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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > TexPol: abundant mosquitoes so big they can stand flat-footed and fuck a chicken

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Numlock: May 19, 2007; The simplest seppo on the forums

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.co...old-and-silver/

What the heck is this about?

I'm starting to think that Greg Abbot isn't just pandering to his base but is an honest tinfoil hatter himself.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 00:58

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# ? May 17, 2024 09:25

e_angst: Sep 20, 2001; by exmarx

Numlock posted:

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.co...old-and-silver/

What the heck is this about?

I'm starting to think that Greg Abbot isn't just pandering to his base but is an honest tinfoil hatter himself.

Oh yea, Abbot is definitely a true believer.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 05:43

e_angst: Sep 20, 2001; by exmarx

Badger of Basra posted:

First TMF, now LVP. San Antonio with the surprises!

(On a sub 15% turnout )

Yea, if you want to be completely depressed about our state, then read this breakdown of the San Antonio election:

quote:

How did a Brooklyn-born city planner who has never run for partisan office beat a nearly lifelong San Antonio Democrat in the race for the top job in the liberal-leaning Alamo City?

On Sunday, the day after Ivy Taylor narrowly defeated former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte for a full term as mayor of San Antonio, answers to that question varied dramatically. But even Van de Putte's supporters, who played witness to her second high-profile loss in seven months, were sounding the alarm that the outcome spelled more doom for Texas' beleaguered minority party.

"It ought to scare every Democrat in Bexar County," said Christian Archer, Van de Putte's campaign manager. "If you're a Democrat and in Bexar County, you better wake up."

"We keep putting the blinders over our eyes and saying, 'Oh, no, no, no, it'll go away.' And it's not going away," added Archer, a veteran of San Antonio mayoral politics. "What's not happening is the kind of turnout that we need."

Taylor's side, meanwhile, was basking in the glow of a hard-fought victory it considers representative of a sea change in city politics.

"It's a new day in San Antonio," Taylor strategist Josh Robinson declared Sunday, saying the election proved San Antonio is more of a "purple city" than most Democrats assume. The outcome, he added, showed that the "old way of doing things didn't work anymore."

The outcome was also historic: Taylor became the first black person elected mayor in a city that is majority-Hispanic. Van de Putte would have been the first Hispanic woman to win the job.

To be clear, Taylor � the interim mayor and former councilwoman � was never seen as a long shot. Van de Putte was never considered unbeatable either, though her homecoming was premised on the idea that the mayoral race would be less of a climb than the lieutenant governor�s contest she lost to Dan Patrick in a landslide last year.

Taylor's strength, meanwhile, was expected to come from a Republican-leaning coalition of voters looking to move the city further away from the era of her predecessor, Juli�n Castro, a period marked by an activist city government and bright national spotlight.

Van de Putte�s campaign worked hard to undermine that coalition. The candidate zeroed in on a report that Taylor and her husband were unwilling to pursue charges after a shooting at his bail bonds business, hoping to spook law-and-order voters backing Taylor. Van de Putte trotted out endorsements from elected officials representing Taylor�s native East Side, looking to cut into Taylor's most oft-cited base of Democratic support. And at one point, a mailer surfaced that cut straight to the chase, calling Van de Putte the most conservative candidate in the race.

But none of it was enough to counteract Taylor�s crossover appeal, anchored in the chorus that Van de Putte was a career politician simply on the hunt for her next job. Both women had initially denied interest in the race, but it was Van de Putte who did so while campaigning for lieutenant governor, just two years after running for re-election to the Senate � a sequence Taylor's campaign was happy to point out.

"She didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up," Robinson said.

Van de Putte's campaign saw a "baked-in" number of voters who largely agreed with that kind of message � that she was a partisan Democrat. To overcome that built-in disadvantage, the campaign figured it needed 40,000 to 45,000 votes to be cast on Election Day.

As results started coming in Saturday night, her campaign was confident it could reach that goal and erase a roughly 5-point lead held by Taylor in early voting. But as the night wore on, that possibility faded away, and with all precincts reporting by 11 p.m., the total number of ballots cast on Election Day stood at just over 33,000.

By the time Van de Putte took the stage at her campaign's West Side headquarters, it was clear the disappointing turnout was on her mind. She mentioned the need to "improve our voting rates here in San Antonio," drawing loud applause. Asked after her remarks how different the outcome would have been had more people shown up at the polls, Van de Putte told reporters San Antonio voters have to "do really, really, much, much better," particularly when it comes to turnout among young people.

