Tag Archives: Wendy Davis

Texas Politics

Would Greg Abbott Ban Birth Control in Texas?

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Greg Abbott is against birth control, and he’s not trying to hide it from anyone.

After yesterday’s SCOTUS decision ruling that Hobby Lobby did not have to sponsor contraception healthcare for its employees, the Republican Gubernatorial candidate immediately rejoiced at the notion of a legal company gaining the right to discriminate against women on “religious grounds”.  Per the tweet above, here’s his comment on the decision…

Great day for religious freedom & protecting life in the Hobby Lobby decision.

In case you’ve forgot, this guy is running for Governor, with the election to be held on November 4th of this year.  If he support this decision that strongly, what does that mean for women’s healthcare in the state of Texas?  If Greg Abbott considers denying contraception to women as “protecting life”, then would he be willing to sign a bill banning  contraception across the state??

At this point, we just don’t know the answer to that.  Abbott has been very careful to never reveal his true thoughts on a range of women’s health services, including contraception and abortion.  Here’s more from KHOU…

Abbott — a disciplined, on-message campaigner — dodges questions about just how far his opposition to abortion goes.

Questioned about whether he would support or oppose legislation banning abortions for rape or incest victims, Abbott avoids the question.

“Well, I’m pro-life,” he said during an interview after a campaign appearance in Houston. “And even under the laws that were passed by the Texas Legislature in this session that will be signed by the governor and that I’ll be defending in court, a woman is going to have five months to make a decision about having an abortion regardless of how that child was conceived. We’re working for a day when we’re actually protecting both the lives of the innocent unborn but also to protect the lives of the women who carry those children.”

When pressed again to directly answer the question, he dodges it.

“I support the legislation that was passed by the state Legislature during this special session, that the governor is going to sign into law and that I will be defending in court,” he said. “The battle is moving from the statehouse to the courthouse. And this is a law that is going to do even more to protect life in the state of Texas.”

Abbott’s precise position on abortion has been difficult to pin down. No question he’s very much on the pro-life side of the political spectrum, but it’s hard to determine exactly where on the spectrum his beliefs lie.

On the day after he declared for governor, the Houston Chronicle published a column in which veteran political reporter Peggy Fikac asked Abbott whether he would allow an exception in anti-abortion legislation to save the life of a mother.

“In a way, but you’re in a way kind of mischaracterizing the word,” he said. “It’s not like an exception. What both the medical community needs to do, and the pro-life community supports, is doing everything we can to protect the life of the mother.”

It’s hard to make sense of such vague platitudes, which should serve as a red flag to voters this November.  If Greg Abbott supports a SCOTUS decision where Hobby Lobby essentially bans contraception, would he support banning contraception in the state of Texas?  Could the use of birth control become a crime in the Lone Star State?  These are questions that we are going to need answers to, and we better start asking them before it’s too late.  He shouldn’t be allowed to run for Governor and also run away from these issues.

Politics

Rick Perry: Homosexuality Is Like Alcoholism

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If anyone thought that Texas Governor Rick Perry might try to keep quiet between now in a possible 2016 run, think again.  He came out spreading falsehoods about homosexuality and the development of sexual orientation.  Here’s more from CNN…

A comparison between alcoholism and homosexuality by Texas Gov. Rick Perry is raising eyebrows.

At a speech in San Francisco, the longtime Republican governor – who ran for the White House in 2012 and is considering another bid in 2016 – was asked whether he thought homosexuality was a disorder.

“I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that – and I look at the homosexual issue the same way,” Perry said.

According to CNN affiliate KPIX, some people in the pro-Perry audience gasped when they heard the governor’s remarks.

Perry’s address to the Commonwealth of California Club was mostly focused on economic issues. The Texas governor is in California as part of a trip to try to bring jobs and business to the Lone Star State.

Perry’s comments also came just days after Texas Republicans, meeting at their state convention, approved language in their party platform that includes support for voluntary psychological “therapy” targeted at converting homosexuals to heterosexuals. That stance stands in contrast to both California and New Jersey, which have banned such therapy.

Whatever Mr. Perry’s particular internal vices, he’s clearly behind the times on understanding sexual orientation.  And though he obviously has the right to believe whatever he wants as a private citizen, it’s important to know that saying these things in his official capacity as Governor is harmful to thousands of his constituents.  Many young Texans are taking the journey to adulthood as we all do, and for those that are LGBT, they may be struggling to figure out why they don’t match society’s well-defined expectations.  Suggesting to those young people that they need to “repair” themselves isn’t just wrong… it is downright dangerous.

