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‘Corrupt Sadistic Monstrous’: Abbott Slammed for Delaying Blue District’s Special Election

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Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott is facing sharp criticism for delaying a special election to fill the seat of a Democratic U.S. Representative in a solid blue district who died in March. With the U.S. House of Representatives nearly evenly split, Democrats argue that waiting until November—eight months after the congressman’s death—to hold the election is a deliberate move that borders on corruption.

U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died on March 5. He represented about 800,000 Texans. One month later, Governor Abbott had still not scheduled a special election.

“Had I called that very quickly, it could have led to a failure in that election, just like Harris County has failed in other elections, they need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election, like what they’ve conducted in the past,” Gov. Abbott claimed in an interview with Nexstar’s KXAN last week.

Democrats have been pushing back.

READ MORE: DOJ Accused of ‘Abuse of Power’ After Sending Armed Marshals to Whistleblower’s Home

“People not only deserve fair representation in these policies that are affecting them, they need constituent services, and right now they are being denied the person who can run point for that district to make sure that folks are drawing down the federal dollars that they need,” said Democratic State Senator Molly Cook at a press conference.

After outcry from state and national Democrats, Gov. Abbott on Monday set the special election date: November 4.

Now, Democrats are furious and threatening legal action over the lengthy timeline.

“Governor Abbott is openly conspiring with House Republicans to rig the system and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Harris County residents,” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a statement on Monday.

He said Abbott “intentionally delayed calling a special election for nearly five weeks – or three more than he has historically taken – in order to avoid having to hold the special election in May.”

“House Republicans know their billionaire-first agenda is entirely out of step with the American people. That’s why they’re doing everything they can to salvage their razor-thin majority in order to enact the largest Medicaid cut in American history. House Democrats remain committed to giving a voice to the people of TX-18 and we are actively exploring legal options to compel Governor Abbott and his House Republican co-conspirators to do the right thing.”

READ MORE: ‘Remake Entire U.S. Economic Order’: Trump Won’t ‘Back Down,’ CNBC Host Predicts

The Texas Tribune reported last month that “Turner’s death — in addition to the death … of an Arizona Democrat, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva — comes at a critical moment for Republicans, who hold a razor-thin majority in the House and can afford few defections on any votes if all Democrats remain united in opposition.”

The election to replace Congressman Grijalva is not until September 23.

“With Turner’s seat vacant, the House breaks down to 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats, allowing the GOP to win a majority on the floor even with three defections from their ranks,” the Tribune also reported. “If Turner’s seat were filled, likely by a Democrat, the GOP could withstand only two defections.”

To make matters worse for the people of Texas’s 18th district, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, their former member of Congress and also a Democrat, died last year on July 19. The seat remained open until November 12, nearly four months, when her daughter, Erica Lee Carter, was elected to complete her mother’s term. Turner was elected to replace Carter.

The Atlantic’s Dr. Norman Ornstein, the well-known political scientist, wrote: “Greg Abbott. Corrupt sadistic monstrous partisan hack.”

One of the candidates to replace Turner, Isaiah Martin, posted a video calling Abbott a “wuss” and declaring “TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!”

Former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman also levied the “taxation without representation” charge.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Strongman Vibes’: Trump Plans Military Parade Amid Market Crashes and Federal Job Slashes

 

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‘Disgraceful’: ICE Slammed After Allegedly Pepper-Spraying US Congresswoman

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U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) is accusing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of pepper-spraying her in her face while she was at a local Tucson, Arizona restaurant.

Rep. Grijalva in a video on social media said she saw about 40 mostly-masked ICE agents at a restaurant she frequents weekly.

The agents were “in several vehicles that the community had stopped right here, right in the middle of the street, because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice.”

READ MORE: Warning Signs Flash as Trump Slump Raises Fears of 2018 Blue Wave Rerun: Conservative

She said that the community was “protecting their people” when she was “sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent,” and “pushed around by others when I literally was not being aggressive.”

“I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress,” she continued. “So, once I introduced myself, once I did, I assumed that it would be a little calmer, but there was literally only one person that was trying to speak to me in any kind of civil tone, and everyone else was being rude and disrespectful, and I just can only imagine if they’re going to treat me like that, how they’re treating everybody else.”

Congresswoman Grijalva said she saw “people directly sprayed,” including “members of our press” and staff members.

She blasted President Donald Trump, saying that he “has no regard for any due process, the rule of law, the Constitution — they’re literally disappearing people from the streets.”

Critics slammed the agents’ action.

READ MORE: Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) wrote that Rep. Grijalva “was doing her job, standing up for her community.”

