Matthew McConaughey Truly Considering Run for Governor

[Js1 85,112]

Don’t fully disagree with this. He could start carving out a platform now if he truly desired - Texas GOP is just handing the Dems an opening

 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,345]

I heard that Lindsey Graham has endorsed McConaughey but for Senator.  "I'd be more than happy to caucus with Matthew in my chambers"  Lindsey said. 

[WhatTheBuck 28,713]

1 hour ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

I heard that Lindsey Graham has endorsed McConaughey but for Senator.  "I'd be more than happy to caucus with Matthew in my chambers"  Lindsey said. 

What Lindsey meant was that he’d support McConaughey’s butt for senator and he’d be more than happy to suck his cock. 

[DonkeyCigars 144]

I would vote for MM tomorrow. The numbers show he could potentially win tomorrow. Why is that? Because he's MM and we all have our own idea and thoughts of what he is, who is he and what ideals he stands for and we all project them on to our own. That is why celebrities are targets for political office; there is a lot of body of work out there already, so you can find something somewhere that you identify and enjoy.

If you want MM to win, as a Trojan Horse, to be elected and end the Republican stronghold of Texas and work inside out on more liberal policies, then throw the support now and don't make him be specific and let him keep that celebrity edge of being something to everyone.

If you want MM to lose because either a) you are a political purist and want a real politician who is explicit and prescriptive on their ideas and plan or b) you have a different candidate in mind you are emotionally tied to then harass the MM team to paint him into a corner on issues and erode his bipartisan support so the R's win again.

I would vote for MM tomorrow. This is because I like him, I'm a Longhorn, I feel a connection to him having hung out with him once in Austin 5 years ago, and I have plausible deniability based on a vagueness of various stances. This is how you win [in Texas] /adamsandler

Edited April 19, 2021 by DonkeyCigars

[Red Five 40,665]

Matthew McConaughey? The actor?? Then who's Lieutenant Governor, Woody Harrelson? I suppose Renee Zellweger is first lady and Owen Wilson is Secretary of the Treasury. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,331]

3 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Matthew McConaughey? The actor?? Then who's Lieutenant Governor, Woody Harrelson? I suppose Renee Zellweger is first lady and Owen Wilson is Secretary of the Treasury. 

I'd take MM and Woody as LT Gov. It would be a drastic improvement over what we've got, and I don't even need to hear their platform. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13,049]

6 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Matthew McConaughey? The actor?? Then who's Lieutenant Governor, Woody Harrelson? I suppose Renee Zellweger is first lady and Owen Wilson is Secretary of the Treasury. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Mrs Whiggins
NVM, I think she moved full time to Cali.

[Js1 85,112]

56 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I would vote for MM tomorrow. The numbers show he could potentially win tomorrow. Why is that? Because he's MM and we all have our own idea and thoughts of what he is, who is he and what ideals he stands for and we all project them on to our own.

Yeah, this is wrong.

First off, running a celebrity for public office in Texas? HA.  Liberal Hollywood Elitist Texas Longhorn Democrat will be used to rile up the rubes.  Easiest attack line in existence, especially a guy like MM who is kind of a hippie persona.  Just wait until the blue hairs get all riled up bc MM is a pot smoking celebrity. 

At the moment, he's 100% an empty suit until he actually takes a position besides "aggressive centrist" where he scolds Democrats for not being nice to Trump supporters.  That'll play well with the base. 

Secondly, Democrats running statewide in Texas have a hard time breaking 44% of the vote.  They have a pretty hard ceiling currently, unfortunately.   Let's look at the last decade, where 1 major statewide candidate actually broke through - Beto in 2018.   

If you want to handicap it - he starts with a floor of 40-44% and a ceiling of 48% in a D-friendly midterm environment like 2018.  I don't see where he wins unless a right-leaning third party candidate runs and draws votes from Abbott - which isn't unheard of, as the far far right seems "unhappy" with him. 

