GUNNING FOR MIGRANTS: ...Greg Abbott's Wet Midnight Dreams...Border Standoff...No Solution In Sight...Mexico Not Taking Calls...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Greg Abbott can't seem to solve the problem. It is a 1+1=2 elementary toughie, but he's doing his damndest to make it more than it is. Stopping the alleged migrant surge at the southern border, we mean. Get off the bike and on the stick, we say.

Enough is enough.

Abbott, the sitting Republican governor of Texas, wants a fight with the federal government that feeds him and his state's constituents, like to the tune of 15 active military bases operated by the Feds and a resulting $100 million impact from that alone. We're not even going to mention the $200 million Texas got from the federal government to fight Covid-19, but which was used by Abbott in his Operation Lone Star border mess.

The border is still not secured, at least not to the liking of American Rednecks and some congressional members of the Republican Party. How hard can this be? Put some educated brains on it already, and come up with a working solution, - even if it's one that takes several years to accomplish.

Do something!

As things stand, the Mexican Border may as well be the Gaza Strip. Our news cycle includes it daily, its ever-beating heart exposed to the entire country on both left-wing and right-wing news outlets. Abbott has been munching on this issue since Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency over Abbott-favorite Donald J. Trump.

We ask: Would Abbott be doing what he's doing if he had Trump back in the White House saddle?

Of course not, although the wet dream Republicans have about this is that Trump would not have a single migrant at the border. Good soundbite, but, in our real world, just a panacea. Our southern border always has been a magnet for the God-abandoned and dispossessed. That's a lingering fact, one Republicans choose to ignore.

The U.S. is an immigrant country - immigrants will always seek America. That's why we clarion the red, white and blue standard that this is the nation of freedom, a place on Earth where even the weakest can rise and become somebody. Lately, Abbott has bused thousands of migrants to other cities in the country, namely those run by Democrats, and a few to the home of Vice-President Kamala Harris.

In that junior high solution, one that does not aid the country, Abbott has spent a few more million.

You wonder why, yes.

El Paso resident Reynaldo Alvara has some news for Abbott. He wrote in a letter-to-the-editor of his hometown newspaper (one re-published in a few others, like the Dallas Morning News):

". . . I live in El Paso, and illegal immigration is not an issue here. El Paso’s port of entry has processed millions of asylum seekers. I can tell you firsthand that almost all, once paroled, leave the state. The first thing they tell you is that they would rather not stay in a state with a $7.25 minimum wage when others start at $15 an hour. Texas has thousands of homeless people, but asylum-seekers like to work and live in a home, not on the streets."

Geez, had Abbott merely let them amble in and keep walking, well, they'd be no problem for Texas. Most of them would likely have ended in Democrat-controlled states anyway!

But this is a political issue now, and this being a presidential election year, well, the muddied mess is going to be stirred. Abbott has the big, wooden spoon and he's stirring.

Donald Trump doesn't have the answer, either. His style is to talk tough and then forget about it. Mexico was going to pay for his "big, beautiful wall."

There are nine months before the General Election in November.

Nothing will be done to solve the so-called Border Crisis, nothing. Migrants will be photographed by the news media, state and federal agents will be on-station and Texas Gov. Abbott will keep throwing wrenches into the national wheel's spokes.

He could huddle with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, but the word is that Mexico can't stand Abbott and won't take his telephone calls. That, we would guess, is likely okay with sheltered Abbott. 

It's all a game for him. It's all a game we all see clearly...

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SHE WAS A BABE:...Trump Sexual Target/Victim E. Jean Carroll Is 80, But She Was A Looker...Attacked by Trump Some 30 Years Ago...The Girl Was Hot...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It happened at a ritzy department store three decades ago. The hustle and lay story came out when Elle magazine writer Elizabeth Jean Carroll wrote about it in 2019. Donald Trump happened to be president by then.

He ambushed her. He groped her. He had his way with her.

That was the story that fueled this recently completed defamation case in New York, the one that led to an $83.3 billion jury verdict yesterday against Trump. He always denied doing the dastardly act and even said he did not know Carroll.

The photo above begs to differ. It shows a much-younger Carroll, with husband John Johnson, a NYC television personality, in the company of Trump and his then-wife, Ivana (shown at right).

This from a report: [ Carroll claims Trump forcibly groped and then raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan nearly three decades ago. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that he had never heard of Carroll prior to her legal action against him. ]

The case caught the country's attention late last year, when another jury said Trump did what Carroll alleged. This week, it was the "pay up" part of the legal equation.

Miss Carroll is now 80 years old. Trump will be 78 this June.

It is his openly, no apologies adulterous ways that has some voters looking away from his current candidacy, although the overwhelming majority of his racist/bigoted MAGA movement says he can do no wrong. Just how many on this particular jury voted for him earlier - or did not - is not known.

Trump has never fared well with voters in Manhattan.

The MAGA bullet train rolls on to the next primary in South Carolina (Feb. 24th) and then onto the larger Super Tuesday voting in some 20 states on March 5. Trump has said he wants the Republican Party's 2024 nomination ASAP, like today.

It's not happening that quickly, but he could figuratively get it if he whips former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his last remaining opponent, in her home state - a very real possibility.

Haley has not said much about the E. Jean Carroll win in court...

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MOFOS AT THE PASS:...The Foggy Mirage At The Mexican Border...Anxious Republican Gov. Greg Abbott Blows Off Supreme Court Ruling...GOP Wants Immigrants As Election Issue...Abortion, Baby...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Noise is noise. In national politics, the loudest noise goes to the moment's "hot button" issue - the one Americans are presumably most concerned about. Goofy little noise like what a candidate said years ago is meaningless. Same for what a candidate once believed in.

The mess (if it is that) at the Mexican border would seem to be the maker-breaker in this year's presidential election.

It'll make for some noise, but it won't be. Abortion, or the right to seek one, remains the Number 1 headache for Republicans. They simply cannot outrun or outflank it. Women won't let them, women are pissed off, actually.

