(C) Texas Tribune This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Blast: Getting ready for tomorrow’s panel [1] [] Date: 2023-10 Sep 22, 2023 | View in browser By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team TOMORROW’S BLAST PANEL AND TRIBFEST SO FAR I hope you’ve been enjoying the Texas Tribune Festival so far, but there are plenty more exciting panels still to come. Chief in my mind is The Blast panel on the Legislature happening tomorrow morning. We’re going to have Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, and Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano. Particularly exciting about the panel is that — as of now — Leach is the only Republican House impeachment manager at the festival this year, so we’re going to make sure he answers a couple of our pressing questions about the trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton. The impeachment managers called Leach in as the ringer in the final minutes of their closing arguments, and he gave a deeply personal speech about his conflicted relationship with the attorney general. Tomorrow will be an opportunity to check in on the Collin County Republican. For those interested, the panel will take place at 9 a.m. on the eighth floor of the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown. I know there are plenty of other eye-grabbing panels going on in that timeslot, but this should be a fun one. You won’t want to miss it. Afterward, you can catch me marching across the street to St. David’s to see if Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has anything to say about his state becoming a swing state — baseball pun intended. There have been several interesting panels so far, but I’d like to take a look specifically at what veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove had to say about Paxton during his panel with David Axelrod about the 2024 election. Rove, who served as an adviser to George W. Bush, has become a bogeyman of the pro-Paxton side of the GOP. In recent interviews, Paxton has claimed Rove colluded with Democrats to impeach him. In response today, Rove said the responsibility for Paxton’s impeachment rests with Paxton, and he took a shot back at former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who interviewed Paxton on Wednesday. “I wish I could claim credit for it,” Rove said on the impeachment, “but whoever that guy was who called me a liberal, obviously, is not very [conversant] with what the hell is going on in Texas.” Read more of what Rove had to say, including about Paxton’s zipper, at texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD THE SPEAKER-LT. GOV. WAR OF WORDS CONTINUES After Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spent much of this week railing against House Speaker Dade Phelan for leading the House to impeaching Paxton, Phelan is firing back again, this time penning an op-ed in the Beaumont Enterprise. Phelan called Patrick’s gag order “halfhearted” and said he caved to the demands of Paxton’s defense team and Laura Olson, the woman with whom Paxton is accused of having an affair. “The warning signs were there,” Phelan wrote. “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who led us to believe he would preside over this trial in a fair and just manner, took a whopping $3 million donation from a Political Action Committee pushing for Paxton’s exoneration before the trial even began.” “For the armchair legal strategists opining on what should have been done differently,” he continued, “I’d remind them there is nothing else that could have been done — the fix was in from the start.” Since the acquittal, Phelan has faced calls to resign, including from within the more conservative wing of his own House caucus. In interviews this week, Patrick has sidestepped questions of whether Phelan should resign, but he got awfully close today in a statement responding to the speaker’s op-ed. “For Dade Phelan to cry foul and question the integrity of the Senate jurors and of my office when his rushed, no-facts, no-record process failed to achieve the results he wanted is disgusting and proves he is unworthy of his leadership position.” Patrick also offered up some good fodder for tomorrow’s Blast panel, firing back at Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, over her criticisms of how he presided over the Paxton trial, which will be logged in the Senate journal for eternity. So far, senators’ journal statements haven’t been made public, but Patrick felt the need to set the record straight after the Austin American-Statesman published portions of Eckhardt’s statement. “Sen. Eckhardt, in the future, allow me to recommend that before you launch an attack, check the facts first before you speak,” Patrick wrote. Eckhardt says she has nothing more to add on that, but we’ll confirm with her tomorrow. THE RATTY OLD TILE Honestly, we can’t believe Sen. Angela Paxton beat everyone to this pun. In a new video following the acquittal of her husband, the senator from McKinney is proudly showing off their countertops, and not because they look great. “You’re seeing it for yourself with your very own eyes,” Paxton said. “The countertops are ceramic countertops, not granite.” It was the perfect setup for her reelection fundraising slogan, “Never take freedom for granite,” a phrase she repeated twice, letting a slight smile slip in between. “Whether you donate at the $25 ceramic tile level or the $1,000-plus granite level — wherever that is — everything you do helps,” Paxton said. The senator said her priorities include some conservative mainstays, like border security and children, plus a new one, “eradicating government foolishness.” CARVILLE THINKS BIDEN SHOULD PASS OFF THE REINS James Carville doesn’t think President Joe Biden should run for reelection. Carville, the Louisiana-born political strategist who helped propel Bill Clinton to victory in the 1992 presidential election, has been voicing his concerns about Biden’s unpopularity with Democratic voters. But at The Texas Tribune’s pre-Festival barbeque dinner on Wednesday in Austin, he was more explicit about his dismay. In conversation with Tribune co-founder and former CEO Evan Smith, Carville noted that two-thirds of Americans say in polls that they do not wish to see a rematch between Biden and his predecessor, Donald J. Trump. He said Democrats are particularly vulnerable with younger voters, especially Black and Hispanic voters, who have shown little enthusiasm for Biden, the oldest president in U.S. history. As a loyal Democrat, Carville said he would support Biden for re-election, but he also said that Democrats have a strong bench of younger leaders who would be compelling in a national race: Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J. B. Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky. No mainstream Democrat is challenging Biden for the nomination, but the environmentalist and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has shown small but surprising strength in early polling. Carville said this confirms that some Democrats, particularly on the left, are looking for alternatives. Carville also said that Cornel West, the philosopher and scholar who is seeking to run as an independent, might be able to peel away Democratic votes in ways that would deeply damage Biden — much as Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee, did in 2016. Had Stein voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin switched their votes to Hillary Clinton in 2016, she would have beaten Trump, he said. Still, Carville said Biden would more than likely win a rematch with Trump, in part because many Americans are exhausted by Trump’s scandals, indictments and contempt for democratic norms. He added women, especially college-educated women and young women, have broken for Democrats since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, overturning the longstanding precedent of Roe v. Wade (1973). However, Carville said Democrats have essentially lost non-college-educated whites over the age of 50, and that this collapse in support makes it much harder for Democrats to gain and keep power — especially in states like Texas where rural voters side overwhelmingly with Republicans. The Democrats’ inability to win over even a small fraction of these voters is a major long-term challenge, he said. One notable exception to that trend, he said, is John Fetterman, who won a hard-fought U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania last year, in part by campaigning heavily in rural and working-class areas of the state. Carville, who once famously said that “Pennsylvania is bordered by two metropolises at either end with Alabama in the middle,” praised Fetterman for vigorously seeking votes in the conservative middle of the Keystone State. — Sewell Chan TribFest comes to Congress Avenue for a FREE street fest. Join us TOMORROW at Open Congress. Taking place along Austin’s iconic Congress Avenue, Open Congress is a one-of-a-kind, full-day free street fest featuring big conversations with political icons; top-notch programming from Texas brands, leaders and personalities; fun interactive experiences from TribFest partners and supporters and so much more. Explore the free program and RSVP to attend. CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP HD-22: Freshman Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Beaumont, announced yesterday that he is running for reelection. HD-72 & HD 133: The Associated Republicans of Texas endorsed two state House Republicans today who have primary challengers. The mainstream GOP group gave reelection endorsements to Reps. Drew Darby of San Angelo (HD-72) and Mano DeAyala of Houston (HD-133). Darby is being challenged by Aimee Carrasco, while DeAyala has drawn a challenge from John Perez, a Spring Branch ISD board trustee. — Patrick Svitek SD-29: Sen. César Blanco, D-El Paso, announced yesterday that he is running for reelection in what would be his first four-year term. Houston City Council: The Blast neglected on Wednesday to mention former Harris County Judge GOP nominee Alex Mealer’s endorsement of Council Member Mary Nan Huffman. Huffman is the conservative incumbent in District G hoping to stave off a challenge from attorney Tony Buzbee, who is coming off his victory in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial. Yesterday, Buzbee announced he was endorsed by the former City Council members who’ve represented the district. HIDDEN IMAGE U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, will be Tribfest’s closing keynote speaker. Manchin is apparently circulating a resolution that would undo Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to ease the Senate dress code, which has quickly become known as the “Fetterman rule.” Maybe we can get an update from Manchin about how his resolution is faring. HIDDEN IMAGE Tomorrow during the Texas Tribune Festival, The Blast will host a panel and mixer on the year so far in the Texas Legislature. Hear from me and Sen. Sarah Eckhardt , D-Austin, and Reps. Rafael Anchía , D-Dallas, and Jeff Leach , R-Plano. If you haven’t gotten tickets yet, you can do so here. The deets: the event will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23 at the Capital Factory in the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown (eighth floor). , D-Austin, and Reps. , D-Dallas, and , R-Plano. If you haven’t gotten tickets yet, you can do so here. The deets: the event will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23 at the Capital Factory in the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown (eighth floor). U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, will join CBS for “Face the Nation” on Sunday. Tomorrow, he will also participate in a Tribfest panel with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, hosted by the Tribune’s editor-in-chief, Sewell Chan. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD HIDDEN IMAGE HIDDEN IMAGE HIDDEN IMAGE (Sept. 22) State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood (Sept. 23) U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler [END] --- [1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-getting-ready-for-tomorrows-panel Published and (C) by Texas Tribune Content appears here under this condition or license: Used with Permission: https://www.texastribune.org/republishing-guidelines/. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/texastribune/