Welp, Texas' re-elected slate of state officials are as depressing as expected. Guess I'm still very willing to relocate given how tired I am of our tax dollars going to stupid stunts and harassment of its own marginalized citizens instead of things that actually fix real problems like the electrical grid. I fundamentally do not trust this state government not to mess with women's healthcare further. That's always been my hard out: are the things I've used for decades at this point to regulate my busted body going to be outlawed? Sure looks like a possibility unless the national government steps in, and that so far hasn't happened, either.
The horrifying part is that I saw this coming. I knew it. Beto is a non-starter for anyone who's not firmly in the #votebluenomatterwho camp, and the less motivating the top candidates are, the less folks turn out to flip races down-ballot. He's brilliant at campaign strategy and outreach, but extremely low-hanging fruit when it comes to attack ads. There's no possible way to come back from saying "I'm comin' for your guns" THAT soon in a state that's armed to the teeth, no matter how much sense he talks on a lot of issues that would be a dramatic improvement over his butthole opponent. I appreciate that he speaks from the heart, but it makes him a tough candidate to sway anyone else in a state that necessitates a significant amount of swaying to finally get out of a long-standing, self-defeating rut. What motivates the other side—and sadly, far too many voters in Texas' "middle"—more than anything is fear. It's all they have. The Rs pick soundbites—honesty about context not needed!—and drum up fear. Lo and behold, the scared-he's-gonna-come-for-our-guns side was more motivated to vote yet again.
I told you so. I TOLD YOU SO. Beto needs to move behind the curtain into a strategist role or go back to being a solid and beloved regional rep/figure of some sort.