Pittsburgh (and Philadelphia) Voted For Hillary, Not 45

The political science joke about Pennsylvania is that it is Pittsburgh in the west, Philadelphia in the east and Alabama in the middle.

We all know that Trump shockingly won this state narrowly on Election Night in large part to three third party candidates siphoning off just enough votes to allow Trump to eke out a narrow (ugh) victory in the Keystone State.

Dear Orange Misleader seems to have it in his head that the two largest cities in the state of Pennsylvania voted for him when he cited the Steel City as his jacked up rationale for pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Change Accords that 195 nations signed.

No Dumb Donald, Pittsburgh didn't vote for you, it voted for Hillary, and it wasn't close.

Hillary Clinton received 363, 017 votes (56.4%) of the votes cast in Allegheny County to Trump's 257, 488 (.40% ) .

Gary Johnson received 15,854 (2%) ,Jill Stein  5,021 (0.8%) and Darrell Castle got 1,793 (0.3%)

In Philadelphia, it was a blowout    Clinton received 560, 542 votes (82.4% ) of the votes cast in Philadelphia County to Trump's  105, 418 (15.5%).

Johnson got 6,786 (1%). Stein 6,452 (0.9%) and Castle 1,029 (0.2%)

So nope Dumb Donald, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the two largest cities in the state, didn't vote for you. and in both cities it was a massive rejection of you.

TransGriot Note:  Thanks to TransGriot reader Jason Byrd for sending me the Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties 2016 election data that inspired the post.

Still Not My President

All I have to say about the Electoral College vote today is this.

I'm going to give Trump the same respect as president as he gave president Obama for eight years...

NONE   #NotMyPOTUS  

Show me your birth certificate

Whose Fault Is It Trump Got Elected?

I've always loved Toni D'orsay's no punches pulled commentary on just about any subject, and miss her Dyssonance blog.

Well, she's baaack.  This is a post from her Facebook page that needs to be signal boosted concerning her take on the 2016 election.

***

So ya'll know that the Turdblossom's supporters are bad at being people.

However, it isn't their fault that he was elected.

It is the fault of the Green Party, and The Democratic Party, and the people who didn't vote because they thought it was a done deal or out of protest about how bad the choices were.

They are the ones at fault. Like me. Although I did vote.

They hold the blame because, for one, these groups tend to not give a fuck about congressional races, and never really do much about local races outside of mayor, maybe governor once in a blue moon in a blue state.

You see, those people - and especially the ones that chose not to vote - are responsible for this.

This being an election where where two and a half people get to dictate the rules for the other ten.

Torn over which little step at a fucking time to take, ignoring the basic need to control the Congress and Legislatures as a matter of simple fact, the idea that one party is just as bad as the other (oh, and fuck you for thinking that, by the way, painfully and with lasting discomfort), the bullshit that says well, now we have to work with the overwhelmingly shitty folks on the other side because (reality check) we didn't elect enough or even run in many cases someone on our side.

That means you. This mess is your fault. This mess is my fault, even though I have been saying this for years because (reality check) this is how the folks on the other side did it.

Think on this, real quick:

What would Obama have accomplished had he not had to deal with six years of racist fucks?

An equal rights Amendment could be passed easily in dem controlled legislatures and a congress. A real tax plan that shuts down the fuckers about to rape our nation and make for a better country. Even a basic income for everyone and free collegiate education.

You fucked that up. Not them -- they did what they wanted to do. And there aren't as many of them.

It would be easy to do, but will take a decade now. Starting with two simple steps:

First, you start attending your local precinct meetings for the Dems. Every single month, like clockwork.

Bonus in that if you are single: cheap, interesting way to meet people. It's like Church, without God looking over your shoulder.

Second, you work your ass off to make sure that in 2018 that a majority or parity of Dems (yes, Dems, not greens, not libertarians, not whatever the fuck else) get into office in the Legislatures and in Congress in 2018.

If you have bitched about redistricting, keep in mind, that the 2018 and 2020 elections are the ones that will determine it. Just as the 2008 elections were.

This is so fucking important: there is no real leader right now in the Dems. Not Bernie, not Hillary, not Rahm, not Warren, none of them.

Not a single fuckin one of them.

New people. People of color and women and LGBT people and disabled folks and, well, you damn well better get the idea that white people and men are not the best choice here.

Fucking draft them if you have to. Except me. I would rather be chief of staff or something. Bad teeth.

Find them. Elect them. Make them understand that now we are going for the whole enchilada, the big fucking dream, and punch it.

