Blue Wave Really a Progressive Wave

My Republican neighbors are in denial about the “blue wave” that swept the country earlier this month which led to 38 and possibly 39 or 40 more Democrats in the House. Democrats lost four seats they held in the Senate but won two others previously held in by Republicans from Arizona and Nevada. Nationally turnout was the highest for a mid-term election since 1914 so no one can claim that low turnout caused the swing. In addition to the progress I wrote about two weeks ago made by Democrats in Texas; over 330 state legislative seats switched from Republican to Democratic hands. Democratic governors were elected to replace Republicans in seven states and six state legislatures switched from Republican to Democratic control. There were many county governments and other elected offices like Secretary of State, Secretary of Agriculture, and judgeships changing hands as well.

2019 will be a tremendous year for diversity in our federal legislature. At least 123 women will be in Congress next year, all but 19 are Democrats. The 116th Congress will have the highest percentage of women ever at 23%. The first two Native American women won seats in the House, Deb Haaland from New Mexico and Sharice Davids from Kansas. Religious diversity also increased as the first two Muslim women; Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar and Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib were elected to the House and a record 53 other Muslims won elections to state legislatures and local government bodies. New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest member ever elected to the House.

Nine newly elected members with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and medicine are headed to the House of Representatives seven of them are Democrats; one Democrat won in the Senate.

Elected officials were not the only evidence of the change in the body politic as three Republican controlled states, Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah voted on propositions to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act provision enabling Medicaid expansion. Some of the states where Republican governors were replaced had denied Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act was a campaign issue so their defeat was at least in part a repudiation of the Republican efforts to repeal it.

Three states voted to legalize marijuana, Utah and Missouri for medical treatment and Michigan for recreational use. Florida voted to restore voting rights to 1.4 million felons who have served their time. In New Mexico the newly elected Democratic legislature is already preparing to repeal the existing state law prohibiting abortion so that any action by the Supreme Court on the issue will have no effect there. Arkansas and Missouri both voted to increase the minimum wage, which will give raises to a combined total of 900,000 workers in the two states.

Automatic voter registration, which disproportionately enfranchises young people and people of color, passed in both Nevada and Michigan. In Michigan voters approved same-day voter registration and made it easier to request absentee ballots. Voters in Maryland passed a ballot measure to implement same-day voter registration by a wide margin.

Given all this it wasn’t just a “blue wave” it was a progressive wave and that’s actually more important in the long run.

Democratic Priorities in the 2019 Texas Legislature

Last week I wrote about how the election results changed the makeup of the state legislature and courts here in Texas. Here’s a look at what that change means to you and me in terms of over 400 pieces of legislation filed on opening day of pre-filing with the state legislature based on analysis by the Texas AFL-CIO.

There was more good than bad for workers in that first batch including a strong group of bills raising wages, strengthening pensions and other workplace benefits, expanding health care and improving access to higher education were filed as well as addressing sexual harassment.

First the bad, HB 222 by Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, would eliminate the ability of cities to enact earned paid sick leave ordinances. The ordinances, like those recently enacted in Austin and San Antonio, could provide hundreds of thousands of Texans the freedom to stay home when they are ill, are under challenge in court as well. Keep in mind that this issue is about more than benefitting employees since it actually protects other employees and customers from contact that could spread the disease further. Think about the restaurant worker who feels the need to work with the flu so they can pay the next month’s rent or put food on the table for their family.

SB 32 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would establish the Texas Promise Grant Program to pay tuition and fees for Texas students whose annual household incomes are less than $150,000; SB 33 by Zaffirini specifically addresses two-year colleges.

HB 48 by Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, would create a publicly available database of employers who have been found to have committed wage theft. As it stands now business owners can get fined for stealing from their employees and then weeks later start it all over again with new employees who have little chance of finding out that the person hiring them is likely to steal from them. Should Rep. Gonzalez’s bill be passed into law there would be a website that prospective employees could check to see of a business makes a habit of stealing wages before it happens to them. Having such information widely available should also provide a deterrent to employers as such behavior will become widely known in the community and they’ll be shamed for it in addition to finding it harder to find good workers. In addition HB 83 by Rep. Romero raises penalties for repeated failure to pay wages and HB 106 by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, would increase protections against employer retaliation when an employee files a claim for unpaid wages.

