They could have had Beto.

We should have run a Manchin type there.

You don't say that and expect to win a statewide race in Texas.

making voting harder.

Who show up wins in state wide elections.
The last Texas midterms about 48% of voters showed up.

I don't blame the candidate.

I blame the voters.

I go both ways on this, siding with you and the OP.

I've lived a majority of my life here, in Iowa. I call it a sh*thole, which I'm pretty sure has angered (an)other Iowan(s) here on DU. Politically it's an awful state. It's pretty "blah" for my tastes too. It doesn't have a lot of good shopping/entertainment options. I like places like Madison, WI...Minneapolis, & Seattle.

I'm sure many people think, "If you hate it so much there, leave." Moving to another state isn't easy. It takes $$. Even if you have the $$, you may have family and friends you're not comfortable leaving.

So I see it both ways. Me and mine work hard to make this a blue state. We keep being outvoted by the red ppl. So, technically, yes, we get the state government we deserve (en masse). But it's harsh to say those of us who are liberals are to blame for the sh*t states in which we live.

I'm a resident of West Virginia pretty much the Trumpiest state of the Union. I often wonder if the Republican party ran a ballot issue specifically stating outright "This measure is intended to enrich the richest citizens of the state at the expense of all others in the state of West Virginia" not if it would pass.....but by how large a majority. The state of West Virginia seems incapable of considering anything other than placing the idea of coal jobs on a sacred altar, there are somewhere around 13,900 coal industry jobs in West Virginia, population 1,766,107 or so I keep telling folks that it will only be hundreds of millions of years for some new coal to form.....so lets just hold our breath and keep putting all of our efforts into coal. Bottom line I love my people I love my state, but I have no hope that enough residents of West Virginia will wake up to see how little voting Republican does anything to improve their lives. I vote, and I will always vote in spite of how unlikely it is that I will ever vote for a winning candidate in this state.

Later Days

...who continue to fight this fight while being continually kicked by those on this site who just don't f*ing GET it about Texas! It's not just that there are too many Republicans. It's not that everyone is the ignorant Rethug many here would like to believe. It's that we are super gerrymandered and it's about to get worse if the legislature has its way: state races will be determined by districts much the way the electoral college works in the president and vice-president races, NOT by majority.

Dems have had their hands tied in so many ways in this state, it's pretty damn demoralizing and your criticism doesn't help. It would be a lot more constructive if you'd send funds to Dem candidates in Texas, or phone bank, write letters to the editor in support of Dem candidates. It'd be a hell of a trophy on the national level to turn Texas blue. Have you done anything to make that a reality? I'll guarantee it's less than me of any of the Dems I know, so if you don't mind, don't characterize all or most Texans with your insults.

You can put your money where your mouth is by going to the Texas Dem website and donating or volunteering. That'd be a lot more useful than kicking the Dems who have always worked hard for Democrats. https://www.texasdemocrats.org

The cruelty is the point.

Those who continue to vote for Republicans are going to get just as screwed as those who don't.

Republicans across this country are more than willing to sit idly by as their own families suffer...as long as people they hate suffer, too!

...wouldn't that hurt the same poorer families they are trying to help even more?

Texas could start supporting programs that help the poor.

"Biden cuts programs for the poor."

Again Biden has NOTHING to do with the budgeted SNAP funds being used or not in Texass.

He can take them back if Texas won’t use them and disperse to other poor people.

Then the headline might read: New Funds for the poor in “any” place.

I wondered what other Feral spending would hurt the state government and governor directly, but not most of the people of Texas. What federal funds go to upkeep of the Capital, Governor's mansion/perks, corporate welfare, and other non-citizen focused budgets. Cutting those funds as direct punishment for not spending welfare funds as directed seems more effective than cutting the funds Abbott is not spending anyway.

May not be within the authority of the President. And given what Trump would do if he had that kind of discretion for targeted budgetary revenge, maybe it should not be.

What to do? What to do?

the Feds will be looking into that!

Has Texas already received the funds, and is dragging its feet about disbursing them?

Prior to the change, under the Clinton administration, cash assistance was paid to welfare recipients. Under the block grants, Republicans especially have used the money for everything but assistance, including buying cars for Republicans and paying money to crisis pregnancy centers.

“In 1998, nearly 60 percent of welfare spending was on cash benefits, categorized as “basic assistance.” By 2014, it was only about one-quarter of TANF spending. That shift has happened despite a burgeoning economics literature suggesting that direct cash transfers are in many cases the most efficient tool to fight poverty.”
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-welfare-dollars-dont-go-directly-to-poor-people-anymore/

Direct cash assistance got money directly into the hands of the people who needed it. Now they get pennies instead. These block grants have become just another way for state governments to cheat poor people.

this is the way it is. No morals, no ethics the republican way.

he is too busy on his quest to use vouchers to get all the kiddos into religious schools (this is being funded by various billionaires both here in Texas and in other states). Vouchers & the border are all he is focused on right now ...

oh well

Gov Hot Wheels WANTS the headline to read against Dems. That’s how he rolls.

...Feed the poor and welcome the stranger. Nope they're not doing that. They prefer putting razor wire on buoys in the Rio Grande. Kinda opposite of welcoming the stranger. Instead of feeding the hungry, they'll end SNAP. Not sure I see the Godliness that Alito keeps taking about.

That enjoys inflicting cruelty and even death on people. Remember, it's a religion with a demigod who physically attacked people because they offended him, advocated for the murder of disobedient children, called foreigners dogs, and repeatedly revels in torturing people forever for not agreeing with him.

Sounds mighty GQP to me.

Run ads that need to be run in Texas. People in Texas needs to KNOW THE TRUTH as to why the money in being cut.

but a cut of funds like detailed above *only* hurts those who need help the most; and plays right into Abbott's cruelty. He'll just blame it on the Democrats cutting the funding now. He's got his butt covered. Meanwhile, people starve and die unnecessarily. Surely there is something they need those federal dollars for that hits the government, itself, closer to home. I mean, like the legislature, judges, etc. I don't know. I willingly admit I don't know where the cuts could happen, but this just seems like piling cruelty upon cruelty. How about cutting out the state middleman, and issuing vouchers to those eligible, directly? Could something like that be done?

I fear we may have to think of alternative ways around these fascist states until they finally see the light and throw the bums out. And I live in one of them, so I'm talking about taking lumps, too. But these states are completely ignoring the Supremacy clause and giving Washington the middle finger. Back in the 1800s, that would basically have constituted secession, IMO. What not today? And I'm back to thinking of ways to corral them into their own little section of the country, and let us get on with progressing towards a more perfect union. Some days, it feels like there are so many different ways to see a problem, you run out of hands describing 'em.

is a very low bar. In contrast, even George W. Bush looks decent, and he should actually be in prison, in my opinion.

The entire Abbott administration are lowlifes, and it says a lot about the citizens of Texas who continually re-elect these people.

The last decent Gov. Texas had was 30 years ago with Gov. Ann Richards. It has been a steep decline since.

their pro-life views? "Nothing is more precious than the sanctity of human life" yet withholding food will cause some to starve to death. I can't stress this enough: They are anti-abortion, not pro-life. I've noticed that it really gets under their skin when you say that to their face.

It squares with White Christianity.

You want to hit them where it hurts? Stop funding programs other than SNAP & CHIP, like highway maintenance or remove the tax benefits from Oil.
Keep the SNAP and CHIP, just make those that need get them from they're local Social Security/Medicare Offices.

This appears to be a stunt by the state (R)'s. To them it's like, "OK, we don't want SNAP or CHIP anyway."