are democrats going to seize the moment?

[rareboy]

Nice talk, but his vote won't change the outcome. And no. Trump won't fire Miller unless all the GQP insisted on it.

​

 

[KaraBulut]

On a related note, three Democratic US House members have died since they were sworn into office in 2024. The margin in the House is very tight and the loss of three Democratic members is bad but two of three members were long-serving members which subject matter expertise. All three men were in their 70s!

• Sylvester Turner [D-TX], died in January after attending the State of the Union address. The former mayor of Houston, he had been elected in 2024 to replace Sheila Jackson-Lee, who died last year of cancer. His seat has not been filled.
• Raul Grijalva [D-AZ], died in March. He had served in the US House for 22 years. His seat will be filled in a special election in July.
• Gerry Connolly [D-VA], died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. He had been in the US House for 15 years.

Trump enabler, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, left a critical US House Seat vacant for nearly 2 years to help Republicans maintain a majority in the House. The occupant of that seat for nearly 3 decades was Sheila Jackson Lee. Lee died in 2024. The former mayor of Houston, a 70 year old cancer survivor was elected to fill the seat in Nov, 2024. Turner dropped dead at the Capitol after watching the State of the Union address in Jan 2025.

The seat was finally filled this week, adding 1 more Democratic vote to the 218-214 balance in the House. If two Republicans vote with the Democrats, Republican bills will not pass.

Get this: because Texas redrew their maps last year, two Democratic districts in Houston were redrawn to eliminate a Democratic seat. In March, the winner, Christian Menefee, will run against Rep Al Green [D-TX] in a March primary. Green is 78 years old and has been in Congress for 20 years. Green is a major pain-in-the-ass for Trump. He focuses on liberal issues and has repeatedly tried to enter Articles of Impeachment on Trump for years. Surely, it's just a coincidence that the Texas Legislature redrew maps in a way that it might eliminate Rep Green from Congress.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/31/texas-18-district-run-off-00758972

 

[rareboy]

As I note in another thread, though, Menefee's win should have the Repubs a bit worried if there is a wave election ahead and the Repubs have stretched their own voters too thin.

 

[KaraBulut]

Turns out there was another election in Texas last week- a solid Republican State Senate seat in a Fort Worth suburb. It flipped to Democrat.

Reading through the articles, the Democrats probably won the seat because they ran a good candidate who matched the district.

The Republican candidate ran ads talking about her support of and support from Trump. She was endorsed by Trump. She wore her cross when she appeared on right-wing podcasts.

The Democratic candidate was a veteran who was a labor organizer at a large employer in the district.

A few things to note:

• This was a special election to fill an unexpected vacancy. Turnout was about 1/2 of the typical turnout for the district.
• The district is a Republican district in the northern and western suburbs of Fort Worth. It is It typically trends Republican by about 10%. It is mostly white but has areas with Latino representation. Trump carried the district by 17% in 2024.
• The Democrat won the district by 10%. To do this, he had to have a 20% favorable vote to overcome the expected 10% Republican historical lead that was built into the district by the 2020 census redistricting (the 2025 maps have not taken effect yet).

How Democrats flipped a ruby red Senate seat in North Texas

Observers of the race said Rehmet’s working-class appeal, along with Latino and suburban backlash to GOP policies, fueled his win in a district Donald Trump carried by 17 points.

www.texastribune.org

Trump was asked about the Republican loss this weekend. He said he didn't know much about the race or the Republican candidate and that it was a local race.

Texas stunner: Democrat Taylor Rehmet flips Republican state Senate district Trump won by 17 points

Democrat Taylor Rehmet has won a special election for the Texas state Senate and flipped a reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024.

apnews.com

The Republican president immediately distanced himself from the loss in a district he’d won by 17 points in 2024.

“I’m not involved in that. That’s a local Texas race,” Trump told reporters Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Yet just a day before the race, Trump had heaped praise on Republican contender Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist and entrepreneur, on his social media platform, declaring that she would be “a GREAT Candidate and has my Complete and Total Endorsement.” A longer post came later, in which he urged Texans to get out and vote, describing Wambsganss as a successful entrepreneur and “an incredible supporter” of his Make America Great Again movement.

 

[KaraBulut]

While watching ads for the Texas Senate race above, I got a snoutful of the ads running in Texas. I feel like I need to take a Silkwood shower.

These are some of the ads that are running in the Republican US Senate race that has John Cornyn [R-TX] running for re-election in a primary against Texas State Attorney General and MAGA grifter, Ken Paxton.

God gave John Cornyn to Texans! "Big John".

Sharia Law!

Socialism!

Mortgage Fraud! Like Letitia James and Adam Schiff!

KenStoppers!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[KaraBulut]

Pete Buttigieg should give a master class on how to do interviews on Fox.

