All Hands On Deck For The Blowback Election

No saviors. No heroes. Just everyday Texans getting things done.

Hey y’all, I’m back.

For those who missed the note, I’ve been in the hospital the last few days with a health hiccup. I’m home now. I’m going to be okay. Don’t worry too much, but also maybe do me a favor and take care of yourselves before your body forces you to take a break.

Lying in a hospital bed with nothing but fluorescent lights and a blood pressure cuff for company will make a person think. I realized this was the first time in years I’d gone four whole days without sending a newsletter, and that absence had me stressing more than I expected. Not just because I’m a workaholic (though guilty), but because I started thinking about why I do this in the first place.

Y’all remind me every day. You send messages saying this newsletter pushed you to take action in your community, and that you became a precinct chair. That you’re hosting a forum. That you signed up to register voters because you read something here that lit a fire under you. And that’s what keeps me going. That’s the whole damn point.

And that brings me to something I’ve been wanting to say for a while now.

Stop waiting for Beto. Become Beto.

Now, don’t get it twisted, I love Beto. We all do. The man shows up. He loves Texas. But I’ve been trying to figure out why people keep clinging so hard to the hope that he’ll run again and save us. I think I’ve finally nailed it. We’re looking for a savior. A single shining star who’ll fix everything.

But y’all, we can’t wait around for someone else to save us. This isn’t a movie. We have to save ourselves.

That doesn’t mean you need to jump straight into running for Senate or Governor. But if you are in a position to run for office, especially if it’s something local, then I’m begging you… fucking do it. This is the year. The Trump blowback in 2026 is going to be massive. We need Democrats running for every single seat, from city council to school board to the state house.

And if running for office isn’t your thing? Totally fair. It’s not mine either. But we need all hands on deck in every single way. Write postcards. Make a few phone calls. Become a precinct chair. Volunteer with your county party. Hell, even talk to your neighbors.

Because fascism may be terrifying in DC, but it’s always worse with these assholes in Austin.

We’re about to see a crowded US Senate primary in Texas.

Joaquin Castro is rumored to announce soon. Colin Allred might run again. James Talarico is likely jumping in this July. No word on Beto yet. Four prominent names circling one seat is a recipe for a bloodbath, especially if there is only one moderate candidate to outflank three progressives. Allred’s record is... well, you know, but Castro’s is better. He leans left, he’s moved further that way in Congress. These details matter in Texas.

But regardless of who jumps in, we cannot afford an uninformed electorate. That’s what kills us every time.

Texas has the most progressive Democratic Party platform in the entire country. But far too many people, left and right, don’t even know what either party does. They don’t understand what they’re voting for. And that’s by design.

Over the past month or two, I’ve been talking to everyday Republicans on TikTok. Not the frothing-at-the-mouth kind. Just regular folks. Younger conservatives. And y’all... they don’t know how the Texas government works. They’ll say things like:

“Both parties are corrupt. I vote Republican for lower taxes.”

“My taxes are high because I live in a blue county.”

So I explain to them that Republicans are the ones in charge of Texas. They’ve held the legislature and every statewide office for 30 years. They’re the ones raising the money, writing the laws, and cutting the deals. They’re the ones handing billionaires tax breaks while underfunding schools and jacking up local property taxes.

They’ll try to pivot. “What about corruption in blue cities like Chicago or LA?”

Okay, sure. But those aren’t Texas Democrats. They don’t write our laws.

And when it comes to rising property taxes in blue counties? Look harder. Property taxes are going up in red counties, too. That’s because state Republicans won’t fund public schools, so counties have to raise taxes to cover the difference. They’ve created a system that starves public services, then blames local officials for trying to keep the lights on.

Not that I think you need to waste your time arguing with hardcore Republicans. Honestly, don’t. That’s not the point.

But we do need to be talking to non-voters. To people who’ve checked out. To young people, first-time voters, and folks who’ve been told their vote doesn’t matter. Because a lot of them don’t really know what’s going on in our government, not because they’re stupid, but because the system wants them confused and disconnected.

That’s where we come in.

We need to let them know that the Texas Democratic Party is the party of working people. Not billionaires. Not lobbyists. People. And we can back it up, with actual votes from progressives in the Texas Legislature, with the most progressive state party platform in the country, and with the work Democratic groups around the state are doing right now to fight for schools, healthcare, water, wages, reproductive freedom, and basic damn dignity.

We’re not perfect. But we’re real. And the more people know that, the better shot we’ve got at turning this state around.

That’s why we need you.

We need more people doing what I do. Write newsletters. Start a Substack. Plug into what folks like

The Rio Grande Current

and

See It. Name It. Fight It.

are doing. Make TikToks like Time To Wake Up Texas and One Heart Voice. It doesn’t have to be big or perfect. Just do something.

We’re all in this together. We are living through the worst of it, but that means it’s our job to dig our way out of it.

So dig in.

And just like clockwork, another corrupt dipshit has switched parties.

This time it’s Fort Bend County Judge KP George. He put out a press release this morning announcing he’s officially joining the Republican Party, citing the usual buzzwords, “radical Democrats,” “faith, family, and freedom,” “George Soros,” and invoking Trump like a loyal cultist.

What didn’t he mention? The felony charges.

Two months ago, the Fort Bend County Democratic Party disavowed him after serious allegations surfaced. Money laundering, tampering with government records, and misuse of public funds. The party called on him to resign immediately, and rightfully so. He didn’t. Now, here comes the playbook pivot. When accountability comes knocking, cry victim, blame “liberal elites,” and run straight into the arms of the GOP.

We’ve seen this before. This is the same play we watched unfold in the 1960s. When the Democratic Party vowed to become the party of civil rights, we kicked the segregationists and grifters to the curb, and they ran straight into the Republican tent, where they were welcomed with open arms.

This is that. Again.

These people aren’t “leaving the party.” They’re getting pushed out because they no longer meet the bare minimum of ethical standards. Accountability isn’t a “radical agenda.” It’s called governing. And if “transparency, justice, and not being a criminal” are too much for you to handle, then yeah, maybe the GOP is where you belong.

So let’s be clear. KP George didn’t “flip parties.” He got found out, and like every coward before him, he jumped ship and yelled “witch hunt” on the way down.

But we are paying attention.

We don’t have time for cowards. We don’t have time for cultists. And we definitely don’t have time for performative party-switchers clinging to power while hoping folks aren’t paying attention.

We’re organizing. We’re educating. We’re showing up.

Because while they’re out here banning weed, book-banning classrooms, rigging the maps, and praying nobody notices, we’re building something stronger. An informed, relentless, fired-up movement that doesn’t need a savior. We need each other.

So if you’ve been waiting for a sign to jump in? This is it.

Run. Organize. Teach. Post. Write. Talk. Knock. Fight.

We’re Texans. We don’t wait for miracles.

We make them.

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