Noem Mistakes Cruelty For Toughness

From Politico.com

 

New Poll Has Abbott Leading O'Rourke By Only 2 Points

The chart reflects the results of the Beacon Research Poll -- done between October 15th and 19th of 1,125 Texas voters who say they will definitely vote. The margin of error is 2.8 points.
 

Poll Of Likely Voters Gives Abbott A Big Lead In Texas

This chart reflects the results of the Texas Politics Project at University of Texas Poll -- done between October 7th and 17th of 883 likely Texas voters, with a 3.3 point margin of error.

The poll only considers likely voters (those voting in every election the last 2-3 years). With a large turnout (containing many new voters and random voters) the result could be very different.

New Poll Shows O'Rourke Trailing Abbott By 4 Points

The chart above reflects the results of the new Marist Poll -- done between October 3rd and 6th of a sample of 1,058 registered Texas voters, with a 4.4 point margin of error.

New Poll Has O'Rourke Trailing Abbott By Only 5 Points

These charts are from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs / YouGov Poll -- done between June 27th and July 7th of 1,169 registered Texas voters, with a 2.9 point margin of error.

NOTE -- Charts 2-5 contain only "likely voters". 

O'Rourke Is Within 6 Points Of Abbott In Texas

 

The chart above reflects the results of the recent University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll -- done between June 16th and 24th of a sample of 1,200 registered voters in Texas, with a 2.89 point margin of error.

Georgia Races Are Turning Toward Democrats

The charts above are from the Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between June 23rd and 27th of a sample of 1,497 registered voters in Georgia, with a 2.5 point margin of error.

Texas Lyceum Poll Shows A Close Race For Texas Governor

The chart above reflects to results of a recent Texas Lyceum Poll -- done between March 11th and 20th of a statewide sample of 1,000 Texas adults, with a 2.83 point margin of error.

It shows the race for the governor of Texas is very close between Republican Greg Abbott (42%) and Democrat Beto O'Rourke (40%). That two point difference is within the poll's margin of error.

Early Poll On The Race For Governor In Texas

The charts above are from the Dallas Morning News / UT-Tyler Poll -- done between November 9th and 16th of 1,106 registered voters in Texas, with a 2.9 point margin of error.

Recent Poll Shows O'Rourke / Abbott In Virtual Dead Heat

 

The charts above are from the Rice University / Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation Poll -- done between October 14th and 27th of a sample of 1,402 registered voters in Texas. It shows Democrat Beto O'Rourke trailing Republican Governor Greg Abbott by only 1 point. I didn't see any margin of error, but it has to be more than 1 point, meaning the poll has the two in a virtual dead heat.

Cuomo Resigns - New Democratic Governor Is Kathy Hochul

The long torturous nightmare is over -- both for Governor Cuomo and the Democratic Party. 

On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that he is resigning. He said, "Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government, and therefore that is what I'll do, because I work for you, and doing the right thing, is doing the right thing for you." 

He really had no choice. It was either resign or be impeached and removed -- and resignation was obviously the better choice.

Democrats had no choice either. After the ruckus they raised over the sexual aberrations of Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh, it would have been hypocritical to then excuse the sexual harassment committed by Cuomo.

Cuomo's resignation will be effective in two weeks. At that time, Democratic Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul will be sworn in as the new governor of the state of New York. She will be the first female governor of New York.

Texans Not Yet Enamored With Any Candidate For Governor

 

The charts above reflect the results of a new Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between June 15th and 21st of a sample of 1,099 registered voters in Texas. The poll has a 3 point margin of error.

Texas has it's election for governor in the off-year for presidential elections. That means the next gubernatorial election will be in 2022. So far, three names have been mentioned as possible candidates in that election -- Gov. Greg Abbott (Republican), former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Democrat), and actor Matthew McConaughey (party unknown).

So far, Texas voters are not enamored with any of the three. As the charts show, none of them currently have majority support.

N.Y. Wants A Democrat As Governor In 2022 (Not Cuomo)

The charts above are from the newest Siena College Poll -- done between May 16th and 20th of a sample of 793 registered voters in the state of New York, and has a 4 point margin of error.