Single payer. Minimum income. Free college. Minimum and Maximum wage. Yes, higher taxes. Sorry, don't be a fucking shitlord, taxes, and no damned deductions for incomes in the top 40%. Ironclad national rights and the power to prosecute.

You want that? In your lifetimes? Then you better fucking fight for it now.

Put your money where your mouth is. Don't like higher taxes but like the rest? Deal. That is how you kill classism really fucking fast. Don't like trans rights? Deal: that is how you get out of those student loans,

Want to save the environment, combat climate changes worst effects ( um, in case you didn't realize, this election just tipped the scales so far it is over )? This is how.

This really is the only way, as well. Because we have tried it the rest of the way.

Get voters out. To do that, promise them what they want.

And remember that the single largest population curve in US history is hitting voting age.

This is what they care about.

Trust me, white folks in flyover country will like it because it gives them what they want: money in pocket.

They will be politically correct once this 4 years is up.

And then we can do shit like fine folks who run for office and lie.

There is no other real way that doesn't involve giving those who hate the rest of us what they want.

Oh, and, yeah, I will run if I get my teeth fixed. F**k yeah.

If You Voted Third Party, You Voted For Trump.

I'm not in the mood to hear today or for the next four years any weak justifications from people who voted third party yesterday knowing that the third party votes they cast was a vote for Trump.

I don't want to hear the bull feces laden excuses that 'she was a terrible candidate', 'the DNC failed', 'that's what they get for screwing Bernie'  or whatever lie du jour you predominately white peeps who voted third party are telling yourselves right now to attempt to justify to me and other non-white Americans you screwed with your vote for the unqualified white man who is your future POTUS.

Save all your excuses.  I heard them back in 2000.    Let's crunch the numbers shall we?/
Thanks to Lilly Andersen for compiling them and posting them on her FB page.

*To the 5% of people in Arizona who voted third party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 11 electoral votes that would have gone to her.
*To the 3% of people in Florida who voted third party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 29 electoral votes that would have gone to her.
*To the 5.5% of people in Michigan who voted third party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 16 electoral votes that would have gone to her.
*To the 5% of people in New Hampshire who voted third party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 4 electoral votes that would have gone to her.
*To the 3.3% of people in Pennsylvania who voted third  party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 20 electoral votes that would have gone to her.
*To the 5.7% of people in Wisconsin who voted third party- if you had voted for Hillary, that’s 10 electoral votes that would have gone to her.

That is 90 electoral votes, more than enough to make Hillary president.   But instead you chose to subject the country for whatever selfish reason to an unqualified white male.   You knew this man was racist, misogynistic, sexist, and was widely reviled by non-white Americans who were telling you for months we openly feared what would happen if he became president, and you still voted for Trump anyway.

There is nothing you can say to me right now to justify that and the damage that we'll be trying to clean up from this electoral mess for the next 25-30 years.

Your third party votes greased the skids for a man endorsed by the Klan to become president.   By casting those votes, you enabled and cosigned his racist campaign strategy and ensured it will be used in future GOP campaigns..

Those of us in non-white America and TBLGQ World had to explain to our crying children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews who were already being bullied at school before Trump got elected that this man was going to be the next POTUS.

So spare me from now on that American exceptionalism bull feces.  You elected another failed white businessman with no political experience to the White House over a woman who was supremely qualified for the job.   Everybody else except white men have to be exceptional for the Oval Office, that's the message you sent to me and every other non white person in this county.
Your third party votes also set up the disgusting spectacle the world will witness on January 20 of President Obama having to hand over power to the man who disrespected him and his presidency for 8 years.

You peeps who voted third party still failed to meet the target for federal funding in 2020, so congratulations, you're still in the same boat you were in prior to this election. Was it worth throwing away a shot at liberal progressive control of the Senate and the SCOTUS?   From where non-white Americans like me sit, hell no it wasn't.

So frack you Jill Stein, Gary Johnson and your third party for putting me, the TBLGQ community, Latinx, Muslims, Asians, Native Americans, the disabled and every other marginalized American in jeopardy because your vanillacentric privileged political vanity was more important than keeping an unqualified candidate in Trump our of the White House.

You get to own Trump and whatever he and the GOP control of the federal government does to the country over the next four years.

Yuck, Trump Wins

Right now I'm dealing with the shock, horror and pissivity of having to see gloating Republicans gleefully celebrating the fact that an unqualified white male supported by the KKK who ran on a campaign of  racism and misogyny will become the 45th president of the United States in January.

Ugh/  I'm too pissed off about that development to be scared like many people in Trans World are tonight.

