2022 Democratic Primary Recommendations

Early voting in the Texas Primary has started, you’ve got nearly 10 days of early voting left then election day so really no excuse not to cast a ballot. Whether or not you think Democrats have a chance at winning statewide positions like Governor, there are two really important seats with districts that Democrats can and should continue to hold. One of those is the Texas 28^th Congressional District which I’ve already written about and hope you’ll vote for Jessica Cisneros. The other seat is State Board of Education District 5 in which Rebecca Bell-Metereau is the excellent incumbent, she’s a career educator, a professor at Texas State University in San Marcos and a strong advocate for teaching historical truth and real science as well as replacing Texas’ high stakes testing which benefits the test making companies and not the students. Our children deserve the continued efforts of her leadership and scholarship.

In the statewide races the race for Governor has five candidates but the only one with a track record on public policy issues and running for election is Beto O'Rourke. O’Rourke had a strong run against Ted Cruz four years ago and is our best chance to beat whoever Republicans put up including the incumbent who is backed by corporate funds including the very power companies that he failed to hold accountable for last year’s statewide power outage during the snow storm. The power companies got off the hook and those of us who pay our electric bills were left holding the bag, many of us will be paying extra on our electric bills for many years to come in order to cover it.

There are three outstanding candidates for Lieutenant Governor and I’m siding with Mike Collier who has worked tirelessly for years working to unseat the unscrupulous incumbent. Collier ran for the spot previously and has built name recognition around the state. He faces Carla Brailey, a university professor and social justice advocate. Also running for the seat is Michelle Beckley who won a state house seat in District 65 in 2018 beating the Republican incumbent, she’s an advocate for expanding Medicaid in Texas and fixing the power grid among other widely supported Democratic priorities.

There are five contenders for the Attorney General nomination. Joe Jaworski made a strong impression on me when I had the opportunity to listen to his pitch and ask him questions. Jaworski is a practicing attorney in Galveston and has held various local political offices over the years. His platform includes starting a Civil Rights division within the Attorney General’s office to insure that Texans are able to count on the Office of the Texas Attorney General to protect civil rights in employment, education, housing, voting, the courts, physical access to accommodations and above all interaction with our criminal justice system.

Comptroller of Public Accounts is a position that most of us don’t even recognize but is a truly important job. Janet Dudding is a CPA who began her governmental accounting career with the Office of the State Auditor investigating allegations that governmental officials had embezzled taxpayer money or taken kickbacks. She’s spent her professional life holding government officials accountable to the citizens, not special interests. Dudding is ready to hit the ground running and deserves your support.

There are four contenders for Commissioner of the General Land Office provides funding for Texas public schools. Jinny Suh is a community organizer, former patent litigator, and when I spoke to her expressed her determination to use the office to protect the environment while expanding funding for education.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - February 16, 2022

Republicans White-washing History Again

Republicans are now trying to prevent our children from learning about the ways in which our country has too often failed to live up to the promise of our constitution. They don’t want kids to learn about the way that wealthy whites have often used propaganda and economic power to build and maintain their wealth and control over the lives of not just minorities but others who are less well off as well.

A few years ago when there were efforts around the nation to take down statues honoring Confederate leaders and slaveholders, Republicans made ridiculous claims that it was an effort to rewrite history. They made the same non-sense arguments about efforts to stop flying Confederate flags over state government buildings. All activists really wanted was to put a stop to honoring traitors and those who enslaved and abused other human beings for the benefit of themselves.

Over the last year or so all over this nation state legislatures controlled by Republicans are enacting laws outlawing the teaching of topics that might make a student uncomfortable. While using vague and often inaccurate language these efforts are aimed at discouraging teaching about how so much of this nation was built by enslaved Africans on the grounds that white children shouldn’t be shamed for what other white people did over 100 years ago. Of course, they give no consideration to the black student who feels uncomfortable when only white historical figures and achievements are discussed. Texas Republicans don’t want teachers to talk about the racist actions of the Texas Rangers toward Hispanic citizens.

While they literally white-wash history Republicans claim that Liberals are at fault for something they’ve named cancel culture. That’s what they call it when an educational institution or media outlet decides that some individual with a hateful message should not be given an opportunity to use that organization’s resources to spread their ugly propaganda. In fact, it is Republicans who are the big cancel culture proponents, besides delegitimizing the teaching of black history; their latest efforts are to ban more books from public schools. One such book is Maus, which is an award winning children’s book about the holocaust using mice as stand-ins for people. Many of the books Republicans find offensive are written by members of the LGBT community about children and adults that don’t fit their narrow-minded heterosexual orthodoxy.

When the Texas legislature took up the topic if restricting what could be taught in public schools last session the Republican Speaker of the House admonished all our representatives to not use the term racist to attack the regulations that they were working to pass even though much of what they were doing was in fact racist and that’s why it needed to be attacked. That’s like telling the prosecution that they can’t say the goods were stolen when the perpetrator did in fact take things that didn’t belong to them from the premises of the rightful owner.

