Mediocre Tuesday. Houston Chronicle ($$$)
There were anecdotes of Election Day delays all across Harris County, and Gallegos' chief of staff, Leah Olive-Nishioka, joined several Democratic activists by putting the blame squarely on County Clerk Stan Stanart, a Republican.
The increasingly worthless gaggle that makes up the Chronicles editorial department don't dispute this. Instead, they proceed to tick off a laundry list of actual problems that Stanart has had in past elections.
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Mr. Stanart. I think he does a poor job as Harris County Clerk and elections under his watch have been poorly ran, especially the release of voting totals after the polls close.
That said, the long lines that Harris County witnessed is not due to any actions by Stanart. That is because it is the parties who decide which precincts get combined, and which polling places are active during the primaries.
In other words, the Democrats have seen the enemy, and it is them.
No matter how much Senator Gallegos screams, or how many Democratic "activists" try and throw shade toward Mr. Stanart, the fact is their chosen leaders created this mess. If anyone deserves to take the blame here it's Mssrs. Lane Lewis and Paul Simpson, the respective heads of the county parties.
Then again, given that the Houston Chronicle has all but abandoned serious local reporting in favor of gross-out, click-bait, social media trolling should we be surprised that no one understands just how elections work any longer? The Democrats themselves have one of the most undemocratic democratic systems in America so why should their activists and politicians understand anything about the elections themselves?
Further more, if there's political hey, real or imagined, to be made against the other guy what's a little thing like facts? Especially when you have a group of opinion maker in the local fish wrap who are all but ignorant of civics and willing to repeat your charges ad-nauseum.
When the channels of communication are controlled entirely by those without scruples or knowledge, the first (and most important) casualty is the truth.
It's not that the editorial board intended to besmear Stanart, it's just that they collectively don't seem to know any better. Over the 35 years that I've lived in Houston editorial writing in this town has devolved from meaningful to a complete and utter joke. The downfall has been slow, steady, and disheartening.
Now we've gotten to a point where the facts don't matter and all of the arguments come from somewhere out in left field. What's really sad is, and at least the left gets this somewhat correct. The players who are going to be on the ballot from the left are single-A at best. The editorial board has been snookered by a team of not-quite-ready for prime-time players.
That's just sad.