In relation to current Texas politics, it’s no surprise that Perry’s comments sent a scurry through both main political parties, especially the candidates for the Governor’s job.  As Lone Star Q reports, Perry has helped to reveal another stark contrast between GOP contender Greg Abbott and his Democratic opponent Wendy Davis…

Democrat Wendy Davis would support and sign a law banning reparative therapy for minors, according to a spokesman for her campaign.

But Davis’ Republican opponent in the Texas governor’s race, Attorney General Greg Abbott, isn’t taking a position on the issue.

At its state convention in Fort Worth last week, the Texas GOP amended its platform to include support for reparative therapy “for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle.”

In response to the headline-grabbing plank, a spokesman for Davis’ campaign confirmed this week in an email to Lone Star Q that the Democratic gubernatorial nominee would back a statewide ban on reparative therapy for minors similar to laws that have passed in California and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Abbott dodged a question about his party’s support for reparative therapy during a visit to East Texas on Wednesday. KYTX Channel 19 reports that Abbott “stopped short of condemning” the reparative therapy plank but said the issue isn’t near the top of his agenda.

“First is jobs, second is schools, three is roads, transportation and water, and four is making sure our border is secure,” Abbott told KYTX reporter Field Sutton.

“It sounds like reparative therapy is pretty far down on that list,” Sutton said.

“Well, if government does what it’s supposed to do, and then gets out of people’s way, everyone is a whole lot happier,” Abbott responded.

Try as he may, Abbott won’t be able to run from this question much longer.  It’s going to keep coming up in interviews and other public formats.  But the real worry for the Abbott campaign here is this… regardless of what delegates at the Republican Party convention vote for, the state of Texas is still moving at lightning speed in support of LGBT rights and marriage equality.  As we see here, the GOP is providing the ammo… but it’s up to Democrats to make sure these shameful messages get out to the public at large.  If more people knew that the only thing standing in the way of marriage for thousands of Texas’ LGBT couples was Greg Abbott’s emergency stay, maybe they would be motivated to show up for Davis in November.  From a “life” standpoint, it is right for Democrats to stand against these harmful views.  From a political standpoint, this is an issue that can motivate Davis’ base, depress GOP turnout, and really effect the outcome of the election.  Let’s hope that the campaigns and Battleground Texas figure that out.

For more on this topic, check out the great work of fellow bloggers Texpatriate and Off the Kuff.  I’ll probably have later thoughts and developments as well.

 

 

Politics

More Evidence: Texas Doesn’t Vote

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If you know one thing about Battleground Texas, you know that their organization is taking on a huge task… re-make the voting electorate of the Lone Star State.

And as Ross Ramsey from the Texas Tribune writes, they’ve still got a long way to go to be able to do it.

Senate District 3, the most populous in the state in 2012, had 843,567 people; the least populous, Senate District 28, had 778,341. But look at the differences between populations of voting-age citizens: Senate District 3 had 603,385, while Senate District 6, now represented by Garcia, had 372,420. Even with identical percentage turnouts, one district would have more votes than the other.

That is the basis for one argument against the current districts in Texas, but it doesn’t account for the biggest disparity. Texans in one district do not seem to have the same urge to vote as their counterparts in other areas. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, won in District 25, where 64.6 percent of the voting-age population cast ballots. Hers was one of three districts where more than 60 percent of adult residents voted. Garcia’s district, in that 2012 election, had a 37.1 percent turnout — one of three Senate districts with less than 40 percent.

The turnout numbers were low not just because of the low voting-age population — the number who got off their sofas to cast ballots in those districts was also abysmal. Those numbers offer a peek into the design of the political maps drawn by Republican legislators: The districts that turn out the most voters tend to favor Republicans by a wide margin in statewide elections, while the lowest turnouts are typically in Democratic districts.

Similarly large disparities show up on congressional and House maps.

Nick Lampson, a Democrat who ran in the 14th Congressional District, received 24,583 more votes in 2012 than Democrat Marc Veasey, but they were in different districts. Veasey went to Congress. Lampson went home. This is even more dramatic: Veasey won the 33rd Congressional District seat with 85,114 votes. His colleague Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, received 194,043 — more than twice as many.

Ramsey tries to be diplomatic here, but to be even more specific, Texas DEMOCRATS don’t vote.  Congressman Veasey represents a heavily Democratic district, while Lampson competed in a district that leans GOP.