The Trump win killed my joy of finally meeting one of the blogging peeps I admire in Houston political blogger Charles Kuffner,seeing that transphobic bigot Pat McCrory lose in North Carolina. Joe Arpaio go down in Arizona, Kamala Harris becoming the second African-American female senator elected since 1990, my homegirl Leslie Herod getting elected to the Colorado House or watching Harris County go blue.

It even took the joy out of me getting to do political punditry on my hometown TV station for the first time.

I'm a Black trans person.   My people have a history of having to deal with finite disappointment and still rising despite it.   We're used to dealing with adversity and yeah, no thanks to white Americans who gleefully voted for him, we now have to deal with this unqualified man as president and the anti-gay Mike Pence as his VP for the next four years. .

Correction, he's White America's president.  He's #notmypresident.

But as Miss Major said, "We've all been knocked down. Just don't stay down. Get back up and fight. And if you can't get up, then tag someone to jump in and fight in your place. Never give up. Never say quit. Never say die!"
Right now I just need to vent

Right now I'm once again processing the fact that my country hates me.   That's not something I wanted to or needed to ponder before going to sleep tonight.

But go to sleep I will.   In the morning I'll get up, call a few people I know including my mom, and then deal with the fallout from this political disaster.

It's Election Day 2016!

Today is the day we find out who will succeed President Obama and become the 45th president of the United States.  Will it be another history making night in terms of us getting our first female president, or will it be another disaster like 2000?

As per a tradition that has been taking place since 1960, the seven residents of the town of  Dixville Notch, NH cast their ballots at midnight EST.   So what were the results?  Clinton received 4 votes, Trump received 2, Johnson 1 and one write in vote for 2016 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. In the other midnight voting town of Hart's Location, NH  She garnered 21 votes to Trump's 17. Johnson got 3, Bernie Sanders 2 write in votes and  Kasich/Sanders 1

We'll find out in a few hours if she won the state of New Hampshire and the combination of states she needs to get to 270 electoral votes.   We'll also find out how accurate the presidential election map prediction I made in September turned out.

It's also an election that I, many trans people, parents of trans kids and our allies across the US are nervous about, along with much of the world who would rather see Hillary Clinton elected POTUS.   .
If you didn't take advantage of early voting, you'll have to go to your regular precinct today from 7 Am to 7 PM.   As long as you are in line before the polls close at 7 PM, you can vote in this crucial presidential election.

As a reminder, yours truly will also be taking part along with several Houston area bloggers as part of the ABC13 coverage of Election Night.  I'll also be tweeting via my TransGriot Twitter feed.

So if you haven't voted,  please do so, because this is what I want to see happening across the country for Trump supporters later tonight

Jenifer Lewis- Get Your Azz Out And Vote!

I have loved actress Jenifer Lewis ever since she played Dean Dorothy Davenport on A Different World.

She has a message concerning tomorrow's election y'all need to hear



If you haven't handled your electoral business yet, please do so.  This election is too important for you to stay home.

Are Latinx Voters Finally Kicking The GOP To The Political Curb?

One of the things I have been hoping for and thinking about for a long time over the history of this blog is wondering when Latinx voters across the nation would get tired of being dissed by the GOP, have the same epiphany about the Republican Party not being their friends as their California cousins got in the late 90's, and react by punishing them at the polls?

It's a question I and a lot of people in liberal-progressive political world have long asked ourselves and waited with gleeful anticipation to see answered.   .

When would Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the US, get tired of Republicans racistly attacking them for conservative political gain and as happened in California, kick the GOP to the political curb?

Looks like the answer to that question may be 2016.  

In California, you can trace the decline of the Republican Party in the state in large part to the passage in 1994 of the racist Proposition 187 that was pushed by then California Governor Pete Wilson (R), the California GOP and aimed primarily at undocumented Latinx immigrants..

After it passed on November 10, three days later it was hit with a federal injunction blocking its enforcement.   After Gray Davis (D) was elected, the state dropped the appeal of the federal injunction in 1999, which effectively repealed it.

But what California Republicans failed to realize as they gleefully celebrated that Prop 187 win in 1994 is that by being gung ho for anti- Latinx discrimination and attacking immigrants, they were setting up the unforeseen consequences of the decline of their party and pissing off a generation of California Latinx voters  
California went from being a competitive swing state to a safe Democratic bastion in less than a decade because California Latinx people left the party and then punished them at the polls for pushing the unjust law.

One of the smart things that George W. Bush tried to do as governor and Rick Perry continued as his successor was attempting to keep what happened to the California Republican Party from occurring in Texas by doing outreach to the Texas Latinx community, and appointing Latinx people to open statewide offices and positions.   He and the Texas GOP were quite aware of Texas rapidly changing demographics and inevitably becoming like California a majority minority population state by 2009.

