Chad’s Morning Brief: Protesters Pack the Texas Capitol to Protest Abortion Bill, Latino Voters Favor Hillary Over Rubio, & More

Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of July 2, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or with the radioPup App.

1. Crowds Pack Texas Capitol (link)

Day 1 of the second special session saw huge crowds and lawmakers adjourn until July 9th.

 Thousands of orange-clad demonstrators packed the halls and grounds of the Texas Capitol on Monday to sing, chant and shout their opposition to sweeping new abortion limits the Republican-led Legislature was all but certain to pass after failing to do so before the clock ran out on the legislative session that ended last week.

It was the largest demonstration at the Capitol in recent memory, with the Department of Public Safety pegging the crowd size at about 3,000 by mid-morning and The Associated Press later estimating it had grown to at least 5,000 participants at its peak. Scattered among the sea of orange were clusters of blue-clad counter-demonstrators who prayed, clutched crosses, sang and watched the debate from the Senate gallery, but they were far outnumbered by opponents of the legislation.

The stakes and fervor on both sides have only gotten higher in six days since midnight protesters and the filibuster by Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth ran out the clock on senators set to approve the new abortion limits. Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back for another special session with abortion on the top of the agenda.

Amid unrelenting sunshine and temperatures above 90 degrees, Davis, who catapulted into the national spotlight with her 12-hour filibuster last week, wore a bright orange dress and heels - not her tennis shoes from the filibuster.

"You were at the crux of a turning point in Texas history," said Davis, who's being urged to run for statewide office.

"Today is different," she added, as the crowd chanted, "Wendy! Wendy! Wendy!" "Don't you feel it? We feel hope."

Lawmakers completed their regular session May 27 but Perry called a 30-day special session that ran through midnight June 25. Davis strapped on her running shoes and stood for more than 12 hours, attempting to talk until the clock ran out on the bill. Senate Republicans used parliamentary tactics to silence her eventually, but hundreds of protesters in the gallery screamed and cheered so much that all work on the floor below halted until it was too late.

Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst dismissed last week's protesters as an "unruly mob," and many in Monday's crowd wore T-shirts that read "unruly mob."

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the San Antonio Democrat whose pointed question last week sparked the raucous cheering, told Monday's protesters that the issue was personal.

"Ladies, would you like to have your next OB-GYN exam on the Senate floor?" Van de Putte asked, to which the crowds shouted back, "No!" "Then politicians shouldn't be making women's health decisions for us."

Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines, a Texan who famously took a public swipe at then-President George W. Bush over the Iraq War in 2003, sang the national anthem and the song she wrote in response to backlash to her comment to Bush, "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice." The crowd around her waved dozens of handmade signs with messages including, "Separate Your Church from My Uterus," and a plane circled above pulling the banner: "Stand With Wendy."

Inside, state Sen. Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican and emergency room physician, wore her doctor's coat and scrubs as she spoke in favor of the bill, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks and impose new restrictions on providers that could force all but five clinics statewide to close.

"I am thankful I am a voice in the government to stand for life," Campbell said.

Sen. Donna Campbell will appear on The Chad Hasty Show today at 10:05am.

Personally, I think it's pretty pathetic that lawmakers are wasting time and taking a vacation until July 9th. As Governor Perry said on yesterday's show, this session should be wrapped up by next Monday or Wednesday. Won't happen now. I guess Republicans are hoping to outlast the protesters.

2. Rubio vs. Hillary (link)

When it comes to Latino voters, Hillary Clinton wins more voters. According to HotAir, Hillary gets 66% of the Latino vote while Rubio gets 28%. However, HotAir points out that this might not be a bad thing... or at least horrible.

How is this “good” news for Rubio when he doesn’t even have the highest favorable rating from Latinos among Republicans in the 2016 field? Because, while it’s true that nominating Rubio won’t bring the GOP anywhere close to winning 51 percent of Latinos in 2016, that’s not the party’s goal. The goal is to win big among whites and narrow the Democrats’ advantage among blacks and Latinos as much as possible. Lose Latinos 80/20 and we’re in trouble; lose them 58/42 and we’re likely in business. The reason Rubio’s rolled the dice on immigration reform is because it not only gives him added appeal to Latinos who might be intrigued by his heritage and the historic nature of his candidacy, but it gives him a crucial “electability” argument to make to rank-and-file Republicans. He can win Latinos lose fewer Latinos! And there are a lot of Republicans out there, as John McCain and Mitt Romney could tell you, for whom perceived electability is the core concern. In fact, although Hillary would be the toughest Democrat to beat, the fact that she’s so fantastically popular with Latinos — a 73/17 favorable rating — arguably strengthens the case for Rubio by suggesting that only a groundbreaking Latino nominee will have a fighting chance of keeping her from winning that demographic overwhelmingly.

3. Palin and 3rd Party (link)

Interesting piece from RedState.com about Sarah Palin's semi-threat of leaving the Republican Party.

Now, after four years of being the quasi-professional bomb-throwing GOP outsider, Palin is tossing the idea out there that she’s open to supporting a third party.

While the idea is somewhat appealing to those who would rather flee than fight to save America, it is, ultimately, a fool-hearty idea. In fact, starting a third party, would result in about as much success as Ralph Nader’s bid (or Ross Perot’s) for the White House.

Here’s an analogy:

From time to time, union bosses have been pressured by those die-hard Marxists within union ranks to establish a Labor Party in the U.S., as their European counterparts have done. From the time of Samuel Gompers, union bosses have rejected the idea for practical reasons.

Even socialists in Congress know they cannot win on a socialist ticket.

As an example, there are those on the Left who have established a Green Party and you see how many House and Senate seats they have won (not to mention the White House).

As a result, years ago, the institutional Left realized that, in order to fundamentally transform America, they had one party already at their disposal and ready for the taking.

While many conservatives are fed up with the GOP, to think that a third party will do anything more than ensure a permanent majority of the Left, is nothing more that wishful thinking.

Why Sarah Palin (or anyone else) believes that starting a third party is a good idea is anyone’s guess. However, what would be more beneficial is for people like Palin to instruct people on how to take over the GOP from the bottom up.

Thoughts?

Other Top Stories:

George W. Bush Talks to CNN

Parents Angry That Religion Might Be Mentioned

Zimmerman Trial

Session Gives Perry More Time to Decide Future

FOX News on Fort Hancock, Texas

Conroe Boy Scouts Disband

Egypt Gives Morsi Ultimatum

Update on Sequester 

New Laws Kick in Across America

Texas As a Blue State?

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.