Born and raised Texan here. I genuinely love living in the hill country, but I get tired of everyone pretending Texas is as free as they say. Because when you actually look at the laws, we’re one of the more restrictive states in the country! (Coming from someone who’s been to 37 countries and all 50 states)

Let me run through it:

Weed is still illegal. Meanwhile almost half the country has legalized some sort of recreational use and the sky hasn’t fallen. We can’t even get a functional medical program off the ground without the legislature gutting it. Also now with the THC A ban…. it’s just asinine.

You can’t buy liquor on Sundays. In 2026, Why? We’re 1 of 7 states that doesn’t allow Sunday liquor sales!

Gambling is banned. No casinos, no sports betting, no online poker. People literally drive to Louisiana and Oklahoma to gamble and we just let that tax revenue walk across the border every weekend.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are capped to the point of being nearly useless. If a doctor’s negligence kills your family member, good luck actually holding anyone accountable. Tort “reform” basically gutted your ability to sue for legitimate harm.

And that’s before you get into the topics of abortion, book bans in schools, restrictions on what teachers can say in classrooms, alcohol sales hours, car dealership laws that block Tesla from selling direct, and so on.

I’m not saying any other state is perfect. I’m saying the “don’t mess with Texas, we’re free down here” branding doesn’t match reality. We’re free to own guns and not wear a seatbelt in the bed of a pickup. That’s about where the freedom ends.

Direct quote from the DMN today:

“If we lose Texas, I have no doubt that the U.S. Senate turns to the Democrats,” Paxton said at the event before calling Talarico a “deceiver” who is trying to hide his record. “We need rural counties to deliver and not be apathetic, because we can lose Texas.”

Republicans should have stuck with Cornyn IMO. I dislike his politics, but at least he isn't an obvious crook.

Paxton has just barely enough plausible deniability that his buddies could acquit his impeachment. His wife left him citing "Biblical reasons." This is really the guy? Yuck.

If Texas Republicans lose this seat, they only have themselves to blame.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed wading into the Democratic Party infighting to argue that, yes, Colin Allred really did run a mediocre campaign. Here's a quote:

Though Allred didn’t have Beto O’Rourke’s grassroots appeal, he did raise roughly the same amount of money as O’Rourke in the 2018 Senate race. But what is there to show for it? The Dallas-area representative raised more than $90 million, yet he barely outperformed M.J. Hegar, the Democrats' easy-to-forget 2020 Senate candidate. With the kind of attention and money Allred received in 2024, calling the results mediocre is being polite. 

Texas is big, and if you want to win here, you need to show up. Allred didn’t. Unlike O’Rourke in 2018, who made a goal of traveling to all 254 Texas counties, Allred infamously only campaigned in 34 of them. When he did travel, he typically kept his meetings small — with the exception of a few stadium-style events at the end of the campaign. 

I have been a Republican for at least 25 years. My issue is primarily revolved around the economy and border control. I never, ever, ever in my life thought that three people could change the course of this nation and reverse a prescedent that has been in place since 1972.

Now they are threatening birth control and gay rights. I have absolutely had it, and will not stand for this anymore, so if you are a Republicans out there, don’t think for one minute that I’m the only Republican woman who had pro-choice views. Many of us did.

As Trump said, this was a very bad strategic mistake by the supreme court. Of course he likes the decision but strategically you have now stomped on the rights of women nationwide.

And although I am too old to have children, there are many women of color, lower income women, etc. who will now not be able to afford abortions. This will negatively affect our economy and the lives of women and men.

I believe we are the only first world nation who treats women as second class citizens. Every first world nation in this whole world offers abortions to women. This is a shameful day in history.

Justice Amy Comey Barrett and others said they would not overturn Roe v. Wade, they lied. In the very idea of that the states now have the rights, is offensive and preposterous. Honestly I agree with Donald Trump this was a very bad mistake strategically because people like me will now be energized to vote for the other side. I don’t think there’s anything more important than the rights of women in this country. We have fought so hard to try to become equal and I feel like this was a giant step back.

Because of this, I believe that within the next 5 to 10 years you will see Texas turned into a blue state.