Texas is now fighting the federal government and the U.S. Supreme Court for its right to go All-Out-Nazi on the northern banks of the Rio Grande. The Lone Star State led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott insists on laying down razor wire fencing the Feds want removed.

A Supreme Court ruling sided by the federal government, only Abbott is not going with the usual belief that a Supreme Court ruling means anything. He's ignoring the high court.

This week, 25 other governors (of so-called Red States) up and said they will support Texas. Republican Congressman Chip Roy (San Antonio/Austin) is openly telling Texas to blow-off the Supreme Court and take care of the alleged problems on the border.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol is reporting its apprehension numbers are down.

Yeah, label this one a "political stunt."

Migrants are still coming. That is in keeping with the history of this immigrant country. "Invasion," however, is a high-anxiety term coyly selected by Republicans to get the attention of their base and the national news media. Invasion is better than a "crowd," or a "bunch" or a "group" of migrants at the border.

Plus, the only photos we see are those taken in Eagle Pass, not in McAllen or in Brownsville, for example. Eagle Pass and that local municipal park encampment created by Abbott seems to be it. Nothing up El Paso way or southern New Mexico. Arizona gets the headlines, but it's less and less. Southern California always has been the largest, most attractive magnet.

But Texas?

No, there are no hordes of raggedy immigrant mobs running up McAllen's Main Street on their way north, not a huge gathering of Border Patrol agents or Texas State Troopers. You're more likely to see the agents and troopers at Starbucks or morning eateries.

But there was this in the news: [ House Speaker Mike Johnson says the Republican-controlled House "will do everything in its power" to support Texas over its ongoing feud with the Biden administration over border security - after the Lone Star State said it has a "right to self-defense."

"I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to back him up," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The next step: holding [DHS] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas accountable."

Abbott on Tuesday declared the state has a right to "self-defense" from a migrant "invasion" as it faces significant pushback over its border security policies from the Biden administration. ]

There is some truth in the reporting, only that "some" is such a small amount as to be that infamous nothingburger.

Worried Republicans want and need the border as a primary issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election. But they know, they know that Republican White House aspirant Donald Trump also did nothing about stemming the phantom migrant "invasion" during his four years in office.

Let's get real.

There is no "invasion." Picture D-Day on the French beaches of World War II and then you'll get the proper definition of an invasion. Republicans love the lingo of brawling politics. This word is only the latest to be abused.

And, as we said up top, it is "abortion" that will sink their chances come Election Night...

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DEEPFAKE:...Antsy For-Hire Blogger Rips Into Republican Mayra Flores...Rare Mexican-On-Mexican Grime...Who Is Paying Him?...He Won't Say...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...You have a candidate for office, you have his or her backers, you have social media either pushing or damning that campaign. Then you have opposition paying for the soiling of this or that candidate.

That last one, that last one.

That's the one that currently has Brownsville Blogger Juan Montoya by the short hairs. He's hellbent on derailing the settled-in campaign of 34th Congressional District Republican candidate Mayra Flores - the 37-year-old naturalized citizen about to give incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez a run for his money.

Well, word in the streets has it some of that Gonzalez cash may be behind the silly attacks on Miss Flores over at Montoya's "For Hire" blog here in under-achieving Brownsville. Welcome to shameless paid-for journalism, last refuge of the lame, smalltown reporter.

The McAllen Sun is no die-hard fan of Mayra Flores, although we do enjoy seeing her shepherd lazy-ass South Texas Democrats up their sheltered treehouse for a quick and needed sip of Mylanta. There is no fame or gain if all you do is the same dumb thing over and over again. The poor Rio Grande Valley is at the bottom of the political league standings for a reason - It plays the game at a wildly-low level. Even the language is "border."

Montoya, shown in file photo at left, in his late-60s and looking it more and more, has some real journalism experience, mostly, however, at The Brownsville Herald - an entry-level, first-job newspaper for college grads.

Lately, again, Juan has been on a tear to destroy Mayra Flores way before the district's voters get their shot. Well, even before the Republican electorate in her party's primary. That's some head start, Monty. Man, you must've been a hellcat writing for The Heraldo. It's true: a cub reporter earns his stripes in the hometown barrio, a valley reporter, we mean. Montoya has done that. He is even known in some tough local cantinas, a tiny house wren feather in his hat but a feather, nonetheless.

And we're largely okay with what he's doing as a proud Democrat, but our recollection of that ethics class in Journalism School tells us Juan Montoya should level-up with those few vatos and chucas reading his free blog by adding a disclaimer to his stories as to who is paying him to diss Mayra.

Is it Congressman Vicente Gonzalez?

Okay. Just say it. We are told Gonzalez paid local bloggers for their help in the last election. Nothing wrong with that; he's interested in keeping his cushy job in Washington, D.C.

The hands-out Montoya does nothing without getting his few pennies for typing. He even shills for Republicans every now and then, as he did for Cameron County sheriff candidate John Chambers in the 2020 election. We're not getting into that here, but he also charges off the couch to assail incumbent Sheriff Eric Garza, and perhaps that odd positioning has something to do with Sheriff Garza not paying Juan. Quien sobby, yes.

So, we'll stay on this for the next few weeks, keeping an eye out on the entertaining Mayra Flores journey to the mountaintop.

She's a fighter, a feisty Mexican woman fighting, and we're all for that. Montoya, who forever goes pro-Mexicans on his blog, has it in for Miss Flores. Perhaps it' because she is an attractive woman and some less-than-Jeff Bezos vatos have a problem with attractive Mexican gals. That, we're told, is what inspired the sleeveless "wife beater" men's undershirt, popular here in the poverty-stricken Rio Grande Valley.

Let Mayra run. Let her lie. Let her be the loose cannon. Let her rise & fall. Let her posture herself as this and that. Let her smile and laugh. Let her win and fail. She's a candidate.

Voters will decide her fate, the law if she breaks it.

Breathless blogging won't make a bit of difference...