One of their strategies for dealing with it was attempting to build the Latinx community up as a bloc to cancel out African-Americans, who they long ago lost as a constituency in 1964

But with the increasing anti-Latinx and anti-immigration rhetoric in the GOP political ranks as part of their Massive Resistance 2.0 strategy aimed at President Obama who was in favor of comprehensive immigration reform,  combined with a candidate in Trump despised by the Latinx community, it sure looks like the long hoped for Latinx voters permanently dumping the Republican Party and realigning their votes as part of the Democratic coalition may finally be happening.

The catalyst for this possible seismic political shift it is the Donald Trump campaign, his big mouth, Trump's racist antics attacking federal District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. Univision and its journalists and his campaign's anti-Mexican rhetoric.

Trump has not been helped by his own Latino surrogates spouting more anti-Latinx immigrant rhetoric themselves like the infamous 'taco truck on every corner' comment by Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez back in September.

Latinx participation in the 2016 presidential election cycle was dramatically up across the country.  We have had Latinx celebs like America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Wilson Cruz acting as surrogates for the Clinton campaign , and it may be the difference in this election.  

We'll see how much of a difference it makes in 48 hours.  We'll have to stay tuned to discover whether this massive Latinx rejection of Republicans fueled by dislike of Trump continues in down ballot races and beyond November 8.

I hope the message sinks in to the Latinx community that the best way to deal with politicians who disrespect your community is either vote them out of office in every election cycle or build a wall of votes for their opponent that keeps the offensive politician out of office in the first place.

I also hope the Latinx community continues to show up and show out in large numbers in every election cycle from now on as an an important part of a liberal-progressive voting bloc that will make this country better.

The Humanity Of Trans People Is On The Ballot

One of the reasons that I have been so passionate about this upcoming election on Tuesday is because for me as a trans advocate, the choice couldn't be any more clearer about who should be the 45th president of the United States.

I am a political pragmatist.   While I want someone who is as progressive as possible leading our nation, I am also cognizant of the fact that you have to get ELECTED in order to implement your policy platform.

I don't care how progressive your platform is on paper.  If you can't get elected to office, you and your pie in the sky third party and its platform are useless to me and other marginalized groups.

I don't waste my vote on third party candidates in a presidential election because they have zero chance to be elected president, and third parties don't have their political act together enough to even have a chance at being viable now or in the near future.   See the Reform Party and their rise and fall in the 90's as an example of the internal third party dysfunction I'm alluding to.

That's why Jill Stein, who is far more unqualified for the presidency than Trump is, and Gary Johnson, who is basically a Republican ashamed to claim the GOP label, never had a chance with me or the majority of non-white voters

There are only two candidates left in this race with a legitimate shot of getting 270 electoral votes and be on January 20 standing on that inaguration platform they have been building since September on the west side of the Capitol.

Those persons who have that shot on November 8 of being elected the 45th president of the United States are Sec. Hillary Clinton and (eww) Donald Trump.

Who do I wish to see succeed the first African-American POTUS?  Definitely the first female POTUS.  

When you do the hard solid thinking about what the issues are that impact our country, Hillary Clinton hands down is the most qualified person and most prepared to handle the massive job of being president of the US immediately after being sworn in and having well thought out policies to tackle those problems.

I've been pointing out since 2012 that the next president will possibly get to select up to four Supreme Court justices and when they do so in conjunction with a Democratic Senate, they will set the course of the SCOTUS and the federal judiciary for the next 30-40 years.

With trans human rights cases starting to percolate through the federal court system and the Gavin Grimm case about to be heard by a SCOTUS that has a 4-4 split, having the right POTUS selecting the replacement for (in)Justice Antonin Scalia is one of the issues that led me to throw my early support to Clinton.

One of the other things I've been alarmed about the legion of professional TBLGQ haters that are Trump's senior policy advisors like Tony Perkins.  Trump has also committed himself to supporting a repressive Orwellian named 'First Amendment Defense Act'

Should the self destructive white privilege fueled racist tendencies of white voters prevail on Tuesday, we will be stuck with people who hate us having offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the Justice Department gleefully making policy backed by the federal government that rolls back all the human rights games we have made since Stonewall. .  

I want to see them crying about a loss on Tuesday on Election Night like they were four years ago.  I also want to see Trump crushed in an Electoral College beatdown so that another Republican candidate never again will go there and use blatant racist appeals to white voters in an attempt to get elected to office at any level of government.

