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Today’s Stories

ELLEN TROXCLAIR was interviewed by Fox News.

It’s both welcome on the merits and a testament to her (frequently discussed) political skills. This latter context illustrates why Greg Abbott doesn’t want her anywhere near the Capitol.

In the piece titled “Texas House could double the number of GOP women this November,” author Jessica Chasmer discusses, with Troxclair, how the left claims to speak for women.

Expressly, Troxclair objects to various policies that make raising children more difficult. Neither is this new territory for her. Before the pandemic, Troxclair wrote a book on the subject.

All to the good.

However, stepping back, two aspects stand out.

The venue.
Troxclair’s ability to come across as “not scary.”

Those factors, combined, illustrate why Troxclair provokes Greg Abbott’s most profound insecurities.

As a venue, Fox News remains unrivaled. Their incessant gullibility is Abbott’s political lifeblood. Like it or not, they still have the biggest audience. For Troxclair to generate Fox’s interest illustrates her ability to build an independent political base. Her “non-scary” style means that base is potentially significant.

Abbott (and the broader Capitol good ol’ boy crowd) know this and don’t want it.

Obviously, Fox didn’t intend to promote a political adversary of Greg Abbott’s. It’s almost certainly, the case that they didn’t understand that was what they were doing. But it still happened.

Speaking of provoking the Governor’s insecurities, see next item.

GREG ABBOTT was forced to back down after attempting to snub the state GOP convention.

The first issue is the governor’s unwillingness to list himself as a “sponsor” of the convention. Typically, this is considered a pro-forma courtesy in which all statewide elected officials engage. This is especially the case in a midterm year when state-level offices are on the general election ballot.

Of course, for Abbott, the issue is that he can’t control the message. RPT convention delegates refuse to allow themselves to be used as background extras in the Governor’s re-election propaganda. While largely supportive, the state party has dissented on a few issues (eg. COVID restrictions).

Nor is this the first time Abbott has shown hostility to the Texas GOP. In 2020, Abbott used the (Democrat) Mayor of Houston as a cat’s paw to shut down a state convention he perceived as hostile. Former RPT chair James Dickey was the primary hatchet man.

How unbelievably petty.

That being said, there’s a conflict (across) many issues o understand the conflict

HENRY CUELLAR appears to hold a 136 vote lead over left-wing challenger Jessica Cisneros. It remains to be seen whether Cisneros requests a recount, but that’s a suspiciously narrow margin for the region in question.

Hit the Links

Texas Softball advances to national championship round

Texas Baseball wins regional

New York’s Asians (politically) up for grabs

Worker Pensions are Funding Far-Right Extremists

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MON brief 6.7.22