�At the end of the day, we needed 3,000 Democrats to get off their asses and go vote, and they didn�t," said Colin Strother, a Democratic consultant who had worked for the fourth-place finisher in the first round of the race, former Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson. "And that�s the story of our life in Texas politics, is that Democrats could elect anyone they wanted to any position � statewide, local, you name it � if they would get off the couch and go vote, and they don�t do it.�

But it was not just lower-than-expected turnout that hurt Van de Putte, according to her backers. She was up against a woman who had galvanized the city's social conservatives through her opposition to a nondiscrimination ordinance in 2013, and the city's fiscal conservatives through her decision to effectively kill a plan to build a streetcar system downtown.

Led by Justin Hollis � the GOP strategist who engineered Will Hurd's successful challenge last year to U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine � Taylor's team insists her coalition was broader than one ideology or party. But it was Republicans who were the most energized Sunday, claiming a renewed ally in the seventh-largest city in the country � and a key gateway to politically ascendant South Texas.

"There's no doubt that Ivy has turned the era in San Antonio politics that we haven't seen in my lifetime," said Robert Stovall, chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party. "This is what Republicans are typically so happy to get, which is good leadership and good government. This is a nonpartisan race, and she was a nonpartisan candidate."

Weston Martinez, a conservative leader in San Antonio, said Taylor's win was "delivered by the social conservatives, evangelicals, Protestants and Catholics," groups encouraged to see she "doesn't leave her faith at the door when she goes into the mayor's office." More broadly, though, he said her victory chips away at the presumption that big cities are hotbeds of solidly Democratic leadership.

"If you're not all-in liberal, you can't be elected" in a major city, Martinez said. "She just broke that mold."

Van de Putte's campaign had expected Republicans to factor prominently in the race, though Archer said Sunday the campaign may have underestimated the extent of that support. The GOP, he added, "want San Antonio to be a battleground, and they're working hard at making that happen."

It was the type of possibility Van de Putte raised herself the same night state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer lost the runoff for her Senate seat, according to the latter lawmaker. Martinez Fischer, who was defeated in February by then-House colleague Jos� Men�ndez, had fallen in the crosshairs of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a powerful tort reform group that attacked him in an effort to drive up GOP turnout.

"I remember her saying, 'This could very well happen to me,'" Martinez Fischer recalled.

Yet he is not ready to draw broad conclusions about the fate of his hometown's Democratic Party. While the mayoral race was "a little bit of deja vu all over again," he said it provides a moment for reflection, not alarm.

"Of course voter engagement can be better, but this isn�t the end of the world for Bexar County Democratic politics," Martinez Fischer said. "I will measure the future of the political party during a partisan race, and this clearly wasn�t one of them, but it was a clear example of voters needing to be a little more informed about candidates who hold themselves out as Democrats but run with Republicans."

Now social conservatives are looking to Taylor to see how her outreach to them translates into a full term at City Hall. Claiming victory late Saturday, Taylor thanked God and wasted no time reminding supporters her work begins Monday.

"The conservatives came together," Martinez said Sunday, "and now we get to see how she governs with a victory under her belt versus an appointee. It should be a very different mayor�s office."

# ? Jun 15, 2015 16:28

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Austin has half as many people but had 78,000 come out for the mayoral runoff even though the frontrunner had a massive lead and was uncharismatic and lovely.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 17:10

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

e_angst posted:

Yea, if you want to be completely depressed about our state, then read this breakdown of the San Antonio election:

Van De Putte put way too much stock into "woman, Latino candidate". She's actually not very impressive of a candidate.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 17:28

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

Was this 'broad coalition' projecting their beliefs onto a technocratic Taylor or is she really one of them?

# ? Jun 15, 2015 17:36

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Aliquid posted:

Was this 'broad coalition' projecting their beliefs onto a technocratic Taylor or is she really one of them?

May have been the same gringos y otros pendejos that sunk TMF. VDP casts herself as super liberal (she's not that liberal) and I think that came back on her.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 17:40

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

quote:

And at one point, a mailer surfaced that cut straight to the chase, calling Van de Putte the most conservative candidate in the race.