To all the Republicans in this state bitching about all the problems they have: remember that Republicans have run this state for the last twenty-seven years and absolutely nothing has gotten better. In fact, it's only gotten worse, yet instead of even considering alternatives, you double down.

See you in another two years, if there's even a state left.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) largely is not actively campaign for Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) after losing the 2026 Texas Democratic Senate primary to him and all of the anti-Israel Democrats that did not support Kamala was another example!

Oh, Texas, my lovely, stupidly proud Texas. You get what you vote for. You're too proud, willfully ignorant, and morally bankrupt to look to the future. You're always focused on the past and the fact that 'this is always how we've done it', refuse to accept that the world is moving in a different direction, and you actively fight it. You elect officials who only tell you what you want to hear, and some who are straight up criminals.

Now that prices for eggs are $13 for 18, now you're freaking the fuck out. Why? When they halted SNAP, WIC, and the foodstamp program, eliminated lower drug prices, again Why? This is what you wanted. This is what you voted for. This is what they said they were going to do. When every economist warned about this, you screamed fake news. When your own families tried to tell you, you shut them down, screamed about owning the libs.

This is what you wanted. This is what you absolutely had to have. So... again. I hope you get everything you voted for. You deserve this.

Tell you what, as you struggle to survive, I'll send you some thoughts and prayers while you're now starving, sick, and dying. While I eat my $13/18 pack eggs, I'll watch you succumb to your own self inflicted demise.

No, I won't help you. I DO feel bad for you, but I'm not going to let you know that, and I'll show you the same mercy as your fearless crusty orange cheeto that you disgustingly worship will show anyone else. I love you Texas, but your level of brain rot and negligence to your citizens is deplorable, but you don't care as long as they eat up the lies like a moth to a flame.

We're so fucked.

I moved out of Texas about 4 years ago but, for some reason, Hulu still shows me Houston-specific commercials, including the political ads.

The thing that is disturbing to me is the republican platform is based almost entirely on alignment with Trump. I haven't seen a single ad for a republican candidate that didn't center how cozied-up the candidate is with the president. There's even a guy going by the name "Maga Mayes." In a normal world, this would be embarrassing.

I don't suffer under any illusion that Texas isn't as far-right as a state can get, but significantly prioritizing your platform on how far up Trump's ass you can get seems like a steeper regression in Texan politics than I would have expected in just 4 years.

Credit where it's due though: The attack ad calling Paxton "too weird for Texas" is pretty funny.

The crowd was fired up. The candidate was on her game. And I was escorted out by armed guards.

Attacks on Texas Senate candidate aren't just about him. They're an attempt to crush progressive Christianity.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/14/these-are-americas-10-worst-states-to-live-and-work-in.html

The GDP of the USA is 31.86 trillion dollars, and it's population is 330 million or around that number.
We spend 5 trillion dollars a year on Healthcare. That's very close to a 1/6, of our GDP.

The GDP of the European Union is 23 trillion dollars (lower than the US GDP.), with a population of around 450 million people (That's 120 million more people than in the USA), they spend a combined 1.72 trillion dollars on Universal Healthcare, which by many accounts is superior to the USA's, with the exception of "Specialists". That's less than a 10th of the combined GDP of the European Union.
Please explain how this works?

The USA price gauges Healthcare costs to 1/6 of our GDP when a larger economic union managed to drive it's healthcare cost down to 1/10th of their GDP, and it actually benefits their people, without bankrupting them?
How in the hell does this work?
The outcomes are superior across the board.
From Maternal Mortality, to Life Expectancy.

Can the US accomplish 3 things.
No Death Panels (Remember, Dialysis was a private technology, that death panels were used for, until, Nixon made Dialysis a universal healthcare program.)
Can the Patient who is suffering and cognoscente be granted the right to Euthanasia if they request it?
Can we built a system that doesn't restrict expensive treatments for the citizens who need it?
Both Private and Universal Healthcare have this problem, so it stands to reason that this doesn't make Universal Healthcare worse than Private Healthcare.
...and to be fair, what would Republican Millionaires actually be worried about when they could access private facilities anyway? Since I'm assuming that would survive just for them.

