Cahn: Travis GOP 'makes lemonade' out of lemons handed to them by voters

Austin blogger Adam Cahn has kept quiet on the election of Robert Morrow as Chairman of the Travis County GOP since the March 1 Primary. His break of silence is worth sharing, and summarizes our thoughts on the situation well.

For obvious reasons, we've refrained from discussing the Robert Morrow/TCRP situation; that being said, we attended Morrow's swearing in ceremony and the subsequent business meeting and we think they've handled the whole situation about as well as they could have.

Dan Patrick tweet vindicated: a reminder to never exploit a tragedy

It has been exactly one week since the deadly shooting rampage at an Orlando nightclub.

Unfortunately, it has also been a week since progressive political operatives and liberal armchair activists used an otherwise inspirational tweet by the Lieutenant Governor of Texas as a scapegoat for the anger we all felt that tragic Sunday morning.

For some background, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's staff has a practice of using his campaign Twitter account to send out a graphic image containing Bible quotes early on Sunday mornings. They are typically non-offensive and what you usually expect from the Evangelical Christian crowd on social media (likely a cue from the Verse of the Day Twitter feed). The tweet sent out the morning of Sunday, June 12, was no different according to several credible observers.

Juneteenth: the birth of the Texas GOP

Though June 19, 1865, "Juneteenth," marks the day Texas received word of the Emancipation Proclamation, the years to follow meant not only the freeing of slaves but their rise in representational politics. It also signaled the beginning of a new party in Texas.

From the Handbook of Texas:

In July 1867 twenty whites and 150 blacks attended a Republican convention in Houston, where they endorsed free common schools and free homesteads from public lands for blacks and whites alike. Thus began a decades-long tradition of black Republicanism in the state. 

Despite widespread violence and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan and Democrats, many black men registered for the first election in which they could participate-the 1868 referendum on whether to hold another constitutional convention and elect delegates. 

More blacks than whites cast ballots, and, with their white allies, they overcame the opposition of the majority of white voters and voted to hold another convention. The Convention of 1868–69, dominated by Republicans, included ten African-American delegates out of ninety. ... 

All ten were active on committees and presented important resolutions. Though frustrated in attempts to secure certain constitutional safeguards for their people, they contributed to the accomplishments of the convention, which paved the way for the readmission of Texas to the Union in March 1870.

Lawsuit: Ambiguous ballot language demands Uber/Lyft vote redux

Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman is one busy man, lately.

Not only has he been busy with a new baby boy (born June 6) and leading the charge when it comes to public access of police-worn body cameras, but now he's hoping to avenge voters confused by tricky ballot language on the May 7 local ballot.

How the Austin ridesharing proposition failed 56-44 percent is a mystery to many observers -- however far the tally of voters fell short of the number of petition-signers to get the Uber/Lyft question on the ballot.

Zimmerman charges that the ballot language unfairly framed the question as one of fingerprints and background checks, and not of additional fees and regulations on business. For further commentary, see Team Zimmerman's press release below, included in its entirety:

Rep. Dukes takes first hostage in mounting crisis; Nila negotiates release

​Gabriel Nila as a delegate to the 2016 Texas Republican convention in Dallas. That looks like Rep. Larry Gonzales to his left. (via Facebook)

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Did Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) kill a popular scholarship-granting festival in East Austin as a means of punishing those who have criticized her time in office? Or was she legitimately concerned for the reputation of the event?

We'll let a press release from her November ballot rival, Gabriel Nila, speak to that. Either way, Nila has promised to bring the African-American Community Heritage Festival back to the community in some form in the near future.

Travis GOP turns rogue chairman situation into victory for grassroots power

The following public awareness campaign by the Travis County Republican Party speaks for itself, as precinct chairs and officials rally to set up a bulwark against incoming (so far very cooperative) chairman Robert Morrow.