Pete has a Kellyanne-level knack for handling appearances:

• Listen to the question, give a brief answer that doesn't take their bait, then pivot to the question that you wanted.
• Keep in mind that, in most cases, the anchor is just reading questions that the producer put on the teleprompter and probably doesn't have much knowledge about the issue.
• Filibuster, filibuster, filibuster until you cover all your talking points.

I particularly liked how he dealt with the ridiculous question about trans athletes.

 

[rareboy]

While watching ads for the Texas Senate race above, I got a snoutful of the ads running in Texas. I feel like I need to take a Silkwood shower.

These are some of the ads that are running in the Republican US Senate race that has John Cornyn [R-TX] running for re-election in a primary against Texas State Attorney General and MAGA grifter, Ken Paxton.

God gave John Cornyn to Texans! "Big John".

Sharia Law!

Socialism!

Mortgage Fraud! Like Letitia James and Adam Schiff!

KenStoppers!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

One wishes it would end both their careers.

But either of them is poison.

I think Cornyn doesn't have to worry though.

 

[KaraBulut]

One wishes it would end both their careers.

But either of them is poison.

I think Cornyn doesn't have to worry though.

I dunno. White guy, former schoolteacher, who is attending the seminary to become a Presbyterian pastor:

James Talarico's chances of winning in Texas

The state representative officially entered the Texas Senate race on Tuesday.

www.newsweek.com

Strong enough candidate that he drove a handsome, moderate, former college football player for Baylor (a private Baptist university) to drop out of the primary race:

Colin Allred drops Senate bid, pivots to run for Congress

The former Dallas congressman said he wanted to help his party avoid a runoff. In his campaign to return to the House, he will face U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, his successor in Congress.

www.texastribune.org

 

[Norri]

If more democrats spoke about religion the way Mr. Talarico does they would have more religious people voting for them.

 

[KaraBulut]

If more democrats spoke about religion the way Mr. Talarico does they would have more religious people voting for them.

Would they? Trump showed up at Liberty University and spoke about TWO Corinthians. And there's this:

It's fair to say that politicians have to be comfortable meeting voters where they are. And yes, in places like Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, they have to be comfortable and knowledgeable about religious issues. The same is true of other interest groups: a politician needs to be able to address Latino voters but they don't necessarily have to speak Spanish (although it helps).

I heard a discussion a few years back after Barbara Jordan died where several academics were discussing Jordan and her role in the Nixon impeachment hearings. One of panelists was a politician who had worked with Jordan. The politician commented that it wasn't just that Jordan was smart and a well-spoken, she was also a damned good politician. One of the stories she told was that Jordan would often speak with white male politicians in language that they understood, including on religious issues. Even though Jordan was far to the left of these men and as a black lesbian, she wasn't exactly the kind of person that those men typically hung out with, Jordan, who was the daughter of a Baptist minister father and a Sunday School teacher mother was very comfortable talking about religion. There's a famous story about Jordan being on a trip with conservative white male colleagues and singing hymns with them. The person telling the story mused that Jordan had a beautiful singing voice but she sang in the baritenor range which was an octave lower than many of the men she was signing with.

 

[KaraBulut]

While most of us weren't watching, this skinny former staffer who got elected Senator has matured into a very Kennedy-esque candidate for re-election:

I have seen him in Senate hearings where, instead of joining the clowns who are looking to create a clip to post on YouTube, he asks very informed, serious questions. This speech, delivered at a packed rally on Saturday, was a bell-ringer.

 

[KaraBulut]

A few more special election results:

• Louisiana State House District 60 - Louisiana has become an increasingly Republican State. When a State Rep resigned to accept another position in State government, Republicans hoped to flip the seat. They didn't. The candidate - a young woman with a Hispanic last name - won the election 62%/38%. Trump won most of the district in the 2024 election by double digit margins.
• Minnesota State House District 64A - Meg-Luger Nikolai won her special election by 95.3% over the Republican candidate's 4%.

 

[rareboy]

The DNC and the aprty as a whole should be paying attention.

They are taking younger voters for granted.

 

[KaraBulut]

The ghost of Roy Cohn and his proteges...

The Enemy Within

McCarthyism 76 Years Later

americantimes.substack.com

Feckless Democrats:

As McCarthy continued his booze-fueled tirade against the Truman administration, Democrats began to press party leaders including then Senate Majority Whip, Lyndon Johnson to try and take down McCarthy. Johnson wouldn’t go for it. “First of all, in the present atmosphere of the Senate,” Johnson said, “we will all lose and he will win. Then he’ll be more powerful than ever.” As Johnson told a fellow Democrat, “He just eats fellows like you. You’re nourishment to him.”...