I've also noticed this sexist and misogynist bent to the opposition for Sec. Clinton.  I'm really tired of the men supporting Trump who deep down don't want a woman to be president of the United States and try to cover that up with whatever right wing anti-Clinton lie to do so. 

We have had 43 white men be POTUS. The last white male president was a disaster for the country. We can't afford that as a nation again.  As a trans person, I would see all the progress we have painstakingly made come to a screeching halt, all because some Trump voters don't want to see a qualified woman become the next president of the United States.  

I also see the danger of having a short tempered easy to provoke idiot like Trump in charge of our nuclear arsenal.  As a kid who grew up during the Cold War, that thought keeps me awake at night.

But the people I'm most concerned about are our trans kids.  They are facing a coordinated right wing attack that is being blunted in large part because the power of the federal government is pushing back against that unjust assault on our humanity combined with the trans community, its advocates and our allies fighting our oppressors tooth and nail

If the transphobes get control of the federal government, we will be the first folks to feel the negative human rights repercussions of a Trump presidency.   That repression of trans people will also disproportionately be felt by non-white and low income trans folks who can't afford to leave for other nations as the privileged trans folks say they will do..

It's why trans folks are predominantly voting for Clinton .

As a trans person , I don't want to see what progress we have made so far come to a screeching halt

If you are trans and supporting Trump, you are not only voting for your own oppression, you are voting for the oppression of our trans kids, the rolling back of your human rights, and increased attacks on your very humanity.   What logical reason can you come up with that isn't a right wing anti-Clinton lie to support someone that is massively unqualified for the presidency?  

I and the trans community have too much to lose on Tuesday if Trump wins. Our very movement and humanity is on the ballot , and a vote for Trump is a vote against the humanity and human rights of transgender Americans, and transgender people of color by extension who would bear the disproportionate brunt of that anti-trans oppression being aimed at us.

It's why I'm unapologetically with her, and want to see Hillary Clinton win on Tuesday and be inaugurated as the next president of the United States..

Last Day Of Texas Early Voting

Today is the last day of early voting in Battleground Texas, and in Harris County and elsewhere across our vast state, early voting turnout has not only seen large numbers of Democrats participating, it is setting records in many of the most populous counties across Texas,

I handled my early voting business on the first day, so if you haven't voted yet, tomorrow is your last opportunity to do so.   You have until 7 PM to be in line at your fave early voting place and cast your ballots in this critical election for not only the next president, but all the important down ballot races that affect your every day life. .

If you miss this last day of early voting, you'll have to wait until Election day to cast your ballot, and you'll have to do so from your regular polling place.

It's your choice.  You can either do it on Friday and have your choice of early voting spots across the county to do so, or wait until Tuesday and be able to vote only at your regular precinct.

But whatever you choose to do, just vote.  The stakes are too high in this election for you to sit it out.

Seven More Days

The calendar has flipped to November, and we now have seven more days in this historic presidential campaign between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Seven more days.

Seven more days until the most contentious presidential election in modern US history s over.   Seven more days until other states without early voting get to finally choose between two vastly different candidates.   Seven more days until the trans community and everyone else discovers what direction this country is going to travel.

For those of us who are trans, or non white, or women, or marginalized, these next seven days will be nerve wracking and stress inducing.

Seven more days to make plans to get out the vote, or if you are in an early voting state like Texas, continue to bumrush the polls until early voting ends on Friday.

Seven more days until we can exhale,

 

2016 Houston GLBT Political Caucus Endorsements

I've mentioned the Houston GLBT Political Caucus Card in some of my 2016 election posts,   To make it easier for y'all to #VoteTheCard,  here for your TransGriot viewing pleasure are the people who were endorsed in this 2016 election cycle by the Caucus

US Representative
• US Rep, District 2: Pat Bryan
• US Rep, District 7: James Cargas
• US Rep, District 18: Sheila Jackson Lee

Texas Supreme Court
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3: Mike Westergreen

Texas State Board of Education
• Member, State Board of Education, District 6: R. Dakota Carter

Texas State Representative
• State Representative, District 126: Joy Dawson-Thomas
• State Representative, District 131: Alma Allen
• State Representative, District 134: Ben Rose
• State Representative, District 135: Jesse A. Ybanez
• State Representative, District 137: Gene Wu
• State Representative, District 139: Jarvis Johnson
• State Representative, District 140: Armando Walle
• State Representative, District 147: Garnet Coleman
• State Representative, District 148: Jessica Farrar
• State Representative, District 149: Hubert Vo

