The Disaster of Single Party Rule
Texas has been in the iron grip of Republicans since 1995. The results are obvious – total corruption of state leadership including a talk radio host and bar owner on the verge of winning yet another election for lt. governor, the top law enforcement officer who’s been under felony indictments for over 5 years headed for re-election, and hyper gerrymandered state house and senate districts that are non-competitive. In the 27 years of GOP leadership in the state we have slid from US leadership in personal rights, education, science, healthcare, and livability to 49th, according to CNBC’s latest livability study. Not surprisingly, Texas was ranked as 5th for business.
And, if people don’t turn out to vote, it’s going to get worse. Texas Republicans, like those in over 30 GOP controlled states, have passed dozens of laws to suppress the right to vote and even take away the votes of millions if the party doesn’t like the result. Using The Big Lie as an excuse, they’ve enacted crushing laws that make it harder to register, harder to vote, both in person and by mail. In Arizona right now, armed thugs are “guarding” ballot drop boxes intimidating voters and following them home.
Texas won’t be saved from actual fascism if they don’t start voting. I really don’t give a damn if they vote Dem or Repub, but they need to vote. Single party control has never worked, and never will. Texas and the US will never survive without a vigorous democracy that includes lively debate based on facts. You can’t reason with radicals. You have to just beat them at the polls.
Well said, El Jefe! I see that Beto is putting up quite a fight to win the governorship. You would think that after Uvalde in partifular that Texans would wise up and finally get rid of a government that has turned Texas into what others woefully see: a rogue state.
1I see that my home state is #3 on the list. I don’t trust the current Guv as far as I can throw him, and I know he’s already done damage to our educational standards.
My guess is the only reason we’re so high on the list is proximity to both the Pentagon and DC.
2I’ve already voted by mail. Voted against those who believe and spread the Big Lie, are in favor of force birth/no rights for women, in favor of secession, want guns, guns, guns . . . You get the picture.
3The math on how the R control of TX plays out is not complicated. Here’s a visual.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ffv7i6OWIAAo8f1?format=jpg&name=small
Young women could make a difference in the outcome:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfhZHj2XwAMr57t?format=jpg&name=small
This all is assuming that the vote totals will even matter in the R future that is unfolding, where R state legislatures can override the vote total in an election and put their preferred person in office.
4“Texas was ranked as 5th for business.”
Texas roadside attractions:
Mess with education.
Behind 2 miles.
Mess with healthcare.
Behind 5 miles.
No Services.
DON’T MESS WITH BUSINESS
5Ahead, Any Exit
It’s laudable of El Jefe to hit this topic, and “the iron grip of Republicans” in much of Texas and elsewhere.
But most of y’all, including the Salon jefes, have NO idea just how bleak and bad things really are in vast areas of this s——e state of Texas.
Wherever you guys are, you at least have a few fellow Democrats around, and some of them actually running for office.
Do tell me if any of y’all knew just how bad things are after reading the rest of this comment.
Now let me show you how a large majority of my local area political seats are simply grouped under the following ‘Already Decided’ header [this doesn’t include the big statewide offices listed on the other side of the ballot].
And yes, every one listed here is a Republican, there simply are NO Democratic [or other] candidates who even stand for office.
Following the header is a list of 17 county and area political positions, with the Republican already declared the winner. There are just 9 contested positions available to actually cast a ballot for a Democrat.
This caption heads up almost half of a page of my mail-in ballot, holding a large majority of all the area positions, defined long before the voting even begins:
“Unopposed Candidates Declared Elected”
[followed by a listing of most of the area positions, from the topdog County Judge on down through every significant office, and the others]
Great democracy we got here…
So, do any of you live in a similar one-party deathgrip controlled hellhole? I don’t think so…
Check- “and hyper gerrymandered state house and senate districts that are non-competitive.”
Check- “Single party control has never worked, and never will. Texas and the US will never survive without a vigorous democracy”
Uncheck- “You have to just beat them at the polls.” Riiigghht…
El Jefe, et al., clearly didn’t envision just how effing bad it can get.
And my county votes 85%+ Republican, far worse than even the worst of the other places that make all the Democratic talking points. And it’s 50%+ Hispanic! WTF!!!
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