Texas -- a failed state

[Fudge Nuggets 18,977]

6 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Abbott, Patrick the nuts in the Legislature are actively pushing legislation that works against the rural counties.  This is relatively new, and is in spite of Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. 

And rural counties are too fucking stupid to realize it and will continue to pull the lever for team (R) no matter how shitty their lives get.

[atomheartbevo 89,015]

1 minute ago, Smax said:

and woman still vote GOP in states where they do everything they can to restrict woman's rights so ... as said on here many many times, Americans are dumb

That’s another one that I do think will hurt the Rs.

Texans are weird as shit - Mormon Mitt Fucking Romney outperformed Trump in Texas by a significant margin.

[atomheartbevo 89,015]

2 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

And rural counties are too fucking stupid to realize it and will continue to pull the lever for team (R) no matter how shitty their lives get.

Rural school districts have already been hit by the legislature fucking around.  Even I’m guilty of seeing them as stupid, but many are aware that if their schools suffer, the towns will suffer.

[Fudge Nuggets 18,977]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Rural school districts have already been hit by the legislature fucking around.  Even I’m guilty of seeing them as stupid, but many are aware that if their schools suffer, the towns will suffer.

Great, but they still won't do jack shit about it.

[Smax 3,799]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

Rural school districts have already been hit by the legislature fucking around.  Even I’m guilty of seeing them as stupid, but many are aware that if their schools suffer, the towns will suffer.

 

This is nowhere near the hierarchy of importance or maybe it is because Texas, but when this push for vouchers really started to make waves, I wondered what impact will it have on rural Texas town high school football. Could vouchers be the end of Friday Night Lights as we know it?

[South Austin 51,633]

Just now, atomheartbevo said:

Rural school districts have already been hit by the legislature fucking around.  Even I’m guilty of seeing them as stupid, but many are aware that if their schools suffer, the towns will suffer.

Sure, but so many of them will still vote Republican/MAGA. 

Case in point:  Look at the article in the Trump thread about all of the idiots using a significant amount of their savings to buy DJT stock, even as they see it plummeting with no sign of a positive ROI.  They're so mentally entrenched that they continue to support Trump even with tangible evidence of how it directly hurts them. 

I can see rural Texans still voting R even while watching their schools fall apart around them. 

[Macanudo 12,791]

Their schools are already falling down around them.   There was a great article somebody linked around here somewhere about a rural superintendent and the operational aspects of his district.  The buildings are aging, teachers are hard to attract and students are suffering. 

But they just keep voting R.

[Bozo_Casanova 25,874]

32 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Abbott, Patrick the nuts in the Legislature are actively pushing legislation that works against the rural counties.  This is relatively new, and is in spite of Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. 

Yes, rural and small city Texas has been doing really, really well for the last 30 years. 

7 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Their schools are already falling down around them.   There was a great article somebody linked around here somewhere about a rural superintendent and the operational aspects of his district.  The buildings are aging, teachers are hard to attract and students are suffering. 

But they just keep voting R.

This

Edited April 15 by Bozo_Casanova

[wildcat09 28,539]

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

No. Democrats have been saying this for decades and it WILL NOT WORK. Sure, it is hypothetically possible that one or more individual Democrat candidates could win a statewide race with a very strong campaign. That’s just hero ball, and can happen at any time. It’s not a strategy.
The political structure of Texas is unique, and the path to power via political party consolidation in Texas runs through the county courthouse and has since the late 1800’s.  When I pound the desk about Democratic political incompetence in Texas, that’s what I’m talking about. 

Democrats love to imagine the passage of time magically fixing all our problems. That would be a lot easier than if they actually had to do something. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,261]

18 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Their schools are already falling down around them.   There was a great article somebody linked around here somewhere about a rural superintendent and the operational aspects of his district.  The buildings are aging, teachers are hard to attract and students are suffering. 

But they just keep voting R.

and blaming Democrats

[Brisketexan 103,601]

17 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Their schools are already falling down around them.   There was a great article somebody linked around here somewhere about a rural superintendent and the operational aspects of his district.  The buildings are aging, teachers are hard to attract and students are suffering. 

But they just keep voting R.

Alpine.  Their communities and schools are dying painful deaths.  GQP has passed policies and is pushing more policies that will make their problems even worse.  

