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Posted
2 minutes ago, Bookman said:

Hi I'm Bookman and I'm announcing my run for Senate. I'm not going to campaign I'm just going to ask for money. May I have some? 

How's your TikTok game? 

Posted
9 minutes ago, elfenix said:

Y'all need to update your spam filters. I had to check the spam folder to see if I got one and there it is. 

The constant barrage of texts and emails from his first failed campaign built up such a relationship between us that the second go-around my spam filters let him straight through.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Bookman said:

Hi I'm Bookman and I'm announcing my run for Senate. I'm not going to campaign I'm just going to ask for money. May I have some? 

Colin?

  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

@immamac Can you change this thread title  to "Colin Allred, doing what nobody asked"

 

Thanks in advance 

Edited by Covri
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  • immamac changed the title to Colin Allred, doing what nobody asked
Posted

Allred gets a primary challenger!

Terry Virts

Former Air Force, former astronaut. Seems centristy. There's some canned messaging mixed in with a little edginess. 5 out of 10.

Quote

I’ve orbited Earth 3,400 times wearing an American flag on my flight suit. I’ve seen Texas from space — from the rocky and dusty expanse of the Permian Basin to the turquoise pastels of the Gulf coast. A great land that is home to ranchers in Bandera, roughnecks in Midland, teachers in Houston, nurses in El Paso, line cooks in Dallas and millions of other Texans in one view. It strikes you from up there just how connected we are and how special Texas is.

Yawn

Quote

But it demands a course-correction for our politicians. Honesty, courage, and a clean break from the past. But unbelievably, Washington Democratic leaders are still clinging to the same old ideas and tired playbooks that got us in the mess to begin with. So unless we want Corrupt Ken Paxton as the next senator from Texas, we need a common-sense Democrat willing to call out the BS—just as I’ve been doing my whole life.

OK

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Posted
On 8/20/2025 at 9:31 PM, troph said:

Fuck this guy he needs to be shown the door. I’d do a better job than this POS.

My cat's turd would do better than this guy.

Posted
5 hours ago, berlinerbaer said:

Allred gets a primary challenger!

Terry Virts

Former Air Force, former astronaut. Seems centristy. There's some canned messaging mixed in with a little edginess. 5 out of 10.

So four points better than Allred.

Posted
9 hours ago, berlinerbaer said:

Allred gets a primary challenger!

Terry Virts

Former Air Force, former astronaut. Seems centristy. There's some canned messaging mixed in with a little edginess. 5 out of 10.

Yawn

OK

Does he ride a Harley?  Any helicopter crashes in his past?

Posted
On 7/1/2025 at 5:21 PM, Dbeasy said:

The Democratic Party (especially in Texas) is broken. Give me anyone but Allred. 

I'm pretty sure it's broken everywhere except the west coast, Colorado and New England.

Posted (edited)

Currently considering:


Talarico- it’s not clear he wants it.

Joaquin Castro- the political equivalent of “Free Beer Tomorrow”

Beto- is Beto

Possible Dark Horse- Bill McRaven

 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

I place a lot more hope in Talarico than Allred, for sure.  Seeing more and more preachers looking to run for office in order to fight off the prosperity gospeltiers like Osteen, and the Christian Nationalists like Wilkes and Dunn.  I have more confidence in them than I do Allred the placator.  That man is the poster child of lack of self awareness.

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Posted
18 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

I place a lot more hope in Talarico than Allred, for sure.  Seeing more and more preachers looking to run for office in order to fight off the prosperity gospeltiers like Osteen, and the Christian Nationalists like Wilkes and Dunn.  I have more confidence in them than I do Allred the placator.  That man is the poster child of lack of self awareness.

The lack of any Christians of note coming together to fight to destroy the charlatans using their religion to grift, steal, and spread hatred had me convinced the whole thing is a scam. You'd think if even 30 percent of Christians were good people they'd band together to fight the trash. 

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Posted

I think a good bit of them are naive, and think that the morals of the country are unassailable.  And now they are beginning to wake up.  Maybe it's not enough, but it's more than we had.  

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Posted
40 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

I think a good bit of them are naive, and think that the morals of the country are unassailable.  And now they are beginning to wake up.  Maybe it's not enough, but it's more than we had.  

Gonna keep posting it. 
 

 

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Posted
8 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

I place a lot more hope in Talarico than Allred, for sure.  Seeing more and more preachers looking to run for office in order to fight off the prosperity gospeltiers like Osteen, and the Christian Nationalists like Wilkes and Dunn.  I have more confidence in them than I do Allred the placator.  That man is the poster child of lack of self awareness.