HB 56 by Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, would provide for cost-of-living adjustments on pensions for retired teachers; SBs 92, 93 and 94 by Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, would add a supplemental "13th payment" for retirees and otherwise shore up the Teacher Retirement System.

HB 133 by Rep. Terry Canales, would make it state law that tips are solely the property of tipped employees and therefore the practice that some restaurant and bar operators of claiming a percentage of tips for themselves would be outlawed.

Minimum wage is a big issue that several bills address, HB 194 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, would raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour; HB 290 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, would raise the minimum to $10.10 an hour; SB 113 by Sen. Jose Menendez would set the wage at $10.10 an hour, as would SJR 5, his constitutional amendment proposal. SB 161 by Sen. Rodriguez would allow cities and counties to set local minimum wages.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - November 16, 2018

2018 Election Results Not Bad - Hint at Better 2020

Although nothing much changed in the makeup of Guadalupe County government Texas Republicans shouldn't get too cocky given that Beto O'Rourke lost by just 220,000 votes, the narrowest margin of any state-wide candidate in well over a decade. Overall turnout in this election was nearly twice what it was just four years ago and only 8% less than the 2016 presidential election turnout. O’Rourke got 200,000 votes more than Hillary Clinton did just two years ago while Ted Cruz got 400,000 fewer than Donald Trump.

Beto wasn't alone as Lt. Governor candidate Mike Collier, Attorney General candidate Justin Nelson and Agriculture Commissioner Kim Olson all performed nearly as well. While not every state-wide Democratic candidate performed to those standards it wasn’t just Beto O’Rourke pulling the train. Good candidates running strong campaigns got within striking difference in the mid-terms for the first time in 20 years.

Those aren't the only signs that Texas is changing, two incumbent Republican congressmen, Pete Sessions and John Culberson, lost their seats, and four others are only won by 5% or less. One of those is District 23 running from northwestern San Antonio nearly to El Paso, currently held by Will Hurd, at under 700 votes difference is so close that it may require a recount to confirm the winner.

In the state legislature 2 incumbent Republican state senators, John Huffines and Konni Burton, lost to Democrats along with a dozen Republican held state house members. Other signs that Texas is changing include a switch to a Democratic majority on the State Board of Education and four Courts of Appeal districts also flipped to Democratic majorities due to wins against 18 incumbent Republican judges.

Results like Tuesday’s suggest that the 2020 election will be even more hotly contested than was 2016 if for no other reason that it indicates that Texas could be in play in a presidential election instead of being a considered a guaranteed Republican stronghold. That means a lot more spending of time, money and other resources by both presidential candidates and probably more funds available to candidates from both parties in at least the additional for really close congressional races from this election. If you thought there were a lot of television and radio commercials, mailers, phone calls and text messages this election just wait until 2020.

It won’t just be federal races drawing more funding either as there are 11 more Republican House seats that were close enough to be considered in play in the next election. With the Democrats now holding 67 state House seats it will only take 9 more to for them to attain a majority and be able to choose the Speaker of the House who would set the House agenda. A Democratic House majority would also have a lot more to say about redistricting which will be a major issue to be addressed by the legislature when it then meets in 2021. The main goal of Democrats would be to prevent the outrageous gerrymandering that currently gives Republicans the huge advantages they have with the current maps. You know there’s something fishy when state-wide Democratic candidates received 45-48% of the vote and yet even with this year’s wins they only hold 13 of 36 congressional seats instead of the 16-18 a reasonably drawn map would likely provide.

All this means is that 2020 is likely to be an even more hotly contested election cycle in Texas than even 2018 and within months of today party volunteers will start working once again on registering new voters and identifying likely supporters all over again.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - November 9, 2018

Remind them their votes can change lives

At this point in the election cycle attempts by candidates to persuade people that they are the best choice are largely over and now their efforts are focused on persuading registered voters to take the time to go to the polls and mark their ballots. Volunteers are working full bore calling voters and knocking on their doors in the hope that they can turn out just a few more votes and that will be the difference between their preferred candidate winning and losing.

I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone reading this column has either already voted or has plans to vote on a specific day and probably a specific time. As a citizen in a democratic republic in addition to your right and responsibility to vote you have a duty to encourage others to vote as well. Some folks need encouragement to make the effort, some more than others.

