Last Names

Commentary has never talked about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Until today. Martha Stewart is this year’s cover. Yep. Martha Stewart. Today did a feature on it this morning. Yep. Martha Stewart. Martha is 81.

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This fella is out of touch with the GOP. Commentary is talking about former Sec. of State James Baker. He penned an Op-Ed that ran in yesterday’s Chron. Here is the headline:

James Baker: Gun laws that Republicans can support (Opinion)

Bipartisan agreement is possible. Here’s where.

Here is where Baker thinks GOPers can go along:

A ban on ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds except for military or police use. Similar bans have been in place since 1935, when federal law began restricting waterfowl hunters to three shells in a shotgun.

A ban on armor-piercing bullets, the kind that are opposed by police chiefs around the country.

A longer waiting period — or a “cooling off period” — for the purchase of a handgun.

Further strengthening background checks for all gun purchasers, and not just those younger than 21.

I am thinking it has been a while since Baker attended a state or national GOP convention. He is way out of touch with today’s GOP.

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I was at a political gathering last week. H-Town city council candidates were there handing out push cards and looking for votes. The campaign literature of two council candidates caught my eye. One belonged to Raj. You remember Raj. He ran in 2019 for an at-large council seat and lost in the runoff.  Raj is now running to be an HCC trustee. On Raj’s 5×7 card, there is no mention of his last name. On either side of the card. Nope. Nada.

Raj’s last name is Salhotra.

The other fella is Obes Nwabara. He is running for City Council At-Large 2. He handed me his 3 1/2 x 8 ½ card and it read Obes for Houston City Council. I asked him where his last name was on the card, and he gave me this look that my question wasn’t relevant. I found it in the tiniest font on his disclaimer.

Raj lost to GOPer incumbent Council member Mike Knox by double digits.  Maybe he thinks his last name cost him a lot of votes.

Maybe Obes thinks his last name will scare off some voters in a citywide race.

Maybe Commentary is an old school political consultant. I would not recommend hiding your last name. Of course, maybe if your last name was Hitler, Mussolini, or Putin, I would recommend you not run.

In looking at last names of folks who have won at-large council races since 1979 when we first went to the hybrid form of council governance, we have had a Goyen, Saenz, Sanchez, Roach, Sekula-Rodriguez, Noriega, and Kubosh as names that some voters might consider a tad different.

How do Nwabara and Salhotra stack up against these winners?

Your name is your name. When ballots are sent out or when folks go to vote, guess what? The last names are going to be on the ballot.

Let us say a voter likes Obes or Raj or both and intends to vote for them. Then when they are voting and scrawl down to their race and see Nwabara and Salhotra follow their names, they have a convulsive negative reaction?

What are the chances of that happening?

If a voter is going to have a problem with your last name, they will probably also have a problem with the color of your skin. Just saying.

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Michael Brantley is 36 today. Happy Birthday, Michael! Get well soon! We need you in the lineup!

The Cubbies are in town for three starting this evening.