Tag Archives: Wendy Davis

As goes Tarrant

Posted on February 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib ponders the one big urban county that is not like the others. Among the state’s five biggest counties, Tarrant is the only one that hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate in the past decade. The 2016 presidential election … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As goes Tarrant

Texas Dems look to 2018

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have a few things to say about this. A tight-knit group of Texas Democratic leaders traveled to the state capital [in late January] to begin preliminary conversations about the 2018 midterm races. According to over a dozen interviews with … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Marching

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

In Austin. Up to 50,000 activists swarmed the Capitol grounds on Saturday to fight for women’s rights on the heels of Trump’s inauguration. The high-spirited crowd joined more than a million protesters nationwide. The Austin march was so large that … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Republicans: Still worried about the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing story. Texas Republicans are slowly coming to grips with the unthinkable: Hillary Clinton has a shot at winning the nation’s most iconic red state. The odds are long, they say, in a state that hasn’t voted Democratic for … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Republicans: Still worried about the Trump effect in Texas

Wendy Davis takes a victory lap

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As well she should. Wendy Davis, the woman whose 11-hour filibuster focused national attention on Texas’ efforts to restrict abortion access in 2013, celebrated Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that the state law was unconstitutional. “I’m overjoyed,” Davis said … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wendy Davis takes a victory lap

You’ll take lower pay, ladies, and you’ll like it

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Lisa Falkenberg; Over at the Wall Street Journal, a 25-year newsroom union pay analysis found women earning 13.2 percent less, a finding that prompted the chief executive of parent company Dow Jones and Co. to vow an urgent review … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on You’ll take lower pay, ladies, and you’ll like it

Checking in on Battleground Texas

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

They’re still here. So where does [Lon] Burnam see Battleground Texas in his plan to be the first Texas Democrat elected to a statewide office since 1994? “No comment,” he said, before adding as he walked away, “In 20 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Checking in on Battleground Texas

Mary Beth Rogers’ prescription for Texas Democrats

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve seen this article by Mary Beth Rogers, onetime campaign manager for Ann Richards, about how Democrats can compete and win statewide again. DEAR TEXAS DEMOCRATS… First, let’s get the numbers out of the way. Let’s use the … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another legal bill for Texas

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what happens when you lose. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to let stand a ruling that awarded more than $1.1 million to lawyers who represented former Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis and several minority-rights groups in a case … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another legal bill for Texas

Two abortion stories

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The amicus briefs are being filed in the HB2 case. The Obama administration on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas abortion law that has shuttered nearly half the clinics in the state, saying the Republican-backed … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The local minimum wage fight

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not quite on the radar here, but it could be. After years of failed proposals in the Texas Legislature to raise the minimum wage, organizers and advocates for higher hourly wages are going local. Leaders in two major Texas cities … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The local minimum wage fight

State ordered to pay fees in redistricting litigation

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t seem to be interested in doing that, however. In a scolding tone, a federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ordered the state of Texas on Tuesday to pay more than $1 million in attorneys’ fees in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on State ordered to pay fees in redistricting litigation

Abbott would like to restore the uninsured rate

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what he does. Greg Abbott on Monday urged his fellow Republicans not to “rescue” President Barack Obama’s signature health care law if it is torpedoed by the U.S. Supreme Court, an unusually public stance that could make the first-term … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Abbott would like to restore the uninsured rate

What’s next for Wendy Davis

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Back to issues advocacy, which in this case is a fine thing. Wendy Davis, whose fight against tighter abortion restrictions catapulted her into the national spotlight and an ill-fated race for governor, said Monday she is planning a national initiative … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on What’s next for Wendy Davis

Rural hospitals

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

If this story was meant to evoke my sympathy, I’m afraid it failed. Since the hospital closed in Paducah, a town 30 miles to the north, patients in Guthrie have 60 long miles to travel to Childress for care. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rural hospitals

Not looking good for medical marijuana

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Trail Blazers: A key lawmaker suggested Tuesday that a bill legalizing marijuana for medical use is probably “dead,” but the sponsor said she’s not discouraged by the “premature” pushback. The bill has not yet been referred to a committee, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trying again with online voter registration