Here are a few reasons you can offer that might make them feel it is worth their effort:

Ask the prospective voter if they or someone they care about lacks access to healthcare because they can’t afford health insurance. If they do, then let them know that Democrats like gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez are all are fighting for increasing access to healthcare by expanding Medicaid. Mention that Republicans Governor Greg Abbott has the power to do so with the federal government paying for 90% of it and chooses to let Texans suffer and die instead. Remind them that their vote for Lupe Valdez can make that happen.

Ask a prospective voter if they believe that everyone who works a full time job deserves the dignity of being to live on their own without worrying where their next meal will come from. If they do, then let them know that Democrats like US Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke are fighting to raise the minimum wage to a living wage because no one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty. Remind them that their vote for Beto O’Rourke can insure the dignity of every worker.

Ask a prospective voter if their children or grandchildren or nieces and nephews deserve a good quality education that will prepare them to provide for themselves and their future families. If they do, point out that Democrats like Texas House District 44 candidate John Rodgers is committed to protecting public education and fully funding public schools so that every child no matter where they live in Texas and no matter how much or how little their parents earn has the opportunity to get a high quality education. Remind them that their vote for John Rodgers can change lives.

What it all boils down to is that those who vote choose the way our government works and who it benefits. Anyone not voting cedes their right to have a voice and allows those who don’t respect the dignity of working Texans, don’t share the belief that every child deserves a high quality education, and only the well of and those with good employer based health insurance deserve medical care for themselves and their families will continue to set the direction of our state and the nation.

Be a leader, be an activist and offer to drive your family, friends and neighbors to the polls if that’s what it takes to get them to vote.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - November 2, 2018

Heed John Lewis

Civil rights hero, Congressman John Lewis, has taken to social media recently to encourage voters to use their right to vote. He tweeted “I have been beaten, my skull fractured, and arrested more than forty times so that each and every person has the right to register and vote. Friends of mine gave their lives. Do your part. Get out there and vote like you’ve never voted before.”

Congressman Lewis’ remarks are especially important this week when many Americans are going to the polls for early voting at the same time a right wing terrorist has mailed and hand delivered at least seven bombs to former president Obama, Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, progressive billionaire George Soros, and the New York offices of CNN. Hate from the right; like the white nationalist/Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia last year that ended in the death of Heather Heyer, has been on the rise since Barack Obama began his campaign for president in 2007. The current White House stoked that hate during his campaign and enough Americans in the certain states accepted his hateful message so that he managed to take office even though he received nearly 3 million fewer votes. Since his inauguration he has thrown more fuel in the fire and claimed that the bigots marching in Charlottesville were nice people.

By continuing to spout hateful language toward his opponents and those in the media not associated with Fox News and AM talk radio the popular vote loser in the White House has incited and given permission for his followers to act on his words by striking out at those with whom they disagree. No prior president of either party has pushed the envelope the way the man in the White House today has done. Even Reagan using dog whistles like his imaginary welfare queen remarks didn’t stoop to calling for violence.

In the face of attacks and calls for violence it is of the utmost importance that we all heed John Lewis’ call to vote. Even though they were subjected to violence from both police and civilian bigots Lewis, Rev. Martin Luther King, Dolores Huerta, Bayard Rustin, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and the many other activists forged a highly effective and non-violent path to achieve their voting rights and civil rights goals. Once their right to vote was established those pioneers were able to achieve and protect other civil rights for a time.

Over the last 30 years as the right has recognized the opportunity to rule by exploiting division amongst the electorate. One of the main fault lines exploited is race, others are generally religious biases like non-Christian faiths, a woman’s right to control her body, and non-traditional sexuality. Exploiting these fault lines requires generating fear, anger, and hate to move those who are susceptible to voting for those who claim to be protecting them. Of course the politicians who use these methods including the record setting liar in the White House aren’t really interested in or concerned about the issues surrounding race or religion. Their vociferous calls to protect white, Christian America are just tools to get access to the levers of power for the purposes of enriching themselves and their billionaire and corporate sponsors. The evidence for this is the single significant piece of legislation that the Republican controlled congress was able to pass was a giant tax break for those billionaire and corporate sponsors.

If you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors don’t vote, the hate mongers and their rich sponsors win. Don’t let them.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - October 26, 2018

Texas Candidates and Campaign Contributors

Most Americans agree that money in politics is a problem in that special interests all too often get their way in regard to the laws passed by Congress and state legislatures in spite of what’s good for the people. There is plenty of evidence to backup that position such as studies showing that the issues that the average voter cares about are given short shrift by our legislators while matters of interest to major corporations and billionaires get plenty of attention. We may disagree on the steps to reduce the influence of money in our political system but we generally agree that it’s a problem.

