Dade Phelan has departing words for fellow Texas Republicans

In confirmation of even Dannie Goeb worried about the Lite Guv race, Matthew McDade "Dade" Phelan, former Speaker of the Texas House says Texas Republicans "are freaking out." Per my piece earlier this week about Elmo's PAC and what's on its direct mail, Phelan calls out this type of advertising stupidity. Talarico's first billboard in my area, on the other hand, talks about health care costs and the percentage of Texans on Medicaid.

Phelan also takes a last shot at how Goeb handled Kenny Boy's impeachment. He adds that, by Patrick doing this and eventually leading to a flawed Paxton getting the Senate nod, it's hurt Republican Senate candidates in other states.

Phelan left open the door for voting for Talarico and said he definitely wouldn't vote for Paxton. Nor for Bo French for Railroad Commish. 

He next brings up the 800-pound gorilla.

Trump is just pushing a lot down on you, and you own it if you’re a Republican. You just do. I’m not a Trump guy. Never have been a Trump guy. If I were running for election, I would be pushing back and calling out all of Trump’s mistakes. But if you’re a Trump supporter, it’s tough to get out from underneath that.

And, of course, zero Texas Rethugs, at least those running for statewide office, have pushed back. 

As for vote results? Without naming any particular races, he said that if the election were to have been held the date of the interview (it published Oct. 14), Republicans would lose statewide races. 

It's a long-form interview worth a read.

Ag Commish race gets sharper elbows

As Clayton Tucker and Nate Sheets tangle for Ag Commish, Tucker finally admits he's a hypocrite for owning Energy Transfer stocks, something I had already called him out for, though it's worse than I thought. Energy Transfer is providing natural gas for a data center in his backyard, per this piece. 

Tucker's response? This:

“Do I plan to divest from Energy Transfer? Probably, yeah,” Tucker said. “Again, when I bought it two or three years ago, I was not aware it was related to AI. But to say you have to completely divest of stocks, I mean, you’re basically telling every American with a 401k to sell 40% of it right now.”

Erm, really?

First, you should know, and probably do, that ethical mutual funds exist. Yes, a 401(k) is usually a company retirement investment, not an individual one, but I'll bet ethical 401(k) accounts also exist. You should pressure your company. 

Second, it appears you actually mean something like a personal mutual fund, albeit structured as a personal 401(k) for retirement. I'm sure such things exist.

Third, you surely knew who Energy Transfer was when you first bought its stocks. 

And, as with Jill Stein, I don't have a problem calling out the hypocrisy. 

As for the data centers themselves? Oh, the irony in the Observer's piece about this race, with Tucker talking about the noise from data centers disturbing livestock. 

Maybe that's one of those claims:

Tucker’s campaign makes walk the line between conspiratorial or, at the very least, dubious. One alarming claim on his website about Flock cameras connecting to personal phones through Bluetooth cites only a Reddit video posted on r/diabetes as evidence. Even anti-Flock activists have called this out as false. And the site’s stated opposition to proposed 765-kilovolt transmission lines in Texas lines warns misleadingly plays up the threat of “electromagnetic radiation.”

Per the Observer story.

And, if we're worried about electromagnetic radiation under high-voltage lines, is Tucker also concerned about 5G cell phones? 

And, while the Observer's story is about Tucker as populist, and focuses on his would-be ties to Jim Hightower, it notes that nationally, the term applies to everybody from Sheepdogger Bernie Sanders to Dementia Donald Trump. And, yes, some of the claims sound Trumpian, like stuff he's said about wind farms. 

Finally, the story notes that Tucker has been missing an opportunity to talk about farmworkers as well as farms.

Maybe it's not missed but deliberate oversight. We all know Tex-ass is a low-voting state even more than a Republican state, and Hispanic farmworkers, even if citizens eligible to vote, aren't a big voting target. 

Beyond the story, I looked at a few of his Facebook videos. Kind of silly, like the one claiming Folgers was overcharging for coffee. First, the price itself, as marked, is the controlling factor. Probably the price-per-ounce is "wrong" because it wasn't updated when the actual price went up. Second, weights and measures issues aren't under the remit of the Texas Department of Ag anyway. 

Elmo's Tex-ass cluelessness in "helping" Kenny Boy Paxton

If you, like me, live in Tex-ass (yes, that’s how I pronounce it, and no, I didn’t get here as soon as I can, but, for better and for worse, one brother was born here and both paternal great-grandfathers lived various portions of life here) …

You’ve been seeing plenty of shit like this:

In your mailbox.

