Every Friday morning I join the Cardle & Woolley show, Talk 1370 Radio, in Austin to pick the week’s top Winners & Losers in public policy, politics, sports and culture in Texas, America and the world. After wading through the post-debate fog for the last couple weeks, here’s my list for the week ending July 12.
The “Big Boy” Press Conference at the NATO Summmit last night turned out to be a winner for both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Biden wasn’t great, but he did well enough to demonstrate that his brain doesn’t always operate as it did at the debate, although he did reveal he’s limited to about 3 talking points on any issue before just saying “anyway” and trailing off. The 15 days since the debate have been terrific for conservatives who are not only basking in the vindication of having known for a couple years that President Biden frequently performs a taco short of the full enchilada platter. Now, of course, many in the media admit they actually knew it too and we are watching them flail, stunned that a New York Times Editorial would not convince Biden to step down. Then, they up the ante, figuring that surely an op-ed from George Clooney will get him to acquiesce.
Apparently these people have never watched how a “king slayer” operates on “Game of Thrones.” A knife to the gut is the only thing that reliably gets a king off the throne and a figurative knife to the gut will be required here. Biden said in his press conference that polls would have to show he has no chance to win. It is doubtful such a poll exists or will ever exist. The country is evenly divided. Biden will lose if his cognitive decline costs him a couple more points among swing voters than Trump’s bogus conviction cost him. Because of our polarization, a seismic shift either way is unlikely. If Biden stays in, he will almost certainly be within “striking distance” until November. New polls come out all the time, like the new NPR Marist poll this morning that shows Biden running two points ahead of Trump. The President is not going to pay any attention to the polls.
For a Texas historical minute on this, ask the people who tried to get former Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to step aside after current Lt. Governor Dan Patrick beat him by double digits in the 2014 GOP primary. Polls were commissioned to show Dewhurst he didn’t have a chance of closing the gap. He ignored them. Patrick trounced him in the run-off by 30 points. That’s what is meant by a knife to the gut.
Speaking of Lt. Governor Patrick, he’s on the winner’s list this week for his handling of Hurricane Beryl while Governor Greg Abbott is out of the country. Although the Houston Chronicle will always quibble, Patrick, who is one of the best elected communicators in the country, provided Texans with hour by hour updates and kept the state informed and connected to Texas’ emergency disaster management resources. Of the many mistakes Biden made this week, one was picking a fight with Patrick about disaster declaration, a move which allowed the Lt. Governor to appear on local television all over the state calling the president incompetent or forgetful.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy is also on the winner’s list this week for his legislation strengthening prohibitions against non-citizen voting. Most Democrats voted against it and it will undoubtedly die in the Senate. Still, Republicans were right to pass this bill because it has already caused Democrats to pull out their old talking points in opposition to requiring a photo voter ID to vote. They call it racist. Photo Voter ID, of course, has the support of virtually everyone regardless of race or ethnicity so this attack is one more blow to identity politics and Democrat credibility.
Vice President Kamala Harris is on the loser list even though she clearly has a better chance of becoming president now than ever in her life as many Democrats believe it would be better to have the word salad queen, known for accomplishing nothing during her tenure in office, than the tragically failing Biden. However, it is important to remember that since October 7, Harris has repeatedly demonstrated that in the Middle East, her sympathies are with Hamas, not Israel. This past week she said the protesters on American campuses are demonstrating “exactly what the human emotion should be as a response to Gaza.” No, Madame Vice President, they aren’t. The only response to the Hamas attack on Israel is unequivocal outrage, not support for the terrorists who perpetrated it.
Former President Barack Obama is on the loser list for so many reasons, but these stand out for this week: (1) picking Joe Biden as his vice president (2) picking Hillary Clinton instead of Biden to run as his successor in 2016 (3) consequently, not having the clout to tell the current President he needs to step down (4) greenlighting George Clooney’s New York Times op-ed telling Biden to drop out, as if Biden, or anyone would care what some actor thinks. Now we hear that Obama’s team is behind the “get rid of Biden” movement. Is says something that Democrats view Obama as the best leader they have.
Nikki Haley is on the winner’s list for releasing her delegates so they can vote for Trump and reiterating that Biden is not competent to serve. And, in case anybody wondered, she also noted that Harris “would be a disaster for America.” Remember that Biden’s cognitive decline was a key talking point of Haley’s presidential campaign which ended in March. Apparently, the national media who claimed they were shocked by Biden’s performance in the debate, didn’t hear Haley when she repeatedly said Biden didn’t have the mental clarity to do the job.
And how about that George Stephanopoulos? First, he was going to provide the Biden interview that would either put the post-debate doubts to rest or provide proof that the debate was not a one-off. It did neither because everyone knew the interview was edited and nobody trusts Stephanopoulos or ABC. Then, he “accidentally” got caught on camera saying he doesn’t think the President can make it for four more years. Apparently, he couldn’t get Biden to demonstrate that during the interview. He’s a loser.
Carrollton ISD is a winner for standing up against Biden’s proposed Title IX rules requiring public schools to treat gender identity as if it were a race or ethnicity– with all the pronouns and gender neutral bathrooms that come with that. Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton had already told school districts to ignore the regulations, but Carrollton asked for the injunction as well, knowing they are risking millions in federal education dollars. Last week they got it.
Let’s put “a Threat to Democracy” on the losers list this week. The “threat” is losing its potency for all but the most rabid. Democrats and their media allies are currently tearing themselves apart to stop the re-election of former President Trump because they insist he is a “threat to democracy.” Polls repeatedly tell us that if Americans believe democracy is endangered, (which is a big if) they view Democrats to be as big a threat as Republicans. An Ipsos Poll recently found that 38% of voters believe Republicans will protect democracy and 38% believe Democrats will. This CBS/YouGov Poll chart below phrases the question a little differently but shows the same thing:
Finally, WNBA star Caitlin Clark is on the winners list again this week for becoming the first WNBA rookie to score a triple double, after tying the record for double-doubles last week. This phenomenal athlete is also quite a jokester. Take a look at her postgame response to breaking a new record here.
Anyway…that’s it. Have a great weekend.
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
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