But Texas Democrats are definitely out there.  We know this because we’ve seen them before.  The 2008 Texas Primary garnered 2,868,454 Democrat voters to a mere 1,384,663 on the GOP side.  Great candidates, in combination with the right message can drive Democrats to the polls, even in the Lone Star State.  Hopefully Wendy Davis, Leticia Van de Putte and others will find that formula for the 2014 election.

2008 Primaries

Politics

DGA Has Little Faith in Wendy Davis

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A central part of the Democratic Party fundraising apparatus, the Democratic Governors Association is a group devoted to the nation’s gubernatorial races.  They pour in millions of dollars each year to turn the highest state offices around the country blue.

But if you’re a Texan, don’t expect much from them to help Wendy Davis get to the Governors’ Mansion.  Apparently because Texas Democrats have gone so long without a major win, the big money group have little faith that she can pull an upset. Here’s the take from the Wall Street Journal…

 

Despite the hype surrounding Texas Democrat Wendy Davis’ run for governor, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association didn’t include her state in a list of top targets in 2014.

Ms. Davis, a state senator, gained national acclaim for filibustering a bill last year that increased regulation of abortion clinics and banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Polls show Republican nominee  Greg Abbott with a double-digit lead in the state, which hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1994.

“We’re hopeful in Texas but we all understand that Democrats haven’t won Texas in a long time,” DGA Chairman and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin told reporters Tuesday at the Third Way think tank. He added,  “We hope this will be our year.”

Mr. Shumlin singled out Paul LePage in Maine, Rick Scott in Florida and Tom Corbett in Pennsylvania as the most vulnerable Republican incumbents. In the second tier are a trio of Midwestern governors  who also represent states won by President Barack Obama – Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio and Rick Snyder in Michigan.

 

It’s worth noting that Governor Shumlin’s assessment seems like an initial one, and as the 2014 season heats up, this could certainly change.  But if I were the Davis campaign, this should be a clarion call to help fund raise and further motivate Texas’ ‘sleeping giant’ Democratic base.  You never know… an email titled “Even Washington’s against us” may play better with Lone Star Independents than had she earned firm DGA support.  It seems like Davis has already figured this out.  From the San Antonio Express News, here’s the response from Davis campaign manager Karin Johanson…

 

“The uninformed opinions of a Washington, DC desk jockey who’s never stepped foot in Texas couldn’t be less relevant to what’s actually happening on the ground.

 

I couldn’t agree more.  This race isn’t going to be won because of something a Washington organization does anyway.  In Texas, the only Washington that Davis needs to care about is Washington-On-The-Brazos.  This state can only be won by re-making the Texas electorate, and getting people to come off from the sidelines to vote.  This is Davis’ most important goal, and they should keep their eyes on the prize.  In recent week’s she has done an excellent job of letting her independent spirit shine through, and that is what truly matters.

 

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TexWatch 2014: Past the Primaries Part 1

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The old saying goes like this…

Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line.

Once again, this political principle was on display this week’s Primary election. Republicans, as expected, were out in much greater force than their Democrat counterparts, despite all of the hope and anticipation of positive developments like Battleground Texas. In the first statewide election since BGTX’s founding, Democratic turnout was almost the same for 2014 as it was in 2010… dismal. The GOP side had easily twice the number of voters.

Houston Chronicle’s editorial board seems to agree…

The tea party groups won also in this, their third election cycle, because they are knowledgeable and engaged and they show up. They contest every office.

Are you listening Democrats? Until the state’s hapless minority party emulates the tea partiers, they’ll continue to embarrass themselves with such beyond-the-fringe candidates as Kesha Rogers, a Fort Bend County follower of Lyndon LaRouche who has advocated impeaching President Obama and who carts around a poster of the president with a Hitler mustache. Rogers is a Democrat in name only, but low-information primary voters keep voting for her anyway.

Knowledgeable? Well, TEA-Publicans definitely show up. And they always bring a trove of consistent, even if rarely factual, talking points. And in the state’s current voting environment, it’s enough to wallop the Democratic side.

But the most frustrating part of all of this? Even if Republicans are out-voting Democrats by a 2 to 1 margin, the combined voter turnout is still abysmal. Fewer than 1.9 million people voted in this week’s Primary election… roughly 0.5 percent of the state’s population made these decisions for 26 million Texans. 12 million registered voters were nowhere to be found. Of the supreme oligarchy that does manage to get to the polls, many of them have no clue what or who they’re voting for. There’s no better evidence of this than the fact that a virtual unknown can draw over 114,000 votes just because they have a name of Hispanic origin. Reynaldo “Ray” Madrigal, a Corpus Christi native and Wendy Davis’ only primary opponent, never even campaigned north of I-10.

