The Sizzle: Betomania 4.0 Looming + Eyes on Blue State Efforts to Subvert the American Experiment

You’re probably reading because you’re tired of having to peruse the news and calculate just how many lies you must see through to decipher what’s going on. That’s why I am in the office today.

Welcome to the latest installment of The Sizzle, which provides a deeper assessment of what the news won’t tell you when rattling off typically deranged headlines and untruthful narratives. These musings cover items and stories making the rounds in the news here in the second week of August:

---

I. The People of Texas vs. Robert Francis O’Rourke

This image is burned into my mind when I think of Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke:

Remember, it’s only racial or ethnic appropriation when Republicans try to fit in. When a Democrat from an Irish family takes the Hispanic nickname for Roberto, he’s apparently one of them and is off limits for criticism. O’Rourke lost to Ted Cruz by just 2.6% in the 2018 midterms, the closest Texas statewide race in two decades; I’m not convinced, based on my own research and Ken Paxton’s election fraud cases as Attorney General, that the race should have been that close, but Cruz ran a lazy campaign and was trying to run up the score in the Texas Panhandle when he should have been digging deep in the sprawling DFW suburbs, which O’Rourke successfully targeted. Greg Abbott won on the same ticket by 13.3%, which shows you Cruz had major issues getting over with the electorate despite his voting record.

I figured “Beto” nuked his career by attempting a vain and premature run for the 2020 Democrat presidential nomination in early 2019. He made a fool of himself and bowed out, only to reemerge in 2022 to challenge Abbott for the governorship. Abbott again carried the state by double digits (10.9%).

O’Rourke has been making the rounds again, this time using his brand of crass commentary to act as if Democrats have never gerrymandered Republicans out of would-be House representation.

He suffered a major setback last week, when his group Powered by People was prevented by court order from covering housing costs and other expenses for Democrats who have fled Texas to prevent the redistricting efforts that are likely to net 4 or 5 new U.S. House seats for Republicans in a midterm contest with little margin for error.

From Newsweek:

The Democratic lawmakers who left Texas have denied their Republican colleagues the quorum needed for a vote on the redrawn maps that could net the GOP five additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

They face thousands of dollars in out-of-state lodging and dining costs. They also face fines of $500 for each day they are absent and these cannot be paid from their office budgets or political contributions under Texas House rules. Those who left have declined to say how long they'll hold out.

Powered by People gave money to the Texas House Democratic Caucus to help cover their up-front costs, a spokesperson for the group told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey, a Republican who was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2019 and has since won reelection, granted Paxton's request for a temporary injunction.

"Defendants have and will continue to engage in unlawful fundraising practices and utilization of political funds in a manner that either directly violates or causes Texas Democratic Legislators to violate" state law and House procedures, she wrote in her ruling.

Her order bars Powered by People from using political funds to pay for travel, hotel or dining costs for the Texas Democrats who left the state or fundraising on their behalf.

This will end poorly for Democrats, who will further tarnish their party’s image while still losing the redistricting battle. After his many attempts at office, O’Rourke has still failed to understand that he missed his one shot in 2018 before showing more unbridled political ambition than perhaps any candidate of either major party in recent memory. In seeking to ban “assault rifles,” push back against Trump’s popular immigration policies, and advocate for restrictive environmental measures in a state that relies heavily on oil and gas production, “Beto” fails to understand the primary coalition shift in Texas and the Hispanic voter base he panders to:

Look out, Attorney General Paxton. The former intelligence officer in me tells me he’s getting ready to run for U.S. Senate. Bless his heart - it looks like he’s trying to go out on a four-election losing streak.

---

II. Washington is Rolling in His Tomb over Washington State’s Elections

One of the best investigators in America is Washington State’s Glen Morgan, who has a must-watch video detailing his investigation in the state’s voter roll. He finds that 14% of the state’s registrations are not in compliance with federal law, amounting to more than 700,000 potentially bogus registrations just on the surface.