds says, “when sanctimony is your only coin, people will try to accumulate it.” Sooner or later, however, intelligent people wise up to the hustle. After the defeat of Hillary Clinton, many who had cast their lot with the party of victimhood may realize how badly they have been hoodwinked and bamboozled.
Is it bad that I read the word “Seattle lesbian” and, even before I saw the picture, instantly thought “flannel”?
David Brooks wants new Americans because Original Recipe Americans, with our disgusting epidemic of improperly creased trousers, disappoint him so.
“Federal judge grants Texas request to block Obama-era restrictions on criminal background checks in hiring.”
Hitting your target at 1000 yards.
A SOTU tweet:
Another:
Bad hiring decisions:
Happy Groundhog Day! To celebrate, just imagine that I’ve already posted this same LinkSwarm nine times already.
Tags:Alan Grayson, Border Controls, Bradley Manning, Chaka Fattah, Crime, Cuba, Democrats, Devin Nunes, FISA, Hansjörg Wyss, House of Representatives, LinkSwarm, Louis Farrakhan, ObamaCare, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Republicans, Robert Brady, Seth Williams, Social Justice Warriors, Sweden, Texas
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Jihad, Media Watch, ObamaCare, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, February 1st, 2018
After Joe Barton’s naked selfies leaked, he announced his retirement, leading to yet another hotly contest U.S. congressional race. The Sixth district runs from Arlington down through Ellis and Navarro Counties. It used to be Phil Gramm’s seat, but in a very different geographic configuration, and is solidly Republican.
Unlike several of the other U.S. congressional races I’ve covered this year, this one has a clear favorite.
Republicans
Ken Cope: Plus: Ex-military background. Minus: Finished fifth against John Cornyn in the 2014 U.S. Senate primary, which suggests he’s not a serious candidate.
Shawn Dandridge: A black Republican with a military background who hates Obama, Dandridge is Cisco-certified and getting an MBA; an interesting background. “Shawn also has been a small business owner and real estate investor since 2008. He has rental properties in three states that have a value of close to $1 million.” That suggests he may have State Rep race money, but not U.S. congressional race money (he’s raised $5,126.)
Thomas Dillingham: Not in the district yet. Though he has an interesting Facebook story…
Shannon Dubberly: Another guy with ex-military background (counterterrorism, even), who has raised $51,465. Potential dark horse.
Jake Ellzey: Another ex-military guy, one who stands out a bit due to one notable endorsement: Rick Perry. That’s a good endorsement, and he’s raised $71,943. Potential dark horse, and right now probably the favorite to make the runoff with Ron Wright.
Deborah Gagliardi: Owns her own engineering and architecture firm in a year it’s good to be a woman running for office. “When the City of Arlington spent taxpayer dollars courting a contractor with a history of over-budget, poorly constructed projects, Deborah fought to expose them. If elected, her first priorities will be not only to fix the existing infrastructure in District 6, but to overhaul how infrastructure is built and maintained. High-cost, low-quality vanity projects will be a thing of the past.” Running for U.S. Congress to fix local infrastructure indicates a fairly imperfect grasp of federalism. Plus her campaign news page is blank, suggesting a certain lack of attention to the race.
Kevin Harrison: “Founder & President of West Coast Bible College & Seminary.” Maybe he has some ability to self-fund and an in with religious conservatives (though not reflected in the FEC reports, which shows no money raised). Potential dark horse.
Mel Hassell: A cipher with no website.
Mark Mitchell: A perennial candidate that’s lost a number of state rep races, there’s no reason to believe he’ll be competitive in a heavier weight class.
Troy Ratterree: Using a Facebook page as your campaign website is not generally conducive to victory.
Ron Wright: Current Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector who has earned the endorsements of State Senator Konni Burton and several others, and right now is the favorite for the seat, despite the bow ties and not having raised any money as of the last FEC reporting period, presumably because of how late Barton dropped out.
Democrats
John W. Duncan: Gay guy who works for “he largest local non-profit HIV/AIDS service organization in North Texas” and is married to a gay Christian minister. Raised $21,143.05.
Jana Lynne Sanchez: A former journalist, so naturally she’s a Democrat. She’s endorsed by the Dallas AFL-CIO, so she’s the establishment candidate in the race, to which she’s raised $137,832.08, the most of any candidate thus far.
Levii Shocklee: Navy veteran. No bio on his website.
Justin Snider: Locksmith and Bernie Bro.
Ruby Faye Woolridge: Lost the race to Barton in 2016. She has a lot of party experience and has raised $92,121.60. Woolridge is black, and the district is just under 21% black, and just over 22% Hispanic, which sets up a black/Hispanic interparty brawl between Woolridge and Sanchez.
Expect Wright to be the favorite, but if he doesn’t get his fundraising in gear, Ellzey or another dark horse could lap him. I expect whoever comes out on top in the GOP primary to easily handle Sanchez or Woolridge in the general.