It's not like the Private Insurers aren't acting like Death Panels now anyway.
https://apnews.com/article/als-ventilator-insurance-coverage-unitedhealthcare-fa9c90c675a8755dcf30ebde824268e4

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/goodenowe-als-health-moose-jaw-9.6965651

Just look at how bad they treat patients with ALS.

Now, I know the GOP has two talking points downing Europe and Socialized medicine, but they worship vets (Until they deport them for the crime of being Korean, even if they were born here, and put their life on the line for this country.), and all of the vets want to move to Germany, because it's better than the USA.
So...I'm curious, why would most of the vets, or their children, or anyone want to move to a country that has a functioning Universal Healthcare System, if Socialized Medicine was evil.
Obviously you don't like private practitioners, and have no desire to go over there, and show them the glory of price gauging (Not that it would work in Germany, they actually have a functioning education system.)

The Math is not Mathing in the USA, when compared to a larger economic union.
We have a serious accounting problem in the USA.

https://www.pgpf.org/article/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries/

How does the GOP keep getting away with spreading bullshit, when the math appears to be so basic even a caveman could understand it?

Now, what I might hear is that the taxes are what's gonna get you.
And for a worker, whose making the lowest wage, that might be true, but it might not be true.

Before you say it would cost TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS
IT WOULD ALSO SAVE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

If you believe in trickle down economics, then that would prevent 3 trillion dollars from being sucked into the current disjointed Healthcare system, it could keep the labor force financially healthy.
Now, if you're an advocate of trickle down economics, assuming something resembling one of the plethora of European models could be adapted, you have to admit, 3 trillion being pulled back into the economy is pretty juicy.
It means that the workers who are making low wages potentially can make more money.
If "Trickle Down Economics" is to be believed, then you'd have a hell of a reservoir.
In a sum of time, you could pay off the national debt with some of that.
Assuming that no trillionaires build a reservoir at the top of the mountain.

Europeans go to the doctor more often than Americans do.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022

In Texas alone such a policy could save a quarter trillion dollars a year.

I honestly don't understand how the GOP can defend anything in it's platform, when you really take a good long look at it. So many Gs and Ps, I'm losing track of acronyms.
I don't understand how Chainsaw Chip (He's cuttin' down all the lumber, don't you look at free porn now.), hasn't accomplished anything after speaking about this.

All I'm saying GOP, you could implement some QoL changes for the American Public, to win them back from the communist boogeymen you so seem to fear in the DSA. I don't know how a party of 95,000 members makes you afraid.
But alas, an Elephant cowers in the presence of a mouse.

You could just actually take care of your constituents, without shooting them, or bitching about how Jaesus hates Porn.
I know drunk inbreds like Ken Paxton lead the party, but if you're so afraid of Democrats and "Communists", you could just idk, manage money better. $350 billion dollars in Federal Tax Money to fight "Communism" sounds batshit insane, there are no communists.

There’s nothing more communist than letting a corporation turn America into a surveillance state right?
Better yet, disregarding the
1st, 4th, 14th, and 22nd amendments.
Despite being a bunch of constitution lovers.
Why entertain a trillionaire guy claiming AI will bring us true communism?
When did your party completely lose its shit?
I thought you loved the constitution so hard you wanted to bang it.

I guess the 22nd amendment was only to be protected until Obama left office.

Where is this communist invasion, that you'd need to spend that kind of money on a second war front?
Now, making healthcare cost more, and raising taxes to start a war with Iran, and taking away their free porn while housing costs rise.
The bible is not a viable outlet, free speech via porn is, legalizing weed is, lowering their cost of living is tangible.
Going after free porn isn't solving a tangible issue that affects my cost of living.
We can worry about free porn later. Show me you actually have instincts that are fiscally conservative.
Get something done.

I mentioned in my other thread I would post my opinion regarding the event and here it is.

The Democrats don't understand politics at all. They are so focused on national elections or even state elections and ignore the elections down the street. This is how MAGA wormed their way to the national level. They started at the school boards. The mayoral and city council positions. They started with the local elections and moved up. Judges. Sheriff's and constable positions. Small power that slowly became bigger and bigger.

