The Tarrant County GOP are clearly in a frightened state, even if they are still campaigning in a red one.
The first eight days of early voting have totaled 75,357 ballots for the Dems while Republicans cast only 54,299 in the same timeframe, based on analysis by data journalist Chris Tackett. The energy is clearly one-sided. Early voting goes through Friday. Election Day is Tue, Mar 3.
Then there’s the embarrassing loss the elephant party took just a couple of weeks ago, when Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a special election for the State Senate’s Ninth District by double digits in a deep red part of an already deep red state. The loss was so bad for the GOP and so surprising for everyone else that it gained national attention as a possible early indicator that voters everywhere have had enough of MAGA and its heavy-handed, iron-fisted, murderous policies on just about everything.
This is a moment for the local GOP and the Republican party as a whole to really reflect about how the average voter is responding to its national party’s dangerous rhetoric and reckless policies on immigration, the economy, education, and more. Will conservatives take advantage of this chance to see the benefit and not always reach for the red meat and become a more encompassing party for its people?
Uh, no. The local Republican party is instead trying to get the most hardcore parts of its base to come out and vote early. The Tarrant County GOP is taking the red meat and making red-meat sandwiches by replacing the bread with more red meat.
Courtesy Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia
From 4 to 7pm today/Thu, the Tarrant County GOP will afford voters of all parties at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Summerglen branch (4205 Basswood Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-392-5970) the chance to meet and greet Rep. David Lowe, who is running for a second term in Texas House District 91, and right-wing gun advocate Kyle Rittenhouse. Yes, that Kyle Rittenhouse.
In the ad for the meet-and-greet which has appeared all over social media, Lowe and Rittenhouse sport assault-weapon pin lapels. Rittenhouse, who became infamous for murdering two unarmed men and injuring a third during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2021 — and was, after shedding many crocodile tears in the courtroom, acquitted for it — is also brandishing a handgun in the image.
It’s a jarring way for a candidate for public office to get people to come out and vote for him, but it feels particularly menacing to do this at a public polling place. For starters, the matching lapel pins don’t really display a message of unity. All they do is remind us how far we’ve come from the ridiculous days of the President Obama flag-pin controversy.
Politically speaking, the pairing of Lowe and Rittenhouse couldn’t be more perfect if you’re likely to vote for Lowe. He’s being primaried by newcomer Kyle Morris, who picked up an endorsement from the Star-Telegram due to Lowe’s “reactionary conservatism and allegiance to the farthest-right agenda.”
Courtesy of Texas House
Lowe has been getting headlines of his own — but not for the reasons he’d prefer, especially during a primary election. Last year, he channeled his inner Jesse Helms by proposing an embarrassing bill that would fine museums up to $500,000 in civil penalties and injunctive punishments for displaying “certain obscene or harmful material.” Last month, the Fort Worth Police Officers Association openly condemned Lowe’s appearance in a forensic investigation, revealing him as more than a “passive buyer of web domains as he claimed, but a participant in industries that prey on the vulnerable.” The report revealed Lowe actively operated “domain capture” schemes designed to redirect web traffic to adult content and offshore gambling sites.
It’s very clear that the Tarrant County GOP is trying to bring out the big guns to get its base to get out and vote this election season. Let’s hope that’s all their voters bring to the polls during this early election cycle.
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