I sense real widespread anger at Allred for his conduct in the last campaign among more active the grassroots Democrats here in Travis County. Does it go beyond Travis and you think they sense it at the  donor/SDEC/Exec level?

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Posted
On 8/26/2025 at 11:29 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

Possible Dark Horse- Bill McRaven

I just heard him speak a month or so ago and I don’t think he wants it or has the base level political aptitude needed in the modern MAGA media environment.  
 

Plus he’s making bank serving on boards (he mentioned Lazard several times) and the bullshit to income is FAR better than mixing it up with Paxton and then feigning obeisance to Schumer.  
 

That said, more the merrier in the primary, imo.  

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Posted
I sense real widespread anger at Allred for his conduct in the last campaign among more active the grassroots Democrats here in Travis County. Does it go beyond Travis and you think they sense it at the  donor/SDEC/Exec level?

Oh, the anger is real. Shit, asshole had the nerve to send me a fundraising text the moment he announced. I responded by going to his website and sending a message of “fuck you, you stole my money last time. Fuck off and let somebody who will fight take over.”
I genuinely loathe the man. Like, active hatred.
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Posted

I'm not so much angry as deeply disappointed. He wasted the goodwill we had for him. I can't say that it's radically different with Beto. Maybe Talarico can thread the needle. It's at least where I am going to send my dollars. Beto is better off being a fighter overall in support but that gun comment is going to be an albatross. He's not wrong, but damn son that's a third rail.

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Posted

We're in the reality TV show era of American politics. You have to be a loud, brash, scumbag sounding salesman promising the moon to get any attention now. 

It's why Newsome is running a social media campaign acting like a buffoon attacking trump, and that's gaining him popularity. The country is irrevocably broken. 

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Posted
26 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

We're in the reality TV show era of American politics. You have to be a loud, brash, scumbag sounding salesman promising the moon to get any attention now. 

It's why Newsome is running a social media campaign acting like a buffoon attacking trump, and that's gaining him popularity. The country is irrevocably broken. 

And there is apparently a real chance there is a ufc fight taking place on the White House lawn. If that comes to pass, I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. 

Posted
21 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

And there is apparently a real chance there is a ufc fight taking place on the White House lawn. If that comes to pass, I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. 

Only thing that could be more fitting for a late stage capitalism empire is if a fighter dies and the proletariat cheers

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Posted

Do y'all not remember Huey Long? This isn't new. I remember Molly Ivins saying of Obama back when he was still just a Senator from Illinois, "He's the only one up there with some Elvis in him." 

Trump had a line up against him in the GOP primary of a bunch of uninspiring and sometimes off putting goobers. Cruz is eminently unlikeable. Mario has the spine of a jellyfish. Trump got up there and tapped into the racism that's been part of the GOP appeal since LBJ handed them the South. He didn't whisper it like Atwater suggested. He opened the unfiltered tap and poured it out. It's what keeps ICE going, it emboldened the worst of us. Acting like we're above such things means that you are already surrendered. Point at the clown and laugh. He wants to be feared. Laugh at him because he hates it more than anything. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:


Oh, the anger is real. Shit, asshole had the nerve to send me a fundraising text the moment he announced. I responded by going to his website and sending a message of “fuck you, you stole my money last time. Fuck off and let somebody who will fight take over.”
I genuinely loathe the man. Like, active hatred.

Yeah, the disdain is real.  Inexplicably he has a base of donors in Dallas.  But that's about it.  

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Posted
9 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

Yeah, the disdain is real.  Inexplicably he has a base of donors in Dallas.  But that's about it.  

Donors like to get behind losers. Especially in Texas.

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Posted
2 hours ago, LCHorn said:

I just heard him speak a month or so ago and I don’t think he wants it or has the base level political aptitude needed in the modern MAGA media environment.  

I think he’s similar to Ike. He got the aptitude, but finds the whole thing distasteful. I think it’s unlikely, but I’ve heard people from across the political spectrum are begging him to run. 

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Posted
18 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

Do y'all not remember Huey Long? This isn't new. I remember Molly Ivins saying of Obama back when he was still just a Senator from Illinois, "He's the only one up there with some Elvis in him." 

Trump had a line up against him in the GOP primary of a bunch of uninspiring and sometimes off putting goobers. Cruz is eminently unlikeable. Mario has the spine of a jellyfish. Trump got up there and tapped into the racism that's been part of the GOP appeal since LBJ handed them the South. He didn't whisper it like Atwater suggested. He opened the unfiltered tap and poured it out. It's what keeps ICE going, it emboldened the worst of us. Acting like we're above such things means that you are already surrendered. Point at the clown and laugh. He wants to be feared. Laugh at him because he hates it more than anything. 