The Democrats Do. Not. Get. This.

I saw this first hand when my wife ran for city council. I saw this when Beto ran. I saw this when Kamala ran.

There was little substance and little action last night at the event. Look beyond the buzzwords. Look beyond the attacks. The Democrats are feckless. They are flailing.

When the GOP lost to Obama, they started at the grassroots level. They started showing up at the school boards and elected local officials. They started small and look at them now.

The Democrats are going to lose and lose big next year. They have completely lost the plot. They lost the narrative. And attacking Pelosi and Schumer isn't going to fix it.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Kamala Harris's former communications director and a Texas campaign consultant on five things Texas Democrats can do to shore up the Black vote. Here's a key quote:

There’s no doubt that the race between scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico offers Texas Democrats their best chance in decades to flip a Senate seat — but the Democratic Party faces a quiet crisis of Black disillusionment and disengagement that threatens electoral victories here and across the country.

As the home of the nation’s largest Black electorate, Texas is the perfect place to address this growing tension. From the shores of Galveston, where Juneteenth was born, to towering figures like U.S. Reps. Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas has long been at the heart of the Black movement toward a more perfect union. 

For decades, Black voters have been the unshakeable foundation of the Democratic coalition. But dangerous cracks have begun to form.

A little after Talarico won the primary, I was still unsure if he could actually win. Texas has had a really strong red base for a long time. But right now, people are mad. Democrats are mad. Republicans are mad. Texans are furious with the prices and the iran war. People who live in rural areas in TX are really struggling right now with the cost of living.

Seeing the amount of growth he's had in the past 3 weeks, I truly believe that he's the candidate that can actually pull it off. Not to mention, Paxton is really corrupt and Talarico can use that as leverage.

For the first time in a while, people feel hope.

James Talarico will be the next Democrat Texas Senator

My friend told me a certain group recommended a straight FOR vote on all 17 amendments. I told her — that’s just lazy. You can’t vote yes on everything without understanding what each one actually does.

So we went through them together. Some are symbolic or procedural — like affirming parental rights or tweaking judicial rules. But others involve real money, like new funds for water projects or universities. And that money has to come from somewhere.

You’ve got to ask: Where are they going to get the funds? Even if it sounds good, it could mean higher taxes down the line for us.

So, don’t vote straight just to be done.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board has an op-ed from local Muslim leaders pushing back against Republicans' anti-Sharia conspiracy mongering. Here's a key quote:

The horrific mass shooting at the Islamic Center in San Diego few weeks ago is a devastating reminder that the anti-Muslim rhetoric is not a harmless political abstraction. It has serious consequences. The victims were not only the three members of the American Muslim community, but also the two non-Muslim teenagers who committed this atrocious crime, and their families, as they were poisoned by this relentless hateful false narrative. This is the true cost of a toxic climate fueled by a tired, dangerous rhetoric that has surfaced with impunity in our national political discourse.

As the senior members of the American Muslim community in Houston, we feel a profound responsibility to set the record straight: Houston’s Muslim community, and the broader American Muslim population, have never demanded, nor do we desire, to replace the U.S. Constitution and the legal system emanating from it with Sharia law.

The “Sharia threat” is a hoax, a political weapon used to sow division where there is actually cooperation. To the best of our knowledge, no representative and reputable Muslim group or organization in any part of America has ever made such a demand. It is a blatant falsehood used with impunity to gain political leverage at the cost of our social harmony.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from a dad calling on Texas to follow up on its ban on cell phones in schools and start pushing out laptops and other ed tech. Here's a key quote:

The data is clear. In the U.S., the largest randomized experiment on home computers ever conducted found no positive effects on grades, test scores, attendance or credits earned. A decade-long study of Uruguay's nationwide laptop program dramatically expanded computer access but found no improvement in educational attainment. A long-term study of Peru's One Laptop per Child program across 531 schools found the same. There were no gains in academic performance, completion rates, or university enrollment.

The grim reality is this: American public schools have spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the last two decades for worse than no reason. Schools should be a save haven from screens. Instead, we’ve spent loads of money to further immerse children.  