But the communities continue to vote GQP at a 90% rate because better to have their schools collapse, their kids grow up with shitty education and limited opportunities......so long as they aren't exposed to any woke trans CRT bullshit!

The wounds of rural Texas are almost entirely self-inflicted.  And their response to being bullet-riddled and bleeding out?  RELOAD!

[tx 3 putt 75,474]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Alpine.  Their communities and schools are dying painful deaths.  GQP has passed policies and is pushing more policies that will make their problems even worse.  

But the communities continue to vote GQP at a 90% rate because better to have their schools collapse, their kids grow up with shitty education and limited opportunities......so long as they aren't exposed to any woke trans CRT bullshit!

The wounds of rural Texas are almost entirely self-inflicted.  And their response to being bullet-riddled and bleeding out?  RELOAD!

next two election cycles, rural Texas will see a huge population drop off

[Pescado_Rojo 19,261]

6 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

next two election cycles, rural Texas will see a huge population drop off

doesn't matter. They'll just move to a suburb and keep voting R. 

[Brisketexan 103,601]

Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

doesn't matter. They'll just move to a suburb and keep voting R. 

Bingo.  They'll move to a burb, get a dead-end job, finance an $80k lifted truck they really can't afford, slap a "Fuck Joe Biden" sticker on the back of it, and keep on keeping on.

[Nivek 16,684]

On 4/11/2024 at 4:33 PM, bolverk said:

Crossposting for more eyeballs.

 

But I was told that if we taxed them they would start to become political?  

[tx 3 putt 75,474]

6 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

doesn't matter. They'll just move to a suburb and keep voting R. 

lot of my cousins are from the same small town, they all moved away years ago. That small town was a south texas hub, and it’s nothing but empty buildings. All my aunts and uncles still live there, but the working age people are long gone 

[SydneyCarton 47,471]

41 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Their schools are already falling down around them.   There was a great article somebody linked around here somewhere about a rural superintendent and the operational aspects of his district.  The buildings are aging, teachers are hard to attract and students are suffering. 

But they just keep voting R.

Because, here's the irony: Are their towns better off than they were 4 years ago? No, they are not. They just won't connect it to their own voting behvaior 

[wildcat09 28,539]

13 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

next two election cycles, rural Texas will see a huge population drop off

Those who die will be replaced by the far-right lunatics leaving blue states for exurbs in Texas and Florida where they think they can legally shoot anyone with a tan. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,310]

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

No. Democrats have been saying this for decades and it WILL NOT WORK. Sure, it is hypothetically possible that one or more individual Democrat candidates could win a statewide race with a very strong campaign. That’s just hero ball, and can happen at any time. It’s not a strategy.
The political structure of Texas is unique, and the path to power via political party consolidation in Texas runs through the county courthouse and has since the late 1800’s.  When I pound the desk about Democratic political incompetence in Texas, that’s what I’m talking about. 

Believe you're exaggerating somewhat. Dems have only been out of power for a few decades and it took them a first 10-15 years to acknowledge a problem. I'm unsure if there even is a state Democrat party at the moment.

GWB and Rick Perry were standard Republicans who may have turned Texas right, but they stayed away from the direction that we're now seeing with Abbott, Goeb and Paxton. GWB and Perry were somewhat aligned with an average Texas republican. The new crew are all MAGA level crazy and that isn't aligned with the average Texan. The average Texan is just slow to react.

Obviously it's was premature for some to think that Texas would  flip blue in 2016-22. I agree that '24 is not there yet and may even regress some from '20 due to the Biden dementia myth.

[SydneyCarton 47,471]

3 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Believe you're exaggerating somewhat. Dems have only been out of power for a few decades and it took them a first 10-15 years to acknowledge a problem. I'm unsure if there even is a state Democrat party at the moment.

GWB and Rick Perry were standard Republicans who may have turned Texas right, but they stayed away from the direction that we're now seeing with Abbott, Goeb and Paxton. GWB and Perry were somewhat aligned with an average Texas republican. The new crew are all MAGA level crazy and that isn't aligned with the average Texan. The average Texan is just slow to react.

Obviously it's was premature for some to think that Texas would  flip blue in 2016-22. I agree that '24 is not there yet and may even regress some from '20 due to the Biden dementia myth.

Based on my neighbors, I wouldn't say the average texan is slow to react. Becuase they're still dressing up their kid as "Creepy Joe Biden" for halloween and laughing their asses off. 

