Can you believe that the Lite Guv is getting flushed down the toilet? I ran into a GOP friend of mine at The Yard Saturday evening. She has been actively involved in local GOP politics for years and she is kind of in disbelief of what is going on inside of her party. Meanwhile, the Lite Guv is being reduced to campaigning at a Chick-Fil-A today. Here is a Texas Tribune story today on the latest poll:
Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz has a 10-point lead over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst……… according to the latest poll from Public Policy Polling.
The North Carolina-based firm………….. found Cruz leading Dewhurst 52 percent to 42 percent among likely voters ………….. Among voters who identify with the Tea Party, Cruz’s lead grows dramatically to 75 percent to 22 percent.
And:
Likely runoff voters said they were were 31 percent more likely to vote for someone endorsed by (Sarah) Palin, while only 16 percent were more likely to cast a ballot for a candidate endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry, according to the poll. Another 35 percent said they were less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Perry.
"Cruz’s victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters, a generational divide within the Texas Republican ranks, and the lack of regard the party base currently holds for Rick Perry," Tom Jensen, the firm’s polling director, wrote in a blog post. He noted that a victory for Cruz raises questions of whether Perry could survive a primary challenge in 2014 if he decided to run for re-election.
Here is from Burkablog this past weekend:
The tea party is an immediate threat but not a long-term one; it is a one-generation phenomenon, the last gasp of old angry uninformed white guys. Hispanics are a different story; they represent the future and without them the Republicans have no future. Does it change anyone’s thinking? Apparently not.
I had a conversation with a nationally known Republican consultant yesterday . Here is what he told me: “If Ted Cruz wins the Senate race, Texas will be a purple state in four years.” In other words, the tea party is so extreme that even a Democrat might be able to get elected. Does it change anyone’s thinking? Probably not.
My question to Lone Star State Dems is “why wait four years?” Why not accelerate things starting Wednesday morning?
A little over a million GOPers will cast votes in the GOP runoff tomorrow. In the 2008 General Election in the Lone Star State, eight million of us cast votes. That’s seven million voters that aren’t participating in the GOP mudfest. A lot of voters across the state have been turned off by the onslaught of negative ads that now have a mom blaming her kid’s suicide on Ted Cruz.
I think if Cruz wins he is damaged goods that Dems can seize upon over the next 99 days.
Commentary really doesn’t know who is running the Lone Star State Dem Party these days. Yeah, I know we have us a new Chair, but I don’t know if he’s in charge. Commentary also doesn’t know former State Rep. Paul Sadler and of course I don’t even know if he will win tomorrow but if he does, is he capable of convincing those in charge that he can mount a serious challenge?
I do know that here in Harris County if Cruz is the GOP nominee and if we properly redirect resources we can make huge inroads into parts of the County that Dems need in order to thrive, grow, and succeed.
163,000 GOPers voted in Harris County on May 29.
As of Friday, 70,000 GOPers had voted early here in Harris County. I don’t know how many will show up tomorrow.
In 2008, over 1.1 million voters went to the polls in Harris County. You get the picture?
If Cruz does pull it off tomorrow we need to immediately paint him and the rest of the GOP ballot as too extreme for the Lone Star State and Harris County. Commentary has said it before that in order for Dems to grow here in Harris County we have to head northwest. Commentary is also partial to my client, State Board of Education, District 6 candidate Traci Jensen. Traci’s GOP opponent Donna Bahorich is State Senator Dan Patrick’s former district director and every bit as scary as Ted Cruz. The showcasing of Traci Jensen, Rep. Sadler, and Sheriff Adrian Garcia against extremism candidates in that part of the county will result in more Dem votes up and down the ballot countywide.
Sometimes unexpected opportunities just show up at your doorstep. If Cruz wins, an opportunity is at our doorstep.
If the Dems in charge just shrug it off and go on about business as usual and cede the state to Cruz, the Tea Baggers, and extremism, then a “shame on you” would be letting them off too lightly.
In the MLB, only four teams do not have a mascot. Name the team?
From the Oh Brother Department: In the wake of the Aurora shooting, movie producer Harvey Weinstein wants to call a summit of movie makers to address how they handle violence in flicks. This is from the fella that produced “Pulp Fiction”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Halloween”, “Scream”, and “Grindhouse.” Shut up, Harvey!
The Leader, a local weekly community newspaper that serves my ‘hood, has a new look and team. Here is what they put out last week about Early Voting:
Where are the early voting sites?
by Charlotte Aguilar
charlotte@theleadernews.com
With early voting underway and a runoff election looming, we did our civic duty and attempted to prepare a list of polling places for voters in Leader neighborhoods for this issue. When it came to early voting, that wasn’t easy.
The Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and other north and northwest communities are a giant no-man’s-land when it comes to voting locations for those who, for whatever reason, can’t make it to their neighborhood polling place on Election Day.
The nearest sites are in River Oaks, Spring Branch, the West Loop/Galleria area, Acres Homes, Moody Park and downtown Houston.
Most other communities in Harris County – especially those with the knowledgeable, committed type of electorate that lives in our areas – have at least one convenient early voting location. We’re wondering about this and would love to hear from you:
1. If you do vote early, where do you go?
2. Is having polling places so far outside your community a deterrent for you to vote early?
3. Has it ever kept you from voting?
4. Where would be a good location in your community to place a regular polling site? (Think large community buildings with adequate parking.)
We’ll take your feedback (and our own concerns) to the appropriate Harris County officials for answers – and perhaps some action in time for the General Election in November. In the meantime, do get out and vote. Even if they make it a challenge for you to do so.
Nice job!
The Angels, Cubbies, Dodgers, and Yankees of course do not have a team mascot.
What the Fick! We now have on the roster ia pitcher named Chuckie Fick.
The ‘Stros traded third baseman Chris Johnson to the D-Backs yesterday and we finally got a W.
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