Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersTed Cruz spoke softly and seemed contrite in a 22-minute interview with Tom Abrahams on ABC 13 in Houston on February 18, explaining how he had come to take his wife and two daughters to the Ritz-Carlton in Cancún during the deep freeze and power outages that were brutally punishing Texas. His home, like those of millions of other Texans, had been without power or water, he explained, and his daughters, whose schools were closed for the week, asked if the family could go someplace warm. But overnight in Mexico, Cruz had become an object of...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersTed Cruz spoke softly and seemed contrite in a 22-minute interview with Tom Abrahams on ABC 13 in Houston on February 18, explaining how he had come to take his wife and two daughters to the Ritz-Carlton in Cancún during the deep freeze and power outages that were brutally punishing Texas. His home, like those of millions of other Texans, had been without power or water, he explained, and his daughters, whose schools were closed for the week, asked if the family could go someplace warm. But overnight in Mexico, Cruz had become an object of...WW…

Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersAhead of the state’s Republican primary in February of 2016, Donald Trump called an impromptu press conference in the town hall in Hanahan, South Carolina. The venue he selected was a ten-minute drive from the North Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, where former president George W. Bush was set to speak a few hours later in his first—and ultimately last—appearance on behalf of the doomed presidential campaign of his brother, Jeb. Ostensibly, Trump intended to distract attention from that event and belittle the Bush brothers, which he...…Sort ByFilter ByLocationsTypeView ResultsFiltersAhead of the state’s Republican primary in February of 2016, Donald Trump called an impromptu press conference in the town hall in Hanahan, South Carolina. The venue he selected was a ten-minute drive from the North Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, where former president George W. Bush was set to speak a few hours later in his first—and ultimately last—appearance on behalf of the doomed presidential campaign of his brother, Jeb. Ostensibly, Trump intended to distract attention from that event and belittle the Bush brothers, which he...WW…

Jonathan TiloveAustin American-StatesmanAUSTIN, Texas – A caravan of vehicles displaying Trump campaign flags and signs on Friday afternoon, leading the Democrats on board to call 911 and cancel the Austin close of their “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” tour.According to the Biden campaign, the vehicles surrounded the bus, trying to slow it down in the middle of the highway or run it off the road. Biden staff notified 911 and local law enforcement, and, they reported, local law enforcement helped the bus to reach its Austin destination.Neither Former Vice...…Jonathan TiloveAustin American-StatesmanAUSTIN, Texas – A caravan of vehicles displaying Trump campaign flags and signs on Friday afternoon, leading the Democrats on board to call 911 and cancel the Austin close of their “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” tour.According to the Biden campaign, the vehicles surrounded the bus, trying to slow it down in the middle of the highway or run it off the road. Biden staff notified 911 and local law enforcement, and, they reported, local law enforcement helped the bus to reach its Austin destination.Neither Former Vice...WW…

Jonathan TiloveView CommentsNearly two-thirds of Texas voters believe the coronavirus pandemic is “out of control” in the state, and they are split down the middle on Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the crisis, a steep decline in confidence in the last seven weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.The survey comes as state health officials reported new records Wednesday in the number of deaths attributed to the virus — 197 — and the number of patients being treated in Texas hospitals — 10,893.The state’s virus death toll is now 4,348 and the statewide...…Jonathan TiloveView CommentsNearly two-thirds of Texas voters believe the coronavirus pandemic is “out of control” in the state, and they are split down the middle on Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the crisis, a steep decline in confidence in the last seven weeks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.The survey comes as state health officials reported new records Wednesday in the number of deaths attributed to the virus — 197 — and the number of patients being treated in Texas hospitals — 10,893.The state’s virus death toll is now 4,348 and the statewide...WW…

 The Texas Republican Party’s virtual state convention stumbled its way toward a messy conclusion Sunday that could leave its legitimacy in doubt."This convention will be challenged in court and should be challenged in court," Amy Hedtke, who along with retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West was challenging Texas Republican Party Chair James Dickey for reelection as the concluding business of the convention, told the American-Statesman."I've already told the West campaign to count me in on anything they file," Hedtke said. "And worst-case scenario, or best case, depending on how you look at...… The Texas Republican Party’s virtual state convention stumbled its way toward a messy conclusion Sunday that could leave its legitimacy in doubt."This convention will be challenged in court and should be challenged in court," Amy Hedtke, who along with retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West was challenging Texas Republican Party Chair James Dickey for reelection as the concluding business of the convention, told the American-Statesman."I've already told the West campaign to count me in on anything they file," Hedtke said. "And worst-case scenario, or best case, depending on how you look at...WW…