[tx 3 putt 75,474]

9 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Those who die will be replaced by the far-right lunatics leaving blue states for exurbs in Texas and Florida where they think they can legally shoot anyone with a tan. 

plenty of empty buildings to move into and great tex mex 

Edited April 15 by tx 3 putt

[RDCanecutter 25,968]

17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Bingo.  They'll move to a burb, get a dead-end job, finance an $80k lifted truck they really can't afford, slap a "Fuck Joe Biden" sticker on the back of it, and keep on keeping on.

If you throw in a Dairy Queen it actually sounds like a fulfilling life. Too bad these voices in my head hold me back from it.

[Brisketexan 103,601]

Just now, RDCanecutter said:

If you throw in a Dairy Queen it actually sounds like a fulfilling life. Too bad these voices in my head hold me back from it.

We're talking about the burbs.  No DQ.  Just Applebees, as far as the eye can see......

[RDCanecutter 25,968]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

We're talking about the burbs.  No DQ.  Just Applebees, as far as the eye can see......

Reminds me of one time I took an outer ring road around the Atlanta metro. It was the same pie-slice of suburbia on repeat every 5 miles, Bed Bath and Beyond and all the chains flashing past like the repeating background when the Flintstones drive somewhere.

7 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

plenty of empty buildings to move into and great tex mex 

Art colony. But then you've got artists.

[bluto 4,814]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

GWB and Perry were somewhat aligned with an average Texas republican. The new crew are all MAGA level crazy and that isn't aligned with the average Texan.

I think you’re dead wrong on that last sentence. Just look at the recent/ongoing bloodbath in the state gop primaries where even semi maga assholes got railroaded by Shelley Luther. 

[Pato del Muerto 52,093]

Rural Texas R voter:  this all sucks like my rep and governor say it does. It’s the democrats’ fault, so I just need to keep electing Rs until they are able to fend off the evil progressive agenda that is to blame for my plight. Progressives are so insidious they they are affecting their agenda despite being a clear minority in the legislature and the governor et al having been republicans for generations now.  I hope my SSD check comes soon. 

[Macanudo 12,791]

2 hours ago, wildcat09 said:

Those who die will be replaced by the far-right lunatics leaving blue states for exurbs in Texas and Florida where they think they can legally shoot anyone with a tan. 

Wait, can we shoot people who tan?   Because in some respects, taking out those who fake bake or spray tan would make things better.

[Eskimohorn 5,569]

Um, 70% of Texans live in the big four metro areas.
The issue is strategic, not political. Rural Texas got bright red as the Democratic Party abandoned efforts to win rural county courthouses in the 90s and hasn’t gone back since and consequently lose rural areas by default while the GOP still contests elections in the urban and suburban counties, and the efforts add up.
So example- Travis County went 72% for Biden- other urban counties were blue, but less so. The bluest county in the Panhandle was Potter- where Amarillo held Trump down to 68%. The panhandle as a whole (including Potter) was over 80% for Trump. Further south on the western edge of the Big Country, Midland county was 75%.
 
In other words- it’s rural Texas that is out of touch with Texans. They are just so intensely out of touch that they are able to carry the state in coalition with disaffected city dwellers.
 

Texans includes people in cities. And from my perspective in Austin, dems in city council are being dunked on from issues like homelessness, public safety and affordability. Dems need to be the party of good governance and not get sucked in too much on wedge issues. But they need to be competent and responsive and have a clear communication. When Fitlump is one of our best council members in some respects, you see the rot exposed. And state gov is exploiting this weakness.

Hell, even the grifter Dan Patrick understands that investors are driving up the price of single family homes. And with our upzoning scheme, welcomed by investors, developers and realtors, we will make each plot even more lucrative. His study on the issue will be a money grab but nevertheless.

[Eskimohorn 5,569]

Also, why not woke and CRT while you’re at it

Out of touch and arrogant.

[SubliminalHorn 6,384]

23 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Abbott, Patrick the nuts in the Legislature are actively pushing legislation that works against the rural counties.  This is relatively new, and is in spite of Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. 

THEY. DON’T. CARE

Rural morons will still vote against their interests as long as there is an R next to the name. Cults and brainwashing have that effect 

[tchookem 3,895]

 
This is nowhere near the hierarchy of importance or maybe it is because Texas, but when this push for vouchers really started to make waves, I wondered what impact will it have on rural Texas town high school football. Could vouchers be the end of Friday Night Lights as we know it?