-30-

WHITEOUT!!!:...Primary In The Outs Of New Hampshire... ...White People Give Donald Trump An Easy Victory Over Nikki Haley...Re-Run Of Same In White Iowa...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Another largely White state has voted and it's another victory for racist Republican Donald J. Trump. This time, it was New Hampshire, where projections had the divisive, oft-indicted former president beating last opponent standing Nikki Haley soundly.

It's a battered freight train of pain he rides, but, somehow, the 77-year-old Trump seems happy to be rolling towards that now-expected battle against Democrat Joe Biden in the 2024 General Election. The voting yesterday was called a win by The Associated Press and CNN for Trump with barely 21% of the vote counted.

Slowly and steadily, the gap widened as the tabulation proceeded. It would be an easy and unmistakable takedown of Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and an ex-United Nations Ambassador in the earlier Trump Administration.

Speaking to supporters at her campaign headquarters in Concord, Haley congratulated Trump on his victory. But she’s staying in the race.

"New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last," she said.

That challenge moves to her home state next month for the next primary. And even as some pundits are saying Haley will stay in through the Super Tuesday primaries in early March, they say her motivation may be a belief that Trump could die on the campaign trail.

Yesterday's defeat came two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Rolling Pageant and threw his support to Trump.

A buoyant Trump thanked his supporters and essentially said the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination is over. Scenes of the ex-president belied all of his legal problems, his interaction with supporters looking very much like those of a normal, unbridled candidate enjoying himself.

Trump is scheduled to return to his defamation trial in New York on Thursday. He's also still on the hook for three other trials, the result of 91 felonies filed by federal prosecutors and the State of Georgia, where he faces RICO charges to do with his alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election.

Still, a win is a win is a win in politics.

Never mind that, so far, it is essentially just a rather giddy White people carnival. Iowa, where Trump won that state's caucus a week ago, is 89.8% white. New Hampshire is 89.6% white - both figures according to the most recent U.S. Census.

South Carolina, however, will see a large number of Black voters, but Hispanics are not to be seen in the game until the March 5 Super Tuesday voting, when Texas heads to the polls.

Something about this set-up is skewed, is our feeling.

But give Trump his moment in the spotlight one more time. He is looking only to the national election in November, perhaps to hopefully win and unload the worst court cases for as long as he is president. His ongoing defamation case concerns magazine writer E. Jean Carroll, a woman who accused Trump of raping her. She won that particular case, but is now sitting in for the punishment side of things, i.e. a judge's ruling as to how much Trump will pay her.

None of that made it to the meaningful conversation ahead of the voting in Iowa or New Hampshire. Trump supporters - the MAGA sorts - are staying with him through Hell or High Water.

The odds for that showdown with Democrat incumbent Biden?

Most of the writing I've seen in the major publications says Biden will easily beat Trump.

We'll see about that all-inclusive dogfight, yes...

-30-

NEW HAMPSHIRE:...Big Vote In Nation's 1st Primary...Itchy Republicans Nikki Haley And Donald Trump Duking It Out ...Haley Gets First Six Votes...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...As Kenny Loggins sang, "This is it. The waiting is over. . . .over." That telling, much-awaited first primary vote in the current presidential race takes the frozen field today, voters in New Hampshire strolling out to have their say on Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley as the eventual Republican in the 2024 General Election.

Already, following the casting of initial votes, Haley leads Trump 6-0 after all registered residents of tiny Dixville Notch in far northern New Hampshire sided with the former South Carolina governor over Trump.

The resort town was the first place in the nation to vote in the 2024 primaries. It kicked off its voting at midnight. There was no comment on the shutout from Trump; Haley hailed the small voter sampling as a precursor to victory.

Pundits aren't so sure, however.

The two-person race is actually the first real test for the last candidates standing. That Iowa Caucus a week ago merely offered a taste of what would be coming when a larger turnout would perhaps set things in place for one or the other claiming the party's nomination outright.

Both candidates head to South Carolina after New Hampshire for the next round, scheduled for February 24th. That contest will certainly tell a more meaningful tale as it is Haley's home, a state she served as governor from 2011 to 2017. Trump, meanwhile, claims a "strong" following in South Carolina, one that was aided this week when U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a candidate himself until two weeks ago, endorsed him.

The other U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, is a rabid Trump backer.

Haley celebrated news of her victory in Dixville Notch calling it "a great start to a great day in New Hampshire." However, the early excitement is tamped down by the possibility of a Big Win by Trump, which would in effect drown Haley.

Yes, she is given a good shot at seriously challenging Trump in today's New Hampshire vote. Haley was helped by an endorsement from the state's biggest, most influential newspaper, the Manchester Union-Leader.

The winner? Who knows?

It's an all-day voting exercise, so results aren't expected until tonight.

-30-

KISSING UP:...Florida Wants To Help Fund Donald Trump's Legal Bills...With A $5 Million Contribution... Taxpayer Cash, Yes...Can Texas Be Next?...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Now this: Florida Republicans want to the state's taxpayers to pay for Donald Trump's mounting legal bills. Okay, you ask, so how much cash are we talking about, 'cause the Orange One loves dealing in cash - especially if it's coming his way.

$5 million.

But, but, but isn't Trump a billionaire? And isn't he already receiving a load of contributions from his many MAGA supporters?

The latest Trump Fund comes in a proposal from Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia, shown at right in photo above. She is a die-hard Trump fan and a former prisoner in her native Cuba. The funding would come from taxpayers and not her bank account.

This from the MiamiHerald.com: [ Some Florida Republicans want millions to go toward former President Donald Trump’s legal fees. And they want residents to foot the bill.

State Sen. Garcia has authored a proposal that could grant up to $5 million to the Republican frontrunner, who has been indicted four times. The bill doesn’t name-drop the presidential hopeful but says the funds would be provided to "qualified persons" who have been "subject to political discrimination" to "pay for legal fees incurred as a result of criminal charges brought by a U.S. public entity."

For a person to qualify, they must meet the presidential eligibility requirements and be a legal resident of the state.

Trump is the only president in American history to have faced criminal charges.