She may just have run a lovely campaign.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 18:12

saintonan: Dec 7, 2009; Fields of glory shine eternal

Turnout really is poo poo, though. The runoff for Brownsville mayor was last Saturday (with early voting all week), and less than 8,000 people voted out of a city of 181,000 people.

Also, expect shitloads of conservative money to swarm all around San Antonio now. If there's a whiff that SA or Bexar County can go red, there will be enough money to put a plan into action.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 18:12

Badger of Basra: Jul 26, 2007

e_angst posted:

Yea, if you want to be completely depressed about our state, then read this breakdown of the San Antonio election:

This is depressing but at the same time, I'm not super worried that San Antonio will become A Conservative City based on two election results with incredibly low turnouts. Also lol at the Democrat guy complaining about his voters not getting off the couch. You have to make them get off the couch, dumbshit!

I'm wondering if TDP will ever realize you can't just sit around and wait for Latinos to start voting for you.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 18:18

Slow News Day: Jul 4, 2007

Badger of Basra posted:

Also lol at the Democrat guy complaining about his voters not getting off the couch. You have to make them get off the couch, dumbshit!

I think it's a legitimate complaint, honestly. If you want to have things go your way, you need to go vote. Blaming the campaign manager for failing to make you go vote is retarded and dumb.

# ? Jun 15, 2015 19:36

e_angst: Sep 20, 2001; by exmarx

zoux posted:

Van De Putte put way too much stock into "woman, Latino candidate". She's actually not very impressive of a candidate.

Everyone I know who worked with her in the senate (liberal and conservative) were really impressed by her intelligence and how she worked there. She's definitely a better statesman than she is a candidate.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 00:16

SirKibbles: Feb 27, 2011; I didn't like your old red text so here's some dancing cash.

Getting real tired of Democrats ruining poo poo campaigns and candidates and then blaming the voters for their loss (See Wisconsin). Hey assholes you have to run a good campaign too oooooo scary conservatives ain't cutting it anymore.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 01:02

Spacebump: Dec 24, 2003; Dallas Mavericks: Generations

SirKibbles posted:

Getting real tired of Democrats ruining poo poo campaigns and candidates and then blaming the voters for their loss (See Wisconsin). Hey assholes you have to run a good campaign too oooooo scary conservatives ain't cutting it anymore.

Maybe it's a mix of campaigns that could be better run and people not voting. Having the worst voter turnout can't all be on bad campaigns.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 01:06

SirKibbles: Feb 27, 2011; I didn't like your old red text so here's some dancing cash.

Spacebump posted:

Maybe it's a mix of campaigns that could be better run and people not voting. Having the worst voter turnout can't all be on bad campaigns.

Yeah I know but we were specifically talking about the campaign manger being a whiney baby.

edit: It's pointless to talk about since everyone in this thread most likely voted and it would just devolve into those dumb voters not seeing it my way :argh:

:argh:

which is just toxic and unfun to read.

SirKibbles fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Jun 16, 2015

# ? Jun 16, 2015 01:14

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

SirKibbles posted:

Getting real tired of Democrats ruining poo poo campaigns and candidates and then blaming the voters for their loss (See Wisconsin). Hey assholes you have to run a good campaign too oooooo scary conservatives ain't cutting it anymore.

What exactly should VDP have done differently in your mind?

I don't think she was running on "scary conservatives" or anything like it.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 02:50

e_angst: Sep 20, 2001; by exmarx

Trabisnikof posted:

What exactly should VDP have done differently in your mind?

I don't think she was running on "scary conservatives" or anything like it.

A stronger GOTV effort would have been priority number 1.

A big problem in Texas is that, even when we have good candidates like VDP, there's a major dearth of good campaign talent/strategists to help them get elected. Anyone with any skills in that area that has liberal leanings can find much better work in other states and not have to deal with the poo poo-show that is the Texas Democratic Party.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 06:42

Jiro: Jan 13, 2004

Was San Antonio really that fed up with a progressive style mayor since Castro left? Or was this just more of an influential northwest rich side of San Antonio finally getting a candidate in office to look out for them? Lord knows La Cantera hurts for money. :v:

:v:

Also the Brownsville turnout sounds about right everyone in the Valley is poo poo for voting when its not an election year.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 09:16

mastajake: Oct 3, 2005; My blade is unBENDING!

enraged_camel posted:

I think it's a legitimate complaint, honestly. If you want to have things go your way, you need to go vote. Blaming the campaign manager for failing to make you go vote is retarded and dumb.

