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TX06 Special Election Followup
Today is May 1st and municipal election day in Texas. I wanted to follow up on the results of the TX06 special election that was held also. I thought there might be interest since there were 4 previous posts on the election with over 200 replies. I guess it is technically 3 posts (one, two, three) and a podcast in the last month.
The big contention was whether this “anti-Trump” upstart, Michael Wood, would be the future of the GOP. One of the candidates in the race was the widow of the individual who previously occupied the office. Mrs. Wright is the leading vote-getter and will be in the run-off. With 94% of the votes in, second place is barely held by Jake Ellzey, who I thought was the most likely winner (I didn’t know about the widow component). If these results hold, it will be two GOP candidates in the runoff. Third place is some Democrat that would certainly lose in the runoff. And that anti-Trump upstart? He is currently in 9th position with about 3% of the vote. It looks like that bold strategy didn’t pay off in MAGA country. Paging Liz Cheney…
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Susan Wright GOP | 15,020 | 19.21% |
| Jake Ellzey GOP | 10,842 | 13.86% |
| Jana Sanchez DEM | 10,476 | 13.40% |
| Brian Harrison GOP | 8,474 | 10.84% |
| Shawn Lassiter DEM | 6,941 | 8.88% |
| John Castro GOP | 4,308 | 5.51% |
| Tammy Allison DEM | 4,222 | 5.40% |
| Lydia Bean DEM | 2,913 | 3.72% |
| Michael Wood GOP | 2,497 | 3.19% |
| Michael Ballantine GOP | 2,212 | 2.83% |
The important thing is that the Camping Ban looks like it is passing in Austin. Yeah!
Published in Elections
I just take a black magic marker and write “Never Trump” on any RNC material that praises Trump. And then mail it with postage due.
There is no meeting ground between us. The last one to die will get the last word.
I think Trump has a role to play but he is largely a political grandfather, with a voice and respect, but no real energy and little power (though I hope I’m wrong). I also tend to think he won’t run again if only because he knows he really would be cancelled if he were to run and win.
With the intention of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say that it depends in large part on whether there is anyone else who can fill his shoes and do a better job.
I’ve heard about people doing this, but finally one day I tripped on the sidewalk and rolled without thinking. It did draw stares though.
You know they’ll k*ll him, right?
Childish vindictiveness.
They will try.
In the working world I learned that when one is going after a large government contract there is a “capture manager” who is responsible for winning the contract. In my experience, that person seldom became the “program manager” responsible for execution of the contract.That is probably because the roles require different skills.
Trump is like the capture manager who has fulfilled his role. He showed us that it is time to throw the Bushes, the Romneys, the Roves on the ash heap of GOPe history. I don’t know who will be the equivalent of the program manager in the future. I wish it could be Trump, but he has earned a right to lead his own life now. He deserves better than to be the president of an ungrateful nation.
We learn all kinds of things from Star Trek.
Sorry about going off topic – I have fortunately only had to do this on the dojo mats. We know from this scene that Gene Wilder/Willy Wonka was trained in Aikido, or at least some form of martial arts. Not a confectioner to be messed with:
Back on topic, it seems to be entirely tone deaf and living in the past to make opposition to Trump a major part of your platform and public statements (e.g. his concession statement) like this Michael Wood did. Yes, you’ll rally that 10% of the Republican party with TDS behind you and lose…every time. It’s May 3rd, 2021. Trump’s no longer in office. What was he planning to do, go to Washington and picket in front of the Trump Hotel there? That’s a real forward looking policy platform. With Biden clearly beholden to the far left radicals in the Democrat Party, it looks ridiculously petty, small, anachronistic, and downright dangerous and oblivious to the future of this country to make opposition to Trump a major part of one’s decision on which Republican to vote for. It’s obviously not where the enthusiasm of the vast majority of the party is and therefore does not inspire strong Republican turnout. It also severely limits your choices, unless you think voting for “moderate Democrats” is okay. “Moderate Democrats” complain behind closed doors, but Pelosi intimidates and AOC’s threats of primarying Reps/Senators who don’t vote in lockstep with the party makes their moderation non-existent.
That’s a good way of putting it. And I agree you are right in everything you say.
The mere thought of someone intellectually shallow enough to
authorpost that passage with a straight face posing questions to assess the mental soundness of others makes me giggle. Oh, how it makes me giggle.[NOTE ON THE EDIT: It should not be assumed that anyone who has spent the last five years as a reliable conduit/tool for the dissemination of misinformation actually “authored” any of it.]
#VoteDemocrat
Kevin Williamson has a great column about Michael Wood. https://www.nationalreview.com/the-tuesday/what-the-republican-party-needs-vs-what-it-wants/
This is the way I think about this. If you are pro Trump etc. be prepared to talk about policy. I don’t buy the non-MAGA agenda as a way to improve things.
If you are going to complain about the election, get all of your facts straight, first. Say something substantive.
I read it and it was a good example of why I don’t bother with NR anymore. So Davis is moronic and a coward according to Williamson. Maybe, maybe not, but Williamson article was pointless and I’ll never get those minutes of my life back.
That’s what I thought.
Nice bit of sour grapes, that article. I didn’t know Kevin Williamson was still alive.
Note that, in the referenced article, Wood describes Trump support as a “cult of personality.” This reveals either a startling lack of knowledge or just an outright refusal to recognize that issues drive most of Trump’s support. It appears that Wood fits right in with those who refuse to discuss policy as opposed to personality.
Be honest about Trump’s weaknesses. I forget which thread it was but there were some pro Trump people that had some really good comments like this.
Focus on policy. Understand how to talk about the corrupt institutions and how Trump thought them. Know your stuff if you are pro Trump.
The problem is the details about elections, facts about Trump’s behavior, and media bias get really involved and are really tedious. I loathe when things get off of policy very much.
It seems to me that Trump just plain broke a lot of people. I can remember a decade ago when Williamson wrote articles that were informative and, to me anyway, brilliant, but none of those articles centered on specific politicians. One, IIRC, was called Welcome to the Machine, and his article on the economic problems of Appalachia was terrific.
I think that’s right. His book the end is near is must reading. I used to remember the names of my favorite articles. The only one I can think of right now is risk, relativism, and resources.
Williamson’s arrogance, rarely far from the surface, is on display here. I will grant that he’s direct enough to tell us that he knows what the party “needs,” as opposed to what a subset of voters have actually just told him in resounding fashion. I suppose Wood’s National Review connection warrants a degree of respect by its writers, but one might think that such a terrible showing would create at least some pause in figuring out whether he is a need.
The two big things the GOP needs to focus on are, we have done every single thing wrong in the face of automation and globalized trade. Plus the stupidity of trading with China. We have to focus on the corruption in institutions.
I want candidates that are worried about that and know how to act accordingly given all of the grief the system wants to give them.
Here is an interview today with Michael Wood from CNN. One thing that I just discovered was that he is a Major in the Reserves. I also read that he has battle wounds in both of his arms and both of his legs. Wow. Thank you for your service.
I guess we’ll find out soon how much influence Trump has today. Here’s hoping that Liz gets shown the door.
President Trump Endorses Elise Stefanik to Replace Liz Cheney in GOP House Leadership (thegatewaypundit.com)
Fascinating that a candidate who was less than an also ran would get face time on CNN. Well . . . .maybe not so fascinating now that I think about it.
I can’t follow the connection between wounds however honorably received and suitability for federal office.
Eric Sevareid once quoted a man who said, “If physical infirmity is now a qualification for office, I’d like to announce my campaign for dog-catcher ’cause I’m the rupturedest man in the county.”