The 2026 World Cup featured 104 matches in 16 host cities, including 2 in Texas. 7 million people attended the games but for many Americans it turned into a nationwide tailgate party that went on for weeks.
Even though I’ve taken off from my Winners & Losers newsletter this summer, I still join the Cardle & Woolley Show on Talk 1370 Radio in Austin Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m. to announce the week’s list. You can listen live here every week or download the broadcast anytime by clicking here. This week I want to talk about one big loser: socialism in New York and Texas.
On July 4, I stood at the site of the Boston Massacre, in front of the Old Massachusetts State House, and heard the Declaration of Independence read from the same balcony where it was first read 250 years ago. Standing on the streets where it all started, I pondered the miracle of those first patriots of Boston who planted the idea of independence in the minds of the people and then saw it realized.
Political scientists routinely describe the current division in American politics as “tribal,” as if the seething intensity each side feels for the other is something new. I was born into a family whose political roots run deep, and I can tell you, unequivocally, that politics has always been tribal.
Sherry Sylvester has been working at the nexus of politics and public policy her entire career, She was part of the original campaign and transition teams of Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and she managed his 2018 re-election campaign. She served as the Senior Advisor to Patrick for almost ten years. She is currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think-tank.
Earlier in her career, she worked on the other side of the political spectrum, including serving as Communications Director for Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman ever nominated for Vice President on a major party ticket. She also worked for David Dinkins, a Democrat and the first African-American elected Mayor of New York City. Sherry served for over a decade as the spokesperson and a strategic advisor to Texans for Lawsuit Reform and has led the charge on other public policy reforms including education, immigration and health care. She brings her broad perspective to a regular podcast, the Sherry Sylvester Show and a weekly newsletter, 9th & Congress – learn more here.