Governor: 

2010 - Bill White 42.3%
2014 - Wendy Davis 38.9%
2018 - Lupe Valdez 42.5%

Senate

2008 - Rick Noriega 42.8%
2012 - Paul Sadler 40.6%
2014 - David Alameel 34.4%
2018 - Beto O'Rourke 48.3%
2020 - MJ Hegar 43.9

Even in this UT Tyler poll, he's at 45%, right in line with the ceiling of most statewide Democrats. 

[DonkeyCigars 144]

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Yeah, this is wrong.

First off, running a celebrity for public office in Texas? HA.  Liberal Hollywood Elitist Texas Longhorn Democrat will be used to rile up the rubes.  Easiest attack line in existence, especially a guy like MM who is kind of a hippie persona.  Just wait until the blue hairs get all riled up bc MM is a pot smoking celebrity. 

At the moment, he's 100% an empty suit until he actually takes a position besides "aggressive centrist" where he scolds Democrats for not being nice to Trump supporters.  That'll play well with the base. 

Secondly, Democrats running statewide in Texas have a hard time breaking 44% of the vote.  They have a pretty hard ceiling currently, unfortunately.   Let's look at the last decade, where 1 major statewide candidate actually broke through - Beto in 2018.   

If you want to handicap it - he starts with a floor of 40-44% and a ceiling of 48% in a D-friendly midterm environment like 2018.  I don't see where he wins unless a right-leaning third party candidate runs and draws votes from Abbott - which isn't unheard of, as the far far right seems "unhappy" with him. 

Governor: 

2010 - Bill White 42.3%
2014 - Wendy Davis 38.9%
2018 - Lupe Valdez 42.5%

Senate

2008 - Rick Noriega 42.8%
2012 - Paul Sadler 40.6%
2014 - David Alameel 34.4%
2018 - Beto O'Rourke 48.3%
2020 - MJ Hegar 43.9

Even in this UT Tyler poll, he's at 45%, right in line with the ceiling of most statewide Democrats. 

Good input, thanks for posting.

Well, there goes that (MM) idea.

Next idea up!

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/16/matthew-mcconaughey-texas-governor-run-488536

Quote

But the Academy Award-winning actor’s interest goes a step further than musings in interviews. McConaughey has been quietly making calls to influential people in Texas political circles, including a deep-pocketed moderate Republican and energy CEO, to take their temperature on the race and to talk about seriously throwing his hat in the ring, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations.

Quote

Most political strategists say they doubt McConaughey, a Texas native, will sacrifice his status as a beloved cultural icon in the state for the dirty business of politics. They don’t see a viable path forward, either, pointing to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s backing among the business community and millions in the bank — but the state’s political class is keeping a close eye on the Hollywood star’s plans nonetheless.

Quote

Abbott, 63, is planning to run for a third term, and he has maintained support of Republican voters even after his shaky handling of the ice storm that wiped out the state’s electric grid and cost more than 100 lives. He already faces a primary challenger from the right wing of the party with former state Sen. Don Huffines, who is running in the pugilistic style of Donald Trump. And there is speculation that Texas GOP chair Allen West and Sid Miller, the current Texas agriculture commissioner, will enter the race, too. Still, Abbott remains the overwhelming GOP favorite and over the years has built out a significant political machine that others would struggle to match.

Quote

A McConaughey run as an independent would likely strip both Democratic and Independent voters away and tip the scales in favor of Abbott. 

“The problem with running as an independent is we have seen this movie before,” said longtime Democratic strategist Paul Begala, pointing to Gov. Rick Perry’s 2006 win. 

Back then, quirky singer-songwriter Kinky Friedman and former Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn ran as independents, and while they finished behind Perry and Democratic candidate Chris Bell, they still managed to pull in 12 and 18 percent of the vote, respectively — votes Democrats say were pulled away from Bell. A Democrat has not been governor of Texas since Ann Richards, 26 years ago.

 

 

[Biff Tannen 45,499]

11 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/16/matthew-mcconaughey-texas-governor-run-488536

 

 

Yeah, nothing about him entering the race hurts Abbott. 

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

6 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Yeah, nothing about him entering the race hurts Abbott. 

On the surface, but I think it'd distract the shit out of Abbott.

Then again, Abbott has to worry about his own primary.

[Mrs Whiggins 13,049]

I didn't leave the Republican party so that Republicans could continue to drive this state off a cliff.

Yes, this helps Abbott and after this February, it's time for someone who is not Abbott and not one of the grifting lunatics in that tent to lead the state to a better future.

[mchookem 16,224]

MM on the cover of AARP (shut up 😄) magazine this month. mostly light. some family history. talks about his first 'McConnaisance' (haha i had not heard him use that before)... and that he's going thru another one now. looking for a leadership role, he mentions philanthropy, ministry(!),  and/or politics. 

non-committal, but said this which i thought was interesting 🤨

he's honestly a pretty exceptional individual. i get him...i keep thinking at some point i won't, and i can see how some don't, but i still do. 🤘

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/07/04/gov-abbott-rebounds-against-possible-challenger-matthew-mcconaughey-has-razor-thin-edge-over-actor/

Quote

Gov. Greg Abbott, after trailing potential challenger Matthew McConaughey in the spring, has rebounded and now has a slight — but not statistically significant — lead over the movie star in a hypothetical matchup in next year’s race for governor, according to a poll released Sunday by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler.

Abbott, a two-term Republican, is favored by 39% of Texans of all political stripes, while McConaughey, who hasn’t picked a political party or even committed to running, draws backing from 38%. Nearly a quarter of Texans said they’d vote for someone else.

Quote

The poll, conducted June 22-29, surveyed 1,090 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Quote

It showed that since April, Abbott has improved his standing with all voters, though he’s still behind among independents. He is likely to handily dispatch fellow Republican and former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas in their tussle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Among Texans who say they’ll vote in the Republican primary, Abbott leads Huffines, 77% to 12%.

Quote

While no major Democrat has announced against Abbott, former El Paso congressman and presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke hasn’t ruled out another bid for statewide office.

If O’Rourke tosses his bandanna in the ring, he starts out behind: While about two-thirds of Democrats support O’Rourke, 78% of the more numerous Republicans back Abbott. And Abbott’s edging O’Rourke among independents (35%-28%), for an overall lead of 45%-33% in their general-election showdown.

 

 

[David Dennison 18,661]

Great.

[mchookem 16,224]

i love Beto, but he has no chance. it's really kinda sad how his aspirations have devolved.

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

1 hour ago, David Dennison said:

Great.

Abbott has done a good job of putting February in the rear-view mirror.

I'm kind of hoping that West can take him down a few notches in the primary, but I wouldn't be surprised if Abbott was a part of the reason West "resigned" from the TRP.

[Satchel 6,908]

46 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Abbott has done a good job of putting February in the rear-view mirror.

I'm kind of hoping that West can take him down a few notches in the primary, but I wouldn't be surprised if Abbott was a part of the reason West "resigned" from the TRP.

Given how little attention Abbott gave to grid issues, he’d better hope for few power outages during July and August, especially since he’s hung his hopes on divisive cultural issues. 

[4th&Five 41,461]

As soon as MM chooses a party or actually takes a stance he loses half his support. I think he’s smart enough to know this and never will. 

[GRHorn 105]

 

[Js1 85,112]

18 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

As soon as MM chooses a party or actually takes a stance he loses half his support. I think he’s smart enough to know this and never will. 

Yup. He hasn’t really taken any positions. He’s an empty suit right now. 

[Surly Bevo 24,696]

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Yup. He hasn’t really taken any positions. He’s an empty suit right now. 

He's not pro-life, he's pro-L-I-V-I-N

[Sawbonz 27,436]

Beto fucked himself on guns. 

[Satchel 6,908]

1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

Beto fucked himself on guns. 

Not with the population centers of Texas.

