Daily Archives: August 30, 2014

Texas Politics

Greg Abbott’s ‘Debate And Switch’

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In early 2013, months before the HB2 filibuster, and before anyone was seriously contemplating the possibility of a strong Democratic ticket in Texas, I sat down with Lane Lewis, chair of the Harris County Democratic Party for an interview.  One of the things he said was regarding how to turn Texas blue…

Texas is going to turn blue, but it is not going to be an event. It’s going to be a process.

As we enter the Fall of 2014, it’s becoming clear that Mr. Lewis is absolutely correct.  Election nights are what make the headlines, and what go in the history books.  But those events are merely the sum total of an entire process… knocking on doors, making calls, contributing a few dollars here and there, fleshing out major issues, and solid use of the press. All of these things are the process by which Texas becomes a battleground state, and all of them are happening right now. After enduring years of weak candidates, Republican posers running on the Democratic ticket, gross campaign mismanagement and misdirection, Texas Democrats are getting their act together, and much faster than anyone thought they could. As a result of this process, Texans are realizing that we finally have a real choice in 2014.

On Friday, the Democrats were handed a test of their burgeoning strength when Republican Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott announced that after originally agreeing to debate his Democratic opponent Wendy Davis, he decided to cancel the event due to “formatting issues”. This is after both gubernatorial campaigns had set up the debate on May 28th.

With the Texas Democratic Party of yesteryear, this simple cop-out would’ve worked.  After all, Governor Rick Perry got away with no debates in 2010, only to deliver a Texas-sized embarrassment on the national stage the next year.

But Greg Abbott is not so lucky.  Within minutes of his pathetic reversal, blow back from the Davis campaign, the Texas Democratic Party, Battleground Texas, and a slew of other groups was swift and insurmountable.

Once they realized that Texas wouldn’t stand for such a lame excuse, Abbott’s camp quickly fabricated a new plan… weasel out of the WFAA event (because it was sure to be televised across the state on major media outlets), and instead offer up an alternative on another area station in the hopes of dramatically decreasing viewer exposure. Doing so a month beforehand leaves TV stations scrambling to commit to even carry the event instead of their scheduled programs, and of course ruins all the pre-planned advertising for stations that have been committed since May. Yes folks… Greg Abbott is trying to pull the ole ‘Debate and Switch’.

Just so we’re clear… Abbott does not want a debate with Wendy Davis at all.  If the current trickery doesn’t work, there is no doubt that he and his campaign will concoct some other last-minute stunt.  To put it simply, Abbott is afraid.  Probably not afraid of Wendy herself, and given that he’s been a statewide elected official for a decade, he’s certainly not afraid of politics.  What Abbott is afraid of is that Texans will learn the truth about the him and his TEApublican colleagues.  He is afraid of having to answer the questions that Wendy is going to ask.  How is he going to go on camera in front of millions of Texans, tout the “Texas miracle” and simultaneously justify draconian cuts to education? What will be a “miracle” is if Texans don’t see through the lies.

Abbott’s ‘Debate and Switch’ may hinder an event or two, but it cannot stop the swing state process.  If anything, these tricks should serve as encouragement that the process is working faster and better than most would have previously imagined. Texas Republicans are in for some big surprises this November, and unlike Greg Abbott, that fact is not up for debate.

Off the Kuff and Brains and Eggs have more.

 

Texas Politics

Federal Judge Blocks Major Provision of Texas Anti-Abortion Law

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HUGE news from Texas yesterday, as the mega-controversial HB2, Texas’ 2013 law which was set to close all but 7 comprehensive women’s health facilities in the state, is given a major rebuke.  Here’s the story from the Houston Chronicle…

AUSTIN – A federal judge struck down a key piece of Texas’s tough new abortion law Friday afternoon, just three days before its implementation was expected to force all but seven clinics in the state to close.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that requiring abortion facilities to comply with the standards of ambulatory surgical centers would reduce access so much that it would put an unconstitutional burden on Texas women seeking the procedure.

“The ambulatory-surgical-center requirement is unconstitutional because it imposes an undue burden on the right of women throughout Texas to seek a previabilty abortion,” Yeakel ruled, blocking enforcement of the requirement scheduled to take effect Monday.

The ruling represents a major victory for a coalition of abortion providers who challenged the law, but it may be a short-lived triumph. The case is expected to be appealed, and the providers will have to hope to avoid a repeat of last fall, when Yeakel struck down a different part of the law only to have his decision quickly reversed by the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Ultimately, both cases could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Who knows what the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will do at this point.  But it is good to know that the lower court has once again sided with the right of Texas women to have the healthcare that they choose.

Everyone is fixated strictly on the abortion aspect of these cases… HB2’s whole purpose was to virtually eliminate abortion in only the largest of Texas cities.  But just as important here is the fact that these clinics offer comprehensive healthcare in their communities… not just abortions.  If these doctors have to shut their doors, it endangers the very lives of Texas women.  Without a community health provider to go to, are these women supposed to just put off their yearly check-ups?  Does the legislature expect someone living in McAllen or Pharr to make an expensive trip to San Antonio every year just for a well-woman exam?

It’s these very arguments that Democrats in the Texas legislature made sure to point out last summer as HB2 was being hotly debated, almost crafting a court case against the law before it was even passed. Hopefully the Fifth Circuit will look at all the evidence as well if this decision is appealed.  But for now, Texas women can be thankful that some clinics will remain open.

Music Musings

Music Musings: The Ride of the Valkyries (Walkürenritt)

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Often cited as one of the most epic moments in all of music, there’s nothing better to get the blood boiling than the Walkürenritt from Richard Wagner’s Die Walkürie, the second opera from The Ring Cycle.  This scene open’s the opera’s third act, and takes listeners on an epic journey of sight and sound.

Most will recognize the main theme or may know Walkürenritt as a strictly instrumental piece, as it’s been widely commercialized as such.  But there is particularly special magic when engaging with the original operatic setting. Here’s a brief summary of the action from the Utah Symphony’s program notes…

Act III of Die Walküre begins with the image of a rocky mountaintop flanked by storm-driven clouds. Four of Brünnhilde’s Valkyrie sisters wait there in full armor, ready to perform their noble duty – the transportation of fallen heroes to Valhalla. What follows for the next eight minutes is the most popular music Wagner ever wrote and is certainly still among the most beloved orchestral excerpts ever written by anyone.

As many in Texas have just survived a flurry of back-to-school preparations, this excerpt seemed a fitting end to the week.  Check out this stunning performance by the New York Metropolitan Opera, and recorded for DVD by Deutsche Grammophon.