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September 20, 2021 5:19 PM
Beto’s vulnerabilities have perhaps begun to pale as general election voters confront Abbott and Texas’ new abortion ban, permitless carry of handguns, and covid policy
OK, let’s be blunt. Young Democrats suffer the vapors
over the prospect of a Beto gubernatorial run. Republicans
understand that his first two forays into the big show revealed a flawed,
hubris-driven candidate who arrived ill-prepared and squandered every advantage
he should have enjoyed.
The cult of Beto got so out of control that he
block-walked for a Democrat (anyone remember her name?) in a special election
against Rep. Gary Gates in a Texas House race and
is ironically credited with helping to drive up GOP turnout and widen Gates’
predictable margin of victory. It was a heavily Republican district to begin
with in Fort Bend.
As soon as the former congressman tried to help the
Democrat in that race, he became the story rather than the candidate.
But the substantive failure during O’Rourke’s own campaigns
was that it drowned out legitimately good advice from people who had won
victories for Democrats decades ago in this state.
Some have argued he engineered his own defeat at the hands of Ted Cruz –
some would say single-handedly – which is why Gov. Abbott’s consultant Dave
Carney relishes the prospect of this contest.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Harvey Kronberg
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Copyright September 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 20, 2021 3:04 PM
In asking for “second look” legislation to be added, Leach and Moody say they’re ready to address concerns previously raised by Abbott in his veto message. “Since the bill is aimed at rightsizing penalties and promoting rehabilitation for people locked up since an early age, time is literally ticking away for them, day by day and year by year, as we work on these technical fixes.”
Here’s the letter
to Gov. Greg Abbott from Representatives Joe Moody and Jeff
Leaf.
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Copyright September 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 20, 2021 10:22 AM
“When the new redistricting lines were released on Saturday afternoon, it didn’t take long for the phone to start ringing," Flores said
Here is the announcement
in full. Flores also quickly unveiled the endorsement of Sen. Dawn
Buckingham, R-Lakeway. That’s here.
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Copyright September 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 19, 2021 1:29 PM
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Copyright September 19, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 18, 2021 4:28 PM
It also changes Sen. Johnson's district to a minority opportunity district, so expect a primary challenge if this maps holds
The proposed map can be downloaded
here.
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Copyright September 18, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 17, 2021 1:03 PM
Staffer moves, agency hires, and more
Well, it’s for real now: the
Texas Legislature Online has activated the dropdown for 87(3).
Folks have been trying to
maximize the relative calm this week at the building. Though, it’s worth mentioning
the news cycle has been furious enough that Texas saw a hurricane move through
Houston and the Coastal Bend this week and it’s already largely been forgotten as
abortion, immigration, coronavirus, and more suck up all the oxygen in the room.
It’s exhausting.
Meantime there are career moves
to tell you about as some staff move out of the building, either to join
campaigns or other ventures, and agencies make big hiring announcements. You know
the drill by now. Feel free to share career news with the Texas Capitol
community anytime by sending it to ksbraddock@gmail.com.
If you use POTM in the subject line, it magically floats to the top of my
inbox. Promise.
Here’s the latest edition of
People on the Move.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright September 17, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 16, 2021 8:15 AM
Among other things, Krause tells DFW radio host Mark Davis that Paxton's personal legal problems are a risk that Republicans can't take in the general election: "There would be that cloud there if he's the nominee"
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Copyright September 16, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 15, 2021 5:02 PM
Meantime, Dave Wasserman at Cook Political Report says “The coming fights over district lines are going to make some of the battles over voting procedures look like molehills compared to mountains in the next few months.”
Throughout this week, some
state senators, we are told, have been able to privately see the proposed maps
for their own Texas Senate districts. There’s much chatter now that maps could
be made public as soon as this weekend, but it’s more likely they’ll be
available at the start of the next special session on Monday.
And now that the Democratic
walkout that upended legislative business in Austin and divided the Texas House
is over, some think the redistricting fight ahead could be even more bitter.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright September 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 15, 2021 4:45 PM
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Copyright September 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 14, 2021 4:46 PM
When HB 1925 was passed, the GOP legislators who championed it said the main goal was to correct policies in Austin. As for other major cities: "This bill actually doesn't change anything”; now Abbott tells all cities to expect “costly litigation” and the withholding of resources
The issue of homelessness
in the City of Austin has become so personal for a few in the legislative community
that some who would normally be champions of local control were among the most
vocal supporters of a one-size-fits all statewide policy now being used to
threaten all cities and counties with “costly litigation and denial of state
grant funds.”
Sold to legislators and Texans
during the regular session as a course correction for the City of Austin – where
residents earlier this year had already voted overwhelmingly to reinstate a ban
on camping in public spaces – House Bill 1925 is now swiftly being
used by Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to tell
every local government in the state that they “face serious repercussions” over
their policies dealing with homelessness.
All stick, no carrot, and
certainly not anything that could be considered a good faith partnership to tackle
a complex and heartbreaking issue that every community faces to some degree.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright September 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 14, 2021 4:41 PM
CBS Austin Reporter Christian Flores has been gathering
reaction to the introduction of the Freedom to Vote Act. His story
is here.
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Copyright September 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 14, 2021 11:44 AM
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Copyright September 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 13, 2021 12:29 PM
Plaintiffs asking a
federal court to block the Texas Legislature from drawing new
maps this year on Monday filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.
The legal team, including GOP former Texas Supreme Court Chief
Justice Wallace Jefferson, argues that the Texas Constitution “clearly
requires the redistricting process to start in the first regular session after
the Census has been published, which means January 2023, not a special session
in September.”
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright September 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 13, 2021 8:10 AM
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Copyright September 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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