And, yes, it’s Elmo’s — America PAC from the South African native.

You’ve probably also gotten a shit-ton of phone texts. Mine have been mainly about Kenny Boy, though one or two have been about Strangeabbott and one or two about Dannie Goeb.

Strangeabbott? Think 1964, and I was WAYYY ahead of Jasmine Crockett’s semi-lame “Gov. Hot Wheels.” Per my Blogger tag, the first post was 2014, when he was still just Gov-elect.

For my second post using that tag, I Photoshopped this:

I had additional fund with his Jesuitical lawyerly word-parsing during COVID:

In hindsight, he looks like he’s holding a handful of big-boobed bras, which would of course be a good summary of today’s Texas Rethuglican Party.

Anyway, back to Kenny Boy, whom I call that over the late, great Kenny Boy Ken Lay of Enron.

Seriously?

(I forgot to scan another flyer that, as I said in a note a week or so ago, implies that Commies are about to overrun rural Texas, or rurales Tejas, led by Uncle Karl Marx himself, whose face was on the flyer.)

Seriously?

Yeah, I guess Elmo is appealing to the MAGAts base to do an Angela Paxton and “stand by their man” while holding their nose and voting. This stuff surely doesn’t appeal to independent centrists.

Plus, it makes no sense? “Back to the dugout”? Is this playing on baseball’s postseason, even as Baseball is Dying™, especially in Tex-ass?

I mean, “Bench Talarico” makes more sense. I’d say “Turn out the lights for Talarico, his party is over, Friday night and every night,” riffing on both football and Willie Nelson, but Willie would be MASSIVELY pissed about stealing his copyright, and fake Texan Elmo wouldn’t get either that or the football riff anyway. (That said, why isn’t Talafreako asking Willie if it’s OK for HIM to do that?)

Meanwhile, on those texts? Even though I am not a Democrap, I do an anti-Republican spin on the name of the candidate for whom the PAC is texting, then block after replying. (For instance, one text for Dan Patrick, I mentioned Dannie Goeb’s vasectomy and since it referred to sex and gender issues, asked if they wanted my help going beyond a vasectomy for him.)

Seriously, part 2? This is yet another reason Merikkka is a failing state. Not only do we have plutocratic billionaires putting their thumb on political races without limitation, due to the Supreme Court castrated McCain-Feingold, we have so much of their money sloshing around that it goes into the stupidest of flyers and texts that appeal only to baseline (or brain-flatline) MAGAts.

Seriously, part 3? Where are the Democraps, speaking of?

Talarico the Talafreako, at least recently, had more money than Kenny Boy. His campaign knows direct mail exists. His campaign knows how to harvest cellphone numbers. Ditto for the Guv race, where ConservaDem Gina Hinojosa hopes to unseat Strangeabbott, and the Lite Gov race, where Vikki Goodwin is battling Goeb. Maybe they’re planning a late rush, BUT, early voting started today. It’s like a baseball manager who has his closer inside the fire extinguisher cabinet with “break glass in case of emergency,” then decides that the seventh inning isn’t an emergency as other pitchers melt down. It does you no good on Nov. 4.

I mean, personally, as a well-informed non-duopoly voter who will undervote half the executive and legislative races, who will undervote most judicial races on political science ethics grounds of opposing partisan judicial elections, and who will undervote the 15th Court of Appeals on other political grounds (see footnote at bottom), you couldn’t reach me anyway.

That said, on Monday, I got my first Talafreako text. It talked about Kenny Boy’s blank-check support for data centers and how that will drive electric prices up. Much smarter than texts by Elmo, or any of the other wingnut PACs texting me earlier.

So, I wasn’t as snarky in return. I asked, rhetorically, what Talarico’s stance was on opposing Zionism, then indicated it was rhetorical by saying “I already knew.” (Answer: He’s a squish.) I then said it was too bad there was no Green or independent lefty in the race. If there’s a human reading any of these texts, maybe they’ll figure out my plan to undervote.

So, at least one Dem is in the texting world, or a PAC supporting them is. Where’s the direct mail? 

This goes back to Beto-Bob O’Rourke’s run for governor in 2022. I laughed at him going to Muleshoe. I laugh at statewide Democraps in Texas doing the same, in general, today.