“Pepper-spraying a sitting member of Congress is disgraceful, unacceptable, and absolutely not what we voted for. Period,” he added.

“This is unacceptable and outrageous,” observed Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. “Enforcing the rule [of] law does not mean pepper spraying a member of Congress for simply asking questions. Effective law enforcement requires restraint and accountability, not unchecked aggression.”

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein noted, “quite the beginning for Grijalva, who wasn’t seated for weeks, [cast] the decisive vote to get the Epstein files, and now has apparently been pepper sprayed in the face by immigration agents.”

Also calling the action “outrageous,” U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wrote: “We are Members of Congress with oversight authority of ICE. Rep Grijalva was completely within her rights to stand up for her constituents. ICE is completely lawless.”

“First they tackle a sitting Senator,” noted U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). “Now they’re pepper spraying a Representative. It’s clear ICE is spinning out of control. We will hold the agency accountable.”

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

 

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Warning Signs Flash as Trump Slump Raises Fears of 2018 Blue Wave Rerun: Conservative

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A well-known conservative commentator has a warning for the Republican Party: take action now or face a repeat of the 2018 midterms when the GOP lost 41 House seats in a landslide. And this time, he says, the Senate could go to the Democrats as well.

Award-winning writer and journalist Bernard Goldberg reminded readers at The Hill that in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, “Republicans got walloped … and a good chunk of that had President Trump’s name written all over it.”

Trump’s “approval ratings were in the low 40s, and independents — the folks who usually decide elections — had seen enough. They broke hard for the Democrats,” Goldberg noted. “Now here we are, staring down 2026, and you can almost hear history clearing its throat, getting ready to repeat itself.”

READ MORE: Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

Goldberg noted that Trump’s approval rating is currently the lowest it’s been this term.

“Among Republicans, his support dropped from 91 percent right after the 2024 election to 84 percent last month. Among independents, it cratered — from 42 percent to just 25 percent.”

“If the trend continues,” he warned, “Republicans could be headed for another blue wave — and this time, it could wash away not just the House majority, but control of the Senate too.”

Why?

“It’s the economy — still,” he wrote.

“Trump is out there saying the economy is humming. Biden said the same thing before him. But voters didn’t buy it then, and they’re not buying it now. Why? Because it’s not GDP numbers that matter. It’s affordability,” Goldberg noted.

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

That’s a word that President Trump continues to call a “con job,” while his own administration tries to claim he is focused on.

He pointed to a Karl Rove Wall Street Journal column and wrote: “The Republicans may have ‘avoided disaster’ in Tennessee, but the result should be a wake-up call for Republicans. He’s right.”

Goldberg asked: “will anyone in the Republican Party actually pick up the phone?”

“Because if Republicans don’t wake up — and fast — they’re going to find out the hard way what happens when you keep rerunning the same movie and expecting a different ending. To lose in 2026, all they have to do is nothing. And right now, that’s pretty much what they’re doing.”

READ MORE: Trump Urges Judge Aileen Cannon to Keep Jack Smith Report Secret

 

 

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Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

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President Donald Trump is claiming that the top priority of Democrats is the “total obliteration” of the U.S. Supreme Court. His remarks came just hours after SCOTUS gave Republicans a 6-3 win along partisan lines, in the form of approving Texas’s redrawn mid-decade congressional maps that could help add five GOP-held seats to the U.S. House of Representatives. A lower court had ruled the redrawn Texas maps were likely racially biased.

Although there are different ways to measure, one study by Court Accountability this fall found that the Supreme Court has ruled in Trump’s favor 90% of the time.

“Most of these wins for the president came from the court’s ‘shadow docket’ slate of opinions — where the court has typically, in the past, only ruled on administrative measures,” according to Truthout. “However, in recent years, the Supreme Court has been making announcements on cases, issuing injunctions or allowances of actions to remain in place, that have the same effect, essentially, as a final decision.”

READ MORE: White House Touts Trump’s ‘Track Record’ on Affordability

On Friday, the president declared that the “Democrats number one policy push is the complete and total OBLITERATION of our great United States Supreme Court.”

“They will do this on their very first day in office, through the simple Termination of the Filibuster, SHOULD THEY WIN THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS,” he wrote.

Trump has strongly advocated for Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster.

“The Radical Left Democrats are looking at 21 Justices, with immediate ascension,” he wrote, claiming that Democrats would more than double the current size of the court.

“This would be terrible for our Country. Fear not, however, Republicans will not let it, or any of their other catastrophic policies, happen. Our Country is now in very good hands. MAGA!!!”

Some court reform advocates have suggested the Supreme Court be expanded to 13 justices, one for each of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals.

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

 

Image via Reuters 

 

 

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