Last week Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced he would seek to abolish tenure for professors at Texas’ public universities. In addition he said “The law will change to say teaching critical race theory is prima facie evidence of good cause for tenure revocation.” Critical Race Theory is another boogeyman for Republicans with many claiming it is taught in elementary and high school when in fact it isn’t. The reality is it is a method used in graduate level courses to see the connections between government policy and the economic and social consequences of minorities.

Republican censorship won’t solve our problems, talking those problems and our differences out might.

 Published in the Seguin Gazette - March 2, 2022

Cisneros For Congress

Primary elections are an opportunity to choose a standard bearer for the values we hold. The March 1^st election features numerous such opportunities including half a dozen state wide offices and both congressional seats representing Guadalupe County. The 28^th congressional district which will cover the westernmost corner of the county is a strongly Democratic leaning district currently held by a 16 year incumbent who represents big money more than the people of the district.

For the second election in a row the incumbent is being challenged by Jessica Cisneros, an immigration attorney from Laredo who once was an intern in his Washington, D.C. office. In the last election she lost by a mere 4% and this time around she has much better name recognition. Ms. Cisneros is passionate about the need to reform our broken immigration system with which she is intimately familiar as the child of Mexican immigrants with family members on both sides of the border.

Ms. Cisneros is a strong advocate for addressing climate change and is endorsed by the “Texas Drought Project” because she recognizes that south Texas is one of the first areas that will suffer from higher temperatures and more erratic weather. When I spoke to her about her views on the issue she made clear that she recognizes that many on the district worry about jobs more than climate which is why she also reminds voters that green jobs are good paying jobs. Building and maintaining wind farms or installing and caring for solar panels is safer and healthier for the workers while paying just as well or better than oil and gas jobs. Drilling for oil and gas is a cyclical business so those jobs come and go often leaving communities in debt with damaged infrastructure like the roads that get beaten up by all the heavy trucks going up and down them. Solar and wind farms need constant attention so jobs are steady and numerous by comparison.

Jessica Cisneros is supported by “Justice Democrats” because she advocates for raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation so that workers never again see their earnings eroded by inflation while congress fails to act to restore their buying power. The last time minimum wage was raised was 2009 which makes this the longest period in history between adjustments. The buying power of minimum wage has fallen 21% since then. Had minimum wage kept up with inflation since 1968 it would now be well over $11 an hour. The incumbent has withheld support for raising minimum wage using the excuses dreamed up by his wealthy campaign donors.

24% of citizens in TX-28 didn’t have health insurance when the pandemic broke out, leaving our community particularly vulnerable to the global public health crisis. The average family with health coverage is spending $12,000 out of pocket on health care premiums and deductibles. The incumbent voted to weaken the Affordable Care Act, reducing the number of workers eligible for coverage and making long-term and comprehensive care more expensive. Ms. Cisneros believes that health care is a right, not a privilege. She supports single-payer, Medicare For All which would insure every American with comprehensive health care. Medicare For All would eliminate premiums and deductibles while expanding coverage to include dental, hearing, vision, and mental health, thereby lowering overall costs to families, small businesses, and government.

While Tannya Benavides holds similar positions she doesn’t have the experience that Ms. Cisneros has.

When early voting starts Tuesday February 14 I’ll be voting for Jessica Cisneros, I hope you will too.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - February 2, 2022

An Opportunity for a More Progressive Member of Congress

Late last year the Texas legislature, in its infinite wisdom and partisan contrivance, saw fit to redraw congressional district boundaries such that Guadalupe County is now split between the 15^th and 28^th districts. The 28^th congressional district encompasses the western most 30% of the county, north of I-10 the boundary is the Guadalupe River, south of I-10 the boundary follows FM 775 south for a bit then zig zags here and there until it hits the county line near Zuehl Crossing.

Since the 15^th congressional district will lean Republican Vicente Gonzalez has filed to run in a neighboring district that is more friendly to Democrats. The 28^th congressional district which included Guadalupe County until the 2011 redistricting cycle has been held by Henry Cuellar since 2006.

Democrats should remember that Cuellar refused to support the Affordable Care Act until some of the most important benefits were stripped out of it. I and many other local activists pounded Cuellar for months before he finally announced his support just days before the bill came to a vote, but not before he worked with a handful of other “conservative” Democrats to add a provision that explicitly banned insurance coverage for abortions. Considering that the Affordable Care Act had so much that would have benefitted the citizens of Guadalupe County and the rest of the 28^th congressional district Cuellar’s diffidence was maddening.

Henry Cuellar has long been known for his ties to Republicans, like when he hosted a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. John Carter in 2018. At the time, the Round Rock Republican was a top target for Democrats in their successful bid to take back control of the chamber that year. Cuellar also champions conservative causes and had an “A” rating with the National Rifle Association. In 2019, he refused calls to return donations from the group. The anti-tax group Club for Growth endorsed Cuellar in 2006, making him the first Democrat ever endorsed by the organization.

In a new campaign video Cuellar claims “I built the relationships to be effective, no matter who is in power, to deliver results for my district,” as photos run of the congressman and recent presidents.  Cuellar goes on to say “... That’s why I’m always able to get to the table where the important decisions are being made.”

Unfortunately his claims aren’t true as he has strongly opposed legislation to address the human causes of climate change even though Laredo’s water supply is the Rio Grande which has seen water levels falling for decades and is projected to dry up entirely by 2040. I’ve already mentioned his failure to champion the Affordable Care Act which could have brought medical care to many low income residents in the district. Cuellar has also shown no interest in raising minimum wage or protect unionization efforts of workers. While Cuellar certainly manages to get a seat at the table he uses it to benefit his wealthy campaign donors especially those in the oil and gas industry.

Just last week Cuellar’s home in Laredo and his office in Washington were raided by dozens of FBI agents who carried out numerous bags of evidence. Media reports say an unnamed law enforcement agent indicated the raid is connected to ties Cuellar has to Azerbaijani government officials and oil and gas industry executives there.

This time around he is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by two strong Latinas, Jessica Cisneros who nearly beat him in 2020 and Tannya Benavides.  I’ll tell you more about both of them next week.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 26, 2022

John Cornyn Lies About Voting Rights Bill

In Austin the Travis County Clerk's office says that as of today, their office "has rejected about fifty percent of applications for ballot by mail that have been received for the March 1, 2022 primary election," due to changes to ID requirements made by Texas' new voting law.

Last week in San Antonio a Bexar County election official told Texas Public Radio “Yesterday we received about 80 mail-in ballot applications. Forty-two of those did not fulfill the new requirements. So we have to reject those.”

In Houston Harris County elections officials are reporting similar issues rejection rates and it’s all because of the recently passed Senate Bill 1.

Sen. Cornyn called the Freedom to Vote Act "unconstitutional" in remarks on the senate floor. Coming from a former judge you’d think he’d know better since the United States constitution states in: Article I, section 4, clause 1 - "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."

Also Justice Scalia wrote when interpreting Article I, section 4, clause 1 in AZ v. Inter Tribal Council of AZ: “The power of Congress over the ‘Times, Places and Manner’ of congressional elections ‘is paramount, and may be exercised at any time, and to any extent which it deems expedient.’”

John Cornyn publicly stated “Based on the way our Democratic colleagues talk about the state of voting rights in America, you would think the Supreme Court had struck down the Voting Rights Act.” Cornyn also claims the Voting Rights Act of 1965 "worked as congress intended" but fails to mention that it was Section 4, pre-clearance that did all the work and that’s the part the Supreme Court overturned. Cornyn also fails to mention that Texas was repeatedly sued under Section 4 and found guilty of violating the Voting Rights Act when redistricting, including during the last redistricting cycle.

Cornyn calls Democratic efforts to pass voting rights legislation "power grab" when in fact it is Texas Republicans who have grabbed power by packing and cracking congressional districts to gain partisan advantage. Without pre-clearance a state can redistrict or change any election law in a totally illegal way then until they are sued and lose, those laws or districts are in effect often for several election cycles. Texas was sued in 2011 and the case took several election cycles to get through the courts without anything ever being done about the violations. In the latest round of redistricting last year minority voters suffered discrimination again as Texas Republicans redistricted in such a way that African-American voters lost the only district from which they could elect a representative of their choosing even while Texas gained two additional congressional seats.

Cornyn’s remarks on the senate floor included the claim that Democratic concerns over voter ID are a sham but fails to mention it isn’t the requirement for a photo ID that Democrats object to it’s the difficulty that low income minority voters have in getting the very limited kind of ID that is required. Only the Texas Department of Public Safety offers the necessary ID and getting there then waiting in line can take all day which can be a real hardship for working people who don’t drive.

Cornyn makes much of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema as Democrats being unwilling to vote for the bill but fails to mention that the reason is they want Republicans to support it too.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 19, 2022

Defend Our Democracy

Last week was the anniversary of the violent insurrection at the United States capitol by right wing activists attempting to stop the certification of presidential election results. The attack included ransacking congressional offices, theft of official computers, and vandalism including smearing their own feces on walls. Our democracy is so imperiled that Civil War historian David Blight recently wrote "Trump has birthed a dangerous new ‘Lost Cause’ myth" to describe the claims Trump lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud.