Texas Court of Appeals
• Justice, 1st Court of Appeals, Place 4: Barbara Gardner
• Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 2: Candace White
• Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 9: Peter Kelly
District Judges
• District Judge, 11th: Kristen Hawkins
• District Judge 61st: Fredericka Phillips
• District Judge 80th: Larry Weiman
• District Judge 125th: Kyle Carter
• District Judge 127th: R. K. Sandill
• District Judge 129th: Michael Gomez
• District Judge 133rd: Jaclanel McFarland
• District Judge 151st: Mike Englehart
• District Judge 152nd: Robert K. Schaffer
• District Judge 164th: Alexandra Smoots-Hogan
• District Judge 165th: Ursula A. Hall
• District Judge 174th: Hazel Jones
• District Judge 177th: Robert Johnson
• District Judge 178th: Kelli Johnson
• District Judge 179th: Randy Roll
• District Judge 333rd: Daryl Moore
• District Judge 334th: Steve Kirkland
• District Judge 337th: Herb Ritchie
• District Judge 338th: Ramona Franklin
• District Judge 339th: Maria T. Jackson
• District Judge 507th: Julia Maldonado

County District Attorney
• Harris County District Attorney: Kim Ogg
County Civil Court
• Judge, County Civil Court at Law No. 1: George Barnstone

County Attorney
• Harris County Attorney: Vince Ryan

Sheriff
• Harris County Sheriff: Ed Gonzalez

County Tax Assessor- Collector
• Harris County Tax Assessor Collector: Ann Harris Bennett

County School Trustee 
• Harris County School Trustee, Position 1, Precinct 2: Sherrie L. Matula
• Harris County School Trustee, Position 2, Precinct 4: Marilyn Burgess

County Commissioner
• Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 1: Rodney Ellis
• Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Jenifer Pool

Justice Of The Peace
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1: Eric William Carter
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, Place 1: Joe Stephens

Constable
• Constable, Precinct 1: Alan Rosen
• Constable, Precinct 7: May Walker

HISD School Board (special election)
• HISD District 7: Anne Sung

Record Breaking Early Vote First Day In Harris County

If you early voted in Harris County today like I did, you were part of making some electoral history

We had 67, 471 people early vote across the county at the 40 early voting locations.  That's the highest number we've ever had participate in early voting, with the previous record set in 2012 with 47,000 voters on the first day

I'm also hearing the same thing is happening in Travis (Austin), Bexar (San Antonio), El Paso and Dallas counties.  Haven't heard yet if the same thing is happening in Tarrant County (Fort Worth)

The significance of that is that Harris County, the largest county in the state of Texas by population, provides 16% of the total in any statewide race.  

FYI, the rest of the top five in order are Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis counties

If those early voters are predominately Democratic ones as my glance across my social media circles seems to be indicating, it's a great early sign for the Clinton campaign and Democrats across the state in down ballot races.

I hope the Clinton campaign will consider doing a quick campaign trip here to Houston, Dallas, Austin  and San Antonio to really fire up the Democratic voters here and cement the fact this is a battleground state that has the power to finish off Trump's presidential campaign.

Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com

Texas' 38 electoral votes make it the second largest electoral vote prize in this and any presidential election cycle after California and its massive 55 electoral votes.

Since 1980, Texas has acted like California does in terms of being the electoral vote base for Republican presidential election success.   If Texas goes blue his year, without Texas in the Trump column to counteract California's 55 EV's going to Clinton, it would make it mathematically impossible for Trump to win the presidency, and Clinton would pass the magic 270 EV's she needs to become our 45th president before we even start adding other battleground states into the mix.

While this is good news so far, it only becomes a reality if you vote.  If you haven't voted yet, please do so.  When you do, vote the entire ballot from the top of the ticket to dog catcher

Early voting in Texas will run until November 4.

Moni's 2016 POTUS Election Musing

Today as many of you know is the first day of early voting in my home state of Texas  I have loved early voting ever since they started doing it in the Lone Star State back in the 90's .

I love early voting because I can do so on my schedule and I'm not stuck waiting until November 8 when I already know who I'm voting for.   Another 14 days or so of campaign commercials and speeches isn't going to change my mind.

Spent some time at the West Gray Multicultural Service Center, one of the 45 early voting locations in Harris County for early the 2016 presidential election.   I arrived a little after noon to the delightful surprise of seeing a long line here, and it took me 45 minutes total to do so

40 minutes in line, and only five minutes to run through the ballot vote, check my work and press the SEND button on the E-Vote machine to handle my electoral business.

And yes H-town , I practiced what I'be been preaching to y'all and voted the entire ballot from POTUS to dog catcher.  I also voted for all the endorsed candidates on the Houston GLBT Caucus Card.