Trump is charged in two federal cases, one related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the other related to the alleged mishandling of highly classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. He’s also charged in Georgia with racketeering over attempting to subvert the 2020 election results and in New York with falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments.

The money would come from the Freedom Fighters Trust Fund, which Garcia filed a bill to create. ]

We're okay with Florida proceeding with this nutty idea (I mean, what's next - Florida buying Mar-a-Lago for a billion and then gifting it to Trump? Don't laugh.)

The question for us, and this is all about taxpayers, is whether Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a dude who has pretty much copied every move Florida has made to stem that phantom migrant invasion at the Mexican border, will up and say he'll chip-in another $5 million for Trump.

Abbott's undying allegiance to Trump is well-documented.

He could say it today or tomorrow and Texans would immediately be on the hook for that cash sent off on direct-deposit to Trump. Just like that - swiftly and neatly. And politically expedient. Got any other ideas, Republicans?

Surely, you do.

There have to be a good dozen Texas state senators in the Ileana Garcia mold. Or perhaps the leadership, eh?

Hell-o, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Good morning, Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Yeah, those Texans...

-30-

OUT AT FIRST:...Florida Gov. DeSantis Leaves Presidential Race After One Primary...Iowa Did Him In...Just Another Easy Grounder...Be Back 2028!!!...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Out at first. That's the day's headline for Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor from Florida who dropped out of his party's 2024 presidential race on Sunday. One primary - Iowa - is all it took to send this Trump-Lite dude back to the Sunshine State a loser.

So long, Ron, so long.

Tomorrow's primary in New Hampshire is left with Donald Trump and ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Trump is the favorite, and the one Democrats want to compete against in the November General Election. Trump, they say, they can beat.

We'll see.

DeSantis left with a parting gift for Trump - a generous endorsement - and goodbye kiss-off for Haley - she isn't and never was qualified. Okay. But she's still in the hunt and he's not.

It says here that DeSantis never found a persona to campaign. He was always the stodgy one, silliness invading his effort every now and then - like his use of elevated cowboy boots to look taller. But, really, the criticism he is now getting goes to his inability - or refusal - to take on Trump like a man - Mano-a-Mano against the Mar-a-Lago Marvel.

DeSantis would not climb into that ring. They're saying he's legitimate 2028 presidential timber, only that just his defeated tank looking for a silver lining. 2028 is political light years ahead. Let him have his departing confidence. DeSantis is suddenly totally irrelevant.

This from axios.com: [ Haley told CNN on Sunday that she is "absolutely" going to stay in the race through South Carolina's primary on Feb. 24. As part of a "First-in-the-South Swing," her campaign announced a rally in Charleston, S.C., for Wednesday night, 24 hours after New Hampshire polls close.

New Hampshire - which allows independents to participate in the primary and includes healthy percentages of moderate and college-educated voters - is an ideal state for Haley to give Trump her best shot.

"Ron DeSantis has been a good governor, and I wish him well," Haley said in a statement. "So far, only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not. We're not a country of coronations."

Trump said he would "retire" his "Ron DeSanctimonious" nickname for DeSantis and complimented the Florida governor on his run. ]

So much for a presidential run. This one, to me, smacks very much of the ill-fated run of another Florida Republican in the 2016 race - Jeb Bush, who arrived against Trump carrying his family's name as the favorite and lost early.

Oh, well, as they say in the West Texas oil bidness...

-30-

BROWN LIKE ME:......Nikki And Vivek...What, Pray Tell, Are They Doing In The Racist Republican Party?...We Know MAGA Hates Brown...Vivek Is The Bigger Fool...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...They keep coming. Dark-skinned Americans fully believing the Republican Party welcomes them as equals to its ever-dominant white membership. This is the tradition of bygone White House hopefuls Alan Keyes, Herman Cain, Bobby Jindal, and Ben Carson as well as recent presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley.

Talk about a pipedream.

None of those named above got anywhere near the GOP's presidential nomination, and, yes, Haley is still in it. But the odds of winning she faces are of astral proportions. Still, they go for it, arriving with their own endless stash of red, white and blue banners.

The Republican Party currently headed by oft-indicted Donald Trump is a White Peoples party. See it as anything else and, boys, you're only fooling yourself. Use of Browns and Blacks by the White Republican leadership always has been a game. They will smile you in the door, slap you on the back, say you're special and all that jazz before reality sets in and you find yourself being nothing more than a handy socio-political valet for their bigger dream.

A Brown or Black Republican president?

Not happening, Baby. Not in your lifetime. You're just dog food for the Real Republicans.

Candidate Ramaswamy ultimately learned that on the campaign trail. Weeks and months of lugging his thoughts across Iowa told him one thing: He wasn't needed or wanted. Vivek, shown in photo at right, dropped out and quickly endorsed the party's cultish kingpin Trump - endorsed him as if to not do it would be to be kicked out of the whiteboy party.

So, what keeps Blacks and Browns lapping up to people who really hate them?

It's a study in the making. Some will tell you they switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP after the Democratic Party "left them." Others will say their "conservative" values took them there, racism and bigotry aside. Racism and bigotry to be tolerated and endured.

It's a mirage, of course.

What Black or Brown holds high office in the Republican Party, at the state or national level? Can you name one? Two? Three? Walk to your washroom mirror and answer that to yourself.

Lately, I've noticed that the only anti-anti-racism, a pillar of right-wing politics, is often most voiced by people of color courting GOP voters. A sort of tradition in the GOP, it is, however, a good way to get attention. Not one of these candidates, meanwhile, has been able to go the distance and get that so-called prize at the end of the rainbow - the presidential nomination.

Why is that, Jose?

Why is that, Willie?

You know the answer to that question. I know you do...

-30-

IT WAS YOU, DONALD:... ...Fiery Republican Blames Trump For Ongoing Border Strife...Cong. Chip Roy Not Mincing Words...He Won't Tour Mexican Border For Useless Photo OP...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Well, hey, he said it. We speak this cold Saturday morning of U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and his stance on the mess that is the current Mexican Border. Roy is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's former chief-of-staff and an outspoken dude. He represents the 21st Congressional District, land that includes most of San Antonio and a chunk of Austin.

