Fuck the Texas Democratic Party

Kuff gloats over Texas Dems booting three Greens for refusal to pay the new, and sued-over, HB 2504 filing fees. He does note RG Ratcliffe calls it "chickenshit," but Kuff doesn't say WHY he does. Kuff also doesn't discuss the federal suit background, nor the part that it won't actually be heard until next year. Nor does he mention the Dikeman et al state lawsuit, the more specific immediate ground for not paying, nor state Dems' specious claim that because the original injunction issued in that case is on appeal (and what's taking the appellate court so long, Dems?) that it's inoperative.

Here's details of the ruling:

The 14-day temporary restraining order was granted after Democratic Senate candidate MJ Hegar, joined by two national Democratic organizations, argued that her Green Party opponent and a Green candidate opposing Democrat Wendy Davis should not be placed on the ballot because they failed to pay a candidate filing fee as required by a new state law. 

State District Judge Jan Soifer’s order blocked the Texas secretary of state’s office from certifying David Collins, the Green candidate for U.S. Senate, and Tom Wakely, running for the 21st Congressional District, to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. … 

The Green Party acknowledges that its candidates – Collins, Wakely and Katija Gruene for railroad commissioner – did not pay the filing fee or collect the needed number of petition signatures to avoid the fee. … 

A lawsuit by the Libertarian Party and several of its candidates succeeded in winning a temporary injunction blocking the fee in December, but that case is on appeal. Democrats argue that the appeal voided the injunction until a ruling is made. 

The Green Party decided to let the secretary of state’s office determine if the injunction remained valid and its candidates could be certified, Palmer said.

Kat Gruene was separately ballot-blocked. She's the Green Candidate for Railroad Commissioner.

DBC weighs in from his blog. Interestingly, he claims no personal animus at MJ Hegar. Sorry, but if I were running for the Senate as a Green, and not just a Dem, but a former Libertarian and Republican gun nut ConservaDem, hijacked my race, I'd have personal animus.

Kuff doesn't mention the Greens' stance on the issue, either, as noted in the last graf of the pull quote.

Nor does he mention the timing. Last Friday was the last day for ballot challenges.  The Monday before that was the last day to file write-in, per this story. They've been sitting on this since select Greens decided not to pay the fees.

As for the races involved?

Chuckles the Kuffner? Had Greens nominated nobody in the Senate race, I was likely going to undervote that anyway.  Beyond what DBC says about her lack of foreign policy comments, elsewhere, she makes clear that some degree of Zionism gets a blank check from her. Beyond the Intercept piece linked above, Hegar's styling herself as "MJ" rather than "Mary" or "Mary Jennings" is something vaguely offputting to me. Not sure why, but I know that it is. I might have voted Castañeda in the RRC race had Kat Gruene not been running from the start, as she doesn't seem too bad. But now? If Dems succeed in cock-blocking, I'll undervote this race too.

Kuff also has never addressed why Dems have such fear of Greens and Republicans, not just in Texas but nationally, have never had the same degree of fear-mongering about Libertarians, even though they draw even more voters.

I put you on my blogroll in part to cheese Brains. You'll probably go back off soon.