Who did I vote for for POTUS?  Definitely wasn't Trump,Jill Stein or Gary Johnson.

I voted for the person I endorsed for president on these TransGriot electronic pages.

This is another historic election I have been pleased and proud to participate in.  We set a first day early voting record in Harris County, so if you want to avoid the lines on November 8, better go now.

I was pleased that for the first time in my eligible voting life (my first election was the 1980 Carter-Reagan one) , I've had an opportunity to cast a ballot in a battleground state.

The fact the battleground state in question is my home state of Texas makes it that much sweeter and warms my political heart.

Seeing that long line at this polling place and others around town and the county also made me feel good.   It also compels me to remind you TransGriot readers across this nation to show up and show out at the polls because you vote matters.

Once again, early voting in Texas started today and will continue until November 4.  if the record turnout persists, may wish to do what I did and vote early as well.

The direction of this country for the next four years and beyond depends on it.

Time To Early Vote Texas!

In a few hours across the Lone Star State early voting kicks off and runs until November 4.

After three contentious presidential debates and debates in other down ballot races, it's time to handle our civic duty in an election that has Texas for the first time since 1976 up for grabs as a presidential battleground state.  

It's also the first one in a while that the odious Texas voter suppression law isn't in effect

You do not need a Texas ID to vote.  You do need to be registered and have the blue Texas voter registration card when you go to the polls.

And yeah Dan Patrick, I'm unapologetically Black, trans, I vote, and I'm looking to fire everyone with an (R.) behind their name on the ballot in 2016 and beyond.

Can't wait to fire yours and Ken Paxton's trans oppressive behinds from office in 2018.

I've pretty much made up my mind a long time ago who I support in this election, so I'm not waiting until November 8   If you haven't made up your mind ,for you in Harris County, here's the list of candidates the Houston GLBT Caucus endorsed.    

The Houston Chronicle and other papers across the state will probably be posting their candidate endorsements tomorrow as well.

I also want to urge you and cannot stress enough the importance of voting the ENTIRE ballot from POTUS to dog catcher because #DownBallotRacesMatter.  

It is critical to the advancement and defense of our human rights to have candidates who are cognizant of our TBLGQ community issues in our federal and state courthouses, on city council, in the county commissioners courthouse, in the state legislature, on the school board, and at every level of government.

They want and need your votes as well

Here are the early voting times in Harris County.   Check your county clerk website for the times in your Texas neck of the woods.

Here are the early voting times in Harris County, (the city of Houston's county for you non Texans)

Early voting will be in various locations across the county, and have different times for different periods of it.   From October 24-28, the early voting polling centers will be open from 8 AM-6 PM.

On Souls To The Polls Weekend, the early voting locations on Saturday October 29 will be open from 7 AM-7 PM, and on Sunday, October 30 from 1-6 PM

From October 31-November 4, the polls will be open from 7 AM-7 PM.

Once again, please handle your electoral business.  The stakes are too high for you to stay at home and pout because you didn't get the perfect candidate.

Naw GOP, This Election Isn't 'Rigged'

I have been amused to hear Donald Trump claim with three weeks to go that this election is 'rigged' against him.

Naw dude, you need to take accountability for the fact you are the worst major party candidate and most unqualified for the Oval Office in modern times and Hillary Clinton is beating that behind because she's light years more qualified and running a better campaign than you are.

So lets examine that claim that this election is rigged.  It's a tired conservafool campaign refrain that ignores the facts that this nation is not center-right, it's center left.   It also ignores the reality that the GOP has worked mightily since the 1960's to piss off large blocs of non-white Americans.

You didn't help by running a campaign demonizing Latinx, Black, Muslim and Asian voters in this presidential election cycle.

And lest be real, the people who administer the elections in many parts of the country like governors and secretaries of state are from your party.  It's also on record that the Republicans have long been on a mission to suppress voter turnout of African American and  Latinx voters, with the latest suppression tool being the Voter ID laws passed by Republican controlled legislatures.  

You have also made it your mission in Conservaworld to kill the 1965 Voting Rights Act. that ensures that marginalized people can cast their ballots.   As a matter of fact, one of the ways that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts made his money was looking for ways to eviscerate the VRA.

The in person impersonation voter fraud meme the GOP pushed the justify the passage of these voter suppression measures has been proven to be false.

With all your angry low information followers out there, it is frankly dangerous to the integrity of the American electoral process to be pushing the lie that this election is 'rigged' against you when you haven't done anything substantive (thank God) to win it.

