Archive for the ‘Texas’ Category

Step 1: Stop the Hispanicing

Monday, December 17th, 2012

I’ve held off on offering up immediate judgment on the election because I’m incredibly lazy to get past the panic and knee-jerk reactions. The world hasn’t ended, Republicans are not doomed to permanent minority status, and the cause of smaller government is not lost forever. Go over that list of bright spots again. Republicans did not do as badly as they did in 1932, 1964, 2006 or 2008. And we survived those elections, just as the Democrats survived 1994, 2004, and 2010. We’ll survive this one.

One persistent theme in a lot of recaps is how badly Republicans did among Hispanic voters, and that Republicans must immediately cave on the issue of illegal alien amnesty to have any chance of courting Hispanic votes. Though no one can dispute that Republicans need to do better among Hispanics, much of the panic over the 2012 Hispanic vote (and the resulting predictable knee-jerk push for amnesty among prominent RINOs) has been overblown, for a number of reasons:

  • First, we don’t actually know how well Republicans did among Hispanics because the AP and the networks decided not to do detailed exit polling in Texas and 18 other states, the vast majority of them red states. Thus we don’t know the true percentage of Hispanics who voted for Republicans, as states where Republicans would do better among Hispanics have been systematically excluded from the count.
  • The Hispanic vote did not cost Romney the election.
  • Romney did worse than Bush not only among Hispanics, but among several other demographic groups, most notably white voters.
  • There are several reasons to doubt liberals’ demographics are destiny theory.
  • Those who think that caving on illegal alien amnesty is the key to Republicans winning Hispanic votes are deluding themselves.
  • Indeed, it’s more likely to destroy Republican competitiveness for the foreseeable future.
  • So take a deep breath. Republicans are far better off trying to pitch the ideas of freedom and limited government to Hispanics, and running conservative Republican candidates who happen to be Hispanic like Ted Cruz, than transparent and incompetent pandering via illegal alien amnesty.

    Texas vs. California: 12/12/12 Edition

    Thursday, December 13th, 2012

    This was supposed to go up last night, but there was a glitch. Ten hours late sounds about right for California…

  • California leads the nation in outrageous pay and benefits for unionized state employees. Including $822,302 a year for a single prison psychiatrist.
  • Calpers to taxpayers and bond-holders: DROP DEAD. We’re getting ours, jack.
  • Since California has hiked tax rates tax revenues have decline. Those unwilling to learn from the Laffer Curve are doomed to live through it.
  • Living in California means not being able to afford police.
  • The bankrupt California city of San Bernardino has had 45 murders this year.
  • Bankrupt Stockton has had 68.
  • And Los Angeles is shuttering courthouses because they can’t afford them.
  • The Blue State Suicide Pact.
  • Movie and TV production is leaving California.
  • “Why would you leave $25 million on the table?” Oh gee, I don’t know, but maybe because you have to pay back $34 million on your risky $2.5 million loan? Math, liberal! Do you speak it?
  • California Blue Shield wants to hikes rates as much as 20%. How’s that ObamaCare working out for you?
  • People are still leaving California…and Texas is the most popular destination.
  • Texas was once again the destination of choice for more people moving within the United States as a whole, with some 515,000 people moving here in 2012. (Hat tip: Push Junction.)
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Mario Loyola talks about how unions become sanctioned government cartels.
  • Speaking of TPPF, they linked to this Dallas Fed report, which shows that the Texas economy continues to hum along. “Texas added 22,900 jobs in October, lowering its unemployment rate in October to 6.6 percent, down from 6.8 percent in September and 1.3 percent below the national average of 7.9 percent.”
  • Bryan Hughes Drops Out of Texas Speaker’s Race and Endorses David Simpson

    Monday, December 10th, 2012

    This is big news. Rep. Bryan Hughes has dropped his bid to be Speaker of the Texas house of Representatives and has endorsed Rep. David Simpson in his run against incumbent speaker Joe Straus.

    While conservatives wanted to see Straus replaced, they was worry that Hughes’ background as a trial lawyer could work against him, and there was also worry that Simpson would split the anti-Straus vote. With Hughes out and endorsing Simpson, conservatives now have their best chance ever to oust Straus.

    Expect to hear more about the Speaker’s race in the near future.

