TUE brief 2.8.22
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Today’s Stories
The CENTER FOR RENEWING AMERICA has released a report detailing the Texas GOP’s chronic underperformance after two decades in power.
While some of the details they catalog about the 2015-’19 sessions (i.e., the 84th through the 86th) are instructive, none of their conclusions are new.
But (according to a little birdie), an important first step towards “nationalizing” the Texas GOP’s failures as a political issue. To which we have to say, it’s about time.
Let’s state the obvious upfront: this should have been done ten years ago. Failing that, it should have started last year. Unfortunately, neither happened.
Better late than never.
The oft-derided Texas GOP’s “make bombastic, though substance-free, statements to get Fox News coverage” strategy works, like it or not.
Any effort to coax/force Fox News et al. to discuss the Texas GOP’s chronic underperformance more frequently is welcome.
Still, there’s the timing.
The primary is three weeks from today. As things currently stand, Abbott is probably avoiding a runoff by a few points.
Suppose this effort can be a significant force multiplier for Abbott’s challengers. Combined with APP’s ad campaign and the continued dumpster fire OLS perhaps Abbott’s negatives can be driven up the requisite 5 to 10 points.
Speaking of polling in the Governor’s race, see next item. (AC)
ALLEN WEST’s campaign released a goofy poll claiming to show their candidate in the lead. It was widely panned.
Abbott is still in first place, and while “Abbott at 58 vs. Abbott at 49” remains TBD (and either is a massive shift from 2018), Greg Abbott will come in first in this primary.
BRENDAN STEINHAUSER seems to have been hired by Young Americans for Liberty (as they rebuild following a sex scandal).
In addition to his recent notoriety for trite and tiresome Never-Trumper takes, Steinhauser has managed campaigns for “liberty-minded” All-Stars like Dan (Vaccine Database), Crenshaw, and John (LMAO) Cornyn. Those data points are public and suggest obvious conclusions.
But the story of how Brendan Steinhauser originally came to work for John Cornyn has never been told publicly. It’s not our story to tell, but here are the bookmarked receipts. See also, here.
Steinhauser is a protege of former U.S. House majority leader Dick Armey. While the former Congressman has a reasonably well-deserved reputation as a fiscal conservative, his affinity for practicing some of the dirtiest forms of politics is less known.
Former Congressman Joe Scarborough offers one such illustration, following the tragic 1998 suicide of reporter Sandy Hume:
Sandy passed away on February 22, 1998, at the age of 28. His tragic and untimely death shocked his friends and family members, especially as Hume’s star was on the rise and the entire world was about to open up before him. Unfortunately, Hume’s death presented an opportunity for revenge to some in the Armey camp.
[Context: Armey was seeking revenge for a critical piece Hume had written a few weeks earlier which Scarborough describes on pages 127-29.]Soon after Sandy’s death, I received a call in my Congressional office from a Wall Street Journal reporter. She whispered a question I knew she was ashamed to ask.
“Congresman, I’m sorry about Sandy. I know you two were friends…but…um, I have to ask you this. Someone in Dick Armey’s office just told me Sandy Hume got the coup story by having a gay affair with [former Congressman] Bill Paxton. Both knew the story was coming out and that’s why Paxton resigned and why Sandy killed himself.”
Bill Paxton had unexpectedly resigned from politics a day after Sandy’s death.
I sat at my desk, rage growing by the second toward this reporter, Dick Armey, and the sleazy business of politics. For the first time since the coup began, I measured my words and held my anger.
“I don’t know who Sandy slept with and I don’t care. But I do know that Sandy didn’t get his story by having sex with Bill Paxton. Sandy got his story by eating ribs in Shirlington with my ten-year-old son and me. I told Sandy everything about the coup from the beginning to end to show everybody what really happened. Bill Paxton didn’t give Sandy the story. I did.”
(pp. 133-4)
Steinhauser’s political mentor, folks.
One final note: Much like the Clinton’s, the Steinhausers are very much a “two for the price of one” deal. Don’t get us started on how his wife ran the school choice movement into the ground. (AC)
Hit the Links
Abbott declines to sign Big Family Pledge
TxDMV executive director resigns amid KXAN investigations
Allegation: Capitol Police illegally search Congressman’s office
Pro-amnesty group releases second round of endorsements
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