The need for awards and praise:

McCarthy seemed invincible. In 1951, McCarthy who had once labeled himself “Tail-Gunner Joe” asked for and received a Distinguished Flying Cross for the 25 combat missions during World War II he claimed to have flown. But, of course, McCarthy was not a tail gunner. He had been an intelligence officer who debriefed the real tail gunners after their missions. But like his claims, that too didn’t seem to matter to reporters or, crucially, to his fellow Republicans. No lie could cause him to sputter.

McCarthy was an alcoholic and, rumors were that he was a deeply closeted homosexual. His demagoguery was out of control. His campaign started against weak targets like Hollywood writers and actors. He originally focused upon the State Department, using Communism as a cover to purge homosexual men and women who had been the power center in the Washington civil service.

When the Army tried to draft a handsome, young male aide whom Cohn had become obsessed with, McCarthy and Cohn went after the Army, claiming that the military was another center of Communist influence. This was finally the bridge too far and it was ultimately the point where Americans- and a few members of Congress- had enough.

By 1954, McCarthy—along with his chief counsel and future mentor to President Trump, Roy Cohn—began an investigation of the U.S. Army’s alleged ties to Communism. In the run-up to the hearings, CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly developed a See It Now investigation of McCarthy, at the end of which Murrow warned, “This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent…We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.” Then on June 9, with television cameras rolling, as McCarthy berated the Army’s counsel, Joseph Welch, America seemed to see right through the man who had held their attention captive for nearly five years. As McCarthy continued his tirade, Welch said, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.” Then, as McCarthy continued to spout his nonsensical, anti-American lies, Welch cut in: “Senator; you’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

And the wimpy, feckless Republicans and Democrats in Congress today sit by idly while Trump uses the same Orwellian demagoguery that McCarthy used 75 years ago.

His impact has not only continued, it has compounded. President Trump and the Republican Party are the embodiment of McCarthyism run roughshod. They have created a kingdom of fear that is fueled by lies, deceit, and doublespeak. In their arena, murdered protestors are not victims, they are “terrorists” and would be “assassins” who are inspired by “left-wing ideology.” Republicans proudly wear their lack of dignity on the inside of their flag-draped suit jackets as they praise the detainment of children by masked men, the militarization of American cities, and the destruction of the very Constitution they took an oath to uphold.

Tim Barnicle isn't as optimistic about modern Republicans and Democrats ultimately ending Trump's defiling of American democracy in the way that the American public ended McCarthyism in the 1950s.

Americans are witnessing McCarthyism in the age of the fact-free, five-second attention span economy. There is no Edward R. Murrow or Joseph Welch coming to wake the nation into reason. There will be no TikTok that shakes America to its core. President Trump has free rein to spout his lies that only grow more pervasive with each swipe of the index finger. His “enemy from within,” as McCarthy termed it, is anyone who dares cross him, as Republicans remain spinelessly silent and as Democrats remain weak and ineffective. As Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said last April, “We are all afraid.” Still, the equation remains the same. America is in the vice grip of a president who has awarded himself the right to continue where McCarthy was once stopped. How this story ends, nobody knows, but it appears nearly certain that America will lose more than just its decency along the way.

 

[Norri]

The ghost of Roy Cohn and his proteges...

The Enemy Within

McCarthyism 76 Years Later

americantimes.substack.com

Feckless Democrats:


The need for awards and praise:


McCarthy was an alcoholic and, rumors were that he was a deeply closeted homosexual. His demagoguery was out of control. His campaign started against weak targets like Hollywood writers and actors. He originally focused upon the State Department, using Communism as a cover to purge homosexual men and women who had been the power center in the Washington civil service.

When the Army tried to draft a handsome, young male aide whom Cohn had become obsessed with, McCarthy and Cohn went after the Army, claiming that the military was another center of Communist influence. This was finally the bridge too far and it was ultimately the point where Americans- and a few members of Congress- had enough.


And the wimpy, feckless Republicans and Democrats in Congress today sit by idly while Trump uses the same Orwellian demagoguery that McCarthy used 75 years ago.


Tim Barnicle isn't as optimistic about modern Republicans and Democrats ultimately ending Trump's defiling of American democracy in the way that the American public ended McCarthyism in the 1950s.

The ghost of Roy Cohn and his proteges...

The Enemy Within

McCarthyism 76 Years Later

americantimes.substack.com

Feckless Democrats:


The need for awards and praise:


McCarthy was an alcoholic and, rumors were that he was a deeply closeted homosexual. His demagoguery was out of control. His campaign started against weak targets like Hollywood writers and actors. He originally focused upon the State Department, using Communism as a cover to purge homosexual men and women who had been the power center in the Washington civil service.

When the Army tried to draft a handsome, young male aide whom Cohn had become obsessed with, McCarthy and Cohn went after the Army, claiming that the military was another center of Communist influence. This was finally the bridge too far and it was ultimately the point where Americans- and a few members of Congress- had enough.


