#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: Casar calls Abbott's bluff (again)

"Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?"
Psalm 94:8

Greg Casar is the guest on the Nation magazine's latest podcast:

There’s a smarter way of doing politics emerging in this country, one that recognizes that every elected position has the potential to serve as a platform for transformational change. This is especially true at the city council level. City councilors govern at the intersection of grassroots engagement and public policy. If they get it right, they can can have ripple effects on local, state, and even national policies.

Few of the thousands of city council members in communities across this country know this better than Austin City Council member Greg Casar. Casar came to Austin as an activist and quickly realized the potential of the city council to address economic, social, and racial justice issues. Casar ran for—and won—a seat on the Austin council at age 25—becoming the youngest council member in the city’s history.

....

As a local elected official, Cesar has led groundbreaking struggles on behalf of worker rights, immigrant rights, and economic justice. Austin has taken the lead on issues like paid sick leave and fair hiring practices. And Casar and his activist allies have succeeded in defending much of the progress they have achieved from threats of preemption by a Republican-controlled state government.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

If you've been following Casar, then the full podcast doesn't contain a ton of new information.  Casar's strategies and tactics are obvious to anyone paying attention.  If you're new to the topic, however, the full podcast is worth your half hour.

That being said, the section on the legislature is priceless.  Casar ridicules the legislature for being completely dickless backing down in the face of the left's "organizing."  While Casar doesn't say so explicitly, special derision on this topic must go to a governor more interested in running his mouth on twitter than actually doing anything.

Bottom Line: Maybe Abbott will buy him a chicken sandwich....

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Full podcast:

#TXLEGE: Stephanie Klick is playing with FIRE

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

Not good:

Thirty Republican members publicly called for an in person caucus meeting (many more agree now) and the small in numbers Team Bonnen is doing everything they can to avoid it. They are desperate. #txlege pic.twitter.com/iN2h4g93gD

— Jonathan Stickland (@RepStickland) August 26, 2019

Bottom Line: An in-person caucus meeting *might* have been an opportunity to begin putting this scandal in the rear-view mirror. Apparently, that's not happening. Drip, drip, drip....

#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.

#TXLEGE: house Republicans belatedly recognize their own political self interest

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,"
1 Peter 5:6

That's quite the Friday Afternoon Document Dump:

House Republican caucus meeting request by Cahnman on Scribd

Bottom Line: This should have been done a month ago, but better late than never....

#TXLEGE: One inference from Abbott's Burrows Endorsement

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

We said our piece yesterday about the morality of Governor Abbott's endorsement of Dustin Burrows.  Obviously, it's sleazy.  Obviously, it's sordid.

Nevertheless, one can probably make an inference.

Burrows' role in the scandal must not poll badly, because if it did, there's no way Abbott would stick his neck out for him.

Because you know Abbott polled this first.

That being said, even if the above is likely true, Abbott's move remains shortsighted.  It's one thing to say that, in mid-August a year before the election, Dustin Burrows isn't a political liability.  It's something else entirely to say Burrows won't become one if this story is allowed to slow drip over the next year and a half.

Still, however, Abbott's action likely reveals that this scandal has yet to penetrate the general public's consciousness.

Bottom Line: It's not something upon which one should base one's moral compass, but Abbott's habit of polling everything probably allows you to draw some conclusions.

#TXLEGE: Abbott being Abbott (Burrows Endorsement Edition)

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

Of course he did:

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday endorsed state Rep. Dustin Burrows for reelection, giving the Lubbock lawmaker a vote of confidence as he deals with accusations that he and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen schemed to target fellow Republicans in the 2020 primaries.

"I am proud to endorse Representative Dustin Burrows for re-election, and I am grateful for his strong leadership in the Texas House," Abbott said in a statement. "Representative Burrows is a servant leader who puts the needs of his constituents first, and I look forward to continuing our important work together as we create an even brighter future for the state of Texas."

Abbott's endorsement comes days after Burrows resigned as chairman of the House Republican Caucus amid the ongoing fallout from the scandal with Bonnen, which the Texas Rangers are now investigating.

Yet they wonder why they're in political trouble (send money!!!).

This won't age well.

Bottom Line: Slow drip gonna keep drippin'....

#TXLEGE, #atxcouncil: "Abortion access" workaround illustrates POINTLESS STUPIDITY of original lege bill

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."
Romans 12:9

Of course they did:

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council members were joined by advocates at City Hall Monday afternoon when they announced their proactive budget measure to protect residents’ access to abortion services.

Last week, four city council members announced they planned to support up to $150,000 of city money being used to support transportation, childcare and counseling for women seeking abortions.

Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza attended alongside council members Greg Casar, Leslie Pool and Paige Ellis, who were joined by representatives of several abortion rights advocate groups, including the Lilith Fund and Fund Texas Choice.

Under the budget, local tax dollars would help pay for services like rides to and from a clinic. Under Texas law, it is illegal for local tax dollars to directly support abortion providers, so city council members say their decision aims to work around the barriers put in place.

Is anyone surprised?!?

Because if you are, you've been living under a rock.

During session, our state 'leaders' touted SB 22 as a major pro-life victory:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed legislation that prohibits cities and counties from doing business with abortion providers. The bill, which takes effect Sept. 1, specifically prevents local governments from entering into reduced tax and lease agreements with such organizations. It also prevents cities and counties from "advocacy or lobbying on behalf of the interests of an abortion provider or affiliate."

It does not impact hospitals or doctor's offices that perform fewer than 50 abortions per year.

Clinics that could be impacted include the Planned Parenthood in East Austin, which signed a 20-year lease with the city for $1 per month.

 Blah, blah, blah.

For council to find a cleverly lawyered way to technically comply with the letter of the law, while gutting its spirit, was completely predictable.  That they did so is a textbook illustration of why that bill was always a waste of time.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is a dullard, a liar, or a twit.

Imagine what could have happened if the lege had taken advantage of the opportunity to pass bills that actually did something.

(But send money....)

Bottom Line:  Council's action are awful.  Duh.  They're also completely predictable considering the incentives the lege created.  Spare us the phony outrage.