The problem is that it isn't the ones who didn't vote who are complaining; it's the ones who did.

# ? Jun 16, 2015 15:34

karlor: Apr 15, 2014; College Slice

Jiro posted:

Was San Antonio really that fed up with a progressive style mayor since Castro left? Or was this just more of an influential northwest rich side of San Antonio finally getting a candidate in office to look out for them? Lord knows La Cantera hurts for money. Also the Brownsville turnout sounds about right everyone in the Valley is poo poo for voting when its not an election year.

The northwest side (and other pockets of money) hate the proposed rail projects, so they love Ivy Taylor's feet dragging and lack of commitment towards the projects.

LVDP had a great presence during the debates (Taylor came off as unprofessional and passive) but I doubt many people listened/watched :smith:

:smith:

# ? Jun 16, 2015 16:18

RussianBear: Sep 14, 2003; I am become death, the destroyer of worlds

karlor posted:

LVDP had a great presence during the debates (Taylor came off as unprofessional and passive) but I doubt many people listened/watched

I think her decision to attack Taylor backfired. It just made her look petty.

quote:

The attacks on Taylor and her husband, Rodney, stem from a November 2014 shooting that took place outside Rodney�s bail bond business and his subsequent refusal to file a complaint against the alleged shooter with the San Antonio Police Department. There are different versions of the shooting, which wounded two individuals. Whether those individuals were the target of the shooting, or passers-by and the bail bond business was the target, is not clear.

The issue is further complicated by anti-Taylor statements made by Mike Helle, the president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, which has suspended collective bargaining talks with the City and had endorsed Van de Putte in the mayor�s race.

�I would not try to cast aspersions on the character of (Van de Putte�s) family or her husband,� Taylor said. �(This) was a random drive-by shooting, my understanding is, involving gang members and it just happened to occur in front of (my husband�s) business.�

She went on to say that she thought there was plenty of cause for the police to pursue the shooter without her or Rodney�s statement on the shooting.

�The Taylors refuse to just sign a complaint that their car was shot up and their business was shot up,� Van de Putte said. �We want San Antonians to be good neighbors, to help each other. What does it say when the mayor and her family � refuse to help put violent criminals (in jail) and get them off the streets?�

Taylor dismissed the topic as a tactic to �take focus off the issues at hand.�

�I�m committed to the safety of our citizens and have always acted in a manner reflective of that,� she added.

http://www.therivardreport.com/tensions-high-between-taylor-and-van-de-putte-at-tpr-debate/

# ? Jun 17, 2015 16:16

Mr Ice Cream Glove: Apr 22, 2007

Get hosed Abbot

quote:

Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation disallowing lawsuits against Christian pastors for refusing to marry homosexuals.

The new law states that clergy and religious organizations "may not be required to solemnize any marriage or provide services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges for a purpose related to the solemnization, formation, or celebration of any marriage, if the action would cause the organization or individual to violate a sincerely held religious belief."

The law is designed to protect church ministers who believe in natural marriage from legal coercion by homosexual pressure groups.

This legislation replaces a previous bill that would have protected business owners from being sued for refusing to facilitate homosexual "weddings." That bill was quietly withdrawn following the gay outcry over a similar bill in Indiana.

Surrounded by clergy, the governor declared, �This is a day that recognizes their constitutional rights and their religious freedom to practice what they preach.�

�This nation was founded on religious freedom, and that freedom was enshrined in the First Amendment itself where it guarantees that no law will impede the free exercise of religion," Gov. Abbot explained. "Any act to coerce anyone to violate their religious liberty violates the United States Constitution and violates Texas law.�

The new law states that a church or a minister's refusal "marry" homosexuals "is not the basis for a civil or criminal" lawsuit. It specifically lists that the state may not withhold "tax exemptions, government contracts, grants, or licenses" from those who support natural marriage.

In their zeal to thwart the legislation, opponents offered sometimes contradictory reasons they wished stop the legislation.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Texas-Governor-Abbot-Signs-Pastor-Protection-Bill-306999421.html

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:26

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Luckily it's a do nothing bill that codifies what is already law and practice.