[Disco Strangler 1,865]

1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

Beto fucked himself on guns. 
 

Hot Wheels’ record: 

-Santa Fe High School massacre 

-Southerland Springs church massacre

-Midland / Odessa highway massacre

-El Paso Walmart massacre 

-open carry for all coming Sept 2021

. . . But yeah, Beto is is dipshit on guns.  If only he were on the right side of history on this issue. 

[Sawbonz 27,436]

2 minutes ago, Disco Strangler said:

Hot Wheels’ record: 

-Santa Fe High School massacre 

-Southerland Springs church massacre

-Midland / Odessa highway massacre

-El Paso Walmart massacre 

-open carry for all coming Sept 2021

. . . But yeah, Beto is is dipshit on guns.  If only he were on the right side of history on this issue. 

I didn’t say beto was wrong. I said he’s not gonna fucking win Texas saying that shit. You don’t have to like it. It’s true

[Satchel 6,908]

From the latest UT/TT Poll:

Overall, 59% of Texas voters oppose unlicensed, or “constitutional,” carry of handguns in public spaces. The poll also found that the share of Republicans who support background checks on all gun purchases (64%) is larger than the share who support unlicensed carry (56%).

Our politicians make us appear more gun crazy than we actually are. There are millions of Texas who don’t like or own guns.

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

Beto fucked himself on guns. 

He's still young.  And let's not kid ourselves, the next mass shooting here in Texas, whether school-related or not, in light of Abbott pushing this stuff, is going to kick a lot of things into overdrive.  Republicans can fuck around with voting by poor people and try to make it harder, but they should have been more concerned about the librools moving in from the coasts, particularly the Californians, and they should have been concerned with young parents who maybe weren't active politically, but now they are dealing with their kids doing active-shooter drills.

Roughly, over the last 4 years, over 320,000 have moved from California (and there's plenty more from other states).  Obviously many are not enough to vote, but that's still potentially tossing 100,000 - 160,000 potential voters into the mix.

Texas loses around 1,800 olds per 100,000 adults ages 65-74, roughly 30-35,000 a year (probably higher, because the 80 and up crowd is not included).

Republicans should be trying to go big tent instead of fucking around and thinking they have time to find out.

[Satchel 6,908]

I don’t think it’s prudent to put our trust in the California transplants:

A CNN exit poll showed that O'Rourke beat Cruz among native Texans, 51 percent to 48 percent. In contrast, 57 percent of people who had moved to Texas said they voted for Cruz, compared to 42 percent who voted for O'Rourke.

[Sawbonz 27,436]

43 minutes ago, Satchel said:

From the latest UT/TT Poll:

Overall, 59% of Texas voters oppose unlicensed, or “constitutional,” carry of handguns in public spaces. The poll also found that the share of Republicans who support background checks on all gun purchases (64%) is larger than the share who support unlicensed carry (56%).

Our politicians make us appear more gun crazy than we actually are. There are millions of Texas who don’t like or own guns.

A big enough chunk of Texans can be against constitutional carry, for background checks, and also not want a guy who says hell yeah I’m coming for your guns to keep him from winning statewide office. He could walk back his statement but won’t. He can’t beat Abbot with that rhetoric. If some (loonier) loon gets the Republican nomination he might swing it, but I don’t see that happening. 
 

I’d love to be proven wrong though

[Satchel 6,908]

While I can’t be sure, I believe there’s a good number of Texans who are perfectly okay with Beto advocating against AR-15 type weapons. Those who fall into this category are not as noisy as the gun idolaters and are pretty much ignored.

[tantric superman 4,667]

1 hour ago, Satchel said:

Not with the population centers of Texas.

Beto fucked himself by thinking he could win in Texas with just the non-gun loving folks in the population centers.

[Sawbonz 27,436]

7 minutes ago, Satchel said:

While I can’t be sure, I believe there’s a good number of Texans who are perfectly okay with Beto advocating against AR-15 type weapons. Those who fall into this category are not as noisy as the gun idolaters and are pretty much ignored.

I’m not a gun guy but isn’t an ar just a .223 with a military look? Is he going to ban all .223 semi autos? 

[Satchel 6,908]

1 minute ago, tantric superman said:

Beto fucked himself by thinking he could win in Texas with just the non-gun loving folks in the population centers.

Beto, in a moment of clarity and candor was not being political. He said the unspoken part out loud. I wish those who feel as he does about these military style weapons would come out of the closet.

[tantric superman 4,667]

If you are going to try to win statewide with Beto's positions, at a minimum you have to shoot and eat your own venison and praise hunters as sportsmen who at heart are our truest environmentalists.

[Satchel 6,908]

Just now, Sawbonz said:

I’m not a gun guy but isn’t an ar just a .223 with a military look? Is he going to ban all .223 semi autos? 

Couldn’t tell you. I’m even less of a gun guy than you.

[tantric superman 4,667]

Just now, Satchel said:

Beto, in a moment of clarity and candor was not being political. He said the unspoken part out loud. I wish those who feel as he does about these military style weapons would come out of the closet.

The problem in Texas is that no one has built a nice platform for hunters who can live with regulation and the banning of certain types of weapons.  It's a culture battle - the Dems need more "open carry hunters". 

[tantric superman 4,667]

2 minutes ago, Satchel said:

Couldn’t tell you. I’m even less of a gun guy than you.

The Dems need gun guys.  Not as much as they need pro-lifers, but gun guys would help.

[Satchel 6,908]

1 minute ago, tantric superman said:

The problem in Texas is that no one has built a nice platform for hunters who can live with regulation and the banning of certain types of weapons.  It's a culture battle - the Dems need more "open carry hunters". 

I agree.

[Satchel 6,908]

1 minute ago, tantric superman said:

The Dems need gun guys.  Not as much as they need pro-lifers, but gun guys would help.

An persuasive argument could be made against constitutional carry by correctly calling it an enemy of the pro life ethic.

[Surly Bevo 24,696]

31 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

I’m not a gun guy but isn’t an ar just a .223 with a military look? Is he going to ban all .223 semi autos? 

In one sense yea.  That said the average .223 semi-auto "hunting" rifle probably has a 4-5 round mag capacity. AR style is 20-30 round mag capacity (PMags).  You throw 5 or 6 of those in a backpack and you have 100-180 rounds at your very quick disposal.  I have an AR-10 and yea it's fun as hell to shoot but I'm also one of those types you all are talking about that also think it should at the VERY least be a fuck load harder to get.

[immamac 42,519]

I'm super unaware that this is the gun and beto o'rourke thread. Should I change the thread title? 

How about you all stop fucking derailing threads and talk about relevant shit in relevant threads.

[Surly Bevo 24,696]

Well nobody has brought up the McRib yet so this thread has that going for it....which is nice.

[mchookem 16,224]

6 hours ago, GRHorn said:

 

i loved this. somewhere on here i said something very similar...but it sounds a lot better in his whiskey-voiced drawl. indeed 😛

[TheRealRonWeaver? 1,258]

I'm super unaware that this is the gun and beto o'rourke thread. Should I change the thread title? 
How about you all stop fucking derailing threads and talk about relevant shit in relevant threads.

Be a lot cooler if they did.

[Biff Tannen 45,499]

I wish this thread would die. Wooderson needs to not be our governor. Fucking simulation. 

[Satchel 6,908]

There’s not much one can say about MM’s potential run for governor that hasn’t already been said. Nobody really knows what he believes or where he stands on the major issues of the day.

[bolverk 29,402]

1 hour ago, Satchel said:

There’s not much one can say about MM’s potential run for governor that hasn’t already been said. Nobody really knows what he believes or where he stands on the major issues of the day.

Be a lot cooler if we did.

[atomheartbevo 89,449]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

I wish this thread would die. Wooderson needs to not be our governor. Fucking simulation. 

I will take him, or even a Woodchuck, over Abbott any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.