Home schooled kids can get a voucher and participate in the local ISD's extracurriculars.

[LCHorn 2,557]

On 4/15/2024 at 8:21 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

Sure, it is hypothetically possible that one or more individual Democrat candidates could win a statewide race with a very strong campaign. That’s just hero ball, and can happen at any time. It’s not a strategy.

I’m repeating myself from other threads but I disagree with this part-I think the hero ball strategy is the most viable to rebuild the state party.  Basically, you need a Beto who can win and use that success for a state party takeover.  Then you use that to leverage change (or just recruit) at the purple district/county level.  Places like the panhandle, Midland/Odessa/Tyler aren’t there yet (if ever) and contesting those races are a misuse of resources.
 

Ezra Klein writes about this all the time but this also needs to coincide with a change in the conversation away from the protection of civil rights to basic management competency, a little like Andy Beshear has done.  

[Smax 3,799]

1 hour ago, tchookem said:

On 4/15/2024 at 9:21 AM, Smax said:

 
This is nowhere near the hierarchy of importance or maybe it is because Texas, but when this push for vouchers really started to make waves, I wondered what impact will it have on rural Texas town high school football. Could vouchers be the end of Friday Night Lights as we know it?

Home schooled kids can get a voucher and participate in the local ISD's extracurriculars.

 

ok... not really sure how that pertains to my statement you quoted

[Macanudo 12,791]

1 hour ago, LCHorn said:

I’m repeating myself from other threads but I disagree with this part-I think the hero ball strategy is the most viable to rebuild the state party.  Basically, you need a Beto who can win and use that success for a state party takeover.  Then you use that to leverage change (or just recruit) at the purple district/county level.  Places like the panhandle, Midland/Odessa/Tyler aren’t there yet (if ever) and contesting those races are a misuse of resources.
 

Ezra Klein writes about this all the time but this also needs to coincide with a change in the conversation away from the protection of civil rights to basic management competency, a little like Andy Beshear has done.  

I agree with you about the process bit even someone like Beshear is fighting a huge up hill battle and if he is subject to term limits there's a pretty good chance that a MAGA candidate ends up in the governors mansion.

[tchookem 3,895]

 
ok... not really sure how that pertains to my statement you quoted

They're making sure that the Tim Tebows of West Texas will still be able to be part of Friday Night Lights... AND their parents will get a voucher to help pay for their totally legit homeschooling curriculum.

[Bozo_Casanova 25,874]

3 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:

Out of touch and arrogant.

Better watch out, pretty soon woke new urbanists are going to bring Homeless looters to the Liberty Hill elementary school for Drag Queen CRT Hour. 

SAD!

Edited April 16 by Bozo_Casanova

[Bozo_Casanova 25,874]

1 hour ago, LCHorn said:

I think the hero ball strategy is the most viable to rebuild the state party.  Basically, you need a Beto who can win and use that success for a state party takeover.

Me: Democrats have been running that play for 30 years. It never works.

LCHorn: Correction! It never works yet.

[tx 3 putt 75,474]

On 4/15/2024 at 9:14 AM, Fudge Nuggets said:

And rural counties are too fucking stupid to realize it and will continue to pull the lever for team (R) no matter how shitty their lives get.

Texas rural counties are still pissed we had a black president for 8 years 

[Smax 3,799]

41 minutes ago, tchookem said:

1 hour ago, Smax said:

 
ok... not really sure how that pertains to my statement you quoted

They're making sure that the Tim Tebows of West Texas will still be able to be part of Friday Night Lights... AND their parents will get a voucher to help pay for their totally legit homeschooling curriculum.

 

 

Not the angle I was going for but ok I guess

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2,648]

On 4/15/2024 at 9:14 AM, Fudge Nuggets said:

And rural counties are too fucking stupid to realize it and will continue to pull the lever for team (R) no matter how shitty their lives get.

Real question -- do Democratic candidates even run in places like that these days? I don't know but taking a look around the Canyon Lake area last month, I saw plenty of campaign signs but none saying Democrat. 

Railing on rurals for voting against their own interests is probably justified but what if their only choices are Lunatic and Lunatic Plus because the D's just concede, thereby perpetuating the party's cycle of hopelessness?  I think I'm saying what Bozo is saying ?

