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December 28, 2007

Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb

A funny thing happened last week... Paul Burka jumped the shark. Then he ate it.

Burka, while a fabulous writer, has recently been a pretty lame reporter and commentator. Over the last 15 years, as the Republican Party rose to dominance in Texas, he's come to depend on Republican operatives for information on races and what's really going to happen in the Lege. It's been a good move for him since the Democrats were acting like a bunch of retards and the Republicans were definitely bringing their A game. Now that things have changed and the Republicans are disintegrating day by day, it's been a pretty bad bet.

Take some of the recent crap on his blog. From the top in chronological order.

  • Burka posted about Dunnam's release lambasting AG Wheelie for his decision on CradDICK's claim of absolute power. It was a beautiful piece of work and Dunnam hit hard, as he should have. Any Democrat who would run from that statement ain't much of a Texan. Dunnam, in the best tradition of Texas Legislators, called a spade and spade and didn't do it nicely. Burka's delicate sensibilities were upset. He thought it was far too harsh. So did Frank Corte, who is a pretty big son of a bitch even for a Texas Republican. Seriously, the man makes Stalin look perfectly friendly and reasonable in comparison. His right wing garbage about Dunnam wanting to repress people was pure Reagan era bullshit worthy of Peggy Noonan. Which means Corte might have a brilliant career in speech writing once he loses his election next year. Provided that he can go back in time to the 80's where voters are still buying tired old 'conservative' rhetoric. Burka you need to man up.

    Just FYI, Rep. Corte, it's Attorney General Wheelie. Anyone who takes advantage of the courts to make himself rich, THEN fights for tort reform is a pathetic slob worthy not of compassion, but of scorn and ridicule. Fuck him and feed him fish heads.

  • Burka's next experiment with filling space on a blog was to talk about Speaker CradDICK's chances to stay on as Speaker. Everyone knows that CradDICK is toast and that he's going to take a lot of Republicans down with him . The fact of the matter is that CradDICK is hated in Texas, by Republicans AND Democrats. Granted, D's are running real campaigns and actually persuading voters, but the reality is that being able to paint an R as a CradDICK stooge is making things hella easy. What Burka is having a problem with is the Why. After all, as Burka neatly points out...

    ...he has had a lot of success as speaker on subjects near and dear to Republicans' hearts. Many speakers can point to significant legislation that passed WHILE they were speaker. Craddick can point to legislation that passed BECAUSE he was speaker: tort reform, congressional redistricting, tuition deregulation, the property tax cut, restrictions on abortions, billions of dollars worth of budget cuts, mammoth overhauls of the state's approach to human services and transportation policy. He played a central role in all of these. So why is he in such trouble?

    Here's Burka's biggest problem. He never seems to understand that people change and that while these things may have appealed to Republicans in the past, they no longer do. Why? Because the reality of them is as the Democrats said they would be. Tort reform, electricity dereg, budget cuts, toll roads, tuition dereg, and the elusive property tax cut, have been massive failures. Let's not forget the almost $1bn in taxpayer funds the Republicans wasted trying to privatize HHS. The problem is that even ordinary Republicans know they were sold a big business bill of goods that's left them worse off. And they're all pissed as hell.

    What Burka doesn't realize is that what is happening for the Democrats now is what happened with the Republicans in the 80's and 90's. Once they switch, Texans tend to switch for a good long while. It also helps that Democrats have been RIGHT about everything that said would result from the Republicans fucking up the state. From higher teen pregnancy rates and STD infections because of abstinence only sex ed, to higher insurance costs, the Democrats were spot on when they said Republican ideas and initiatives would hurt far more than they would help.

    That's the shift going on. The demographics are just playing into it. Which takes me to the third post.

  • Burka found the NYT website today. The NYT says Texas may get as many as 4 new Congressional districts because of population growth. My housemate's dog, the one who eats shit, could have told you that. What it means to Burka is that it'll be good for Republicans.

    And that's where I call bullshit.

    Population shifts affect not only congressional majorities but also the electoral college. In general, the shift from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt favors the Republicans' presidential prospects. Four additional electoral votes from Texas would greatly benefit the Rs. The first presidential election that the new population numbers will effect is 2012.

    Actually, this is nightmare for Republicans. For one thing, the new districts will be focused in the largest areas of the state where Democrats are already beating the hell out of the Republicans, the metros. Additionally, Texans are pissed at their own Republican President. There is a VERY good chance Texas will help elect a Democrat next year, especially if Edwards is the candidate. That trial lawyer bullshit ain't playin' (even in the rural areas...are you paying attention, Rep. Corte?) and the good looking, friendly demeanor of Edwards will sell well even in East Texas where many are sick of pontificating Republicans.

    • Damn, Burka. Quit talking to politicos and start talking to people. It'll give you better idea of what people are really thinking.

    Posted by mcblogger at December 28, 2007 08:52 AM

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