Newsom's schtick has been a breath of fresh air.  Outrage is what he wants.  Mockery was the right approach all along.

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Posted

Hey did yall know he used to play football?

He’s meeting communities where they come together, which is a very normal thing football players say about going to football games

Trump doesn’t play football!

Football union member Colin Allred takes his old football union card to breakfast 

His football union card just had a special day

Hooray for all football

So many typefaces! Such big football forearms

Linebacker time is not normal time

 

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Posted
On 9/5/2025 at 10:59 PM, Hermanator said:

The lack of any Christians of note coming together to fight to destroy the charlatans using their religion to grift, steal, and spread hatred had me convinced the whole thing is a scam. You'd think if even 30 percent of Christians were good people they'd band together to fight the trash. 

A multitude of Christian organizations are suing DHS for conducting ICE raids in places of worship. You aren't hearing about this because the media is in Trump's pocket. Do some research before you accuse anyone or a group of people of inaction.

https://democracyforward.org/updates/houses-of-worship/

Quote

The lawsuit was filed by Democracy Forward, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Gilbert LLP on behalf of: New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Greater Milwaukee Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Southwest California Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Southwestern Texas Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Sierra Pacific Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; San Francisco Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; North Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; American Baptist Churches USA; Alliance of Baptists; and Metropolitan Community Churches.

It's a start, and it's significant if you step back and look.

Posted
On 9/6/2025 at 10:32 AM, cactusflinthead said:

I'm not so much angry as deeply disappointed. He wasted the goodwill we had for him. I can't say that it's radically different with Beto. Maybe Talarico can thread the needle. It's at least where I am going to send my dollars. Beto is better off being a fighter overall in support but that gun comment is going to be an albatross. He's not wrong, but damn son that's a third rail.

Beto ran a superb campaign on the ground of thousands of volunteers. That is why he came within 2 points of knocking off Ted. Allred ran jack shit other than a money raising machine. There were activists clamoring for something to do last fall who were ignored, or just told to donate more.

Talarico will more effectively employ volunteers than Allred did. Maybe not Beto levels, but I suspect he will let the organizers organize.

 

23 hours ago, chainsaw said:

Donors like to get behind losers. Especially in Texas.

This applies to the Democratic party as a whole. They are told by their donors to do politics with one hand tied behind their back.

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Posted
8 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Whoever the dem nominee is they need to camp out in Harris County. That is where they win or lose 

I think it's smart not to waste time in the panhandle, but Beto's 2018 livestreamed Tour of Texas really helped energize the base and paid off in many downballot races.

Posted
3 hours ago, Sawbonz said:

Whoever the dem nominee is they need to camp out in Harris County. That is where they win or lose 

Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, and the Texas National Guard will have something to say about that.

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Posted

There are so many counties in Texas that have been ignored by Dems because they are overshadowed by the big metro 5, Harris, Dallas/Tarrant, Bexar, El Paso and Travis.  Amarillo by itself is larger than the largest cities of 10 states.  Smith Co with Tyler is over 250,000.  Corpus, Laredo, Waco, Lubbock, B/CS, Beaumont are examples of what Texas Dems were considering rural.  And that older regime was banking on growing Hispanic demographics in those Big 5 to turn Texas blue.  But the problem is that for whatever reason (I think partially apathy and partially voter suppression) those huge population centers are not turning out to vote. 

For that reason there is a new push towards showing up in those towns/counties of over 250,000.  That's about 45 population centers.  And while they go into the big metros, not all those people show up, so they need to host events out in the communities, like Plano, Round Rock or Pasadena for instance.  Beto was on the right track but like you said about the panhandle, @chainsaw, there is very little organization out in the smaller counties.   Hubs like Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa are working with some new life, but yes, there's a real need to look at the marginal returns when you get into the counties of say 20,000 or less.  Most of those little counties are so backward and red, that Dems feel threatened if they even put out a yard sign, much less try to knock some doors.

TL;DR: Texas Dems are making big efforts to get more presence in population centers that have been overlooked for years.  They are hoping the voters in those areas will turn out to vote in numbers that will offset the disappointment in Harris and other counties.

4 hours ago, Sawbonz said:

Whoever the dem nominee is they need to camp out in Harris County. That is where they win or lose 

The dem nominee needs to find some strong allies who the people of Houston admire to help them get that vote.  They have lost a lot of those old line leaders recently, and Judge Hidalgo has had her issues as well.  But whoever the Dem nominees are need several champions in each large center.  And not all political, but also generally popular like entertainers and athletes.  That area and the golden triangle have lost a lot of votes out of the unions that have gone into the MAGA movement.  