Jonathan Tilovejtilove@statesman.comView CommentsIn October 2016, a month before Donald Trump was elected president, I wrote a for the American-Statesman that holds up pretty well today. It was headlined, “Why Texas Republicans would be better off with Hillary Clinton as president.”It wasn’t a blazing insight.Modern American political history is replete with evidence that the worst thing that can happen to a party politically — at the state and local level — is to have that party occupy the White House.Barack Obama’s presidency especially decimated the ranks of Democratic governors,...…Jonathan Tilovejtilove@statesman.comView CommentsIn October 2016, a month before Donald Trump was elected president, I wrote a for the American-Statesman that holds up pretty well today. It was headlined, “Why Texas Republicans would be better off with Hillary Clinton as president.”It wasn’t a blazing insight.Modern American political history is replete with evidence that the worst thing that can happen to a party politically — at the state and local level — is to have that party occupy the White House.Barack Obama’s presidency especially decimated the ranks of Democratic governors,...WW…

Jonathan Tilovejtilove@statesman.comView CommentsThe 3rd Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against him by a Sandy Hook parent and ordered Jones to pay $22,500 in attorney fees for what the court found to be a frivolous appeal.That means that Jones has now been assessed nearly $150,000 in legal fees in two cases — one for defamation and another for intentional infliction of emotional distress — brought by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was one of the 20 first-graders killed along with six...…Jonathan Tilovejtilove@statesman.comView CommentsThe 3rd Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against him by a Sandy Hook parent and ordered Jones to pay $22,500 in attorney fees for what the court found to be a frivolous appeal.That means that Jones has now been assessed nearly $150,000 in legal fees in two cases — one for defamation and another for intentional infliction of emotional distress — brought by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was one of the 20 first-graders killed along with six...WW…

 Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm, who last week suggested that the coronavirus was a Democratic hoax, raised the possibility in a now-deleted Facebook post Wednesday that the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.The content of the post was not original to Brehm and was the subject of a PolitiFact published last Friday, which reported the post had been “flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed,” and that it had been “shared thousands...… Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm, who last week suggested that the coronavirus was a Democratic hoax, raised the possibility in a now-deleted Facebook post Wednesday that the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.The content of the post was not original to Brehm and was the subject of a PolitiFact published last Friday, which reported the post had been “flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed,” and that it had been “shared thousands...WW…

 Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm, who last week suggested that the coronavirus was a Democratic hoax, raised the possibility in a now-deleted Facebook post Wednesday that the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.The content of the post was not original to Brehm and was the subject of a PolitiFact published last Friday, which reported the post had been “flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed,” and that it had been “shared thousands...… Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm, who last week suggested that the coronavirus was a Democratic hoax, raised the possibility in a now-deleted Facebook post Wednesday that the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.The content of the post was not original to Brehm and was the subject of a PolitiFact published last Friday, which reported the post had been “flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed,” and that it had been “shared thousands...WW…

Jonathan TiloveView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott on Thursday called on Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm to resign for using her Facebook page to spread a conspiracy theory claiming that the death of George Floyd was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.“These comments are disgusting and have no place in the Republican Party or in public discourse,” said John Wittman, the governor’s communications director. “Cynthia Brehm should immediately resign her position as chair of the Bexar County Republican Party.”U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a San Antonian, seconded the...…Jonathan TiloveView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott on Thursday called on Bexar County Republican Party Chair Cynthia Brehm to resign for using her Facebook page to spread a conspiracy theory claiming that the death of George Floyd was staged to damage President Donald Trump with black voters.“These comments are disgusting and have no place in the Republican Party or in public discourse,” said John Wittman, the governor’s communications director. “Cynthia Brehm should immediately resign her position as chair of the Bexar County Republican Party.”U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a San Antonian, seconded the...WW…