But, Beto-Bob never came to Texoma — not in the flesh, nor in direct mail, or in smartphone texts. And, he probably didn’t go to Muleshoe in direct mail or smartphone texts, either. (This also shows that statewide Dems are just visiting ruraldom to affirm the powers of the county Democratic jefe while extracting a few bucks.)

That said, when driving to Hagerman Saturday, Talafreako had a full-size billboard rented, the traditional version, not a digital one. First statewide candidate I’ve seen in our area with that.

So, Talarico is doing at least part of the outreach. Other statewide Dems, at least the two big races, and definitely guv, where Hinojosa has at least some money? 

If you lose, your introspection should start with the few paragraphs above.

And not just on fliers and texts.

Per the above, it’s always fun to bag on Dan Patrick.

That said, in both 2022 and this year (unless something late breaks in the next day or two), Patrick was the ONLY candidate of EITHER party for statewide office to do a statewide, or nearly statewide except the smallest of papers, ad buy via the Texas Press Association. (Tex-ass had just one statewide race in 2024 and neither Havana/Cancun/Calgary Ted Cruz nor Colin Allred bought anything.)

Goeb does say he cares about rural areas, as part of this. That said, if he really cared, he would have fought Strangeabbott on vouchers.

Reminder: My "Gadfly slate" went up last Friday. 

FOOTNOTE: 

My least bad method for judicial selection is a retention election system, and from having been in New Mexico for part of my newspaper career, I know how it works. My second least bad is what Pro Publica recently discussed, the “Missouri method,” where, for at least higher court systems, a nonpartisan panel of lawyers recommends three candidates to the governor, who has to pick from that list.

On the 15th, it’s a clearly politicized court that’s a handout to Rethuglican plutocratic friends. On non-undervoting, one Court of Criminal Appeals slot has a Libertarian candidate who explicitly supports jury nullification. He’ll likely get my vote. Meanwhile, none of the three Democrat candidates will explicitly say, “I oppose the death penalty, and on the CCA, I’ll restrict it as much as possible” or words to that effect.

We actually have a debate in a Texas statewide office — but ...

Hey, we actually had a debate between candidates for a statewide office, as Railroad Commish contenders Jon Rosenthal and Bo French squared off. As for why Rosenthal hasn't raised as much money as previous Dems running for the office? I suspect that Talarico has suck the monetary oxygen out of the room called Texas for other Democrats.

As for the race? This:

The “Drill, Baby, Drill” Democrat, as Rosenthal calls himself, has had to take time away from the issues to address his opponent’s raucous opinions.

Is why I will undervote. 

Rather than explaining to the public what the Railroad Commission does do, Rosenthal, explain what it needs to be doing in an era of climate change. You haven't. This race is ultimately not about you vs Bo French, it's about the Railroad Commission versus the future.

A second debate has reportedly been scheduled. Will it happen? 

The full Gadfly Slate in Texas elections, 2026

First, now more than ever, I'm more and more comfortable with undervoting races rather than voting for someone from the left hand of the duopoly that is "meh." Or a hypocrite.

Let's dig in, going in order of my sample ballot in my corner of Tex-ass.

Senate: Undervote. I'd vote for independent Jade Simmons to play the piano for me — and maybe (yes, making a male observation) tickle my personal ivories. I don't need "centrist" candidates, though. Democrat? Here’s part 1 and part 2 on Talafreako the hypocritico.

Here's a Trib q-and-a with Talarico, Libertarian Ted Brown, and no-show (yes, for an emailed q-and-a) Kenny Boy being filled in from past statements. Statements by Talafreako that stand out? No, we don't need yet more Border Patrol. As for tech surveillance, the BP and the private companies that make it have played Alphonse and Gaston on the non-use of border tech designed to prevent immigrant crossing deaths.

Side note: I fault the Trib for running the absent Paxton's past-derived answers first. 

US House Dist. 26: 20,000 Mules Above the Desert (I see what I did there) couldn't make me vote for Brandon Gill. Libertarian Phil Gray, interestingly, believes in the government using ESG guidelines. Obviously NOT one of the Mises Mice. He also supports Medicare buy-in being offered. But, he spoils himself by being an anti-China Cold War 2.0 guy. And, I can't find an explicit position by either him or Democrat Steven Shook on Palestine and Israel, let alone Russia-Ukraine. Undervote.

Governor: Gina Hinojosa is a ConservaDem on reproductive choice and on other things. Libertarian Pat Gray supports vouchers. No Green here, either. Undervote.

