City Hall
Some of the comments coming from all over H-Town on the HPD and ICE debate at H-Town City Hall got me to thinking about Will McAvoy played by Jeff Daniels in “The Newsroom.” In the first episode Will is on a panel and “sorority girl,” err Jenny, asks the panelists why is America the greatest country in the world. Will responds that we are not the greatest country in the world and goes on a tirade about America that includes the following line:
“You know why people don’t like liberals? Because they lose. If liberals are so f_ckin’ smart, how come they lose so GODDAM ALWAYS!”
Here is from the Chron:
Council members and advocates urged Whitmire at the council’s regular Tuesday public comment session to sue the state in the hopes of blocking Abbott’s action.
“The surest way to lose a fight with the state is to refuse to fight,” said Dustin Rynders, legal director of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Council Member Alejandra Salinas agreed, saying the policy debate was not between the mayor and council but between the city and the state.
“We need to stop the falsehood that the choices are repeal the ordinance or accept the pulling of $110 million of funding,” Salinas said. “There is no reason, no reason whatsoever, not to go to court tomorrow to see if we can get a ruling by a court to protect the constitutional rights of Houstonians.”
Whitmire pushed back, saying the city shouldn’t “play chicken” with the governor.
“My responsibility, our responsibility is the safety of Houston,” he said. “We have to provide safety in the city of Houston. This is not a time to play politics.”
And this:
“My colleagues who want to go to court know there’s a state Supreme Court, and they know how they rule,” he told Houston Public Media. “It would be one, a waste of time, it wouldn’t solve the problem, and we need our $110 million for public safety.”
Critics of the mayor are not going to cut him any slack. I get that. The mayor has 50 years of experience in Texas state government. That is more than all the H-Town city council members, City Controller, and Chron E-Board members COMBINED. The mayor has fought every battle imaginable in state government. He knows how this arsehole governor operates.
Commentary has said it before. Democrats don’t have scoreboard in Texas. Not at the courthouse and not in the Texas legislature. Elections have consequences. We are going to have to follow up the State Senate District 9 special election win with some Ws in November.
This is part of what the Chron E-Board put out:
Whitmire promised when he ran for office that his longstanding ties to Austin and respect among Republicans as a smart-on-crime Democrat would spare us from such political games. Apparently not.
City Council will meet on Friday in a special meeting to consider repealing the ordinance. It should not. The city of Houston elected these council members. These council members approved this ordinance with careful and even overly cautious legal consideration. Last we checked, Abbott isn’t the mayor of Houston. Local police aren’t in charge of federal immigration enforcement. And defunding the police is a no-go.
Enough. Texas, don’t mess with Houston.
The E-Board knows better. The mayor warned members of city council what could happen. These “political games” are not the mayor’s creation. Their “don’t mess with Houston” line rings hollow.
The mayor is doing what he can to get H-Town through this crap for now. Everything else is what Will McAvoy was referencing.
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We got a win last night. Finally. Worthy of the featured photo today.