Hardball
I have been following the debate on the bail issue in the Texas legislature. This has been a priority of the MAGA state leadership. I really think it is more of a political talking point priority. See this from the Chron:
With his signature voucher legislation signed into law, Gov. Greg Abbott is going all in on a massive bail crackdown as the legislative session enters the final stretch.
The Texas Republican wants lawmakers to prohibit pretrial release to defendants accused of several violent offenses, which would require a constitutional amendment — and the support of House Democrats, many of whom have opposed the effort in the past.
Abbott has framed the reforms as both a bipartisan issue and a response to rogue Democratic judges in cities like Houston.
“They will be put to the test,” Abbott said of House Democrats during a press conference in Austin on Wednesday. “Are they going to say, ‘A judge can do whatever they want to do and release these deadly, dangerous criminals back out on the streets?’ That should be a very easy decision for them.”
With negotiations underway in the House, Abbott has started a pressure campaign on Democratic members, publicly naming those who represent districts where crimes were committed by individuals let out on bail. At a stop in Houston last week, the governor honed in on four local members: state Reps. Armando Walle, Ana Hernandez, Alma Allen and Jolanda Jones.
The governor has swayed on exactly what he wants. The Senate passed a bill earlier this session that would give judges the power to deny bail for serious crimes, like rape and murder — without pushback from Abbott. But the governor has since started pushing for an even harder stance: automatically denying bail in those cases.
The state Constitution currently prevents judges from denying bail to first-time offenders other than those accused of capital murder and for whom the state is seeking the death penalty.
Abbott says the tougher line will “make Texas a safer place by tying the hands of judges who are releasing deadly, dangerous criminals.”
Democrats say they are open to reform but believe the governor and other Republican state leaders are more interested in campaigning on the issue than reaching a deal ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“If the goal is to not ever have anything legitimately passed and just keep campaigning on it, it’s a great tactic,” said state Rep. Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat who is pushing a separate bill that would restrict bail to those accused of a narrower set of crimes than Abbott is seeking. “I don’t think they have any interest in getting anything legitimate done.”
Johnson added that the governor keeps moving the goalposts and is now calling for reforms that are “so broad that there’s no way I could ever support it.”
The bail push comes fresh off the heels of Abbott successfully pushing school vouchers through the House, pulling off a feat that would have seemed impossible just four years ago, when four out of five House members publicly opposed the thought of using taxpayer dollars for private education.
But that victory relied on convincing only members of his own party. Abbott spent months on the road advocating for vouchers and poured nearly $12 million into unseating fellow Republicans who opposed the same legislation in 2023. And he even called in President Donald Trump to lock in their votes.
Here is the entire read: Greg Abbott calls out Texas House Democrats in push for bail crackdown.
The MAGA leadership isn’t interested in negotiating in good faith. They have had four months to cut a deal, but they haven’t. Gov. Abbott thinks this hardball tactic will give him the results like his voucher strategy. I don’t know about that. This is an entirely different electorate. Stay tuned.
_____
The Chron has a piece on attendance at Daikin Park this season. See this:
The Astros, who open a six-game homestand of Friday, have seen a slight downtick in attendance from last year through 18 home games this season.
So far, 590,174 have attended Houston’s four homestands, averaging 32,787 per game, according to Baseball Reference, a 3% decrease from 2024. At this point a year ago, the Astros had drawn 605,599 for an average of 33,644 per game.
Houston’s current home average attendance is its lowest to start a season since the COVID-19 pandemic, but they still rank in the top 10 overall in MLB.
Houston’s attendance numbers come with some caveats. The first month of play almost always draws fewer home fans than later in the season when school is out.
The Astros’ average attendance consistently bumps up come mid-May with more students being let out for the summer and more families taking to the ballpark. Houston’s average home attendance jumped up to 35,391 for the remaining 63 home games last season, nearly a 2,000-fan increase from their numbers to begin the year.
Here is the read: Astros attendance numbers are down. Here’s when they could get better.
They need to start winning more games. That will get folks to Daikin.
They did win yesterday and have today off.