Earlier this year, when House Speaker Mike Johnson flew into Texas to tour the Mexican Border (Eagle Pass) with a handful of publicity-hungry Congressional Republicans, Roy opted out.

The 51-year-old native of Maryland said he wasn't going to waste his time with a useless political stunt.

This from rawstory.com: [ An ultra-conservative member of the House Republican majority is laying blame for the surge of immigrants at the Southern border not at the feet of President Joe Biden, but on his fellow Republicans - namely, former President Donald Trump.

During a recent interview with Fox Business News, Roy, who sits on the far-right House Freedom Caucus, took his party to task for failing to take decisive action on the border while they were in power.

"I would acknowledge President Trump failed along with Republicans Paul Ryan and the guys, they failed in 2018 to actually move a border security bill to tighten this so we aren't dealing with this crisis right now," Roy said. ]

Yes, I know. This is the part of the story where I write the Mexican border is no different today than it was 10 years ago. Twenty years ago. Seemingly even longer than that. The U.S., as we keep saying, is an immigrant country that draws immigrants - not always in a legal manner, but it draws them.

Lately, it has been thousands, according to news reports. Most are coming from Honduras and South America - all claiming asylum for Hell-like existences back home. You offer Disneyworld to the world, and the world will come.

Roy's outburst is certainly a rare one inside Republican circles.

He's unique in that he's taking the "real" position, however, and not simply going through the road-tired motions of coming to the border, exclaiming wild observations of lawlessness and disgust and then going back home.

It is, as they say about Sprite in the middle of summer, refreshing...

-30-

BORDER BATTLE:...No Deal On Migrant Surge...D. Trump Says It Would Help Democrat Joe Biden...Republican Texas In Fight...Hell-o, Walls...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...No, don't look for the border invasion story to die-off anytime soon. It's too good of an issue for both the Republican and Democratic parties - like in we're not going to solve it in Congress if the other side gets the glory.

Of such unrefined shit are we made these days, boys.

Congress - and President Joe Biden - are negotiating a solution (can there ever be one, really?), but standing in the way is the same old troublemaker: Donald J. Trump.

This from thehill.com: [ Trump is taking on Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his leadership team by calling on Republican lawmakers to reject a compromise on border security.

The runaway front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination is also setting up a crucial battle over both his party’s future and Ukraine, as precious aid to that country is tied to the border deal along with help for Israel and the Indo-Pacific.

Trump has said Republicans should say "no" to any deal that falls short of "everything needed" to stop the flow of migrants, a message that pointedly puts pressure on new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to walk the line. Johnson has been under pressure from the Senate GOP and the White House to agree to an emerging Senate deal. ]

At the rotten heart of Trump's bellyaching is his belief that bringing forth some solution to the Border Battle would help Biden against him in the November election.

That's the bottom line for his opposition.

Unfortunately, Trump has the ear of pretty much every Republican in Congress these days. All are siding by him as he leads in the current race for the party's presidential nomination - even as he is hilariously mired in court battles that include his ongoing defamation trial connected to his rape conviction of the magazine writer E. Jean Carroll.

Poor used and abused Mexican border.

It is the latest hot potato in our star-crossed political picnic basket - one that likely has no winning solution, this because the border has always been this border and, well, we do need people who will do hard labor jobs.

A mirage of a solution now would indeed help Biden.

Trump is right. He wants to solve the largely-manufactured crisis. He wants the credit; that's all.

Not that he gives a shit about the border itself. You know it and I know it...

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[EDITOR'S NOTE:...There is a skirmish of sorts in Eagle Pass that has Texas and the federal government at each other's ass. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken over a riverfront city park and is not allowing agents of the U.S. Border Patrol access to the fenced grounds. The Biden Administration has taken Republican Abbott to court...]

NEW HAMPSHIRE:...Kinda Better For Haley...Trump May See Drop In Cult Love...Ron DeSantis All But Done...Those Independents Are Here...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It's a much better brawl for Nikki Haley in the ongoing Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination roll. New Hampshire holds its primary vote next Tuesday. She's sort of expected to do better than that 3rd-place finish in Iowa, where Donald Trump took the bouquet and third pretender Ron DeSantis eked out a 2nd-place finish.

New Hampshire is not Iowa.

This is like land of Harvard versus outs of Oklahoma - no comparison in the citizen brainpower. Expect headier, more-coherent commentary coming from New Hampshire voters. It is, after all, directly north of Massachusetts, home of 42 colleges and universities.

Those Trump piggies in Iowa are fading in the rear-view mirror, left to tend to their shitty rural dreams and schemes, to nag on the ever-fattening wife, to remember they sorta counted for a brief, shining moment.

This from newsweek.com: [ If New Hampshire's upcoming primary is anything other than a blowout for Trump, experts say his White House aspirations will become less convincing. Discerning independent voters are crucial in New Hampshire, with the state's open primary system allowing them to cast a ballot for candidates in either party.

Theoretically, if every registered independent in New Hampshire voted for Haley and all registered Republicans voted for Trump, Haley would still win.

"Independents make up a larger share in New Hampshire, so relative to other candidates - not named Trump - Haley should do well and try and drive a narrative that's it's a two-person race," Republican strategist Alex Patton told Newsweek.

Haley is expected to perform well in New Hampshire, with polls showing her doing better than Trump among independents. Republican strategist Patton agreed that Haley's strength is with independents but stressed that "turnout will really matter," as independents often poll better ahead of an election. Two GOP debates were scheduled on Thursday and Saturday, but both have been canceled after Haley refused to participate without Trump’s participation, who hasn’t appeared in a single 2024 debate. ]

Hang on for this ride. Iowa's off-kilter hay wagon was a smoothie; New Hampshire's maple-lugging wagons will offer a wilder roll. If you want a daily read, check out the Manchester Union Leader newspaper online. It goes all out on its elections.

