#TXLEGE: Regardless of outcome, Frank Pomeroy will being needed perspective

"Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me."
Nehemiah 4:18

Good:

Frank Pomeroy, the pastor of the Sutherland Springs church where the 2017 fatal shooting took place, announced Sunday he is running for Texas Senate.

Pomeroy said he will run as a Republican for District 21, currently held by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. It will be a uphill battle: The district is solidly Democratic, and Zaffirini has served since 1987.

“If I can bring civility and godliness and help stymie the downward spiraling of the great state of Texas, that’s what I’m choosing to try to do, Pomeroy said Sunday afternoon at his church after the service there. “I feel as though that morality and integrity is disappearing rapidly and I feel as though the direction Texas goes — if Texas falls, the country falls.”

....

District 21 stretches from Austin down to the Rio Grande Valley, wrapping around San Antonio, jutting out to near Corpus Christi and taking in Laredo to the south.

Let's get one thing out of the way: This author stopped endorsing candidates a looooooooong time ago, but as a resident of and voter in Senate District 21, we fully intend to vote for Pomeroy.

That being said, we should be realistic: The odds of Frank Pomeroy winning this district, especially with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, are minimal.

Nevertheless, Pomeroy can serve several useful functions.

Primarily: Southerland Springs was stopped by a good guy with a gun.  In an environment where everyone from the Governor on down is using El Paso as an excuse to attack lawful self defense, this point that cannot be stressed enough.  If Pomeroy's campaign accomplishes nothing else, keeping this fact front and center is a public service.

Beyond that, however, Pomeroy could serve a longer-term purpose.

Senate District 21 covers territory that has hosted some of the most staggering corruption in the history of this state:

• Duval County -- Books have literally been written about the wretched politics in this obscure corner of South Texas.  Learn more about Archie Parr here.  Learn more about George Parr here.

• "Landslide Lyndon" -- The 1948 U.S. Senate election that Lyndon Johnson stole (with generous assistance from the Parrs) hinged on Jim Wells county.

• Zaffirini herself -- Let's not forget that the incumbent Senator from this district swindled her cousin out of $35 million.  That's before you consider her living large off of campaign contributions or the various funny business related to admissions at UT law.  At a minimum, there's plenty of material to make Zaffirini's re-election painful.

Bottom Line: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.