Also it came out of the House 142-0 so there's plenty of blame to spread around.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:32

computer parts: Nov 18, 2010; PLEASE CLAP

I mean literally all that does is prevent gays from forcing pastors to marry them which is something no one's going to do anyway.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:34

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Yeah the sum total of anti-gay legislation that came out of the legislature is a nonbinding resolution by the Senate saying "we don't like gay marriage" and a bill that does what is already done or never would be done. Considering there was legislation to essentially ban gay marriage adoptions and try to gum up the works following the SCOTUS ruling later on, this was a very, very good session for gay rights in Texas.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:36

Mr Ice Cream Glove: Apr 22, 2007

computer parts posted:

I mean literally all that does is prevent gays from forcing pastors to marry them which is something no one's going to do anyway.

What about the part about "religious organizations"

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:43

computer parts: Nov 18, 2010; PLEASE CLAP

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

What about the part about "religious organizations"

That's specifically the tax exempt organizations.

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/TX/1/C/11/B/11.20

# ? Jun 17, 2015 17:48

Badger of Basra: Jul 26, 2007

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

What about the part about "religious organizations"

I'm gay and passionate about my rights but I don't really want to force someone to marry me who thinks I'm going to Hell, it would just be awkward for both of us.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 18:26

Nonsense: Jan 26, 2007

Justice of the Peace is the one that matters in the end. As long as they don't put up barriers marriage should flow easy.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:06

Shinjobi: Jul 10, 2008; Gravy Boat 2k

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/barnett-shale/article24627469.html

Denton city council repeals its fracking ban, recognizing it as "unenforceable" under state law.

I recognize why they did it, I do, but I still don't see any desire to re-elect these city council members when the time comes. The whole thing wound up being a pretty lovely dog and pony show.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:32

e_angst: Sep 20, 2001; by exmarx

Nonsense posted:

Justice of the Peace is the one that matters in the end. As long as they don't put up barriers marriage should flow easy.

Exactly. That same clause is in the New York law legalizing gay marriage and hasn't had any effect on marriages there.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:43

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Shinjobi posted:

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/barnett-shale/article24627469.html

Denton city council repeals its fracking ban, recognizing it as "unenforceable" under state law.

I recognize why they did it, I do, but I still don't see any desire to re-elect these city council members when the time comes. The whole thing wound up being a pretty lovely dog and pony show.

What were they supposed to do about a state law that was specifically written to override their fracking ban? Secede?

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:48

Nick Soapdish: Apr 27, 2008

zoux posted:

What were they supposed to do about a state law that was specifically written to override their fracking ban? Secede?

The Free City of Denton.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:49

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

zoux posted:

What were they supposed to do about a state law that was specifically written to override their fracking ban? Secede?

The City of Denton should have just out-lobbied Oil & Gas, duh.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:50

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

I guess they could've petitioned to join Oklahoma, though that is a fate worse than death.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:52

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

zoux posted:

I guess they could've petitioned to join Oklahoma, though that is a fate worse than death.

I'm not sure how well a fracing ban would do in Oklahoma either....

But "The USO Eagles" has a certain ring to it.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:55

Shinjobi: Jul 10, 2008; Gravy Boat 2k

I guess my issue with all this is that I expected they had a plan for enacting a fracking ban in the first place. Otherwise, wasn't all of this pretty easily predictable? Were they banking hard on Abbott losing the governor's race? I guess I expected a bit more foresight when this whole issue came up. It's amounted to a gigantic waste of time when it's all said and done.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 20:58

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Shinjobi posted:

I guess my issue with all this is that I expected they had a plan for enacting a fracking ban in the first place. Otherwise, wasn't all of this pretty easily predictable? Were they banking hard on Abbott losing the governor's race? I guess I expected a bit more foresight when this whole issue came up. It's amounted to a gigantic waste of time when it's all said and done.

Yeah the plan was hope that you can lobby hard enough in the statehouse to prevent HB 40 from passing. It didn't work. I dunno why you are mad that the city council tried to represent their constituency but couldn't due to the evil federal, sorry, I mean state interference.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 21:05

ReidRansom: Oct 25, 2004

zoux posted:

What were they supposed to do about a state law that was specifically written to override their fracking ban? Secede?

Leave it in place as a symbolic thing? Challenge the state law? Iunno.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 21:06

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# ? May 17, 2024 09:25

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

ReidRansom posted:

Leave it in place as a symbolic thing? Challenge the state law? Iunno.

I mean if people are upset about it being a waste of time, that's one way to compound it.

# ? Jun 17, 2015 21:09

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