The arrival of the "independent" voter was expected after dumbed-down Iowa, where Trump held sway as if an envoy from The Vatican. New Hampshire's residents are more from the free-thinker parking lot, although Republicans do have an "in," as do, however, the Democrats.

This vote will also see Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drop out. He is factored in as a 3rd-place finisher, and that would be fatal going into the South Carolina primary - Nikki Haley's home state.

Fate and fortune are not all that kind for emerging national politicians.

For stumbling DeSantis, both will be bummers.

Trump will be humbled a bit by New Hampshire. Haley will emerge as the Queen of The Potomac.

For how long...would be the question...

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DEAD:...The Grand Old Party Has Died...MAGA Republicans Want Their America...Trump Killed A Political Party...Will It Happen In 2024?...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...The Republican Party is no more. It has been butchered, disemboweled by the man seen in photo above. His is a well-known name. Members of his party likely know him as some sort of savior; the rest of the country sees him as a murderer, of sorts.

We are more than tempted to use a line from that Sir Walter Scott poem..."Breathes there a man with soul so dead". The words fit, is what we would say. Donald J. Trump has killed the Republican Party. It is now his own, property to be used and abused, as is his usual wont.

And, sadly, there is no funeral dirge to play about here.

But, boys, the Grand Olde Party is dead. What you see now from those Americans is a Hell's Angels gang of societal miscreants out to destroyer the country. There will be no more ifs, and or buts. The plan is being executed.

Multiple legal problems that include four criminal cases has not - and did not - stop Trump's march to the sea. Coast-to-coast terror, some of it arriving in calm ways and means (school vouchers), is at play, and no one seems to want to stand in the way. Republicans, we mean.

Well, those Republicans who are not quite onboard with Trump's MAGA are folks without a party. They are the kids in high school who bowed to the popular jocks and brainiacs. They have been spayed. Don't look for them at Trump rallies, but also do not look for them blocking his path.

Non-MAGA Republicans are taking the year off.

Do not bother them with press interviews or seek them out in the Letters-To-The-Editor section of your hometown newspaper. They are willfully standing down. They are not even lashing out at the liberal press to say, "Show me the evidence!"

They, too, have seen the evidence of hate, of unrest and of total manifest destruction. Republicans with any sort of power aren't even bothering with their non-MAGA brethren. Every team has its second-string scrubs, its practice squad. This game is not for the weak who won't speak.

Political parties have died in this country. That, too, is our history. Who remembers the Whigs, and, more-recently, the Reform Party of the early 1990s? It happens. People get scared and they act on their fears. Poisoning of the country's citizen blood is only the latest reason for today's Trump Republicans.

Our immigrant country's blood was "poisoned' a long, long time ago. But it's an excitable buzzword quickly latched on by those seeking any reason to raise Hell. Earlier, it had been fear of placing young White students with Blacks and Browns. That came and went, however, the courts ruling there was such a thing as equal citizenship for all. Anger was simply pocketed away for the next fight.

Ethnicity is Prime Time stuff with the MAGA Republicans.

That is a story that has seen the light in brief snippets buried in larger-issue news reports. But it's central to the rage & ruin playing across the country these days. The banning of books to limit readings on slavery, for example. A major presidential candidate (MAGA Republican Nikki Haley) believing you can ever distance yourself from that horrible time in America. The frontrunner for the 2024 nomination (Trump) demonizing immigration if it's not from Norway.

We could go on.

It's safe to say, however, that the United States is no longer united. It's Red States versus Blue States now. I'm with these guys; you're with them. Only, it is not a game. It is dead-serious stuff for the MAGA crowd, their allegiance openly going to Trump and not to the country.

They could not care less about unity. Not these days. MAGA Republicans fully believe God is on their side and that Trump is the fabled "Chosen One". 

Democrats and the rest of the population are to be damned. God is not with Democrats, say, no, scream, these Republicans. Damnations flow daily, against societal norms and against opposing politicians. America is on the rag.

Bang the drum slowly...one more time...

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IOWA:...Trump Wins Caucus Vote...Pig State's Whites Rally For Racism And Hate...Hitler Would Have Killed It In Iowa Yesterday...Achtung, Baby...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...One down and a string of them to go. Party primaries, we mean. Iowa was here yesterday, and the Republican vote went as expected for oft-indicted Donald J. Trump, who easily whipped candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis in the state's caucuses.

Or, as one wag put it, Hitler would have won Iowa last night.

As many have said, the corn-fed Midwestern state is an unfair and unlikely maker/breaker for national candidates, if only because its population does not in any way mirror the rest of the country. You're White? Yeah, you want to compete in Iowa, a state where the Anglo population is not all that big (3 million, or so) and 90% of it is White.

Go ahead and throw the ethnic slurs and damn immigration from the south all you want. Cheers and votes are what you'll get.

Crazed Trump won the Iowa Caucus. DeSantis finished second and Haley a close third. That's the math, although numbers had Trump in the low-50s percentagewise, with DeSantis coming it at low 20%, Haley close behind him.

It's on to New Hampshire for the Lousy Three, this election cycle's version of the Clown Show.

America deserves a better kickoff election.

Iowa is not representative by a long shot. Plus, this is big: The winner of the Iowa Caucus rarely wins the General Election. Yes, it's part of what we here call the horse race journalism breeds and needs. The news media got blamed for calling last night's caucus race early for Trump.

Not a louder bitch about that came than that from DeSantis.

He trailed and railed, but few were listening. Reporters wrote that story, but it was one of hundreds written overnight. Early or not, DeSantis was toast.

Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to attend his defamation trial in New York this week, the one brought on by the woman he raped (that was a court verdict) and who wants him to pay up. The court, as with his New York fraud trial, will decide how much he will have to pay.

But does he care? Likely not one whit.

Trump has his low-class supporters contributing weekly and doing it to pay his mountain of legal bills.

That, too, is America.

So, as the Aryan sweetheart asked: Would Hitler have won Iowa?

In a landslide, darlin'...

