Y'all-itics

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You don’t have to live near the Texas coast to soon start seeing the effects of climate change. The next decade or two mean more flooded parking lots, water in roads, and beach erosion from sea level rise. The ocean has already risen two feet in Galveston since 1900. But there’s another problem unique to this state. Texas is also sinking. All the oil and gas we have pulled out of the ground for the last century is now causing subsidence. That means Texas will see a double whammy from climate change. What is Texas doing to address it? Turns out, not much. David Schechter, reporter for WFAA in Dallas, is one of the few Texas television reporters to consistently document the changing climate in our state. Last year, David won the duPont-Columbia Award, the broadcast equivalent of Pulitzer Prize, for his reporting on climate change. On this week’s episode, we pour David a pint and listen to him explain what’s at stake right now for Texas, why being the leader in wind and solar energy isn’t enough. The U.N. Secretary General even had something to say to David about Texas ignoring the warning signs. Forget political talking points. The science is clear. As David put it, this is what we’re headed for. Period.

Watch:

With world leaders gathering to find solutions for climate change, what does it mean for Texas?

Texans face greater risk of heat, drought and hurricanes, but Abbott administration has no plan to tackle future threats of climate change

The sea is rising faster than any time in the last 3,000 years, experts say | Climate Crossroads

It is an alarming statistic: rural Texans are twice as likely to die of COVID than their urban counterparts.  While the pandemic has heightened the mortality disparity, the reasons behind it go much deeper than the disease itself.  Secret vaccinations and remote healthcare are helping some of these communities pull through.  But not all.  In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons go on the road to Mount Pleasant and visit Titus Regional Medical Center, the last independent hospital in northeast Texas.  There were more deaths at that hospital in September than at any point in its 70-year history.  And the CEO says closing this mortality gap will not be easy, or fast.  The Jasons are also joined by John Henderson, CEO of the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH), who recently testified before lawmakers in Austin as they debated how to spend billions in federal COVID relief funding and discusses the “breathing room” those dollars will provide rural hospitals. 

Guests:

Terry Scoggin, CEO/Titus Regional Medical Center

John Henderson, CEO/Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals

November 1 could mark a historic moment at the U.S. Supreme Court.  That’s when Texas goes to D.C. to defend its new abortion law and the ruling could change 50-years of legal precedent.  The Justices even took the rare step of fast-tracking two cases brought against the state’s near-total ban.  Abortion providers filed one. The U.S. Department of Justice filed the other.  So, in this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons call up Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law expert at the University of Texas, to cut through the legalese.  Turns out, Vladeck explained, Justices could strike down the Texas law and still limit abortion rights.  It’s the first of several big cases this Supreme Court term.  And Vladeck says the country hasn’t seen this much constitutional tumult since the 1930s and there is a gravity to this moment which has no comparison.

Better get ready for winter.  Electric providers and some state lawmakers tell the Jasons they remain concerned that Texas could again experience a large-scale failure if the state suffers through another deep freeze in the coming months.  State Representative Jon Rosenthal recently filed a bill that would close a loophole which allows natural gas companies to opt out of winter weatherization requirements, but that legislation will not be taken up during the final few hours of the third special session in Austin.  Meantime, the President of the Texas Oil & Gas Association tells the Jasons the concern is not that too many natural gas companies will use that loophole to opt out, but that too many might opt in and they would take the electricity reserved for, say, a hospital during an emergency.  Still, Todd Staples says there’s already been a 2,000% increase in the number of natural gas companies that have winterized equipment.  But as you’ll hear in this episode of Y’all-itics, that isn’t stopping the state’s largest electricity generator from taking its own steps to protect its equipment and Texans.

One came tantalizing close to victory in the same race in 2018.  The other was a Democrat, turned Republican and is now a Democrat again.  And both have very specific ideas for Texas.  In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons share a beer with WFAA anchor/reporter Teresa Woodard, after she conducted wide-ranging interviews with Mike Collier and Matthew Dowd. They’re talking Texas’ two biggest problems, running against each other, guns, changing parties and lessons learned. They’ll meet each other in the Democratic primary next spring then one of them will be on the ballot against Dan Patrick next November. Meet them both in this episode.

As the Texas Secretary of State spins up an audit of the 2020 election, it’s important to remember this is a road we’ve been down before. In this episode, the Jasons are joined by SMU professor Matthew Wilson, Ph.D., an expert in politics and elections in America, who explains why this could be our new normal. Questioning election results also happened in 2000, 2004, and 2016. But the most recent decision by the Secretary of State’s office to audit election results in Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties continues to reverberate across the state.  And 2020 was a very successful election in Texas… for Republicans.  So, many observers are openly asking why the GOP is, in essence, auditing itself.  The Chair of the Texas House Elections Committee, a Republican, says he supports the audit, but only in limited fashion and  even he isn’t sure what, if anything, could be revealed by it.  The Dallas County Judge, a Democrat, says it’s not a real audit, only Republicans pushing a political narrative to justify making it harder for minorities and young people to vote.  You’ll also hear from both in this episode of Y’all-itics.  

There are two folks you have not heard from in all the news coverage of the state’s new abortion law; these are the two out-of-staters who are suing a San Antonio abortion doctor. So, the Jasons cracked open the White Pages, pulled out their long-distance calling card and got Oscar Stilley on the phone from Cedarville, Ark. and Felipe Gomez on the line from Chicago. Though, Gomez said, tongue-in-cheek, that it takes a couple ‘yahoos’ from other states to test the Texas law, both men have legal backgrounds and are coming to Texas courts with different motivations. To put these guys in context, the Jasons also called a law professor at South Texas College of Law who explains why SB8, as Texas’ abortion law is known, is almost a sideshow to what’s happening in Mississippi.

The Lincoln Project is going after Governor Greg Abbott.  This is the group of former Republicans well known for blistering attacks on President Donald Trump and later, Senator Ted Cruz.  And this latest battle is already getting juicy.  The Lincoln Project released a new attack ad called “Abbott’s Wall,” criticizing his handling of the pandemic by highlighting how many Texans have died of COVID-19.  The organization says the ad was scheduled to air during the Texas Longhorns game Saturday night, but was pulled at the last minute.  And it is now openly questioning whether Governor Abbott used his influence to have the ad yanked from the air.  In this episode of Y’all-itics, co-founder Rick Wilson tells the Jasons why he thinks Gov. Abbott is now more dangerous than former President Trump, how the state’s new abortion bounty system could spectacularly backfire on Republicans and why the organization will continue attacking the Governor moving forward.

Texas Republicans are lining up to run against Governor Greg Abbott. So, why isn’t there a single Democrat in the race yet? Veteran Texas Democratic consultant Harold Cook hammered out a harsh Tweet about the lack of a candidate in his party. So, the Jasons called him up for this episode. Cook, who worked on President Bill Clinton and Governor Ann Richards’ campaigns in Texas, says ‘can’t beat somebody with nobody.’ Cook also revealed what’s likely happening behind the scenes right now, the list of fellow Democrats that he thinks has the best shot against Abbott next year, and why Beto O’Rourke has a lot to consider on whether he should run.