The voters in New York want a Democrat elected to be their governor in 2022, but they would prefer it not be Cuomo.

Democrats Are Different Than GOP - Cuomo Must Go!

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York was riding high on the basis of his response to the pandemic in his state. He was popular with Democrats across the nation -- and was even being discussed as a possible future presidential nominee for the party.

But that was before it was learned that he had hidden many nursing home deaths from the public in an effort to make his administration look good.

That was before at least seven women came forward with credible accusations of sexual harassment.

And that was before it was learned that he created a tacit work environment for his employees -- attacking them and calling them names at meetings infant of other employees. 

Some Democrats have come to his defense. But sadly, their argument seems to be that Cuomo should not resign because Trump (and some other Republicans) got away with even more egregious wrongdoing.

That is true. Republicans seem to be indifferent to the wrongdoing of their officials -- believing retaining power is more important than values or morality. 

But Democrats are different. They actually have values, and they expect their politicians to adhere to those values. That is why Governor Cuomo needs to resign (or at least assure voters he will not run for another term). He is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party.

The following is part of an excellent op-ed by Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post:

While it is possible that New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) will ride out the burgeoning scandal involving multiple complaints of sexual harassment and concealment of nursing home deaths due to covid-19, Democrats are trying their level best to dump him. More than a dozen members of his state’s Democratic delegation, including Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, demandedFriday morning that Cuomo leave office. By the end of the day, New York’s two U.S. senators, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, had also called on Cuomo to step down. This echoed similar calls from Democratic state legislative leaders.

This is what a responsible party does. Its members assess the magnitude of credible evidence of wrongdoing, the severity of the alleged conduct, and the moral and political cost of defending a scoundrel, and then put decency and good governance ahead of tribal loyalty. This is not a weakness; it affords them moral authority and reaffirms the trust that voters place in elected officials.

The Republicans time and again have shown that they would never do such a thing. They exonerated disgraced former president Donald Trump twice despite replete evidence of impeachable conduct. They did not demand he leave the race in 2016 after the “Access Hollywood” tape surfaced; they supported him again in 2020 despite learning he had made payoffs to women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs and was accused of rape by E. Jean Carroll (Trump denies Carroll’s allegation). The same Republicans who dinged Neera Tanden, President Biden’s withdrawn nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, for spicy tweets excused four years of vile, racist, misogynistic language from the head of the party. And, despite his role in sparking a violent insurrection, Republicans still support him as the leader of their party. . . .

The irony is that the GOP used to fancy itself as the party of personal responsibility and public rectitude. Now it is a party of professional victims, wallowing in the myth of anti-White racism, incensed when presented with the concept of implicit bias and ready to smear women of color nominated for key posts for the same conduct that Republicans tolerated from White men. . . .

It is not hard to see why the difference between the parties regarding their willingness to police their own has become so stark. Democrats embrace and rely upon multi-racial democracy, so they feel compelled to defend it. They think government can be a force for good; they therefore have an interest in throwing out the crooks, the louts and the serial liars. . . .

Sadly, we have only one major party that is fit to govern in a constitutional, multi-racial democracy that demands accountability and self-control from elected officials. The other party has deteriorated into a group of apologists for sexual violence, racism, insurrection and habitual lying.

New York Newspaper Calls For Gov. Cuomo To Resign

The problems just continue to grow for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Four women have now come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, and many of his ex-staffers are now accusing him of promoting a toxic environment among those working in his administration.

But perhaps most important is the charge that his administration hid many nursing home deaths from COVID-19 to avoid making the governor look bad.

That's what the Albany Times-Union details in their editorial asking the governor to resign. Here is part of what the newspaper's editorial board had to say:

First Gov. Andrew Cuomo hid the truth about deaths of nursing home residents from the public. Then his administration lied about why. Then, pretending to come clean, it lied about why it lied. 

Enough. Mr. Cuomo has squandered the public’s trust at a time when it’s needed more than ever. Amid an enduring pandemic, it is vital that people can believe what their governor and their government are telling them, and that the rules they’re asked to follow and the sacrifices they’re asked to make are truly in the interest of public health. It is time for Mr. Cuomo to resign, and for those who helped him deceive the public to go, too.

