Governors in the United States generally enjoy warmer relationships with voters than their colleagues serving in Congress. There are a number of reasons for that phenomenon, not the least of which is that governors are forced to be doers in ways that senators and...
Opinion
back to archiveMusings: The dangerous lie of “constitutional carry.”
A few years ago, I spent a year living in Portland, Oregon, and was surprised to learn, shortly after arriving in town, that I would need to pass a written exam before being approved for an Oregon driver’s license. Working on campaigns, I’ve lived all over the...
Op-Ed: Biden’s Immigration Plan Gives Us a Chance to Heal
Watching a violent mob storm the Capitol in January, I wept — not just at the assault on American democracy, but at the memories it brought flooding back. I was awash in memories of being an 11-year-old girl in a classroom on the day the Iranian Revolution broke out,...
Musings: Texas Republicans are bad for business.
For decades, Texans Republicans have justified the cozy relationships they’ve enjoyed with big business by celebrating Texas as one of the best states in the nation to do business in. Republicans in the state legislature and on commissioner’s courts across the state...
Op-Ed: Call Them Out: Demand TX Corporations Support Voting Rights
Nothing good happens after 2 AM. That was on full display in the wee hours of Thursday morning as the Texas State Senate passed Senate Bill 7. Just a few hours later, the Texas House began consideration of House Bill 6. These bills would harken Texas back to the...
Musings: Moral Failure
Last night in New York City, a 65-year-old woman was assaulted on her walk to church and told that she didn’t belong in a neighborhood she’s had a presence in for decades. A nearby security guard offered no assistance, and not only failed to render aid, but closed the...
Musings: My Top 4 Bracket Seeds
When we launched our bracket challenge last week, it set off some serious debate among our staff about who should make the round of 16 and which candidates deserved to be seeded in which positions. While some of our staffers included some bold and intriguing choices...
Op-Ed: The Real Framing of the Atlanta Massacre: Hate Crime, Evangelical Terrorism & Femicide
We are reeling. We see our families in the six Asian women killed in Atlanta this week. To us, hate crimes against the AAPI community are not a statistic. Awareness and pain are not buffered by distance. In the faces of these women, we see our sisters, our...
Musings: Greg Abbott, Big Liar
I never truly appreciated the art of a dog and pony show until I started working in Texas politics. Sure, I had orchestrated my share of “visibility events,” rallies, and press conferences across the years and states that I had worked in, but nothing really prepared...