Primary Runoffs in Texas

 

Texas is holding runoff primary elections this week with early voting ending today and election day next Tuesday. There are strange things going on, stranger than usual. The most noticeable is the cult of personality around Trump. Republican candidates, especially in races for seats in the US senate and house, but also in races for state and even some local offices, are running mainly on their unquestioned loyalty to him, and often attacking opponents for their supposed insufficient adoration of the man. If candidate A says he will lick Trump’s shoes, B replies that A is a Rino who will lick only the top of Trump’s shoes while he gladly will lick the soles. I have not seen anything like it in this state. Candidates usually argue over and lie about things they claim to believe and things they want to do for the state or district and its voters. There is some of that as well, but the big issue is who is more MAGA, and who loves and will serve Trump the best. It is at best creepy and strikes me as quite a bit worse than only creepy.  

The race for the Republican nomination for a US senate seat is also unusual in other ways. John Cornyn, an incumbent, multi-term US senator, is likely to lose, despite a general agreement that he would be a stronger candidate in the general election than his shady opponent Ken Paxton. Trump has endorsed Paxton. A person might think that a win for Paxton would create an opportunity for Democrats in the general election. It could have if Democrats had found a Lloyd Bentsen or a Henry Cisneros to be their candidate, but they did not. Instead they selected a wimpy Austin leftist with a long and revealing paper and online trail, who probably will lose to Paxton even with that plastic Jesus up there on his dashboard. A person almost could think that they wanted to show they can be more stupidly self destructive that even the Republicans.

As has been true in American politics in general for the last decade, you have to ask where are Mencken, Twain, and O’Rourke now that we need them?