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A DOG TOOK MY PLACE: ...No Future In Iowa...Trump Wins...Nikki Rocks A Thick Coat...Ron DeSantis Freezes To Death...Corn-Holed...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Yeah, look for some corn-fattened Iowan to tell reporters he walked miles to get to his caucus and cast his vote for Donald J, Trump. I know. He'll say it even as we know these caucuses are largely neighborhood affairs.

Hey, we live in the Era of The Big Lie.

Suddenly, we are a video game being manipulated by some punk in the far outs of the dark universe.

But today is Red Monday, day of the Iowa Caucus - the day America begins its jellied rollout of the 2024 presidential election. Look out, Des Moines. Is photographer Robert Kincaid still messing with that farmer's bored wife over in bridge-happy Madison County?

That's what I want to know. Francesca had the nicest, roundest ass, yes.

Phase One, in which Ron DeSantis gets his ass kicked. The Republican Florida governor has under-performed and will under-achieve after the vote is counted. He's gone. That once-promising shot at The White House ended up being a lame-ass cannonball that rolled of the cannon and fell harmlessly to the ground. Ron, we hardly knew ye.

And that's a good thing, 'cause his high-necked wife, Casey, was too rural and uppity to be any sort of needed role model for American gals as First Lady. Flighty Casey has struck out.

Onward through the thick fog will go Ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, there a few steps behind the aforementioned Trump. Both will head for New Hampshire, another mostly Whites state, for the second round of voting. Blacks and Browns are not in this game, not yet. Whites must get their duckies in order, in order to win the game in the end.

Let the Blacks and Browns in the voting booth already.

This voting thing is rigged (see sentence above).

But weep not for ever-annoying DeSantis. He came on as a Big Shit at 5'6" tall, got himself some boots with elevated heels and walked about campaign stages as if some Festus of the old Gunsmoke TV show. Ron, you were pathetic, dude. Casey's high heel shoes would have served you better, gotten you to 5'9" at least.

The weather is bad in Iowa. That's what the weatherboys and video and photos are telling us this fine, fine South Texas morning. Still, Iowans are again being labeled as tough-as-frozen-pig-shit Midwesterners used to the cold and the snow and the ice. And the fat gut & bad teeth, but that's a story for another day.

Trump will take the winner's blue ribbon today. He'll gush excitedly, tell Americans Americans are in for better days with better blood and then leave Iowa, never to fucking return. It's his style. Use and abuse, Baby.

Nikki Haley can only hope Fatboy Trump dies on the campaign trail.

Sort of like Ron DeSantis died...

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SEXTING LADY LIBERTY:... Republicans Out To Burn The House Down...It's Trump Or No One, They Say...Really...It's Out There...Fuck!...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...There is no longer the time or inclination to believe this is all a bad dream, a ridiculous idea or a plot to kill Democracy. It is being butchered right before your eyes, America. Lady Liberty has been ordered to her knees and Republicans have reached angrily for her hair.

This will not end nicely.

News reports and political pundits have been busy writing-up the continuing mess that is the Donald J. Trump presidential campaign, this multi-screen drama featuring torrid lingo and court action no American will say is normal.

No one's openly putting an end to it. And Trump, his "people" and his party are hellbent on keeping to the plan that has him promising a strongman dictatorship and more, as McDonald's might say. Little is up for analysis or discussion anymore. Trump is playing the worst cards at his disposal, from racism to seeing the U.S. Army on American streets.

These, we should add, are the so-called MAGA Republicans, the fighting arm of the Grand Old Party. Traditional Republicans, however, are staying silent and out of the political fray. They have been neutered by Trump and his followers. Few say anything.

Fear is palpable. Fear is eating at your air-conditioned skin, America.

And there, there, boys, is Lady Liberty, your once-protected, once-hallowed schoolmarm now the porn-postured sexual attraction for MAGA Republicans who want her all to themselves. Blacks don't deserve her. Neither do Browns. Lady Liberty is for White people.

Let the unrest begin. There is only fear to fear. 

For until it starts, it cannot be dealt with or resolved. Bring it.

It begins tomorrow, a frozen Monday, with the Iowa Caucus, regional voting preferences eventually dealing the angst's meaningful blows. Vote as if your wife's life depended on it, boys. Sparks always come in small sizes, yet they, like Yuppies of old, are upwardly mobile. Boom-shaka-laka! Boom!!!

Yeah, bang the drum slowly...one more time...

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RINOS:....The Strange And Baffling Life Of A Stupefied Mob Buried Deep Inside The Party Of Hatred...What's The Point?...Why Be Such A Give-Up?...Dance Of The Lambs...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...Republicans-In-Name-Only. RINOs, yes. Often smart, thoughtful Americans, but at present Americans caught in a trap. They can't walk out, as Elvis would say about here. In a time of ragged national politics, RINOS are the big mystery.

In name only.

Well, how many of your neighbors are Christians in name only? How many? That many? It's a study waiting to happen. Something, we would think, has to give. Can you be a 2024 Republican and despise everything party leader Donald J. Trump says and stands for, like the racism and the hatred?

It would seem so.

These days, RINOS are, by nature, calm folks. Rarely do they storm out of the house to throw stuff at Democrats. Picture Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sitting in the backyard wooden deck of his old Kentucky home sipping lemonade or talking grandkids.

He's not screaming Democrat damnations or parroting the bigotry of Trump. He's wanting a return to Old School politics, to a time when Republicans and Democrats actually discussed issues and got things done in Congress.

No, what you normally hear from RINOS is something other than turgid criticism of Trump - the pseudo-politician currently strangling the Republican Party. Can you hear the frantic, life-grabbing gasping for air? I can't either.

INOS are taking it up the wazoo and not complaining.  

Even Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire who has been very critical of Trump, and endorsed Nikki Haley, tells Kaitlan Collins of TheBulwark.com, "Yes. I will support him even if he is a convicted felon".

Sununu would be considered a RINO in Florida and in Texas.

