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Make Texas Democratic Again
……One candidate for Governor of Texas is the four times elected Dallas County Sheriff of Dallas, a former US Army Captain and former federal investigator.
……One candidate for Governor of Texas is the Lesbian grandchild of Mexican immigrants who owed $12,000 in real estate taxes when she began the campaign.
……The same person. The Democratic candidate and primary winner Lupe Valdez https:///www.lupevaldez.com fits both descriptions.
……Texas Magazine asks: Just How Doomed is Lupe Valdez?
……Is Texas politics changing? Every year, at least one pundit predicts, Texas politics will change. Texas politics will follow its demographics. Forty percent of its population is Latino. Texas will turn Democratic.
……Every year, other pundits insist Texas is not changing. Texas Latinos don’t vote. Texas Latinos who do vote don’t vote Democratic enough. They supported GW Bush for governor. Liberal Democrats were excited by Wendy Davis’ run for Governor in 2014. She lost by 20 points. Deeply conservative Governor Greg Abbott won the 2014 election getting 44% of the Latino vote.
……Will Latinos stick with Greg Abbott in 2018? Will they reject a Latina Sheriff? A former US Army Captain? A former investigator for the Department of Homeland Security? An openly gay woman with a chiropractor partner? A Democrat who beat conservative Andrew White, the son of a former Governor, in the primary?
……The finances don’t look good. After the primary, Lupe Valdez had $200,000 to work with. Abbot had raised $40 million. Finances never look good for Lupe Valdez. The eighth child of a family that used to work in the fields, a family that lived in the the poorest neighborhood in Dallas.
……Her prospects don’t look good. Even though, she has been indomitable. In her youth, she insisted on going to a strong high school, not the one in the neighborhood. In her youth, she insisted on going to college. As an adult, she pushed and pushed and has been a success in a hostile world.
……The politics do not look good. Lupe Valdez has been a local politician, not a state-wide figure. When she debated White for the primary, she could not respond fluently about the state budget.
……The politics do not look good. Activists criticize Lupe Valdez for being insufficiently supportive of immigrants. For cooperating with ICE as Sheriff. Lupe Valdez can’t win without the enthusiastic support of activists. She explains. She has no problem returning murderers and rapists, or other real criminals to where they came from. As for ordinary people who came to the US for a better life, she would leave them alone to make that better life. She says she cannot refuse cooperation with ICE altogether. Texas law requires cooperation. The law influenced her, not the governor’s threat to withhold funds from any jail not cooperating with ICE.
……The politics can look better. Lupe Valdeztells people to think about what it meant for a Lesbian and (what she calls) a compassionate cop taking over the Dallas jail. A job and a half. She offers to show you her scars. She tells you about her successes.
……Lupe Valdez made a better jail. She reduced the population in the jail. She cleaned up a crowded, unsanitary, and dangerous jail. She reduced harassment of prisoners and employees. She reduced the number of inmate deaths to below the national average. She avoided cooperation with ICE for those jailed for nonviolent crimes. She made changes in the criminal justice system. She was a popular jailer. Is that a contradiction in terms?……On policy, Lupe Valdezlooks good. She addresses eighteen issues in her website. It is easy to distinguish her from Abbot.
- “A room full of men in Austin shouldn’t be getting between women and their doctors.” Greg Abbott is one of those men.
- “Women, especially women of color, still to do not get equal pay. This … hurts families and it hurts our economy. Greg Abbott likes the economy just the way it is.
- “We must invest in the infrastructure necessary to secure our water supply for generations to come.” A little credit for Abbott here. He recognized the leadership of Karen Bondy of the Lower Colorado River Authority for construction of a $200 million reservoir. On the other hand, Abbott has nothing to say about those trying to avoid paying for it.
- “Governor Abbott and his allies have done everything they can to make it harder for eligible Texans to vote.” Guilty as charged. Part of the Republican conspiracy against democracy.
- “We have to invest in our infrastructure and plan for growth. …This is … an incredible economic opportunity.” Greg Abbott is focused on cutting state taxes and fees.
- “[W}e want fair maps drawn so that neither political party benefits from discriminatory gerrymanders.” Texas does not have the worst gerrymanders in the country — but it is close.
- Greg Abbott’s … failure to fund our public schools has pushed the financial burdens of the state squarely on to the backs of middle class homeowners and small businesses.” Greg Abbott is focused on cutting state taxes and fees.
- We must work to enshrine protections for the LGBTQ community. Texas, you can still be married on Saturday and fired on Monday, all because of who you love.” When Greg Abbott talks about protecting personal liberties, he means protecting gun owners and religious conservatives.
- [G]ive every Texan the opportunity to truly get ahead…access to college for everyone, increased trade school opportunities and vocational training. [Ensure] a living wage for anyone who works a full week, paid sick leave, break down the barriers and level the playing field for women in the economy. Greg Abbott believes Texas’s economy is just fine as it is.
- Standing up for immigrant communities has been a staple of my life. “Greg Abbott’s fear-based approach to immigration is inhumane, bad for our communities, bad for our economy, and wrong for Texas.”
- Health care is a right and it is time we treat it as such. Greg Abbott has nothing to say about health care on his website.
- I have carried a gun for most of my life – first in the military and then in law enforcement – and I strongly believe in the Second Amendment. But if someone cannot handle their disagreements with means other than violence, they should not be allowed to have a weapon. On his website: “Greg Abbott will continue to fight any federal government overreach that aims to disrupt the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.”
- Texas suffers from a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, polluted air and water, and storms that bring unprecedented rain and destruction to our coasts Valdez describes Greg Abbott as a climate change denier
- I am where I am today, because despite my humble upbringing in the poorest neighborhood in San Antonio, a Texas public school [that I chose] gave me the opportunity to succeed. Greg Abbott makes school choice central to his vision of education.
- The ability to live, work, and play in your own community should be a right that all Texans enjoy. Does wheelchair bound Greg Abbott, wheelchair bound as a result of an injury in an accident make him sympathetic to to others who are handicapped?
- I have spent a lifetime serving citizens in law enforcement, and I have seen that there is no greater service than protecting and serving one’s community. Everyone wants a safe border to keep criminal elements out of our country – what we don’t want is ill-conceived and fear-based approaches that harm our communities. Greg Abbott promises to crack down on the M-13 gang.
- [T]he fight for civil rights in the modern era is far from over. For many across our state, the rights to social equality and freedom are still obstructed. Greg Abbott has nothing to say about civil rights on his website.
Can the politics look good enough? A recent poll showed Valdez closing to within ten points of Abbott. Another gives Abbott a 13 point lead. Other polls approach show something like a 20 point lead.……Valdez is not running alone. The Democratic Senate candidate, Beto O’Rourke, is even with or slightly ahead of Ted Cruz in the most recent polls.
……Supporters of Beto O’Rourke, former bad boy, former rock band member, former Ivy Leaguer, and supporters of Lupe Valdez, Latina Lesbian and compassionate cop are not necessarily the same people. In the ballot box, supporters of one will probably be supporters of both. In a big Democratic year, both could win.
……Maybe.
……Just How Doomed is Lupe Valdez? Lupe Valdez https:///www.lupevaldez.com is a long shot, a very long shot. Long shots pay off sometimes. 2018 looks like a Democratic year. 2018 looks like a good year for women. Ex-military, law enforcement is good in Texas even if being gay and progressive is not. Help Lupe Valdezhttps:///www.lupevaldez.com out. Help her get enough resources to get the her message out. See what happens.……
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