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A Texas Democrat switched his affiliation to the Republican Party over the party's left-leaning embrace of defunding the police policies and "chaos" on the southern border.

State Rep. Ryan Guillen announced in a Monday press conference that he would seek reelection to his south Texas seat as a Republican, saying the Democratic Party's far-left values are no longer in line with his own.

Specifically, Guillen cited his now-former partys backing of defunding the police and the compounding crisis at the southern border under President Biden.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY BORDER PATROL ENCOUNTER NEARLY 2,000 MIGRANTS IN 24 HOURS, HUNDREDS GET PAST AGENTS

Mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents watch Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas on Sept. 20, 2021 as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. (John Moore/Getty Images)

"Friends, something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, not the values of most Texans," Guillen said.

"The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas," he continued.

The former Democrat had won his seat by nearly 17 points in the 2020 election and has served in the Texas House for almost two decades. Guillen's switch is a win for Republicans as the party pushes to gain traction along the historically blue border.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan joined Guillen at his announcement in Floresville.

Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, R-Orange, presides as they House prepares to debate voting bill SB1, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

"John Lujans upset victory earlier this month in a district with a majority Hispanic population already proved that Texans are fed up with the failures of Democratic leadership and Ryan Guillens party switch makes that fact all the more clear," Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) president Dee Duncan said in a Monday statement.

"Todays Democrat leaders are so focused on appeasing their fringe-left base by putting teachers unions ahead of parents, pushing socialist tax and spending schemes, and fighting for open border policies, that even elected officials in their own party cannot support their radical agenda anymore," Duncan continued.

Duncan said the Republicans "welcome" Guillen to the party "with open arms and look forward to working with him" as he works with his new GOP colleagues "to deliver solutions for the people of his district."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces the reopening of more Texas businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic at a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Monday, May 18, 2020. (Lynda M. Gonzalez-Pool/Getty Images)

The Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa went after Guillen for the switch, attacking the newly minted Republican for "prioritizing holding onto his job rather than standing up for Texans."

"Were disappointed to see him selling his soul and selling out South Texans, but were excited to clear the field for a real Democrat to run one we can count on to show up for our families and put Texans first," Hinojosa said. "Texas Democrats will keep standing up for our values and fighting to fix the biggest problems facing Texas families whether its fixing our disaster-prone power grid, getting more people healthcare, or making sure working Texans have a real chance to get ahead."

"Thats clearly not a priority for Rep. Guillen," he added. "Dont let the door hit you on the way out."

The ongoing border crisis has been a thorn in the Biden administrations side a thorn that Biden and Vice President Harris, who was tapped earlier this year to oversee the border crisis, have largely ignored since taking office.

Harris quipped earlier this year that she had not been to Europe when reminded by NBC's Lester Holt that she had not been to the southern border yet.

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Harris traveled to France last week, where she was panned for putting on a French accent while touring a laboratory in Paris. She had previously traveled to El Paso, Texas a city along the border but not near the Rio Grande Valley, the epicenter of the crisis to assess the border situation.

The effects of the border crisis may also boost the already growing Hispanic vote moving toward the Republican Party.

Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene.

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Texas Dem switches to Republican Party over defunding the police, 'chaos' on the border - Fox News

In politics, a week is a lifetime.

Just one week ago, the big stories were Republican Glenn Youngkin winning the Virginia gubernatorial election and Democrats spinning out in their trademark disarray. Among other problems, the party seemed out of touch with suburban moms and dads. On top of that, progressives were hindering Democrats from passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill that might havejust by demonstrating competence and momentumthrown Virginia Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe a lifeline.

Days later, Democrats, with the help of 13 Republicans, finally did pass an infrastructure bill. Then, rather than building on the promise of normal Republicanism (as represented by Youngkin), Republicans reminded everyone who they really were.

They did this with white nationalist-adjacent Rep. Paul Gosars bizarre and disturbing anime video (which depicts him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). They did this with Sen. Ted Cruzs attack on Big Bird. And they did this with threats aimed at the 13 House Republicans who broke ranks and voted for the infrastructure bill. (After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to them as traitors and posted their names and phone numbers, Rep. Fred Upton received death threats.)

The threats against these 13 Republicans are obviously beyond the pale, even if Im sympathetic to conservatives who feel frustrated with their actions (National Review called bailing out Dems political malpractice). But just as you might criticize the 13 Republicans for disobeying the maxim Never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying himself, their critics are making the same mistake. Democrats, as recently as a week ago, were in the process of committing political suicide. Cruz, Gosar, and Greene effectively looked at the mess Democrats were in and said, Hold my beer!

Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg has made the observation that neither party wants to be a majority party. Instead, both major political parties seem hell-bent on achieving minority status. This assessment rings true, but it deserves an asterisk: You cant really blame the party leaders or the party apparatus for most of the problems. Social media and other innovations have made it much harder for leaders to maintain message discipline. Most of the crazy things attributed to both partiesthings that may rightly turn off normal Americansare the result of freelancing.

Now, in my opinion, this is a distinction without much of a difference. When prominent progressive writers, athletes, academics, celebs, or Squad members on the left say or do something radical or extreme, it matterseven though it is not officially sanctioned by the DNC. Likewise, when former president Donald Trump (who wants to punish the 13 Republicans), Tucker Carlson, or Marjorie Taylor Greene say or do something controversial, that speaks to the character of the GOP.

The interesting thing is that these actors in both parties cannot leave well enough alone. This is true both in terms of silly things and in terms of substantive policy decisions. Six months ago, Joe Biden was riding high. Then, he decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, and all hell broke loose. In the intervening months, he has maybe had one or two good news cycles. Maybe. And the really crazy thing is that the withdrawal was largely a disaster of his choosing. All he had to do was nothing.

Likewise, Republicans couldnt revel in the Virginia victory for a few days without changing the narrative.

Whatever the motivation, crazy has consequencesthe worst get on top.

Again, the desire to meddle is the perfectly rational result of perverse incentives. There is money and attention and TV segments and Twitter buzz to be had for the politician willing to say or do outrageous things. So some of this is calculated and performative. Some of the craziness, though, is sincere. And some of this is simply the result of failed or unwise assumptions about what the public wants.

Whatever the motivation, crazy has consequencesthe worst get on top.

Just as it attracts abnormal candidates (see Herschel Walker and Sean Parnell), the far right deters serious people from seeking office. Such was the case this week when New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would not run for the U.S. Senate next year. This is a big deal, since Democrats currently hold a tenuous 50-50 majority. But as Esquires Charles Pierce speculated, Sununus disinclination to join his partys current congressional caucus might very well be a measure of how little he wants to join in as the Republicans in the House drive the Republicans in the Senate closer to establishing a unicameral monkeyhouse instead of a national legislature.

It has become fashionable to blame the public for our lousy politicians. And theres some truth in that. But just because pols respond to the intensity of the worst among us does not mean that the majority of Americans are not good and decent people who just want normal political leaders.

Glenn Youngkin demonstrated that there is pent-up demand for a return to normalcy. What remains to be seen is whether anyone in politics is paying attentionand whether either party really wants to win.

See the article here:
Republicans Return to Their Happy Place: Full-On Crazy - The Daily Beast

If Democrats don't bend to their funding conditions, Republican leaders say they arent afraid of the ultimate fallback, a so-called "continuing resolution" or CR that drags out the same spending levels for the 10 months left in the budget year.

Well walk away from the bill, and we'll just go with a CR. We're not going to do it," Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the ranking Republican on the Houses defense funding panel, said about Democrats digging in on their liberal funding goals.

Democrats dont need the other partys help to advance the $1.75 trillion climate action and safety net spending package they are working to pass. Government funding bills, however, need 60 votes in the Senate. And Republicans could benefit from a monthslong standoff on the topic, which would hamstring Democrats attempts to increase non-defense spending.

As inflation poses a fresh threat to President Joe Biden's sagging approval ratings, Republicans are seeking to brand themselves as cutting spending to tame ballooning prices for consumer goods even though the national debt surged by more than $7 trillion during Trumps presidency.

"It's a shameless approach that they've taken," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said about GOP leaders' refusal to negotiate on a longer-term spending bill unless Democrats acquiesce on every controversial policy before negotiations can begin.

"There are a number of Republicans who believe that it's important to fund the priorities of the federal government, including the defense priorities. But I know there's an ongoing discussion in their caucus," added Van Hollen, who chairs the Senate spending panel that funds the Treasury Department and the IRS.

The GOP has adopted a heads I win, tails you lose attitude with another shutdown deadline in less than three weeks. If Democrats don't buckle to a slew of conservative demands before spending negotiations even begin, Republicans wont engage in dealmaking at all, GOP leaders say. The minority party has demanded that Democrats agree up-front to status-quo spending constraints, like the longtime ban on using federal funding for abortion.

