Every Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., I join the Cardle & Woolley show, Talk 1370 Radio, in Austin to pick the week’s top Winners & Losers in Texas, America and the world. The Democrats put on their national convention in Chicago this week complete with American icon Oprah Winfrey, Al Sharpton (the Jussie Smollett of his time) and the Band Formerly Known as Dixie Chicks singing the national anthem. Hundreds of speakers over four days said every bad thing that could be said about former President Donald Trump—and then Vice President Kamala Harris made a speech.
With 73 days to go to the Election, here’s who made the list:
Big Winner – Democrats and Kamala Harris
It’s not immediately clear if the Democrat National Convention (DNC) was better than the Republican event in Minneapolis last month, but at crunch time, when the rubber hit the road, Kamala Harris stuck to her script and delivered a speech that seemed to transform her into a person who cares about border security, working Americans, Israel and the threat of Russia in Ukraine. While she was long on lies and short on specifics, she cleared all the thorny hurdles that could be political liabilities in her party while promising to solve all the problems she and President Joe Biden have created since they won election in 2020.
Unlike virtually every speaker before her, including former President Barack Obama and especially Michelle Obama, who spewed hatred and vitriol at Trump, Harris elegantly dismissed him by simply saying he is not a serious person. Even though she is wrong about virtually every policy issue, it is important that conservatives acknowledge this important display of the kind of message discipline that is critical to winning elections. Trump has called Harris stupid, incompetent, unattractive and only pretending to be black, but she did not feel compelled to respond to him.
Neither Biden nor Trump have been able to restrain themselves when criticized.
There were lots of American flags at the DNC, because Democrats say they are the party of freedom now, even though they want to force Americans to buy electric cars and stoves and accept drag queen story hours in public libraries. The right to send your child to the school of your choice is also not on their “freedom” list. Neither is the right to pursue your own idea of success and happiness if it involves money. Democrats repeatedly proclaimed their hatred of “billionaires” and “the wealthy,” although many of the top speakers including the Obamas, the Clintons, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are very wealthy—and some, like Winfrey and Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker, are billionaires.
Vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, the so-called “coach” who has apparently lied about having a DUI, how his children were conceived and the rank he obtained in the National Guard, drew cheers when he said his philosophy of freedom is basically, “mind your own business.” That’s pretty rich coming from a guy who established a COVID-19 snitch line during the pandemic so people could report their neighbors who might not be wearing masks.
We can only conclude that freedom for Democrats is the same as it has always been—everyone is free to do exactly what they are told to do, like requiring an apology to Native Americans for stealing their land before you can start a meeting and allowing boys who think they are girls to play in girls’ sports.
Still, the Democrats had Bill Clinton, who remains one of the greatest political speakers of our time, perhaps the last of his kind, since the screaming insults of Michelle Obama are what is called “great” today. The Democrat Convention ended on time with a gazillion balloons falling from the ceiling, like millions of illegal migrants rushing across the border.
Before Joe Biden was pushed out of the race, the Democrats reported that Steven Spielberg would be producing their convention. I am not sure if he was on still on board once Harris took over, but they accomplished their mission—taking a candidate the country didn’t like, who had not received one primary vote, and transforming her into a beloved leader spewing both joy and hope. It was all hype of course—as the Free Press said, kind of like the Barbie movie. Still, you can’t count the Democrat National Convention as anything but a win for the left.
Big Loser – Harris Tax Plan
If you wonder what all that joy and hope is going to cost you, take a look at the Americans for Tax Reform analysis of the tax plan Harris released this week. News reports have primarily focused on her plan to increase the small business tax 39.6%, push the capital gains tax to 44.6% and the corporate tax rate up to 28% from 21%—making it higher than the European Union and China. But there are many other horrible things on her new tax list that Americans need to ponder, such as $37 billion in new taxes on oil and gas, a $24 billion “retirement tax” on IRA’s for “wealthy” people and a 32% increase in taxes on Medicare. There’s a real estate tax hike, the “unrealized gains” tax on money you don’t have and another $100 billion to the Internal Revenue Service to give it the tools to make sure you pay it. That’s more of what the Democrats mean when they say “freedom.”
