No Power

I don’t know about this.  I am talking about four dudes getting together recently. Four dudes. See this from a Dallas publication:

DALLAS — Four of Texas’ leading Democrats met last month to sort out which of them is the best choice to run for the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn and to potentially develop a slate that would contend for other statewide offices.

There was a major obstacle. They all were steadfastly interested in running for Senate — and nothing else, advisers to three of the potential candidates told The Dallas Morning News this week.

The May 31 virtual meeting featured former U.S. Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke, along with U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and state Rep. James Talarico.

The potential candidates declined to discuss details of their private meeting, even as operatives from the four camps touted their political bona fides to The Dallas Morning News.

With much of the party’s top talent interested in the marquee race, it could be difficult for Democrats to develop a robust slate of candidates, though they are hopeful the situation will work itself out.

Some Democrats hope the four top Democrats would be slotted in campaigns for Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Democrats are anticipating the 2026 political climate will be unforgiving for Republicans. Historically the party that controls the White House takes losses during midterm elections and Democrats hope voters will sour on President Donald Trump.

There’s also the prospect that Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in 2023 was impeached before being acquitted by the Texas Senate and has a history of legal troubles, will defeat Cornyn for the GOP Senate nomination. Polls show Democrats would fare better against Paxton than Cornyn, a proven general election juggernaut.

“I’m sure everybody wants a path that’s going to get them to a win and lead the Democrats out of the wilderness. That’s what history will remember,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political scientist. “Assuming Paxton wins, he’s the most vulnerable statewide official and he’s the clear target.”

According to the advisers, Allred, Castro, O’Rourke and Talarico each left the meeting unmoved in their stand that they themselves should be the Senate nominee.

Here is the entire read: Texas Democrats Allred, Castro, O’Rourke, Talarico meet to discuss 2026 options | Politics | kdhnews.com.

II have said it before, none of the above impress Commentary. I don’t see any of them exciting the base in 2026.  I also don’t think any of them have the political killer instincts that are needed these days. Hey, what do I know.

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It says a lot when the senior U.S. Senator who has never lost a statewide election in Texas has to fend off rumors that a corrupt Texas AG Ken Paxton is going to run him out of the race before the race gets started. See this from the Chron:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said there is no chance he will drop his reelection bid, no matter what the polls say.

“Any suggestion that I’m thinking about dropping out of the race is false,” the Republican responded when I asked him about the prospects. “I will be on that primary ballot no matter what.”

His comments on Thursday come days after the Wall Street Journal reported Cornyn was willing to drop out if it improved the chances of a Republican victory in November 2026.

Cornyn said if anything, he is more determined than ever to stop Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from winning the seat. Paxton is challenging Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002.

He said if Paxton becomes the GOP nominee, given his past controversies Democrats will have their best shot in years at winning the seat. He’s not the only one who believes that. A poll commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP-leadership-backed super PAC, last month showed if Paxton’s the nominee, the race is essentially a tossup against a Democrat like former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, who lost to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024.

“I’ve simply labored too long in the vineyards in Texas, in Republican politics, to turn the seat over to Democrats in November,” Cornyn said.

Here is the entire Chron story on Cornyn: John Cornyn says there is no chance he’ll drop out of U.S. Senate race.

We know one thing. The 2026 MAGA primary in Texas will send one of these bozos to the sidelines. That is certainly good for Texas.

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The no power headline is not about the Texas Democratic Party. CenterPoint was supposed to turn off the power on my block at 8 am for infrastructure repairs. It has not happened yet.

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For those of you in H-Town who are not sold on Mayor John Whitmire, at least he is not shying away from taking the issues head on. See this from KPRC Channel 2 News:

Houston’s recycling pick-up problem, a long-standing issue, is once again causing frustration for residents and Mayor John Whitmire.

On Thursday, Whitmire spoke with 2 Investigates reporter Mario Diaz after residents complained about their recycling not being collected for weeks.

“I understand, I live in Houston, I have family in Houston. I listen to my constituents. It’s a problem with the system that we inherited, and I let the previous director go two months ago,” Whitmire said.

The mayor acknowledged the recycling system is being reengineered under new leadership.

“We’re in transition, the new director, I have confidence in him,” Whitmire said, adding the city is examining future best practices.

When asked why a system that initially improved under his watch is now facing new challenges, Whitmire responded, “It’s a number of circumstances, the transition from one director to the other. We also are uncovering some really poor practices, lack of efficiencies, and let me just suggest, if we need more resources, we’ll give the department.”

However, Whitmire emphasized his administration will not throw “money at the problem that’s inefficient in a poorly designed system.”

The mayor’s bottom line: “Let’s get the job done.”

The featured photo is my green bin. I will say that my recycling was picked up on time last week. Late pick-up of recycling has been a problem for years. The mayor certainly acknowledges the frustration of H-Town residents on recycling pick-up delays. Stay tuned!

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Speaking of Mayor Whitmire, this is a headline about the Houston Fire Department on the front page of today’s Chron hard copy:

Department lights fire under recruiting effort

Houston set to add 450 cadets by December to cut back on OT

In my book, this is what the mayor is supposed to do. Nice job.

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The Astros swept the Phillies. We are at the halfway point of the season with 81 games played. We are 30-13 at Daikin Park. We still have a lot of baseball to play. The Cubbies are in town for a weekend series.