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Today’s Stories
BOBBY FRANCIS O’ROURKE took another stab at a credible campaign.
This is good messaging for any challenger and was predicted.
Property taxes in Texas have been on the rise for 25 years. Greg Abbott has run the executive branch for eight of them. While the voter control bill of 2019 beat the alternative, it was (at best) a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.
Greg Abbott is the incumbent. He owns the status quo on property taxes and everything else.
While Texas is (kind of, sort of) better positioned than some, the state’s chronic underperformance is evident to anyone who does follow-up work.
If O’Rourke (or any member of the opposition party) wanted to make a consistent issue of this, it doesn’t take a genius to see the three-part message:
Property Taxes.
The Grid.
General Corruption.
In addition, while a Democrat complicates the issue in the White House, Abbott’s inconsistent approach to the border is an inviting target, one that O’Rourke had hit before when it came to the mismanagement of OLS.
At times, O’Rourke seems to appreciate this moderated approach.
But…then there are sex changes for minors. No matter how sensibly O’Rourke may present himself 90% of the time, he can’t help flying his freak flag.
This bipolar approach to messaging might result from too many cooks in the kitchen, with multiple consultants having the candidate’s ear.
If O’Rourke can run a disciplined campaign around the themes discussed above, he might make the race more competitive than it otherwise would be. (AC)
GREG ABBOTT is attending a banquet honoring (the disgraced) DENNIS BONNEN.
This is (obviously) gross on many levels and speaks to the degree to which the incumbent party is unwilling to change.
If anyone were serious about corruption in Texas, Dennis Bonnen would have been turned into a household name three years ago. That Bonnen’s name ID remains under 20% tells you what you need to know. (AC)
MARIJUANA (Aside: Happy 4/20!) will be the subject of a superfluous Austin referendum.
Originally intended as a countermeasure to boost left-wing turnout during last year’s fight over homelessness, it was delayed twice due to the incompetence of its advocates.
Now, it’s appearing as a stand-alone measure at a time when nothing else meaningful is on the ballot. Insert stoner jokes here.
Austin decriminalized marijuana in 2019. The legislature then declined to override them. Thus, the current initiative serves no purpose. (AC)
The TEXAS TRIBUNE continues to hemorrhage credible people.
There’s nothing we can say about Abby Livingston’s departure that we didn’t say when Evan Smith retired.
The Tribune’s decline over the past 5 years is well cataloged, but this is another data point. (AC)
Hit the Links
Abortion Barbie remains on-brand
Texas Softball does something they haven’t done in awhile
Thanks for reading
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