HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
RUDY KOSKI: Some of the political fights we saw this week in Texas politics were political cyberwars. For example, Senators Cruz and Cornyn post on social media throughout the week. They fired on the Biden administration’s denials of the recession as well as the Democrats’ new tax hike they call the inflation-fighting plan. There were also plenty of tweets about efforts to save the computer chip bill.
Very antisocial fist bumps were also thrown between the Texas GOP chairman and the spokesperson for the Texas Democrats. Governor Greg Abbott and his migrant bus trips in the Northeast are also attracting the attention of mayors in New York and D. Read also : Fans choose J-Hope’s “Other” as their new favorite music this week.C., both crying out for help this week. And a state House committee held a contentious two-day education hearing just as students are set to return to school.
HEADLINES FOR THE WEEK
RUDY KOSKI: Let’s take our headlines of the week from our panel. And we’ll start first with political analyst Mark Wiggins. See the article : 9 new Netflix movies and shows to watch this week (July 4). Mark, what’s your title of the week?
MARK WIGGINS: With vouchers in the air, Texas schools are on the line.
RUDY KOSKI: Bryan Smith with St. Edwards University. What is your title of the week?
BRIAN SMITH: Recessions are like obscenity. You know it when you see it.
RUDY KOSKI: And Holly Hansen of online media The Texan. Holly, what’s your title of the week?
HOLLY HANSEN: Puns don’t cause you economic problems.
POLITICAL CYBER WARFARE
RUDY KOSKI: And let’s start a bit with this ongoing political cyberwar. Brian, it seems that instead of running ads, everyone is going to social media. Read also : What’s New on Netflix & Big 10s: July 6th, 2022. How long can this last?
BRIAN SMITH: Indefinitely. Social media has no overhead. It’s quick. You can be as bad as you want as long as you stay within the character limit. So we’re going to see that continue through Election Day into the session and into the foreseeable future.
HOLLY HANSEN: I think a recent Pew Research study showed that about 23% of American adults are on Twitter. But this is amplified in our media. Now we even post stories based only on what politicians say on their Twitter feed.
MARK WIGGINS: You’re in the doldrums right now. Congress is heading into recess, very few people are actively campaigning, and really the only people paying attention to politics right now are people like us.
RECESSION WORD GAME
RUDY KOSKI: We have a political pun going on whether we’re in a recession or not? How is it going ? Do you feel like people really care how you define it?
HOLLY HANSEN: I don’t think so. We can play all the word games we want. But the reality is that most Americans, poor and middle-class Americans, see what’s happening at the grocery store and at the gas pump.
BRIAN SMITH: It’s the economy, stupid, and the recession or not. If you are able to send the wrong economic message to your opponent, it can work. We think of 1992. We were out of that recession, but President Clinton was able to use it until election day. And it worked.
MARK WIGGINS: You know, it’s nerds debating nerds. When people care about lower gas prices, that’s good. But inflation remains high. It’s bad.
DC/NYC MIGRANT BUS CRISIS
RUDY KOSKI: Brian, the governor’s migrant bus trips just didn’t seem to work. But now, suddenly, the mayors of New York and D.C. are crying out for help. Does it stick now? Is this problem really affecting the house now?
BRIAN SMITH: Every time places like New York or D.C. say it’s a bad thing, it’s more ammunition for the governor.
HOLLY HANSEN: And we’re showing the rest of the country that it can be tough for them too. It is reality.
EDUCATION HEARINGS
RUDY KOSKI: A House committee held a two-day hearing on education. They were sort of separate, but the two issues were very controversial. Mark, you attended those hearings. What impressed you the most?
MARK WIGGINS: What we saw this week that I think was remarkable was really the opening salvo in the battle over whether Texas was going to keep a free public education system.
HOLLY HANSEN: I think there is a correlation with the interest in expanding the choice of schools in the state of Texas. You know, they are more interested now in looking for other ways to empower parents and give them options when choosing the best education for their own children.
BRIAN SMITH: And we see the battle lines drawing right now. And like Mark said, we see how they’re going to fall apart with the good ones, with school choice, teacher shortages, CRT, all of those things are going to be on the agenda, and we will hear about it first day of the session.
THE WEEK IN A WORD
RUDY KOSKI: And with that, let’s end this week in politics with our one word. And we’ll start with Mark Wiggins. Marc, your word of the week?
RUDY KOSKI: Brian, your word of the week?
RUDY KOSKI: And Holly, your word of the week?
RUDY KOSKI: And with that, we wrap up another week in Texas politics.