Locally, we do have a generous smattering of RINOS. Names are well-known. We won't splash them all here, although McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos comes to mind - as does former Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos - the ex-Texas Secretary of State under Not-RINO Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

There are plenty more hanging tight at home and not saying much. The silence is deafening. The optics are horrible.

Should they say something? Doesn't being a RINO offer you breathing space from the crazed maniacs currently steering your party?

One would think so.

But today's hard-edged politics demand a certain posture from all playing the game. Leaders of the fawning flock like to see their followers bent over...

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IOWA:...Caucus This Coming Monday...Nation's First Stab At 2024 Elections...Not Quite A Primary; More A Load Of Neighborhood Gatherings...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...It begins in Pig Country - Iowa. It's not quite a primary but Iowans will caucus on Monday, the 15th, to select their preferred 2024 Republican presidential nominee. The initial vote signals the start of what should be a wild primary season.

Republicans have pretty much settled on oft-indicted Donald J. Trump as their candidate against Democrat incumbent Joe Biden, but the show must go on. Democracy demands fair and honest elections. We're not El Salvador! Ha ha (Yes, we are).

The much-ballyhooed Midwest dog & pony show is nothing more than a neighborhood gathering, with a load of Iowa neighborhoods taking part in the daylong vote.

As Time magazine explains it: [ The process is hallowed but arcane. Here’s an attempt to explain.

What is a caucus?

Merriam-Webster, "America’s Most Trusted Dictionary", defines a caucus thus: "A closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy."

David Yepsen, a doyen of Iowa political journalism, boils it down this way: "A caucus – it’s a neighborhood meeting."

And as Tom Beaumont, a reporter for the Associated Press explains, more than 1,600 such meetings will take place on Monday, "one for every precinct in the state".

Either which way, it’s not a primary, the straight-vote contest held by most states, starting in New Hampshire next week. ]

Whatever. Alaska has its weird "rank voting" and Texas its continuing desire to control (read "stifle" into that one) the vote. It's America-At-Play, boys. Time-honored displays of civic duty is what high school teachers are still telling kids, even as we see the entire mess in a slow-motion crumble.

As we noted, Donald Trump is the overwhelming favorite in Iowa, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki "The Slavery Queen" Haley (shown in photo at left) a distant second and Florida Gov. Ron "Vito" DeSantis in a fading third. Vivek "The Blade" Ramaswamy, the fourth player up to now, has been largely emasculated and will likely drop out of the presidential nomination race after Monday.

Some racial hay was made about mostly white Iowans deciding on MLK Day as the date for their caucus.

Yes, it's a dig, but who cares anymore?

Much of what we thought of America has gone down the drain, as they say in city sewage repair work. And, really, we're not doing anything about it. America is going Full Shithole...and it seems to be okay with you.

Send in the clowns...

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WAVES:...Red Or Blue?...Both Coming In November...Is It A Toss-up, Or Is The Rio Grande Valley An Eternal Democratic Stronghold?...

 

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas |...A cold, cold norther is working its way down this far in Texas. Temperatures in the upper 20s by next Monday night, say the weatherboys. A wild wind will blow. It'll be a brief wave, but one that will likely be felt by residents spoiled by the region's subtropical weather.

Later this year, likely by the hot summer months of July and August, another set of waves will weasel in, bringing not hot or cold temps to ruin the family budget but one to sway the palm fronds and shake the political branches.

Red Wave.

Blue Wave.

They're coming. Red Republicans who agonized last election when their much-ballyhooed RED WAVE! petered out north of Raymondville can only dream of a seeing a mighty, high-mountain wind rake across the Rio Grande Valley. Democrats in Blue again steel themselves against the emerging blowback.

The Valley remains a Democratic stronghold. That is not up for discussion. What local Republicans hope for is an energized campaign that, at the very least, sees one of their own win a contest.

Republican Monica De La Cruz, congresswoman representing the 15th Congressional District that includes McAllen and Hidalgo County, is favored to be reelected. The 58-year-old De la Cruz (shown in photo at right) hasn't done anything notable in his first two-year term, but she also has not embarrassed herself in the way of, say, fellow Republicans Lauren "Grope me, Baby!" Boebert of Colorado or Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Trailer Park Punk from Georgia.

De La Cruz is favored.

In sleepy neighboring Cameron County to the east, it is the Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in the 34th Congressional District who is poised to keep his seat, even as rebel-bent Republican opponent Mayra Flores keeps pushing her pro-Donald Trump slime. There are three other, lesser-known Republicans riding the Flores station wagon, only all are backseat losers - Laura E. Cisneros, Mauro Garza and some novice named Kunkle.

Both races will be watched closely by the respective parties.

Neither seat is a maker-breaker for the Democrats, but Republicans hold a slim edge in House of Representative seats. For them, even these two races down here could be crucial, existential even.

Times are changing for the Rio Grande Valley. Where once campaigns went whole hog for Democrats, the arrival of younger candidates not interested in paying their dues for Democratic bigwigs and setting sail as pseudo-Republicans is changing the voting booth dynamic.

Gone are the safe and predictable days of such powerful Democrats in Congress as those enjoyed by U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen and U.S. Rep. Eligio "Kika" De La Garza. The years that came after those two left politics (and died, yes) have been a slow slide into what is or will soon be a two-party Rio Grande Valley.

The scoffing has faded.

Republicans are a rising power here these days. Maybe not as powerful as the Democrats but a power in that they, too, can up & surprise on Election Night. Waves will move. It's just how tall they will crest that has Old School Democrats such as Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa wearing the look of sleepless nights on his face.

Politics ages a politician like little else. There is no skin-rejuvenating cream on Amazon. Even 38-year-old Mayra Flores is looking like she just rolled off a turbulent hayride.

There isn't much noise yet, and the Trump Trains that will roll down RGV streets and highways are still stashed in driveways and garages. They will roar as we get closer to the election that will come just before Thanksgiving.

The Valley, it says here, will weather two monster political waves this time around. Both are being set in motion. It is a novelty for many who have not been part of the area's political games, who have been energized by the new drama arriving as if for a carnival or parade.

It is they who will be riding the crest of the winning wave...

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