What are the odds that moderates prevail in the House?

In Texas, change is finally in the air. For me, Fall has always represented a time of assessment, reflection, and transition, a purposeful time to lay a strong, considered foundation for the coming year and the challenges it will bring.

And then I read that the GOP still cannot pick a Speaker in the House.

My question to you: will moderates from both parties unite in the House to elect a Speaker and ignore the voice and influence of the wing nuts on the fringe of their parties?

Grab your popcorn and tune in to watch.

Over the last several weeks, many of you have expressed concern that political change is impossible, roadblocked by special interests and partisan machinery. That our national division is too deep, the gulf too wide, permanent fixtures in our institutions, and a character trait of the American people.

My view of the visible landscape is no different than yours and the current leadership hijinks in the US House — at a time of global conflict, threats to democracy, and constitutional challenges — seem to validate your concern. I was alarmed when my former opponent in TX-21, Chip Roy, was touted as a potential candidate for Speaker of the House. That said, when he became irrelevant as a national voice for his constituents by doubling down on divisive, Texas-centric rhetoric, it carried the unfortunate side effect of further marginalizing and dividing that constituency. In addition, I took some hollow satisfaction this morning in seeing election results denier Jim Jordan (who continues to carry the January 6 torch) fail in a second attempt to ascend to the Speakership.

As these performative partisans continue to play at leadership at the expense of governing and, ultimately, each of our safety, success, and well being, I’ll leave you with a couple of thoughts to consider.

First. In the not-too-distant past, Texas leadership — Republican even then — worked across the aisle and toward the middle to marginalize the crazies and develop solutions that worked for Texans. Speaker Straus in the Legislature and Will Hurd in Congress were two consistent voices for considered policy while they were in office. Will Hurd just suspended his campaign for President, his once standard, now maverick voice of reason unable to gather enough momentum in the center to impact the national dialog this cycle.

Second (and I’m interested in your perspective on this current that underlies the surface view). People continue to flock to Texas. In the next quarter century or so, we’re projected to be the most populous state in the union. Our cities, particularly, continue to evolve, accommodating both a youthful, rural Texas exodus and immigrants from other states and further afield. MSAs are projected to be the most populous in the nation in the near future if not already. And, if not already, those swelling urban jurisdictions are on the blue side of purple — even Fort Worth is now considered a blue demography. Fort Worth.

Leaving vote splitting third-rail politics out of the equation for now, are you seeing any productive work to develop the middle majority? Locally, are political and business communities working together, in parallel, or in opposite directions? Are they natural allies or is it a functional checks and balances situation?

Joseph Kopser

Co-Founder of USTomorrow