    LinkSwarm for December 7, 2012

    Friday, December 7th, 2012

    Enjoy a Friday LinkSwarm:

  • Krauthammer: Republicans would be insane to take the “taxes now with a promise to consider cuts later” non-deal Obama is offering.
  • Especially since Obama’s tax hike “would have reduced the 2012 deficit from $1.10 trillion to $1.02 trillion.”
  • The national election was disappointing, but here in Texas Republicans continues to make gains. “Overall we have 796 more Republican elected officials in the State of Texas today than we did in 2008.”
  • They’re still wrangling over money the FBI seized from John Wiley Price.
  • Former Texas Democratic congressman Jack brooks has died.
  • And in case it got lost in the election night news, Steve Stockman, the Republican who retired Brooks in the 1994 election, is returning to congress representing the 36th district.
  • Displaying a willingness to perceive reality heretofore unguessed at, the Michigan senate passes right-to work legislation. Tomorrow: David Letterman’s Cold Day in Hell Special.
  • EU unemployment hits record high.
  • Yes, Susan Rice is still lying about Benghazi.
  • Steven Crowder interviews people on the Fiscal Cliff. Bonus: Toonces!

  • Will State Rep. David Simpson enter the Speaker’s race?
  • School goes into lockdown because a student brought…a thermometer.
  • Save the life of a fellow employee at AutoZone? That’s a firing. (Hat tip (last two): Alphecca.)
  • Once you find out that PSY once sang “Kill those f*cking Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives/Kill those f*cking Yankees who ordered them to torture/Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully,” suddenly “Gangnam Style” doesn’t seem quite so amusing.
  • New Gaza perfume named after Hamas missile.
  • Elsewhere in the world, things could get quite explosive this weekend.
  • A Good List of Conservative Texas Blogs

    Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

    This list of conservative blogs in Texas is well worth taking a look at. For starters, I’m in there, which means it passes the first-cut test.

    I hope to take a good look at all of these when I have some time with an eye toward updating the blogroll.

    Paul Burka Discusses Ted Cruz, and Proves (Yet Again) He Doesn’t Understand Conservatives

    Monday, December 3rd, 2012

    So Paul Burka noticed that Senator-elect Ted Cruz picked conservative Chip Roy as his Chief of Staff.

    Sayeth Burka:

    What I find revealing about the choice of Roy is that Cruz–who has been making noise as a potential contender for the White House in 2016–appears to be putting his chips on the tea party as the future of the Republican party. In doing so, he is aligning himself with insurgents like Rand Paul and, of course, the chief insurgent, Jim DeMint, who helped fund Cruz’s Senate race.

    Is this a good bet? I’m dubious. The tea party has a lot in common with the old Ross Perot “United We Stand” bunch. These groups seldom have staying power. Granted, the Kochs’ involvement makes the tea party’s survival more likely, at least in the short run, but in the establishment almost always prevails. It may prove to be the case, though, that Cruz is so appealing that he can transcend the factionalism in the Republican party. The strength of the Republican field in 2016 is that it is filled with big names: Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee. Only Rubio and Cruz qualify as fresh faces, though, and that might be where the rank-and-file look first.

    Wait, let me get this straight: A conservative Republican Senator-elect, who worked at a conservative think tank, ran as a conservative, courted conservatives, and beat the overwhelming favorite establishment candidate while pledging to govern as a conservative, has now chosen…a conservative chief of staff?

    Sadly, Burka misunderstanding conservatives is nothing new. The idea that conservatives truly believe in low taxes, balanced budgets, and limited government seems entirely alien to Burka. When it comes to describing inter-Republican-Party dynamics, he’s like a color-blind man trying to describe The Wizard of Oz.

    And so instead of reaching the obvious conclusion, that Ted Cruz chose a conservative chief of staff because he’s a conservative, Burka prefers to envision imaginary 2016 horse-race jockeying.

    I could try to explain to Burka exactly why the Tea Party exists and what it wants, but I fear it would be like trying to teach the fundamentals of optics to a dog.

    A Quick Pre-Thanksgiving LinkSwarm

    Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

    Lots of larger pieces in various stage of construction, but rather than put them up when everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving, here’s a quick LinkSwarm:

  • Ted Cruz named National Republican Senatorial Committee Vice-Chairman. Maybe he can prevent Todd Akins from ensuing.
  • Former Sen. Warren Rudman dead at age 82. Gramm-Rudman-Hollings really worked at controlling the deficit. That’s why Democrats had to kill it.
  • Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire. Pretty much ensuring that we’ll go through this whole charade again a year or two down the road.
  • The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union, having been given a second chance by a federal judge, decided that the first hole in their foot just wasn’t big enough and decided to shoot again. Hostess is still dead.
  • Two weeks after wining reelection, and facing an FBI probe for corruption, Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigns. Like father like son.
  • William Shatner would like you to remember not to set yourself on fire frying a turkey.
  • And the Mythbusters would like you to avoid dropping a frozen turkey on your foot, or on your pets.
  • Happy Thanksgiving!

    Texas Vs. California: Thanksgiving Week Edition

    Monday, November 19th, 2012

    Another quick update on the respective fates of our nation’s two biggest states:

  • In case you didn’t notice, California Democrats now have a super-majority in the legislature, which means they can raise taxes to their heart’s content. That should only heighten the difference between California’s Blue State model and Texas’ Red State model.
  • California spends far more money on its welfare state that Texas, but has greater income inequality.
  • The election California voters helped accelerate the state’s economic decline.
  • America is becoming California…and California is becoming Greece.
  • The California city of Atwater backs away from bankruptcy after winning concessions from unions.
  • Texas added 36,600 total nonfarm jobs in October, dropping unemployment down to 6.6%.
  • Bright Spots

    Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

    Well, that could have gone better.

    As an effort at alleviating depression among the vast right wing conspiracy, here are a few glimmers of hope amidst the dismal news:

  • Republicans kept the House.
  • Ted Cruz won. And here’s his victory speech:

  • Democrats picked up senate seats, but they still don’t have a filibuster-proof majority.
  • Randy Weber won.
  • Republicans hold as many statewide offices in Texas as they did before, i.e. all of them.
  • Republicans won all four seats on the Third Court of Appeals.
  • Donna Campbell won.
  • Tony Dale won.
  • In the real-life 2012 version of Atlas Shrugged, Texas has taken the place of Colorado, i.e. the redoubt of a dynamic economy, freedom and limited government in a country grown ever-more statist. Thankfully, it’s not the only one, and red states are still outperforming blue states by a good measure. A narrow Obama victory can’t change that. We’ve got to keep on fighting the good fight.

    We lost the battle. The war goes on.

    LiveBlogging/LiveTweeting the Election

    Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

    Congratulations to Ted Cruz and Tony Dale on well-deserved victories!

    And on that bit of good news, off to sleep…


    Weber beats Lampson in CD14.


    Obama 303, Romney 203, Florida and Alaska undecided. And Obama is edging Romney in the popular vote as well, but not by much.


    Fox calls election for Obama. Still not sure I trust the Wisconsin call. It looks like Romney may very well win the popular vote. Even so, I still don’t believe in abolishing the electoral college.


    Fox calls Ohio for Obama. That may be all she wrote.


    All annoying local news now.


    PBS calls Iowa for Obama.


    Obama still up .5% in Florida with 94% of the vote in.


    Florida, Florida, Florida.


    Any way this turns out, this is 1% difference election.


    No, Romney playing the bio film at the GOP convention wouldn’t have made any difference.


    AP RACE CALL: Romney wins North Carolina.


    Maybe we should have nominated #Hypnotoad.


    David Brooks (click) Elizabeth Warren (click) Crowd interview (click) Grrrrr


    Whether Obama wins or not, GOP house should refuse to pass a debt limit increase, and force government to live within it’s means.


    Hit my tweet limit!


    [Swing state name here] Too close to call. Repeat as necessary.


    Looks like it’s going to be a long night before this thing is decided.


    7:23 Romney up in VA, FL too close to call, but Panhandle polls close late, and that’s Romney territory.


    Everything in the battleground states is too close to call.


    6:50 PM
    ROMNEY: Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, South Carolina
    OBAMA:Vermont


    #ElectionNightSurprises: Fox News calls race for Obama, ABC for Romney, CBS for Gary Johnson, CNN for Jill Stein, and MSNBC for the reanimated corpse of Howard Taft


    Please note that I will be live-blogging and live-tweeting the election tonight as the returns roll in starting around 7 PM CST. Judging from my live-tweeting of the debates, there’s a good chance I’ll “exceed the tweet limit”, so you’ll want to check both places for pithy insight and wily snark.