23 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, and the Texas National Guard will have something to say about that.

Exactly, they are already doing everything they can to suppress the vote, to make it as hard as possible to vote in the big blue cities.   Harder to vote when they are under martial law.

 

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Posted
17 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

There are so many counties in Texas that have been ignored by Dems because they are overshadowed by the big metro 5, Harris, Dallas/Tarrant, Bexar, El Paso and Travis.  Amarillo by itself is larger than the largest cities of 10 states.  Smith Co with Tyler is over 250,000.  Corpus, Laredo, Waco, Lubbock, B/CS, Beaumont are examples of what Texas Dems were considering rural.  And that older regime was banking on growing Hispanic demographics in those Big 5 to turn Texas blue.  But the problem is that for whatever reason (I think partially apathy and partially voter suppression) those huge population centers are not turning out to vote. 

For that reason there is a new push towards showing up in those towns/counties of over 250,000.  That's about 45 population centers.  And while they go into the big metros, not all those people show up, so they need to host events out in the communities, like Plano, Round Rock or Pasadena for instance.  Beto was on the right track but like you said about the panhandle, @chainsaw, there is very little organization out in the smaller counties.   Hubs like Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa are working with some new life, but yes, there's a real need to look at the marginal returns when you get into the counties of say 20,000 or less.  Most of those little counties are so backward and red, that Dems feel threatened if they even put out a yard sign, much less try to knock some doors.

TL;DR: Texas Dems are making big efforts to get more presence in population centers that have been overlooked for years.  They are hoping the voters in those areas will turn out to vote in numbers that will offset the disappointment in Harris and other counties.

The dem nominee needs to find some strong allies who the people of Houston admire to help them get that vote.  They have lost a lot of those old line leaders recently, and Judge Hidalgo has had her issues as well.  But whoever the Dem nominees are need several champions in each large center.  And not all political, but also generally popular like entertainers and athletes.  That area and the golden triangle have lost a lot of votes out of the unions that have gone into the MAGA movement.  

Exactly, they are already doing everything they can to suppress the vote, to make it as hard as possible to vote in the big blue cities.   Harder to vote when they are under martial law.

 

I should have been a bit more precise, because I agree with you. There are reasons to visit Amarillo and Lubbock. What I meant by "Panhandle" was basically a shorthand for the parts of North and West Texas where nobody lives, and even fewer progressives live. Beto was definitely onto something with the approach his campaign took, but in retrospect I think he wishes he would have spent less time in places like Muleshoe and Dumas and more time in the 40 most populous counties (which should include basically every "hub" of anticonservative voters), where I figure well over 80 percent of the voters live. If you have the time, money, and inclination, sure hit up all 254 counties, but make sure to maximize the ROI of those limited resources.

The other thing to know is that 2026 and 2018 are completely different political moments. Nobody could have anticipated a global pandemic, and while Trump 1 was horrible it was not until 2020 that normal people realized how much of an existential threat to daily life that his incompetent leadership posed and not until 2024 that intelligent people realized how gullible, forgetful, short-sighted, and selfish that normal voters could be. What might have made sense to do and say back in 2018 could be an unmitigated disaster in the age of ChatGPT, mass surveillance, and concentration camps. Look to Zohran Mamdani for guidance.

Zohran did not hire overpaid consultants to find out what voters wanted. He literally just walked up to them and asked.

On local issues, the people spoke with a common voice: Things need to be more affordable.

I can't stress this enough: Zohran talked to these people in Winter 2024-2025, right after Trump's win, before anyone knew his name or could recognize his face. At the time he was considered more than a longshot and barely on the radar of any pollsters. The lesson here is that if you want to know what voters want, talk to them directly. They will tell you.

Zohran's campaign was, and is, positive and authentic. Reminiscent of Beto 2018. He toured every precinct in every borough. His love for NYC is totally infectious, as Beto's love of Texas was in 2018. No matter how many times someone tried to bait him into abandoning his values, especially as they apply to Israel's Genocide in Gaza, Zohran stayed true to himself and never apologized for what he believes in. Zohran's authenticity resonates with voters much more than any focus-tested, consultant-approved "messaging" could ever even hope to do. The lesson here is that voters will reward candidates who take principled stances when those stances reflect the candidate's sincere beliefs. 

Talarico may be able to adapt some of the lessons from Zohran's campaign to a statewide race in Texas against Ken Paxton (or John Cornyn), but my initial read on the guy is that he's a bit too cozy with the donors and consultants. He's a bit too safe, and a bit too "nice" for this fight. He's still much more capable of learning from Mamdani's success than Allred is, so maybe he'll show us something.

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