Light Guv: Green Kevin McCormick never answered my emails on where he stood on 2025’s Proposition 4, and the Texas GP's executive committee backing it, per my latest callout of Texas Greens on this issue; I webmail contacted him last month. Three weeks later, no answer. Dem Vikki Goodwin wants to at least partially legalize cannabis, shockingly supports ranked choice voting, at least at local levels, and ALSO has in the past backed Texas joining other states and allowing citizen initiatives. Vote Democrat.

AG: Republican nominee Mayes Middleton is even nuttier than Kenny Boy Paxton. Nathan Johnson is at least somewhat on the left of Texas Democrats. That said, other than running as the anti-Paxton, he offers little. I may undervote; still not decided.

Comptroller? I have proof positive that Democratic Comptroller candidate Sarah Eckhardt is a squish on BDS. Texas Greens are generally dead to me right now over Proposition 4, but I will vote Green Shehla Fahzi in this race. Totally. 

Ag Commish: Democratic candidate Clayton Tucker has a boatload of bad stocks unethical investments, including multiple oil companies. Nate Sheets is a nutter accusing China of "agro-terrorism" and is even stupider than Mayes Middleton. The campaign has a recent interesting twist. Undervote.

Railroad Commish: Bo French is an obvious racist and Jon Rosenthal is anything but. That said, as a leftist, ex-Green and real environmentalist who knows we're in a climate crisis, I don't like that he doesn't talk about that issue himself, nor does he talk about the RRC doing more to promote solar, wind, and even geothermal. He does, like in an Inside Climate News interview, tout carbon capture. Gack. Undervote.

Land Commish: Dawn Buckingham has gone along with Dannie Goeb on politicizing the Alamo. The Land Office does to a degree have a climate change impact, but I'll probably hold my nose to a degree and vote Democrat Benajamin Flores.

State Rep. District 68: Undervote. I think incumbent David Spiller is a hypocrite on his school vouchers flip-flop as well as a wingnut, but, Jasmine Henderson? You're going to have to suffer for the PRO Gainesville stupidities of your sister, as of course she eventually did. 

Judicial races? I have rarely wasted time wading through most of them. To the degree drugs are at issue, I'm OK with supporting others pulling the Libertarian lever if they know the Democrat is not that good.

That said, I will say at least consider Libertarian Mark Ash for CCA Place 3. He supports jury nullification. I can't find his stance on the death penalty, though. Sadly, candidates generally seem to feel that they can't state an opinion on that, as that would be "discussing cases before the court."

That said, more and more, I dislike partisan judicial elections, unless necessary in a retention election system. And on principal, I refuse to vote in Strangeabbott's new 15th Court of Appeals races.

(Another option for at least part of judicial selection is Missouri's, as described by Pro Publica: For appeals courts and the state supreme court, lawyers select a three-candidate group and the governor picks from among the three.)

That said, a final reminder: This Politico piece is right, not in the sense that polling is THAT far off, but in that many MAGAts continue to say "fuck you" to polling in general, or in some cases, may even deliberately lie to pollsters. 

 

 

Texas Progressives talk pre-election updates

Off the Kuff did a quantitative comparison of the polls for Senate and Governor's races in Texas, and found that the latter was closer. 

SocraticGadfly looked at the oil contamination in Johnson County and said it smaked of similar land pollution in North Texas back in the 1990s.

If Mayes Middleton says he wants to put god back in government, doesn't that mean that Kenny Boy removed god?  

South Texas may indeed be moving on from Trump, but I doubt it's moving toward any statewide Democrat. 

Neil at Houston Democracy Project says we’ve had a number of wins at Houston City Council in ‘26 & we’ll do the work for a more progressive and responsive council in ‘27.  

Before becoming a US Senator, Kansas' Roger Marshall was a loan-sharker cosplaying a doctor. 

Faux News has apparently benched Karl Rove for being kind of outspoken. 

Contra non-skeptical leftist, or better, pseudoleftists, like Max Blumenthal, not only did China have forced labor in Xinjiang in the past, it now does again, this time with fish farming. 

 G. Elliott Morris reminds us that the fundamentals are aligned with the polls.

Isabel Latz argues that El Pasoans can’t afford leaders who ignore extreme heat.

Murray Newman eulogizes First Court of Appeals Justice Kristin Guiney. 

Your Local Epidemiologist gives you the facts as they are known about that plague outbreak in Russia. (YLE could have noted that plague is still naturally occurring in the US. But did not. And, the book she points you toward is by nutter Annie Jacobsen.)