Loser – Planned Parenthood’s Abortion Truck
Democrats pushing the “joy and hope” theme of the Convention might have asked their pals at Planned Parenthood to re-think their idea of parking a truck offering free abortions and vasectomies outside the Convention hall. The parade of women dressed as abortion pills also was off message. Democrats ridiculed GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance’s unfortunate “childless cat ladies” comment, but these kinds of antics make it abundantly clear why Vance believes pro-family policies must be emphasized to counter the Democrat culture that glorifies abortion and sterilization. .
Loser – Media Coverage of Harris
The Media Research Center reported this week that 84% of the media coverage of Vice President Harris has been positive since she became the Democrat nominee, while 89% of the coverage of Donald Trump has been negative. During the days when the media was pushing Biden to step aside, we got to experience what it would be like if we had news media that asked serious questions, but that is all gone now. Harris has gone for more than a month without a press conference, and there’s no sign that the press will ever hold her feet to the fire. It also seems unlikely that ABC News will provide a fair platform for the first debate next month.
Winner – Trump Campaign Website for Harris
To fill the void created by Harris’ failure to honestly articulate what she supports, the Trump campaign launched a website with Harris’ policy positions to remind voters that she strongly backs the Green New Deal, eliminating private health insurance, decriminalizing border crossings, abolishing ICE and a host of other lefty policies. The Trump campaign must expose her record to voters and this is a good start.
Loser – Democrat Run Cities
It has been rightly noted that the Chicago police—with support from law enforcement from around Illinois and the country—did a great job of keeping the Convention from exploding this past week, but crime in America’s Democrat-run urban cities is still a huge problem. Twelve people were shot and one person was killed on the second day of the Convention, and a Democrat delegate from Texas was robbed at gunpoint not far from the Convention Center. Meanwhile, joyful Democrats continue to insist that crime is going down.
Margin of Error Winner – Colin Allred
Democrats got some good news in Texas when the latest Hobby School poll showed Democrat challenger Colin Allred within the margin of error in his race to defeat U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. The poll, which was conducted August 5 through 16, shows Cruz at 46 and Allred at 44. Like the gender gap in the presidential race, Cruz is winning men by 13 points—52 to 39—and Allred is winning women by 7 points—49% to 42%. Allred spoke at the Democrat National Convention, although he has been careful not to align himself with Harris so far. Trump is up five points over Harris in that poll.
Winner: Science
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced this week that individuals can no longer change their gender on their driver’s license. Almost nobody wants to change their gender on their driver’s license—it’s not like fudging your height—but that hasn’t stopped the left from issuing a huge outcry about the supposed injustice to the so-called “transgender” community and their allies who are relentless in their efforts to normalize gender confusion.
Winner: John Whitmire
One Democrat speaking the truth this week is Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who is continuing to draw fire from protesters in the Bayou City for suggesting that pro-Hamas protesters are being paid by Iran. Numerous reports show Iran is supporting American pro-terrorist protesters in all kinds of ways. Outside of Houston, the protesters got a big boost this week when the actual President of the United States, Joe Biden, said “they have a point.” Biden has earned a permanent place on the losers list.
Winner – Merit
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology released enrollment statistics for the class of 2028 now that the Supreme Court has outlawed affirmative action. The number of Asian students admitted has jumped from 40% to 47%, while the number of African American students dropped from 15% to 5% and the number of Hispanic students dropped from 16% to 11%. The fact that far fewer African Americans and Hispanic students now qualify for MIT highlights the continued failure of too many public schools to close the learning gap and is one more reason school choice is essential, not just in Texas but across the country.
Winner – Texas Football
The pre-seasons rankings are out and the University of Texas is at No. 4. Texas A&M is also on the list at No. 20. Georgia is No. 1 and Ohio State is No. 2. Texas and the Aggies both start the season next Saturday. The Longhorns play Colorado State and the Aggies go up against Notre Dame.
As usual, I will be rooting for the Oregon Ducks, ranked No. 3, but I will try not to be a pest about it.
That’s it for me. 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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