Reducing the influence of money in politics is an issue being taken on right now in two important races in Texas right now. In the US Senate race Beto O’Rourke has pledged not to take campaign donations from corporations and political action committees (PAC’s) his opponent has not. Beto O’Rourke has raised millions from thousands of individual donors making donations from as little as $3 to a few hundred dollars while Ted Cruz is getting most of his campaign donations from major corporations and the political action committees that they and their lobbyists have organized to channel their money into the campaigns that favor their interests. Who do you think is going to listen to your concerns and act accordingly once in office, the guy who spent all his time talking to billionaires and their lackeys begging for money or the guy who raised a record $38 million in three months from folks like you and me?

In the Texas House District 44 race right here in Guadalupe County John Rodgers has made a similar pledge and all his campaign donations have come from individuals in amounts from $27 to $150 aside from the few thousand dollars he personally put up. The incumbent, John Kuempel on the other hand has taken more than 95% of his campaign donations, tens of thousands of dollars from special interest PACs like: the Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC, Merck & Company Employees Political Action Committee of Washington, D. C., Advance America Cash Advance Centers PAC from South Carolina, Eli Lilly and Company PAC (pharmaceuticals manufacturer) out of Indiana, and UPSPAC out of Georgia. Kuempel took in $10,000 just from the Texas Association of Realtors PAC and is sitting on over $600,000 cash on hand. You’ll notice that many of the examples aren’t even from here in Texas let alone Guadalupe County or Wilson County where the constituents of House District 44 live. All the campaign contribution information I’ve mentioned is available for your review from the Texas Ethics Commission website which is where I got it.

So again the question is who is more likely to listen to your concerns and act in your best interests the candidate taking money from out of state business interests or the one who accepts donations only from voters like you and me?

It’s clear to me that regardless of your feelings about hot button issues, the candidates who are going to work for the interests of the people are the ones who don’t give their ear to special interests who fund their campaigns and that means I’ll be voting for Beto O’Rourke and John Rodgers. I hope you will too.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - October 19, 2018

Who Is In Office Matters And So Does Your Voice

Three weeks ago I told you about the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act filed by Senator Bernie Sanders. Also known as the Stop Bezos Act it was written so that if passed it would require employers like Amazon and Walmart to pay taxes to offset the amount of federal assistance their full time employees collect due to the low wages they and similar employers pay. The federal assistance provided to employees effectively subsidizes highly profitable companies like Amazon and Walmart. This week Jeff Bezos the CEO of Amazon announced that the company has raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour and publicly thanked Sen. Sanders and thousands of activists for pushing his company to make that decision.

The news about Amazon raising wages to a livable level is timely since we’re just over two weeks away from the start of early voting and there are too many Texans especially in towns like Seguin who don’t vote especially in mid-term elections. If you’re a regular reader of this column you are probably known among your family and friends as politically knowledgeable and aware; not because you read this column but because you’re interested in the topic and this column among others in the Friday editorial section is an indicator of your interest. Studies show the fact that your family and friends respect your knowledge means on average you have more power to persuade 10 people to vote and who to vote for. That makes you much more effective than some stranger knocking on their door or calling them on the phone.
When someone you’re talking to about voting says voting doesn’t matter or all politicians are alike you can point to Sen. Sanders impact on the decision wage increase as evidence that not all politicians are alike. If the family member or friend you’re talking to says their vote doesn’t matter remind them that in 2017 a state legislature seat in Virginia was decided by a coin toss because the vote was tied. Or you can point to the 2010 race for Texas House District 48 in Austin which Donna Howard won by just 12 votes. Or Lisa Jackson’s 5 vote margin of victory in the race for Mayor of Cibolo in the 2013 election.

Amazon isn’t the only highly profitable company that needs to raise wages, Senator Sanders isn’t going to fix the country by himself even if he is elected president in 2020, and your vote alone isn’t likely to swing an election but if all of us work together to raise awareness and we each do our part to bring out those 10 voters we have influence with, we can make a difference.

Early voting starts Monday October 22 put that date on your calendar and get to the polls early, if you do you might save yourself a lot of candidate phone calls as they try to spend their limited time on people who haven’t voted yet. Remind those family members and friends to get to the polls early too.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - October 5, 2018