Reports is various media outlets say that the House select committee investigating the insurrection received copies of communications turned over by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others suggesting the White House coordinated efforts to stop Biden’s certification. The documents have led House investigators to become interested in whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy. Some of the documents indicate the Trump White House briefed several House Republicans on its plan for then-vice president Mike Pence to abuse his ceremonial role and not certify Biden’s win. Having these documents could give reason for the panel to consider criminal referrals of Trump administration members and possibly Trump as well. The committee’s first step is to determine whether the attempt to stop certification violated federal laws prohibiting obstruction of congressional proceedings.

Regardless of whether or not Trump is ever charged and convicted of an attempt to overthrow the government it’s important that the Freedom to Vote Act that I described last week be passed so that the gerrymandering that allows the Republican party to hold a disproportionate number of congressional seats as compared to the number of votes they earn. Our senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, refuse to support such efforts to restore our democratic institutions. Cruz in a recent interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson even backpedaled on calling the January 6 insurrection at the capitol a “terrorist attack”.

Cruz like most other Republicans holding federal and state office continue to abase themselves to Donald Trump because Trump supporters are so vocal. Around the country some state level Republicans have retired from office because they are unwilling to toe the Trump line and are afraid for themselves and their families due to the threats of violence made by local Trump supporters.

Sen. Cornyn, a former state judge, projects the elder statesman persona but has been instrumental in organizing Republican opposition to all efforts by Democrats to take the necessary steps to hold any officials accountable for organizing or assisting the insurrection as well as the effort to prevent passage of the Freedom to Vote Act or the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It’s all about gaining and retaining power in service to their wealthy campaign donors, they make no effort to helping anyone else while giving lip service to the middle class even as their policies and actions cause the middle class to shrink as a percentage of the population.

Trump’s authoritarian populism aligns with white nationalist rhetoric while Republican ideology has drifted into neo-fascism. Remember that the characteristics of fascism are: absolute power of the state - such as making all abortions illegal, rule by a dictator – Trump’s claim that “I alone can fix the system”, corporatism – controlling labor by making unions, strikes, and other labor actions illegal, something Reagan started, extreme nationalism – such as the ginned up threats about immigrants especially those from the southern border, and superiority of the nation’s people – Trump’s appeal to white supremacists.

We the people must fight back, call our senators  and demand that they publicly support and vote for the Freedom to Vote Act today.

Looking Forward to Strengthen Our Democracy

Last week I reminded readers of some of the Joe Biden and the Democrats major accomplishments since the inauguration on January 20th such as rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, a 100 country pledge to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by at least 30 percent by 2030, another agreement to end and reverse deforestation, reinstatement of a pause on federal executions, significant improvements in job and wage growth, the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level since March 2020 while jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 1969 in early December, disposable income grew 3% after inflation, and finally the American Rescue Plan along with the historic economy recovery combined to cut child poverty in half.

Looking forward two very important pieces of legislation are on the docket, the Build Back Better Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Build Back Better is a wide ranging bill that combines major infrastructure projects with improvements in economic fairness. The bill funds government purchases of electric vehicles and zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles in addition to incentives to consumers for buying electric cars and trucks. This is an important step in both reducing the damage from climate change and developing energy independence. There is also funding for wildfire prevention, drought relief, conservation efforts, and climate change research; all of which affect Texas greatly. The bill also provides funding transit services and clean energy projects in low-income communities, some of which Seguin would likely qualify for.

The Build Back Better Act also includes funding for up to six semesters of free community college so that our young people who aren’t interested in university degrees have a chance to develop skills that lead to good paying jobs in construction, healthcare, and a wide range of fields. For families with very young children the bill will provide funding for universal preschool. An important provision here in Texas is funding health benefits for eligible individuals who reside in states that have not expanded Medicaid. There’s plenty more in the bill like expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing along with require that Medicare negotiate prices on prescription drugs which is currently prohibited.

The Freedom to Vote Act would ban partisan gerrymandering and establish clear, neutral standards for congressional redistricting and strengthened protections for communities of color. These rules would be applicable to all maps created in the current cycle, including those that have already been enacted. This provision would significantly change the district lines and likely the partisan makeup of the Texas congressional delegation as Republicans have used extreme gerrymandering techniques to increase the number of white Republican districts while the percentage of white Texas voters has declined.

The Freedom to Vote Act would require all 50 states to offer early voting periods for at least two weeks prior to Election Day, including on nights and weekends, for at least 10 hours per day just like Texas does. The bill would create a national standard permitting no-excuse vote by mail for every eligible voter and states would be required to permit voters to apply for absentee ballots online. The bill would promote a national standard for states that have an identification requirement for in-person voting, allowing for the use of a wide range of forms of identification (including electronic copies) and alternative options for voter validation meaning that Texas college students could use their student ID to vote.

Republican leaders object to the Freedom to Vote Act with the ridiculous claim that making it easier to vote and supporting the notion of one person – one vote is somehow a Democratic takeover.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 5, 2022