Every Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., I join the Cardle & Woolley show, Talk 1370 Radio, in Austin to pick the week’s top Winners & Losers. Nationally, the presidential race is too close to call; in Texas, we could have called it a year ago. With 24 days to go until the election, some clarity seems to be emerging as voters shift their focus away from “vibes” and toward the kinds of policies the country needs to move forward. Here’s who made my list this week:
Winner: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis & Free State Hurricane Response
When Vice President Kamala Harris complained that Gov. DeSantis wouldn’t take her calls last week after Hurricane Helene, he waved her off like a fly, even when she stamped her foot and insisted that he was “selfish” and engaging in “political gamesmanship” for ignoring her. Harris must have forgotten that the Biden-Harris administration tried to attack Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the same way during Hurricane Beryl. They also charged that Patrick was not taking their calls. The Lt. Gov. pushed back and exposed them as liars. The Houston Chronicle ultimately issued a complete retraction of their story about it, praising Patrick for his handling of hurricane recovery.
As DeSantis demonstrated this week, and Texas has shown time and time again, the competence of the free conservative states is especially evident during big challenges like weather disasters. Texas’ and Florida’s preparedness and recovery programs are cutting edge and have a much better track record than FEMA. Oddly enough, it was President Joe Biden who got it right this time, praising DeSantis for “doing a great job” right after Harris tried to call him out. Biden said he “literally gave him my personal phone number to call.”
Harris’ first instinct was to personally attack DeSantis on the hurricane response, just like the Biden administration went after Lt. Gov. Patrick. It didn’t end well for them. Perhaps they should make a note in their play book.
Loser: The “Media Tour”
There are many questions regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ so-called “media tour” this week, which included appearances on a podcast called “Call Her Daddy,” Howard Stern’s Sirius Radio show and ABC’s “The View.” It is hard to know whether the vice president’s vacuous responses are because she is afraid to say what she really thinks, fearing the country won’t agree with her vision, or because there is simply no there there.
Serving with Joe Biden, who has posted the lowest approval ratings in the history of approval ratings, Harris’ statement that “nothing comes to mind” when asked what she would change about the last four years is mind-boggling. Even Biden told author Bob Woodward that he never should have appointed Merrick Garland as attorney general, mostly because Garland failed to protect Biden’s son Hunter from prosecution. But Harris has no regrets.
To top off her “nothing comes to mind” quote, Harris told Univision last night that she would put her immigration record “up against anyone.” Of course, her record is up against former President Donald Trump’s, and polls consistently show that Americans like his record better.
The only winner of the Harris “media tour” was CBS Reporter Bill Whitaker who interviewed Harris on 60 Minutes, where the vice president refused to directly respond to his questions about whether letting millions of illegals into the country was a good idea, or how she views Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 60 Minutes is now trying to explain why they doctored the interview to make Harris appear more focused, which makes CBS a loser, but that wasn’t Whitaker’s fault.
Speaking of media tours, some of us predicted that Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance would not be asked to do many national media interviews after his slam dunk performance in the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate. With all the cameras running, he proved the caricature the media had painted of him was wrong. He’s actually a pretty smart and articulate guy.
A quick search shows that we were right. Vance is mostly doing local media interviews—no big Sunday shows for him. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Vance appear in the same venues as Harris’ media tour—Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Howard Stern? I am betting he could even charm the ladies of The View.
Loser: Colin Allred’s Support for Drag Shows for Military
Anyone who thinks Sen. Ted Cruz’s attacks on Colin Allred for his support of the transgender agenda are over the top need only look at the letter signed by Allred and dozens of other Democrats demanding the House and Senate Armed Services Committee remove restrictions Republicans put in the National Defense Reauthorization Act that prohibit the military from performing sex change surgeries.
The Democrats also wanted to remove restrictions that would prohibit military bases from flying “Pride” flags and hosting “drag shows.” When asked why he signed the letter, Allred said he didn’t want to second guess military leaders or distract from their mission. Instead, the Dallas congressman said he wants to make sure the military has “the tools they need to protect our country.”
Who watches a “drag show” and thinks, “I am so glad we have this tool to protect our country.” And don’t get me started on how drag shows perpetuate hateful and belittling stereotypes about women. If you haven’t read my op-ed, “Drag Shows are Black Face,” it’s posted here.
Winner: That Colorado Cake Bakery
On Tuesday, Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood, Colorado won again when the Colorado Supreme Court threw out a case from a transgender lawyer who wanted him to create a “gender transition” cake. If you think you’ve heard this bakery story before, it is because you have. Phillips has been dragged into court several times over the last decade because he doesn’t make cakes that are incompatible with his Christian beliefs. He stands on the principle of religious freedom. His refusal to bake a gay wedding cake was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017. It’s time to let this guy go forth and create the cakes and wants to create. That’s what religious freedom means.
Winner: Freedom to Open a Bottle
I keep thinking we need to write new verses to Lee Greenwood’s wonderful song, “I’m Proud to be an American,” such as “I’m proud to be an American, because at least they pick up my trash.” We have family members in Australia who report that the left-leaning government there only allows trash pick-ups once a month as a way to encourage people to re-cycle more—only they don’t pick up the re-cycle bins either. Think of it—a month’s worth of garbage outside your house. When the Aussies come to visit us, they see our routine trash pick-up as quite a luxury. Another verse we could add is “I am proud to be an American, because at least I can take a lid off a plastic bottle.”
With the war in Ukraine and the Middle East geographically closer to them than it is to us, you’d think the people on the continent would have more on their mind, but the geniuses at the European Union have decided that the problem that must be addressed is recycling of bottle caps. Apparently, some people take the cap off a plastic bottle and they don’t recycle it with the rest of the bottle. To remedy this sin, the EU now requires that battle caps be attached to bottles, so you can’t take them off. This means, if you try to drink from the bottle, the cap hits you in the face. You have no choice. You can’t just buy another brand.
Everybody now: “I’m proud to be an American, because at least I know I’m free!”
Winner: University of Texas Players’ NIL Contracts
The latest report indicates that the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorn players have earned over $6 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) contracts so far this year, most of it going to quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, but contracts flowing to other players and athletes in other sports at UT, are not too shabby either. Texas is also earning big bucks for each nationally televised game, with more to come. Of course, Texas does still have to play the latest giant killer, Vanderbilt.
I don’t know how much they were paid, but watch for Ewers and Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins, Jr., tomorrow on a new Dr. Pepper “Fansville” commercial during the Red River Shootout.
With the expansion of NIL, the increased deployment of the transfer portal and the conference changes last season that ended many regional rivalries, some predicted that college football would never recover. But so far the games have been great, the fans have prevailed and many believe we are living in one of the best college football seasons ever. As a point of personal privilege, I will note that No. 2 Ohio State is playing No. 3 Oregon tomorrow. Go Ducks!
Looking forward to a really big Game Day tomorrow.
Have a great one!
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
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