Tags:2018 Election, 6th Congressional District, Arlington, Deborah Gagliardi, Democrats, Elections, Ellis County, Jake Ellzey, Jana Lynne Sanchez, Joe Barton, John W. Duncan, Justin Snider, Ken Cope, Kevin Harrison, Levii Shocklee, Mark Mitchell, Mel Hassell, Navarro County, Republicans, Ron Wright, Ruby Faye Woolridge, Shannon Dubberly, Shawn Dandridge, Texas, Thomas Dillingham, Troy Ratterree
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Friday, January 19th, 2018
This morning starts with Republican house members calling for the release of a deeply disturbing secret memo that evidently relates to the whole FISA/Clinton/Obama misuse of America’s national security assets to spy on Domestic political opponents, including Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign. House members who have read the memo say the scandal unveiled is “worse than Watergate.” Those reading this blog should already be broadly familiar with the outlines of the scandal.
However, since that memo hasn’t been released as of this writing, on with a regular Friday LinkSwarm.
Oh, and Democrats are still threatening a government shutdown over illegal alien amnesty for Obama’s “Dreamers.” So you’ve got that to look forward to as well.
Speaking of “Dreamers” (which, by the way, is also the name of a porn store in north Austin), illegal aliens of “Dreamer” age have a crime rate double that of American citizens.
Including the accused cop killer who says he “wish he killed more of the motherfuckers.”
“Analysis: Leftism is a status machine. A very, very successful status machine. Conservatives have lost status battle after status battle, often because they fought it as a policy battle. It rarely is.”
The media offers people clues about what things are high status within the areas they cover. People notice, and act accordingly. Yet most conservatives still don’t understand Trump’s response:
If I lower the media’s status, I will wreck their power.
So The Donald says that the media has “some of the most dishonest people” he has ever seen. Not an arm’s length complaint. A direct and personal status attack, rooted in truth.
Trump also acts in ways that cause journalists to fulfill his pre-suasion labeling. He makes “outrageous” statements, which many people outside the Beltway Bubble agree with. Those statements receive over-the-top media attacks, which make his enemies look ridiculous. Then events swiftly show that Trump had a point. Trump rubs it in, using the media’s own “Fake News” term against them and pouncing on every sloppy and dishonest mistake. As a final topper, Trump makes the dishonest media a focus during every massive rally. Which strengthens his out-grouping effect among participants and viewers.
He uses ridicule and lèse majesté, not bended knee and appeals — note that subordinating word — to logical argument.
Jim Goad offers a brief essay on comparative shitholes:
In terms of life expectancy, Norway leads the pack at 81.8 years. Then comes the USA (79.3), with a sudden drop to 63.5 years for Haitians and a mere 55.0 years for Somalians.
Norway also wins the blue ribbon when it comes to per-capita income, which is a staggering 38 times that of Haitians and 173 times that of Somalians.
The noble Norsemen also win when it comes to their nation’s mean IQ, which is 100 compared to the USA’s 98. Somalia (68) and Haiti (67) both suffer a mean IQ that is below the commonly accepted cutoff line for “retarded.”
The only category where the USA comes out on top is the percentage of the population with access to improved sanitation facilities—one index claims that 100% of Americans can find a functional toilet if they try. Next comes Norway at 98.1%. Haiti (27.6%) and Somalia (23.5%) are far, far worse. According to Wikipedia, “Sewer systems and wastewater treatment are nonexistent” in Haiti, which would mean the country is a literal shithole.
Andrew McCarthy goes into great detail about what a nothingburger the entire Trump-Russia conspiracy fantasy is. Though larded up with the requisite National Review distaste for Trump, it does include a few valuable nuggets I hadn’t chanced across heretofore, including that the law firm of BakerHostetler was who was funneling payments from Natalia Veselnitskaya and Prevezon Holdings to Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson. (Hat tip: Ann Althouse.)
Is Sweden contemplating sending the army to regain control over no-go zones?
Democratic Senator Patty Murray’s office: “We don’t care about anti-Semitism in this office,” Murray’s senior adviser said. “We care about transgenders, we care about blacks, we care about Hispanics, we care about gays, we care about lesbians, we care about the disabled.”
“Switzerland Rejects Citizenship Bids of Residents Who Have Been on Welfare.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Speaking of which: “Swiss town denies passport to Dutch vegan because she is ‘too annoying.'”
Why hasn’t power been restored to Puerto Rico? Maybe because Puerto Rican authorities were hoarding bital electrical equipment?
Austin on finalist list for Amazon’s second headquarters.
Baltmore’s mayor fires the police commissioner.
Dear Millennials: It has been scientifically proven that your music sucks.
East Coast Comicon bans Kevin “Hercules” Sorbo because he’s friends with Sean Hannity.
Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer for The Cranberries, dead at the untimely age of 46.
Former Senator, Republican Majority leader, Presidential candidate and World War II veteran Bob Dole just received the Congressional Gold Medal. Best tweet from the event:
Gonna pass on the expedited shipping, thanks.
A little light today, but I want to hit publish on this before that memo drops…
Tags:Amazon, Andrew McCarthy, Austin, Bob Dole, Border Controls, Crime, Democrats, Donald Trump, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Jim Goad, LinkSwarm, Norway, Obama Scandals, Patty Murray, Puerto Rico, Social Justice Warriors, Somalia, Switzerland, Texas, vegans
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