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

My State Rep., Carol Alvarado, would like for you to be able to register to vote online. Can I just state the obvious? Why can’t we register to vote online? I manage my banking online, I do my taxes online, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

BGTX’s self-assessment

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly has a good overview of where Battleground Texas stands – and where the people inside it think they stand – two years and one electoral beatdown into their existence. Still, it’s the winners who write the history books. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on BGTX’s self-assessment

More pre-K bills filed

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer has the best reporting on the latest pre-k bills that have been filed in the Lege. There’s widespread support around the Capitol for more state spending on pre-kindergarten programs, and much less agreement about how to do it. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More pre-K bills filed

On BGTX, Wendy Davis, and the future

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a pretty busy Christmas break, as far as blog-worthy news has gone, so in order to preserve the small illusion that I’m taking a breather and recharging my batteries, I’m just going to give three quick thoughts … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Abbott and the Latino vote

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib drops a number on us. Along with his 20-point margin of victory, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott accomplished something on Election Day that many naysayers doubted the Republican could: He took 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. For Texas conservatives, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A look at how Democratic legislative challengers did against the spread

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been long enough since the election that I feel like I can go back and look at some numbers. Not a whole lot of good out there, but we’ll try to learn what we can. To start off, here … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Battleground effect in legislative races

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So here’s a crazy idea. Rather than judge Battleground Texas by our own beliefs about how things should have gone, what say we take a look at the actual numbers of a few races and see what they tell us? … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

First impressions of the 2014 results

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

My initial thoughts, for what they are worth. – Let me begin by saying that for all the criticism I had of the UT/Texas Trib’s polling and the skepticism of Internet-sample methodology, they were fairly accurate in the end. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Two in Tarrant to watch

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Tarrant County isn’t often an electoral battleground, but this time it is, at least in two legislative races. [HD94 Republican nominee Tony] Tinderholt’s race is one of two legislative contests in Tarrant County where Democrats are pinning their hopes on … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Two in Tarrant to watch

Don’t expect the Kathie Glass effect to be much

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like every four years we talk about the possible effect of third party candidates on various races. Usually, it’s in the context of legislative races, where some candidates have won with less than 50% in recent years and one … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Final 2014 EV thoughts

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about how early voting went. “Each (side) is emphasizing areas of comparative advantage, but the overall pattern seems to be unimpressive in terms of overall turnout,” said Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Final 2014 EV thoughts

2014 Day 11 Early Vote totals

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But first, a little Republican angst. The Republican Party of Bexar County has issued a series of desperate pleas to conservative voters, saying “the Democrats are beating us on base turnout,” but two of the Texas party’s biggest names converged … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2014 Day Eight EV totals

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But first, a few words about the overall picture. The number of Texans voting early at the polls is down significantly in Harris County compared with the last midterm election, a potential warning sign that pundits say may mean Democrats … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2014 first week EV totals

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are, and here are the full 2010 EV totals. Democrats still have a lot of work to do, at least in Harris County. I sure hope it happens, that’s all I can say. We’re already seeing postmortems for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

UT/Trib: Abbott 54, Davis 38

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More of the same from the Trib’s pollsters. Republican Greg Abbott has a 16-point lead over Democrat Wendy Davis in the closing days of this year’s general election for governor, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Abbott … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on UT/Trib: Abbott 54, Davis 38

On Greg Abbott and who gets to get married

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As you may have heard, Peggy Fikac got to ask Greg Abbott the obvious question about how exactly the state’s law against same-sex marriage, which Abbott is diligently defending in court, differs from the old laws that once banned interracial … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On Greg Abbott and who gets to get married

2014 Day Three EV totals

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But first, a little angst. I feel a bit uncomfortable after Day Two of Early Voting in Person. Here are a couple of concerning tweets from yesterday: Scott Braddock ‏@scottbraddock 2h2 hours ago Those Harris County early vote totals are … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2014 Day Three EV totals

More on the voter registration numbers

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wayne Slater has a contrarian perspective on the voter registration numbers. Getting new voters begins with registering new people. When the secretary of state last week announced a record-high 14 million Texans are registered to vote, Battleground Texas trumpeted that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments