Everything is Cultural Ideology
To the editor:
For Republicans, everything these days is a fight for cultural ideology. Look at the race for Railroad Commissioner. Bo French, oil baron, is a self-proclaimed MAGA Republican who will inject a pro-life ideology into a position that should have no ties to the debate on abortion. He wants to establish a “pro-family credentialing program” for oil and gas operators. I don’t think he even knows what that means practically, other than that it screams and echoes “antiabortion” and “anti-gay et al.” in the cavernous minds of MAGA acolytes. He has also made several outrageous claims including that the United States should deport 100 million people; that would include a lot of citizens. Folks, even former Sith Lord Karl Rove is breaking away from the Republican endorsement. In fact, Karl has stated he will actually vote - insert record scratch here - Democrat...at least on this one.
Democratic candidate Jon Rosenthal actually has a resume and sticks to the job description when he talks about the position. While that is not often a winning strategy for Democrats, it may actually work this time. Heck, it got Karl on board. Jon served on the Texas Legislature for four terms and has two decades of experience as an oil field mechanical engineer. Now those are some crazy credentials for someone who looks more like the Monopoly guy if you gave him a top hat and a cane. He wants to end flaring and venting practices to dispose of natural gas except in emergencies, add modern leak detection and repair requirements, augment well-plugging efforts, and hire community liaisons in every region. It’s almost disappointing he’s not talking about trans in sports.
There are a lot of Democrats on the ballot this year. While much of the spotlight has been on Talarico’s race for US Senate, there are even more people who will have specific effects on us at a state level. The race for Railroad Commissioner may be the most glaring evidence of the Republican agenda. Issues do not concern them; only money and cultural/religious wins matter. Democrats, overall, are trying to do the job these positions were meant to do - serve the welfare of the public. Go vote. The well-being of many people, especially our Hispanic neighbors, depends on the decency of our community. That decency is gone from the Republican Party.