After this week’s contest, it’s pretty easy to see why Texas Democrats are caught in a cycle of disappointment. They are still a weak party, but all is not lost. Some glimmers of hope (and likely evidence that Battleground Texas is making a difference) include increased voter turnout in urban counties, an improved fundraising apparatus and a literal ARMY of new volunteers. Check back for more insight into how statewide candidates did, and how they can win this November.

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Texoblogosphere: Week of February 24th

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The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks Ted Nugent is an appropriate spokesman for the modern Republican Party of Texas as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff analyzes the turnout issue for Democrats in 2014.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson on the Round Rock members of The Lege reporting to the local business lobby, while leaving out the issues that matter most to the people in their districts, Schwertner, Gonzales, & Dale Go To The Chamber.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is appalled at Texas Republicans holding a faux hearing on women’s health care. Give it up. Republicans have waged a real war against women and their health care. You’re not fooling anyone.

It’s Ted Nugent’s (Texas Republican) party, and we just have to live with it, noted the Texas Observer — and excerpted by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs. But there were also problemas grandes para Dan Patrick last week.

Texpatriate endorses John Whitmire in the Democratic primary for State Senate District 15.

Neil at All People Have Value was prompted by a visit to Galveston to reflect that we can choose to view ourselves in life on the mainland, on an island or at sea. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Robert Rivard argues that cities and counties are left trying to solve the problems caused by a generation of indifference from Texas’ state leadership.

Lone Star Q provides video of Wendy Davis discussing her support of same sex marriage to the Express News editorial board.

Concerned Citizens warns about the animus hiding behind religious exemptions.

Better Texas explains why a higher minimum wage is good for Texans.

Grits for Breakfast highlights the modern equivalent to the Dallas Buyers Club.

Nonsequiteuse gets to the heart of the Nugent/Abbott affair.

Greg Wythe continues his in depth look at how the voter ID law was enforced in the 2013 election in Harris County.

Burkablog celebrates what would have been Barbara Jordan’s 78th birthday.

Chris Quintero witnessed and videotaped two Austin Police Department officers detain and arrest a female jogger for jaywalking and not immediately identifying herself (see here for more).

And Swamplot makes us all feel old by taking a look at the house from Reality Bites, 20 years later.

Texas Politics

TexWatch 2014: Vote in the Democratic Primaries!

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First things first, an explanation…

Many readers may be wondering why Texas Leftist has been so mum on the 2014 Primary circuit. It’s due to a combination of factors… Some personal, and some professional. I wanted to sit back and see how the Primaries play out before endorsing particular candidates. I’m still learning about the statewide political landscape, so rather than dive in head-first like in the municipal elections, this is the decision I made for the primary cycle. Once the primary results come in, Texas Leftist will assume a more ‘active’ role, including sending candidate questionnaires to those that make it to the general election.

This decision was certainly NOT because I consider the primaries to be less important… they are absolutely crucial. For the Democrats, it’s even more important that you vote in this Primary election so that statewide political forces (Battleground Texas, etc.) can have a gauge of how their work is going. Remember that in general, a vote to support Democratic candidates is a vote to expand healthcare for our states poorest citizens, to actually invest in the education of our next generation, and to strive for equality of all Texans. These principles are likely to be part of Democratic Party platform.

There a few races however, that I will go ahead and endorse outright… Texas Leftist supports Wendy Davis for Governor, Leticia Van de Putte for Lieutenant Governor and Kim Ogg for Harris County District Attorney. Recent comments made by Lloyd Oliver, Ogg’s opponent, denying the existence of domestic violence against women are inaccurate and misleading. As a result, I have to leave the fence on that race.

As much as it pains me to do so, there is also one anti-endorsement that must be made. Please DO NOT VOTE FOR KESHA ROGERS. She is a “LaRouche Democrat” that openly advocates for the impeachment of President Obama. Rogers is a danger to the entire Texas Democratic party. If any friends ask you about Rogers, tell them to not to voter for her under any circumstances.

Though not covered at Texas Leftist, I highly recommend the following sources to help guide your voting choices for the Democratic Primary…

The Off the Kuff 2014 Elections Page is information central for Houston-area politics. He has a fantastic breakdown of local races, and a few other contests from around the state.

Another trusted resource is the Texpatriate Blog. They have conducted several candidate interviews for the Primaries, kept up with all of the latest developments, and offer insightful analysis of each race and it’s broader implications.

Early Voting is underway now in counties across the Houston area. Please go VOTE!!