We do not say this lightly. We endorsed Mr. Cuomo for governor three times. He has brought to fruition a host of important progressive goals. But between his manipulation of state ethics bodies, multiple allegations of sexual harassment and these latest revelations on nursing home deaths, he has lost the credibility he needs to lead this state, especially in the midst of a public health crisis.

As we wrote in our last endorsement of him: “New York still matters. It's the fourth-largest state and the financial center of the world. It's the birthplace of women's rights and LGBT rights. It embodies the American melting pot. With its wealth, its legacy and its diversity come a special responsibility to stand as a moral voice in America.”

Mr. Cuomo can no longer be that voice.

This Candidate Might Beat Abbott For Governor In Texas

Governor Abbott has not been an effective governor for Texas, but he is still popular with Republicans in the state. And the early prediction for the governor's race in 2022 is that Abbott will coast to another win.

The Democrats need someone popular who can shake up the race if they are to have a chance. And there just might be someone. Actor Matthew McConaughey says he might run for governor.

Here's how the Austin American-Statesman covers that possibility:

Oscar-winning Texas actor Matthew McConaughey says he might run for governor, but it would be “up to the people” to make it so.

“I would say this: Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now,” McConaughey told conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday. “And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested.”

The 51-year-old actor who makes Austin his home did not say whether he’s a Democrat, Republican or unaffiliated. In past interviews, the actor said he’s politically “in the middle.” The next gubernatorial election is in 2022 and incumbent Republican Greg Abbott says he plans to seek a third term.

In the radio interview, McConaughey lamented the political polarization that marked the recently ended presidential election.

“I want to get behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again,” McConaughey told Hewitt .

“I mean, that (a run for office) wouldn’t be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me.”

McConaughey, who is a film professor at the University of Texas and holds the ceremonial tile of Texas’ minister of culture, went on Hewitt’s show to promote his memoir, “Greenlight.”

McConaughey’s break out performance was as Wooderson in the 1993 coming-of-age movie “Dazed and Confused,” which was set in Austin. He won the Oscar for best actor the 2013 film “Dallas Buyers Club.” 

Governors Suffering Because They Took Trump's Advice

The chart above shows the results of a SurveyMonkey Poll. They questioned 16,832 adults in Arizona (moe 3.5 points), 44,440 adults in Florida (moe 2.5 points), 12,883 adults in Georgia (moe 4 points), and 49,377 adults in Texas (moe 2.5 points) between May 11th and July 19th.

The charts shows the Republican governors in all four states have suffered by following Trump's advice to reopen their economies before the Coronavirus was controlled. All of the governors now show a disapproval much higher than approval over their handling of the virus -- by 26 points in Arizona, 18 points in Florida, 11 points in Georgia, and 11 points in Texas.

Public Disapproves Of Trump/Pence Handling Of Pandemic

The chart above is from the Morning Consult Poll. They questioned 2,200 U.S. adults on how they thought differing people and organizations were handling the Coronavirus pandemic. The poll was done between May 1st and 3rd, and has a 2 point margin of error.

The chart shows the net approval (approval minus disapproval) for each.

The two entities receiving the highest net approval are the CDC and state governors. The two receiving the lowest net approval are Mike Pence (close to zero) and Donald Trump (below zero).

Every State Governor Is More Popular Than Trump

The chart above is from The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public's Policy Preferences Across States (a joint project of divisions of Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Rutgers University).

They did a 50-state survey between April 17th and 26th of 22,912 adults.

They found that the governor of every state is more popular in that state than Donald Trump. There was not a single exception to that. This is not surprising for the "Blue" states. One could expect those states to like their governor more than Trump. But it was also true in every "Red" state -- the states expected to vote for Trump in November.

That does not bode well for Trump's re-election chances.

Wisconsin Governor Delays The Primary Until June

I had thought Wisconsin would be having their primary today, but at the last minute Governor Tony Evers (pictured) delayed the primary until June 9th. Evers had been saying for weeks that he did not have the authority to delay the primary, but after the legislature refused to delay it, he changed his mind and did it.

About 1.2 million residents of the state had already requested absentee (mail-in) ballots, and Governor Evers said voters could continue to request those ballots until the new primary date.