On Whitmire, Again
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated 57 years ago today.
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On the tariff stuff, I have had my laptop for over 6 years, and it has a few issues, but still functions. I decided to order a new one before the tariffs drive the price up.
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When I saw a copy of the Cong. Dan Crenshaw invitation with H-Town Mayor John Whitmire listed as a special guest, I knew some Democratic partisans were going to pounce on the mayor. I was not surprised that the mayor lent his name to the event. See this from the Chron:
The event invite came like a shot heard ’round the world in Houston’s political spheres this week.
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican who represents northeast Houston, announced he would hold a reception the evening of April 22 with local construction moguls Laura and George Pontikes that featured two special guests.
One guest was typical – Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, one of the area’s most well-known Republicans.
But the most surprising, to some, was Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who has been a Democrat for his entire political career.
Whitmire has made inroads with both political parties during his more than 50 years as a Texas lawmaker and his year so far as mayor. During his campaign for Houston mayor, he was not only backed by some of the region’s top Democratic lawmakers, but also some of the area’s biggest Republican mega-donors, such as billionaire-turned-Trump-ambassador Tilman Fertitta.
As the invite swirled in online circles, social media commenters were quick to offer their opinions on the odd political partnership.
Some weren’t surprised, and praised Whitmire for reaching across the aisle. Others were less pleased, and one X commenter referred to Crenshaw as a RINO, “Republican in name only,” and Whitmire as a DINO, or “Democrat in name only.”
Another wrote that “Democrats-who-are-actually-Republicans” were becoming a common type of mayor for a large city like Houston.
Whitmire, when asked about his participation, only had one explanation.
“I work closely with those who partner with me in bringing more resources to the City of Houston,” he wrote in a text to a reporter. In the message, he attached a flier to a fundraising event hosted by the Pontikes family for Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones, a Democrat.
Crenshaw’s team didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the event.
Experts said that Whitmire’s participation in the Crenshaw event wasn’t entirely surprising.
Nancy Sims, a politics lecturer at the University of Houston, said when you’re the mayor of Houston, you need all the help you can get, and sometimes that means making friends with people who aren’t from your same political party. It isn’t entirely uncommon for a mayor of a large city to support a member of Congress regardless of their party, she said.
“He’s just as likely to go to a Lizzie Fletcher or Al Green fundraiser as he is a Crenshaw or Wesley Hunt,” Sims said. “People that want to gossip will criticize him for it, but the bottom line is, when you’re mayor of a big city, there aren’t Republican potholes, there aren’t Democratic potholes. The bottom line is that you’ve got to take care of the city.”
Here is the entire Chron read: Mayor John Whitmire to appear at U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw event.
“Democrat in name only” and “Democrats-who-are-actually-Republicans,” oh, please. That is ignorance of the highest order. Just go check his 50-year voting record in the Texas legislature. I don’t agree with some of his policies and positions, but he has been a champion of Democratic Party values.
I want my mayor to work across party lines to bring resources to H-Town and to make sure we are not a target of the MAGA crowd.
The featured photo is from 2023 with then candidate for mayor Whitmire and some of his labor supporters.
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This story is on the front page of the Chron hard copy today. Here is the online Chron headline:
Abbott launches blitz to stop Islamic master-planned community amid uproar from right-wing activists
Here is what Gov. Abbott said:
“To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities.”
The master-planned community is named EPIC City and here is how their lawyer responded:
“EPIC City is a thoughtful community designed for families, just like hundreds of others in Texas. The only reason it is being unfairly targeted, is because there is a mosque in the plans instead of a church or a temple. That’s it. This is fear mongering and political theater, and we intend to shut it down with the truth.”
Here is the entire read: Abbott launches regulatory blitz against planned Islamic community.
I read the story. There is nothing sinister about this development. Gov. Abbott is trying to make it sound like it is a future Texas base camp for training Al-Qaeda.
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The Final Four begins this evening. In the Women’s Final Four, South Carolina is 34-3. It’s three losses were against the other Final Four teams, Texas, UCLA, and UCONN. Now you know.
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We won in Minnesota yesterday. We have today off. Let’s see. We had last Sunday off and today, a Friday, off. Don’t worry, I just checked, there are no more scheduled Friday or Sunday off days.
