Tag Archives: Congress

Getting the kids caught up at school

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be a big job, and hopefully we can do it in earnest beginning in August. With students finally settling into a pandemic-altered routine and widespread vaccine access on the horizon, Texas education leaders are turning to their next great … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Precinct analysis: Fort Bend County, part 1

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE I’ve … Continue reading →

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It’ll be awhile before redistricting happens

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re waiting on Census data. The U.S. Census Bureau has again pushed back the release of the 2020 census results — a delay that will almost certainly force Texas lawmakers into legislative overtime this summer to redraw the state’s political … Continue reading →

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Just raise the minimum wage already

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s long overdue, it’s going to help a lot of people, and it’s just the right thing to do. More than a quarter of the Texas workforce — 3.5 million employees — would get a raise if Democrats succeed in … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

A few words from Rep. Filemon Vela

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Worth your consideration. U.S. Rep. Filemón Vela sees his new leadership role in the Democrats’ national campaign arm as being “the voice of caution, reason and taking the middle ground” as the party seeks to hold power through the 2022 … Continue reading →

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The “Resign, Ted” caucus

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not going to get what they’re asking for, but they can still get something. More than 70 Texas organizations are calling for the resignations of Sen. Ted Cruz, Attorney General Ken Paxton and the 16 Texas representatives who voted … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Of course some anti-vaxx groups got PPP funds

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Completely on brand. Texas-based anti-vaccine organization Informed Consent Action Network was among five anti-vaccine groups that collectively received more than $850,000 in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Washington Post reported Monday. The organization received $166,000 in May 2020, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

If we finally get immigration reform…

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It would have a big effect in Texas, for obvious reasons. Just after being sworn in on Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden plans to propose a major immigration overhaul that would offer a pathway to citizenship to up to 1.7 million … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

A brief summary of what the next two years will be like

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What will Republicans do without Trump? “The Republican Party is at a crossroads like it’s never been before, and it’s gonna have to decide who it is,” said Corbin Casteel, a Texas GOP operative who was Trump’s Texas state director … Continue reading →

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Census apportionment shenanigans to be officially curtailed

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As it should be. The Trump administration’s protracted efforts to keep some immigrants from being counted when congressional seats are divvied up after the 2020 census ended with the former president’s departure from the White House, but President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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If we’re lucky, Congress will short circuit the Lege’s attempts to curtail voting

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That would be nice. Elections have consequences. So does the Republican enabling of the worst, most corrupt chief executive in the nation’s history. Hence, the first piece of legislation to be introduced in the new Democratic Senate will be S. 1, The for the … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Precinct analysis: Presidential results by Congressional district

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos Elections, the breakdown of how Presidential voting went in each of Texas’ 36 Congressional districts: Two districts did in fact flip on the presidential level: Trump lost the 24th District in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs while recapturing … Continue reading →

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How bad will the attack on voting be this session?

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to say, but there’s no reason to be particularly optimistic. As the country’s political polarization reaches a boiling point — illustrated vividly Wednesday by the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president who believed his … Continue reading →

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Assistance for renters coming

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but of course much more is needed. Houston officials expect to get up to $70 million in federal stimulus funds to help renters in the city make their monthly payments and use toward other housing expenses. The $900 billion … Continue reading →

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Impeach him again

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is Donald Trump’s fault. All of it, though he did have plenty of assistance. Impeach him again, convict him this time, and then arrest him on the way out the door. There had been a call for censure before … Continue reading →

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One last (?) pointless gesture

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because true desperation never dies, I guess. Rep. Lance Gooden of Terrell is one of the latest members of Congress to say he is going to object to the Electoral College certification on Jan. 6. Now, he says he just … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Precinct analysis: Appellate courts, part 2

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Here’s the more traditional look at the Court of Appeals races. Unlike the Supreme Court and CCA, all of … Continue reading →

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Trump commutes Stockman sentence

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Crooks of a feather. President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday commuted the remaining prison sentence of former Republican Texas congressman Steve Stockman, who was sentenced to 10 years in 2018 after he was convicted of nearly two-dozen felonies, including fraud. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

We still need more than the vaccines

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The vaccines are great, don’t get me wrong, and they couldn’t have come at a better time, but they’re going to take awhile to be administered, and in the meantime a whole lot of people are still getting sick and … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Here comes the vaccine

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Houston’s first doses have arrived. Months of waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Houston are almost — but not quite — over, as hospitals prepare to move the first doses from sealed subzero shipments and into the arms … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Congressional districts

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction All right, let’s get this party started. In the past I’ve generally done the top races by themselves, but any race involving Trump provides challenges, because his level of support just varies in comparison to other Republicans depending on … Continue reading →

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2020 precinct analysis: Introduction and overview

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So I finally got a full canvass of the 2020 election in a nice and convenient spreadsheet form. I spent a fair amount of the Thanksgiving week doing what I usually do with it, to generate totals for all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The bar conundrum

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Halloween this year in downtown Austin was a raucous affair. Nightclubs advertised dancing and drink specials. Thousands of people crowded 6th Street, partying shoulder to shoulder, some with masks and some without. All of this happened as bars in … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Even the White House thinks Texas sucks at COVID response

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean… The White House Coronavirus Task Force says Texas is in the swing of a “full resurgence” of COVID-19 and the state’s mitigation efforts “must intensify,” while Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders decline to take some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

So now we start to prep for redistricting

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna make for a long session, or more likely sessions. Wielding the map-drawing power will not be entirely painless for Republicans, who have seen their grip on dozens of state and federal districts erode since the last round of … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A closer look at county races, Part 2

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part One is here. As before, this is about taking a closer look at the counties where Democrats made gains from 2016. Collin County: Our reach may have exceeded our grasp, but it’s important to note that progress was made. … Continue reading →

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Who cares how much it will cost to build the Ike Dike?

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Imagine how much it will cost to recover from a catastrophic hurricane whose storm surge could have been mitigated by the Ike Dike. You know, like that hurricane from earlier this year that would have done exactly that had it … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Harris County posts updated election results

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter: . That won’t affect most races, and it probably does not affect any Harris-County specific races. But if provisional ballots are like that statewide, it could affect larger, close elections. I’m particularly watching Chief Justice for the 14th … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead to 2022

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with the brain dumps, which are my post-election tradition. This is a collection of thoughts about the next big election, in 2022. As I said earlier, I take no position on the question of what effect the disparity in … Continue reading →

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It’s a range, not a number

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have full canvass data yet, but as I have said, I have Presidential data courtesy of Greg Wythe. Here are a couple of districts of interest: Dist Biden Trump Biden% Trump% ========================================= CD02 170,707 178,840 48.1% 50.0% CD07 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A comparison to 2012

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the takes on this election – and I’m guilty of this, too – involve comparisons to 2016 and 2018. That’s fair – those are the most recent elections, the only other elections that involve Trump, the patterns … Continue reading →

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A few observations from the final unofficial countywide data

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is still unofficial, and there will still be some overseas/military ballots to be counted as well as some provisional ballots to be cured, but the count of the votes cast by Election Day is over, and we have the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Initial thoughts about the election

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And now for some reactions and analysis… – The polls were garbage. Oy vey. Not just here, though they were definitely off here, underestimating Trump and the Republicans after doing the same to Beto and the Dems in 2018. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Followup omnibus Election Day post

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Wanted to clear up some loose ends from the late night/early morning post and add a couple of things I’d missed the first time around. I’ll have a longer “thoughts and reactions” post probably tomorrow. – The district results from … Continue reading →

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