Dead Heat in Texas
The latest polls show that Trump is bleeding ego juice in Texas.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are in a dead heat in the race for Texas, signaling that the Lone Star State is evolving into a presidential battleground.
A new Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler poll shows that Trump and Biden are backed by 43% of poll respondents, with 5% opting for “other” candidates and only 9% undecided. Trump’s overall approval rating was 45%.
It is in the big urban areas, where Democratic mayors and county judges have taken the reins of leadership or lack thereof, from Trump and Governor Gregg Abbott that will flip the state.
Houston is in Harris County, where a 27 year old woman born in Bogota, Colombia, with a degree from Stanford, was elected county judge over a long time Republican incumbent. She is the first woman to hold the post. There was much doomsday talk and moaning following her election because of her youth and inexperience. Lina Hidalgo has been spectacular. What a county judge does is explained here, but one of her duties is to be head of emergency management.
What Judge Hidalgo has proven is that Democrats can lead, women can lead, young people can lead, and if you put all three in one package holy cow step back and be delighted.
There are other strong Democratic leaders in Texas cities and counties. Watching them put Trump to shame is a joy.
I’m not a political scientist although I play one on the internet. But, I think Tump is losing by comparison. Seeing real leaders in our own backyard has reminded us how great we can be.
By the way, there are 4.5 million people in Harris County. There are 25 entire states with less population than that.
I’m in Fort Bend County, but obviously we see everything Hidalgo does. I think she’s doing a fine job, although her predecessor Ed Emmett was the rare Republican that I actually liked and respected for his competence. Hidalgo is obviously threatening to the Republicans, because she’s taking a lot of crap from them for her perfectly reasonable decisions. The face mask mandate didn’t cause a ruckus when other Texas cities implemented it, but once Hidalgo did it, OMG, suddenly all our civil rights were being trampled.
1Youth is good, fossils belong in the dirt. Youth brings fresh ideas, incumbents bring tedium. Youth wields progress, politicos wield voter suppression, racism, corruption, and demagoguery.
Youth wins.
2Lina Hidalgo has been doing an amazing job.
3Youth Addendum: ‘The modern GOP doesn’t want to hear from serious economists — it prefers charlatans and cranks’
Edit: Paul Krugman remained an unapologetic proponent of classic New Deal/Great Society economics — and as the 67-year-old economist and New York Times columnist sees it, everything from the Great Recession to Donald Trump’s disastrous presidency has only validated his point of view, which is very much in evidence in his most recent book, “Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics and the Fight for a Better Future.” And Krugman’s book has received a rave review from journalist Charles Kaiser in The Guardian.
Krugman, Kaiser notes, has “four essential rules for successful punditry: stay with the easy stuff, write in English, be honest about dishonesty, (and) don’t be afraid to talk about motives.”
“Those maxims have consistently made Krugman the most intelligent and the most useful New York Times pundit, at least since Frank Rich wrote his final must-read column 11 years ago,” Kaiser writes. “A new collection of Krugman’s pieces, therefore, is a timely reminder that actual knowledge and ordinary common sense are two of the rarest qualities in mainstream journalism today.”
Trickle-down economics — the belief that when the rich get richer, their gains will “trickle down” to others — has been a prominent feature of the Republican Party ever since Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. And Democratic neoliberals have embraced elements of trickle-down economics as well. But Krugman, Kaiser points out, has flatly rejected that economic philosophy.
“The same tired arguments in favor of coddling the rich have been rolled out over and over again by Republican presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, even though there has never been a shred of serious evidence to support them,” Kaiser writes.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/paul-krugman-the-modern-gop-doesnt-want-to-hear-from-serious-economists-it-prefers-charlatans-and-cranks/
4I has a sad
5I am very upset that I will never get to vote for Lina Hidalgo for Potus
She is doing a great job. The rednecks are horrid to her. And I am really disappointed in Emmett (who would have said pretty much the same things she has said about controlling this pandemic) and Turner. Emmett for being totally silent. I thought he was a Republican with some intelligence. Turner for not backing her more – totally pandering to political pressures.
6One small correction, Judge Hidalgo is 29 years old. I only add this because her whiny baby haters keep trotting the ‘youth card’ along with their sexism and racism.
I voted for Ed Emmett, the only Republican for whom I would do so. Didn’t agree with a lot of his positions but he did a decent job during various emergencies during his time in office. Besides I had justified concerns about an inexperienced candidate with absolutely no track record. Those concerns have vanished. This woman has had multiple trials by fire in her short tenure as county judge and has performed quite well. She’s shook things up that needed shaking for a looong time. I’m very impressed by and appreciative of her doing her job without regard to the next election. Her decisions are informed by experts outside of her expertise and taken with thought towards the best outcome for all and not her own political career. Karen @6 has it absolutely right.
7Should she decide to run again in 2022, she has my vote. And if she doesn’t, it won’t be the last we hear of her. That young woman will do well no matter where she goes.
“By the way, there are 4.5 million people in Harris County. There are 25 entire states with less population than that.”
… and a combined 50 U.S. Senators from those states, but 0 from Houston. The “Great Compromise” from the constitutional convention doesn’t look so great nowadays.
8I think she’s doing a great job! Emmett needed to go – especially after the dump the dome vote didn’t go his way, so he went against the voters! I also like that Judge Hidalgo speaks Spanish – we need that in our communitY.
9Interesting to see the republicans raising hell about her,
10They said not one word when developers were buying off commissioners. They said not a word when developers were allowed to build and flood people downstream. I voted for Emmett because I was concerned about her age. What a pleasant surprise she has been. She will get my vote next time.