When you piss off large swaths of the electorate while only appealing to your shrinking base of white voters, you're going to lose.

So naw Donald and every Republican pushing that lie.  If you're claiming the system is rigged, then  by extension, you are the architects of the rigging since you control in many states the electoral process in the states you control.  That's all the more reason for Americans to say 'You're Fired' to Republicans at all levels of government on November 8

First Lady Michelle Obama Calls Out Trump's Treatment Of Women In NH Speech

First Lady Michelle Obama was tellin' it like it T-I-S is about a certain Republican sexual predator running for the presidency.

“The measure of any society is how it treats their women and girls. I can’t believe that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. This kind of violence and abuse and disrespect to women… This is not something that we just sweep under the rug as another disturbing footnote in a sad election season. The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect to our intellects, the belief that you can do anything to a woman. It’s cruel. The truth is it hurts. We are drowning in it.

All of us are doing what women have always done. We’re trying to keep our heads above water, just trying to get through it, trying to pretend that this doesn’t really bother us. Maybe we think that admitting how much it hurts makes us as women look weak. Maybe we’re afraid of being that vulnerable. Maybe we’ve grown accustomed to swallowing these emotions and staying quiet because we’ve seen that people often won’t take our word over his. Or maybe we don’t want to believe that there are still people our there who think so little of us as women. So many are treating this as just another day, as if our outrage is overblown. This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful; it is not tolerable.

It doesn’t matter what party you belong to. None of us deserve this kind of abuse. This isn’t about politics. It’s about basic human decency. We cannot expose our children to this any longer, not for another minute, and let alone for four years. Now is the time for all of us to say enough is enough. If all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children? What lessons do you think this is teaching to girls about their worth?

To dismiss this as ‘locker room talk’ is an insult to decent men. The men in my life are concerned about what this election is doing to our boys and men who are looking for role models. Strong men, men who are truly role models don’t need to put down women to feel powerful.

We need someone who is a united force, someone who will heal the wounds that divide us. I believe with all my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president. When things get tough, she doesn’t complain. She doesn’t abandon ship. Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. She is someone who has waited her turn and helped out while waiting! No one could be more qualified for this job than Hillary. We as Americans, we as decent human beings, can come together and declare that enough is enough. We need to recover from our shock and depression and we need to do what women do, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. We need to vote, we need to make calls. We cannot afford to be tired or turned off. On November 8, we have the opportunity to show our children that this country is big enough for us all, and that each of us is a precious part of this great American story and we are always stronger together. We reject hatred and fear. In difficult times we don't discard our highest ideals. That is who we are, and don't let anyone tell you differently!"

Here's a link to the video of the FLOTUS' Manchester, New Hampshire speech

Angela Rye Blasts GOP Pundit For Defending Rape Culture

One of the people I love seeing when she does appear on TV to set people straight is Angela Rye.

You've got to check out this video of Angela calling out the ridiculousness of Kayleigh McEnany for the GOP wide talking point of trying to blame Hillary Clinton for her hubby's affairs.

I guess by that same standard, Melania Trump is to blame for he's husband's nekulturny behavior.

Check out Angela Rye snatching Kayleigh's wig on air.

T-30 Days To Election Day

It's 30 days to Election Day and in several states people are already voting for president and other offices thanks to early voting.   This is also a time in which many states have looming voter registration deadlines.

There are people in several states voting as a bombshell 2005 tape of Trump saying some other disgusting things about women on a hot mic emerged yesterday afternoon that has finally enraged the Republican Party to the point where Utah Republicans like Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Sen Mike Lee and Gov Gary Herbert not only have rescinded endorsements of him, but in Lee's case are calling for him to resign.

Yeah, too bad for y'all Donald's not listening and his ego is too big for him to do that.

It's also telling that he can say jacked up things about Black, Muslim, LGBTQ and Latinx Americans and Republicans say nothing, but insult the white suburban women and it's a crisis.

October 24, the first day of early voting in Texas ,can't get here fast enough for me.

Meanwhile Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton keeps chugging along and wisely letting Donald's mouth keep destroying his campaign.

While I'm doing the happy dance over this schadenfreude laced situation the Trumpenfuhrer and his Not Ready For Political Primetime campaign staff is facing, I'm still concerned that 40% of his base is going to vote for him no matter what.

That means those of us who are with her need to handle our political business for the next thirty day and not relent in the work we do to get her elected until we hear the words 'President-elect Hillary Clinton'.   Then we can exhale.

We also need to show up and show out on November 8, and fire his behind and every Republican who supports him at all levels of government..

Should be an interesting second debate tomorrow.