And the wimpy, feckless Republicans and Democrats in Congress today sit by idly while Trump uses the same Orwellian demagoguery that McCarthy used 75 years ago.


Tim Barnicle isn't as optimistic about modern Republicans and Democrats ultimately ending Trump's defiling of American democracy in the way that the American public ended McCarthyism in the 1950s.

Just a small point, although LBJ was the senate leader and Tail-gunner Joe was a senator but he was the republican party’s problem and why should Johnson help them out if they weren’t going to stand up to him? The real villain at the time was President Dwight D Eisenhower who was the leader of the Republican Party and the most popular man in the country but refused to take McCarthy on. Eisenhower once said of George Marshall “he was the symbol of all that is fine and noble in the human being” but when McCarthy went after Marshall Eisenhower remained silent, in this case Ike was neither fine or noble.

 

[KaraBulut]

Just a small point, although LBJ was the senate leader and Tail-gunner Joe was a senator but he was the republican party’s problem and why should Johnson help them out if they weren’t going to stand up to him?

It's a good point but it's also worth pointing out that McCarthy's targets weren't conservative Republicans. His targets were left-leaning Democrats. LBJ had the power, he just chose not to use it.

There's one other thing that brought down McCarthy: the suicide of Lester C. Hunt. McCarthy and Cohn had been blackmailing Sen Hunt over public lewdness charges involving Sen Hunt's son. Sen Hunt brought a rifle to his office and shot himself at his Senate office desk (This real life event was used as one of the subplots in "Follow Travelers"). McCarthy's antic resulted in the death of one of LBJ's fellow Democrats and LBJ had to have known that Hunt was being blackmailed and why.

LBJ wasn't exactly the model of courage in the Walter Jenkins affair years later. He let Lady Bird do the heavy lifting on that one, so that LBJ didn't look like he was defending Communists or pansies.

The real villain at the time was President Dwight D Eisenhower who was the leader of the Republican Party and the most popular man in the country but refused to take McCarthy on. Eisenhower once said of George Marshall “he was the symbol of all that is fine and noble in the human being” but when McCarthy went after Marshall Eisenhower remained silent, in this case Ike was neither fine or noble.

Simple: Eisenhower didn't want to be seen as "weak on Communism". Ironically, he used the same "I won't get into the gutter with him" line that Pam Bondi tried to use last week.

McCarthy's pogroms started as part of an opposition to Truman and Truman's socialist policies that were hated by the right wing conservatives. Eisenhower was elected in 1952. In some ways, he inherited the McCarthy mess. McCarthy was very popular with the Republican base. While Eisenhower was a military guy and not a traditional politician, he knew how to understand the polls. He chose winning the election over standing up for what was right, or at least standing up for his own friends whom McCarthy had gone after.

It parallels the lack of courage we're seeing today. The guy who had stood up to Nazis and helped win a World War was afraid of the voters in his own party. It's the same weakness that Trump continues to exploit in the Republican Party today.

Eisenhower did make an effort to weaken McCarthy but in the end, McCarthy was the agent of his own undoing.

 

[rareboy]

Well it looks like the Dems might actually have a strategy playbook for 2026 with 'Red to Blue'. Now let's see if they can put a platform of policies behind it.

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/2026-house-election-democrat-targets-trump

 

[rareboy]

Now if they can only get rid of their Fetterman problem...he is even worse than Manchin and Sinema.

 

[KaraBulut]

Democrats flipped a Florida House seat for Palm Beach, so Mar-A-Lago is now represented in the Florida Legislature by a Democrat.

Democrat Emily Gregory wins Special Election for HD 87 in Palm Beach County

Campaign messaging escalated in the final stretch, with disputes over residency and political tactics.

floridapolitics.com

Emily Gregory flipped House District 87 in Palm Beach County blue in an upset victory. With most votes totaled, she held a lead outside the recount margin. It marks the first time a Democrat has won there this century.

Gregory won 51.15% of the vote Tuesday to Republican Jon Maples’ 48.85% in a race where controversies arose for both candidates in the leadup to Election Day.

 

[Spade]

The Dems will remain unpopular as long as they remain the party of the status quo. They offer nothing to working class people, other than the same tired old talking point about how they are less evil than the Republicans. They serve the same corporate donors that the republicans do.

They need to get a backbone and start standing for things that actually benefit regular working Americans. Things like higher taxes for billionaires, Medicare for all Americans, Removing the cap on Social Security and expanding benefits so we don't need self funded 401K that gamble with our retirement on the stock market, Housing for all Americans, and bring back something like the Works Progress Administration to provide jobs for any unemployed person that wants a job. We also need donations and lobbying by corporations and special interests groups to be made illegal and recognized as bribery.