[texasdago 7,407]

Well this is comforting...

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-hack-us-infrastructure-texas-water-system-sandworm-2024-4

[fattyflattie 4,633]

On 4/16/2024 at 12:13 PM, tx 3 putt said:

Texas rural counties are still pissed we had a black president for 8 years 

Anecdotal, but every single R I know has 10x the contempt for Biden than they did for Obama.  It’s not even close.  Obama is spoken about more like Clinton.  
 

On 4/16/2024 at 10:09 AM, LCHorn said:

Basically, you need a Beto

Please. Please. PLEASE. 

[4th&Five 41,183]

Because they’ve heard their orange god call him a criminal for the last 5 years. You and your friends are easily manipulated morons. 

[HenryJames 65,525]

8 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Anecdotal, but every single R I know has 10x the contempt for Biden than they did for Obama.  It’s not even close.  Obama is spoken about more like Clinton.  

Ten years from now: Anecdotal, but every single R I know has 10x the contempt for [Democratic President] than they did for Biden.  It’s not even close.  Biden is spoken about more like Obama.  

[atomheartbevo 89,015]

https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-leaders-weigh-marijuana-options-after-local-decriminalization-measure-fails/

So local communities have been  voting on decriminalizing marijuana, letting the citizens decided.  Sounds good, especially for small government Republicans in Texas

Quote

An effort to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana appeared on the ballot recently in another Texas community, and the results turned out differently than similar initiatives in other Texas cities.

On May 5, voters in Lubbock overwhelming rejected Proposition A by a margin of 30 percentage points — 65% opposed the measure, while 35% supported it. If approved, it would have told police to stop arresting people for having less than four ounces of marijuana in most cases.

Quote

The proposed reform drew loud opposition from local conservative leaders, like Texas Rep. Carl Tepper. 

He explained why he believed the effort failed there, while six other Texas cities — Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos — already approved similar decriminalization measures.

 

Quote

“Because Lubbock has common sense,” Tepper said Thursday. “People from Lubbock travel a lot. We’re a great place to live, but our folks like to go out of town for vacation. Again, they’ve been to Portland; they’ve been to Denver; they’ve been in New York City. They have some common sense. Those other communities made a horrible, terrible mistake.”

Still, the MAGA folks in a Lubbock voted against it, so Republican cities can do what they want on the issue, and Democratic cities can do what they want.  Again, small government Republicans should approve of decisions being made at the local level, right?

 

Quote

One change that’s likely to come next year during the regular legislative session, though, is making it harder for cities to get these kinds of measures on a ballot. Tepper said he’s already planning to introduce such a measure. 

“We’re all looking at closing that loophole so that you can no longer introduce something into a municipal referendum that would in the end be counter to state law,” Tepper said. “It’s hard to make an idea into law, but we’re going to be attempting to get that one through.”

Quote

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously announced he’s suing five of the cities where voters approved these marijuana decriminalization measures. Leaders with Ground Game Texas shared Thursday they would intervene in Austin’s case to defend the city’s results.

Quote

When it comes to Texas voters’ feelings about marijuana legalization, pollsters from the University of Texas and The Texas Politics Project have regularly asked people about this. 

According to the December 2023 statewide poll, a plurality of voters (34%) said marijuana possession should be legal in medical purposes only. Meanwhile, 30% said having small amounts for any purpose should be legal. Full legalization of marijuana had the support of 19% of the respondents, while 17% said it should not be legal in any circumstance.

If the pot smokers and Harris County folks would just get out and fucking vote, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Edited May 13 by atomheartbevo

[Pato del Muerto 52,093]

Yeah residents of Lubbock are constantly heading to Portland and nyc. 

[texasdago 7,407]

53 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Yeah residents of Lubbock are constantly heading to Portland and nyc. 

Don't forget San Francisco 

[Bozo_Casanova 25,874]

Good news everyone! TravCo GOP chair Matt Mackowiak is taking his streak of 2nd place finishes and running for state GOP Chair. May his success here follow him!

 

[HenryJames 65,525]

Completely soulless.

[atomheartbevo 89,015]

58 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Good news everyone! TravCo GOP chair Matt Mackowiak is taking his streak of 2nd place finishes and running for state GOP Chair. May his success here follow him!

 

So the Travis GOP chair will be available?

Fitlump.....