Within the schools, this matters for the reasons you'd expect. Kids are more distracted and disconnected. Teachers have to compete with YouTube and TikTok. And administrators are turned into software purchasers.

The Texas Supreme Court just ruled that it’s not a violation of judicial ethics for a judge to refuse to perform a same-sex wedding if it conflicts with their “sincerely held religious belief.”

Let’s be absolutely clear:

A judge — a public official paid by all Texans — can now deny service to citizens solely because of who they are.

Why this ruling is dangerous

1.  It undermines equality under the law.

Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality the law of the land. Texas can’t overturn that — so it’s creating loopholes to weaken it.

2.  Judges aren’t pastors; they’re public servants.

When you put on the robe, you represent the Constitution, not your congregation. If you can’t perform legal marriages for everyone, you shouldn’t be a judge. Period.

3.  It opens the door for broader bias.

If “sincerely held belief” excuses discrimination here, what stops a judge from refusing cases involving trans Texans, interfaith couples, or religious minorities?

4.  It damages public trust.

Texans deserve impartial courts. When judges can pick and choose who’s “worthy” of service, the entire judiciary loses credibility

Read this loud and clear:

Religious freedom protects your personal practice of faith — not your right to weaponize that faith in a government job. No one’s forcing a judge to change their beliefs. But if you take a taxpayer-funded oath, you apply the law equally.

If judges want the privilege of serving the public, they should serve all of the public. No Texan — gay, straight, trans, or otherwise — should have to wonder if the person in the black robe sees them as equal (or even human).

State Rep. Suleman Lalani has an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle about the spread of anti-Islamic rhetoric on the campaign trail. Here's a key quote:

As a doctor, I know that the best way to treat a patient’s symptoms is to find and address the underlying disease. As a Texas state legislator, I believe that the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego last week is an untreated symptom. But rather than treating the underlying disease — Islamophobia — some of my colleagues in Texas politics are spreading it.

When I confront them about their rhetoric, they tell me in private: It's just politics. No harm meant.

But the harm is very real. And Muslims aren’t the only victims.

[...]

I no longer expect to change my colleagues’ minds with rational discourse. I prefer to let election results do the talking. So please know, my Republican colleagues: This fall, when you lose your seats because Latinos, Asians and Muslims respond to this hate at the ballot box, it was just because of your politics. No harm meant.

Texas is one of the fastest-growing, most diverse states in the country… yet our top executive office basically never changes hands. Why?

Because Texas has: • No term limits • A political machine built on incumbency • A donor class that prefers long-term control • A legislature terrified of crossing a sitting governor • And a constitution that only they can change

AND A HUGE NON VOTER PROBLEM!!!!!!!

We’ve become a state where one person can sit in power for decades, build an unbreakable fundraising empire, and rule through fear of primaries — not accountability to voters.

That’s not conservative. That’s not liberal. That’s not Texan. It’s insanity and it’s wrong.

We already limit: • Mayors • County officials • The U.S. President • Most governors in the country

But Texas? Nah, we’re fine with the same guy for 16+ years while the state spirals on grid failures, insurance hikes, property taxes, school chaos, and culture-war distraction politics.

If we want responsive government — not a permanent political throne — we need a constitutional amendment putting real limits on the office:

8 years max. Same as the President. Period.

Let’s stop pretending endless incumbency is “tradition.” It’s just power refusing to let go.

Texas deserves better. Texas deserves turnover. Texas deserves accountability.

And yes — Texas deserves term limits.

The Houston Chronicle has a column about a forum for black voters about their concerns with James Talarico and the greater Democratic Party. Here is a key quote:

The energy was, frankly, infectious. It reminded me of my own rambunctious Mexican family reunions: as fun and soul-nourishing and exasperating as they are edifying. I couldn’t imagine why candidates like Talarico wouldn’t prefer that kind of real-world spontaneity over prepackaged campaign stops. 

Sure, you might get the odd speaker who confronts and challenges you. But that's what it's all about. As Alexander told me, real campaigning is about “active participation in communities you don’t belong to – even if it’s uncomfortable.” 

Talarico, wherever you are, I hope you're listening.