Primary 2022 thoughts

 

This will cover a range of areas. I’ve thought a great deal about integrity over the last few weeks. Merriam-Webster defines it as, “the quality of being honest and fair.” Southwest Democrats does not endorse in the primaries. I’ve personally endorsed in a single race in 2018 and 2020.

 

There is a confluence of factors that are in play this cycle. One, Harris County has demonstrated the ability to elect Democrats in the mid-term. Two, there is a disinformation campaign on a variety of subjects from multiple angles. Three, redistricting happened and that set dominoes in motion.

 

One of my concerns is making sure people realize any action I take is independent of the Southwest Democrats. We’ve worked very hard to establish a Club that does not put its finger on the scale in races. We developed policies to help guide us in several spheres, like meetings and social media. Transparency is one of our hallmarks. When the primary is over and winners declared, the Club will roll out its plan for GOTV using multiple platforms, but most importantly – door knocking.

 

But looking at the current environment I am struck by so much deception. The historian in me struggles to see the pattern as we are in the middle of the mess. Seeing the forest from the trees is proving difficult. Mounds of data exist, but what is it actually telling us?

 

Further there appears to be several bad faith actors right now, especially regarding Criminal Justice reform. I am not the only one who thinks the District Attorney is obfuscating bail bond reform in a way that minimizes her office’s role in the process. This is an overarching factor that is forcing me to make some decisions regarding Integrity. It feels fundamentally unfair that the record is being deliberately written in such a way to make her the hero of this story when it is her office that must be proactive in matters that the judges cannot act on their own. What complicates this more is the judges are limited in their ability to set the record straight.

 

Presumption of innocence is part of our legal framework. The DA should remember that.

 

That is one part of the deception being thrown around in public, but further there are the issues over the vaccine and Public Health that are being used to “rabble rouse” for the GOP. That the current iteration of the GOP base thinks that this past legislative session was not conservative enough is beyond frightening. Burning books, banning pornography, and probably abolishing contraceptive devices would be next for that group. Establishing an official religion is probably on their radar.

 

So, it is a struggle. How do I balance the needs of my conscience with those of standards I previously set for myself? Under my personal rule, I’ve done my one endorsement. I’ve made no secret I feel Judge Lina Hidalgo is the key for Democrats in Harris County this election. The transformation of Harris County and the generational shift in power starts with her. How county government works has clearly changed. And that upsets people. It was the bastion of the ‘Good old boys’ network’ with single page budgets and fifteen-minute meetings. Business on Preston St has changed. ‘Go along to get along Democrats’ have been grousing about it as well.

 

One other key that I am laboring under is a part of the new reality of the Harris County mid-term: making sure we are electing actual Democrats. A Republican voting record is a strike, but more so is a donation record to the GOP. Dissemination of such information is important in a primary. Especially if it happened in 2018 or 2020. Trump was in office, there is NO excuse.

 

I seek good policy. I’m an advocate. I’m fortunate to be in the room when some policies are being discussed by policymakers. Expertise matters. Experience plays in a role in all our lives. Being middle-aged, I do take a different view of things. It is a balance.

 

Silence is not golden here. Wisdom is defined as “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” There are so many competing cross currents going on that it is difficult to navigate. As a precinct chair, I am bound not to support any other party than the Democratic Party. Therefore, one course of action is clear: Republicans in sheep’s clothing must be called out.

 

These are my overarching thoughts. The primary is in under four months. I’m thinking I will publish my ballot before early voting begins. But the third Delphic axiom reads, “surety brings ruin” and I’m laboring under many stresses with this primary. But one thing must be clear above all: I want good government. Start from there.

 

What do we know about the January 6^th Insurrection?

Let’s start with the legal/constitutional argument that the Eastman Memo wanted to establish: Congress could reject certified Electoral Votes on the grounds of bogus fraud claims. This would be done by the Vice President and order those back to the states. The point was to throw the election into the House of Representatives so the GOP delegations could vote for Trump.

That was part 1. The fight over certification.

 

What happened during the day?

 

Rep Ayanna Pressley reported the panic button in her office had been ripped out. Rep Jim Clyburn reported that his public offices were left untouched, but his private, hard to locate offices, had been ransacked. The House and Senate clerk offices had been ransacked as well. The speculation? Some of the rioters were looking for the Certificates of Certification from the States. Why? Because that was one set of official documents that would declare Biden president.

 

We know that Rudy Giuliani called the wrong Senator to ask for an extended delay to proceedings. He called Mike Lee instead of Tommy Tuberville.

We know that Lauren Boebert  tweeted out that the Speaker had been evacuated from the House Floor. She also gave tours to people prior to the Insurrection as did other FRESHMAN Members of Congress. (How would they know where anything was to show people being on the job for three days?)

 

We know that help from additional police agencies was delayed or stopped. The National Guard was delayed. We know the president was never moved from the White House or deemed to be in danger. WHY?

 

We know that Mike Pence, then vice president, refused to get into a car to leave the Capitol. He is quoted as saying he trusted his agent, but didn’t know the driver. This is a huge red flag for what he was thinking and must be explored.  There is now reporting that he was locked out of his offices at the Capitol during the attack. Johnathan Karl is reporting that there are multiple pictures of him in a docking bay huddled during the attack. That was not a secure space. We know that the Pence’s Chief of Staff was locked out of the White House at the time of the attack. (Recall that parts of Joe Biden’s Secret Service detail was changed around this time.)

We need to know exactly how many calls from GOP Members of Congress were made to the White House. We need to know if McCarthy talked to Trump. We need to know who talked to Mark Meadows. We also need to know if Speaker Pelosi or any Democrat was able to get through to the White House.

 

Other things that we kind of know but still have to look into:

 

Bill Barr resigned as Attorney General right before Christmas. What did he know or suspect?

There were several changes at the Department of Defense right before Jan 6^th. (Recall that the DOD cut off the Biden transition team from access at this time as well.)

The Department of Justice had Trump people looking into elevating the false claims of election fraud at Trump’s request.

(Recall the images of a coordinated team entering the Capitol under the cover of all the mayhem.)

We know there was a command center set up prior to January 6^th at the Willard Hotel where several key players met. John Eastman was there as was at least one militia member, who posted pictures on his Instagram account. (See Seth Abramson for deep details on this.)

The Speaker’s offices were sacked. The Senate was seconds away from being taken hostage.

Mike Flynn’s brother was at DOD at this time.

Where was Erik Prince during all of this?

 

Above all, remember the images of the tent at the White House with multiple TV screens set up. Remember several Trump insiders dancing as the Insurrectionists attacked the Capitol. Trump was in no danger. He was not evacuated.

 

This was the text book definition of an autocoup. Trump tried to illegally retain power after having been lawfully thrown out of office. 

 

WE ARE NOT OUT OF DANGER.

 

We do not know the extent of help the Insurrectionists had from Congress. We do not know what internal security compromises happened. We do not know all the communication between the White House and those who set those events in motion. We do not know who attempted to bomb the DNC or RNC headquarters. We do not know enough.

 

DO NOT FORGET WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR!