GOPer to GOP: Blood on its hands

No MLB question today.

According to info provided to Commentary, as of a couple of days ago, here in Harris County, 29,477 mail ballots had been sent to Dems, 26,580 to GOPers.

Two years ago, for the 2016 primaries here in Harris County, 14,828 Dems voted by mail and 24,459 GOPers voted by mail. Care to guess which local political party is more energized this time around?

On a related note, it looks like some GOPers are finally waking up. Here is from MSN.com:

MSNBC host Nicole Wallace on Thursday questioned when the Republican Party will “wake up and realize it has blood on its hands” for its inaction on gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at a Florida high school.

“Democrats who are for gun control are fine doing more for the mentally ill, but Republicans who are for doing more for the mentally ill never want to have a conversation about gun control,” the “Deadline White House” host said. “When is the Republican Party going to wake up and realize it has blood on its hands?”

The MSNBC host accused the GOP of being “held hostage” by the National Rifle Association (NRA), referring to its massive contributions to lawmakers who are now insisting that Democrats should not use the latest mass shooting as an opportunity to push for new gun laws.

Wallace, who served as communications chief for former President George W. Bush’s White House, has previously argued that the Second Amendment is solely a protection for citizens to bear arms against foreign militias.

Good for her. I am thinking this will help get the GOP clobbered in November. I don’t know what it is, but in the aftermath of this mass shooting, it feels like the needle is finally moving.

Ronan Farrow has a piece out this morning in the “New Yorker” on another Donald Trump affair and of course the needle isn’t moving.

Make no mistake, Sen. Ted Cruz is the enemy of DREAMers. This fella does not represent Texas. Here is from Texas Monthly:

The old Ted Cruz reemerged Thursday as he castigated his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate for even considering renewing and expanding anti-deportation protections for Dreamers—children of undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country in violation of immigration laws.

During his first years representing Texas in the Senate, Cruz often attacked the Republican leadership as the “Washington cartel.” Since losing his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Cruz has been portraying himself as Ted Cruz 2.0, a kinder gentler politician who often voted with his party’s leadership. But as the Senate started to debate proposals to provide deportation protections to young immigrants who have been raised in this country, the beta version of Cruz returned. “I find myself flabbergasted with my own party in this debate,” Cruz said in a speech from the Senate floor.

Cruz said giving deportation protections and a path to citizenship to some immigrants was nothing more than a repeat of the amnesty program given to three million immigrants in the late 1980s. Because the federal government did not secure the border, he said, the number of people living in the country without having immigrated legally now exceeds twelve million. “I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, waking up reliving the same day over and over and over again.”

Cruz has been a hardliner against President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, more commonly known as DACA. During his 2016 run for president, Cruz told one Dreamer that he would deport her because she is living in the country illegally. “If you’re a DACA recipient it means that you were brought here illegally, and violating the laws has consequences.”

Here is the entire read: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/ted-cruz-lashes-fellow-republicans-immigration/.

It looks like he wants to make sure he wins big in the GOP primary. No wonder the majority of Texans don’t like this fella.

Commentary went to the State of Pasadena event yesterday and I must say it was for sure the most enjoyable state-of-the-whatever luncheon I have ever attended. Reid Ryan of the ‘Stros introduced via video tape Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner. The Mayor’s speech had a “whole new ballgame” theme. The Mayor also introduced a video featuring his “team” and I have to say Latinos were well represented. Chief of Staff James Rodriguez of course was featured at the end and he even got a batboy mention. The Mayor ended his speech by tossing a hardball into the audience. Nice job!

The first Spring Training game is a week from today.