Falling back on a CR that extends current funding levels would mean flat government spending and the preservation of funding constraints Trump signed into law almost a year ago, blocking Democrats who've been eager to revamp government budgets since they took back the majority.

Under a long-term CR, "what you end up with is Donald Trumps last negotiated budget, when he was president and we had the Senate. I would consider that a pretty egregious Democratic failure, said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), his partys top appropriator on the spending panel that handles the largest pot of non-defense funding.

Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is taking the GOP threat of a year-long funding patch seriously, according to a committee aide, who said Republicans seem adamant about leaving more cash for the military on the table in order to stick Democrats with Trump-era funding levels for domestic programs. Leahy blasted Republicans on the Senate floor this month, saying GOP leaders seemed determined to thwart President Joe Bidens agenda.

The White House turned up pressure on Friday for a government funding deal, warning that a year-long stopgap would seriously hurt the country by hampering Covid vaccine research, delaying military construction projects and jeopardizing food safety.

A full year of static funding would sting for all the GOP lawmakers seeking a boost in defense spending, while undercutting the military and all the other federal agencies that have been lurching through the budget year without funding certainty.

The truth is, if you take a look at the challenges that are out there with China right now and Russia, this budget needs to go, warned Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Pentagon.

Democrats have already debuted all 12 of their annual spending bills in both chambers and passed most of those bills in the House over the summer. House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said now "we need our Republican counterparts to respond with their own proposal."

Top appropriators in both chambers have no meetings on the books to continue bipartisan negotiations, according to aides. Their first confab broke up last week, with both sides issuing warring statements.

The deadlock could complicate Democrats efforts to retain their House and Senate majorities in next years midterm elections. Even if the two parties eventually strike a deal to boost federal spending before time runs out next September, a string of short-term funding punts would feed into Republican criticism that Democrats cant get anything done on time.

I dont get the sense when it comes to keeping the trains running on time they are particularly adept at that, said Senate Minority Whip John Thune. Its just sort of management by chaos. Theres no real rhyme or reason to it. They keep putting out deadlines which end up not being met."

Government funding negotiations have taken a backseat to the jam-packed legislative to-do list, including passage of Demcorats' $1.75 trillion social spending bill and a continued standoff over lifting the debt ceiling. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), the top Republican on the Transportation-HUD spending panel, said real negotiations on a funding deal "have yet to start."

A bipartisan Senate framework for striking a funding accord isnt in play this year, exposing the gaping distance between both parties. The Senates top Republican appropriator, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, insists Democrats need to resurrect the so-called Shelby-Leahy agreement the Republican devised in 2018 with his counterpart across the aisle. Under that deal, both parties agreed to forgo controversial policies lawmakers like to call poison-pill riders.

But sticking points abound. Republican appropriators list more than 30 items they say Democrats must add or nix from their spending bills before GOP leaders will enter into funding negotiations. That includes dropping wage requirements for projects funded with federal cash and ensuring the Guantanamo Bay terrorist-holding site remains open. The party also wants to continue federal funding for abstinence education programs that encourage people to refrain from non-marital sexual activity.

Republicans want the Biden administration to spend nearly $2 billion to keep building the border wall, rather than sending that cash back to the Treasury Department, and they want to kill environmental efforts, such as allowing new emissions regulations and funding a Civilian Climate Corps.

The question is, will we kick the can to January, February or March?" Shelby said. "And then come March, when we havent done anything, will we kick it to July and then September?

Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.

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GOP weighs trapping Democrats in Trumps budget - POLITICO

A man walks past a free flu shot advertisement outside of a drugstore in New York on August 19, 2020.Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

Recent polls show a 25 percentage-point gap between Republicans and Democrats who've gotten or will get a flu shot.

This is remarkably similar to the approximately 30 percentage-point partisan gap on COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was little to no partisan gap on influenza vaccine uptake.

Recent polls show Republicans are now much less likely to get a flu shot than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the politicization of the coronavirus vaccines is bleeding over into the flu immunization.

In the years prior to the global pandemic, Republicans and Democrats were similarly likely to get an annual influenza shot, CNN recently pointed out. In a February 2020 AP-NORC poll, 58% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans said they'd gotten a flu shot in the past year.

This year, between 65 and 68% of Democrats say they have gotten or will almost certainly get a flu shot, while between 40 and 44% of Republicans said they have or will get vaccinated against the flu, recent polls show. A UC San Diego study published last spring found that Republicans had become less likely to say they'd get a flu shot during the pandemic.

This gap is reflective of the approximately 30 percentage-point gap between Democrats and Republicans who've received a COVID-19 jab. While between 90 and 95% of Democrats 18 and older have gotten a coronavirus vaccine, just about 65% of adult Republicans have done the same.

The coronavirus vaccines, vaccine mandates, and other public health efforts related to the pandemic, including mask-wearing and lockdowns, have been heavily politicized over the last nearly two years. Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to oppose these mitigation efforts. Many Republican lawmakers and politicians have aggressively opposed COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements, a position some experts fear will aggravate hesitancy and opposition to other vaccines as well.

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This partisan gap in vaccine uptake is one reason why there's a significantly higher COVID-19 death rate in counties that voted for former President Donald Trump and those that President Joe Biden won in 2020. Those who've received a COVID-19 vaccine are much more likely to have gotten or say they will get a flu shot than those who've failed to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

This comes as public health officials have ramped up their efforts to promote the influenza vaccine. Last year, medical experts warned of a "twindemic" of both rising COVID-19 cases and a flu epidemic that could overwhelm hospitals already stretched to the brink with coronavirus patients, prior to the release of the COVID-19 vaccines. The 2020-2021 flu season was ultimately very mild, likely because many Americans stayed home, distanced from others, and wore masks to protect against the coronavirus. But with many COVID-19 mitigation efforts loosened this year, it's likely cases of the flu will be higher.

Some private entities have also stepped up their efforts to fight the flu as the season. Some universities have mandated that students and staff get the flu shot this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone in the US six months and older get a flu shot. Medical experts warn that contracting the flu could make people more vulnerable to COVID-19 and that catching both viruses simultaneously could dramatically increase the risk of severe illness or death.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is not over, and the risk of both flu and Covid-19 circulating could put additional strain on hospitals and frontline health care professionals," CDC head Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in October.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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The gap between Republicans and Democrats on flu shots is 20 percentage-points bigger than it was pre-pandemic - Yahoo News

And if the sane Republicans leaving don't speak up, and talk only in careful code, what responsibility do they have for what's left?

These are the thoughts spurred by the news last week that state Sen. Nicole Poolman, sane Republican from Bismarck, will not run for re-election in 2022. She cited family and professional reasons, but also said these "toxic times" in politics weighed in her decision.

Since Republicans hold a super-majority in North Dakota politics and you can fit all the Democrats in the Legislature in a thimble, we presume Poolman was referring to her GOP counterparts.

The same poisonous right-wing, loony-tune politics that have become popular around the United States in the Donald Trump era are overtaking the Republican Party in North Dakota. The non-existent problem of Critical Race Theory, the belief Trump won the 2020 election, the wild-eyed frothing over masks and COVID vaccines, the intimidation of school boards, support of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists .... it's all here in North Dakota.

And it's only going to get worse.

Poolman, best as we can tell, doesn't belong to the wacky wing of the Republican Party although the line between normal and wacky has moved decidedly to the right and is becoming blurred. She's a classic Republican, checking all the conservative boxes on taxes, regulation, business and other traditional GOP issues. A high school teacher, she supported public education.

Moderate Republicans and the handful of Democrats in Bismarck seemed to like Poolman and worked with her on policy. There was a genuine outreach of support when she announced her retirement, something that will not happen when, say, Fargo Rep. Jim Kasper leaves.

But there is also a measure of hypocrisy with Poolman citing toxicity as a reason for bailing out, just as there is when every Republican laments the current political atmosphere of disrespect and lack of decorum.

Which person is most responsible for the noxious state of political discourse and what party does he lead around by the nose?

Hint: It rhymes with Tonald Drump.

Republicans disgusted by the nastiness of modern politics have a clever, almost pathological, way of disassociating themselves from Trump to keep themselves clean. His policies are fine, they'll say, but I don't like the person. As if you can so easily separate the two. Mussolini kept the trains running on time, right?

Whether Poolman voted for Trump is unknown. She certainly never spoke out against him or the legion of nutjobs in North Dakota who are taking his cues. She and her husband Jim, the state's former insurance commissioner, are tight with U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who's also never spoken a cross word or taken a tough vote against the former president.

So if the reasonable Republicans aren't going to speak out against the insanity and insurrectionists, who will? Losing a sane Republican like Poolman isn't good, but neither is the silence of her and other like-minded Republicans who are getting out.

Readers can reach columnist Mike McFeely at mmcfeely@forumcomm.com

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McFeely: Another sane Republican bites the dust - Grand Forks Herald