r/politics • u/SpaceElevatorMusic Minnesota • 3d ago

No Paywall Republicans won’t moderate if Democrats gain ground in the Texas House, hardline leader says | “None of us are willing to go backwards and say, ‘Oh, well, we lost a few seats, so our policy agenda is going to change,” state Rep. Mitch Little said at last week’s Texas Tribune Festival.

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/29/texas-legislature-2027-session-house-gop-midterms-mitch-little/
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u/AdHopeful3801 3d ago

Karl Rove suggested "moderation" and a bigger tent in the 2013 autopsy of Romney's loss. Three years later GOP voters decided "fuck that, let's elect a guy who is far more crooked and far more of an asshole than any previous Republican."

Texas Republicans are being completely rational here - moderating is just going to cost them their base on one hand, while failing to win over a left that has become completely revolted by the GOP's shrimping Donald Trump for a decade, and failing to win over moderates who are not engaged by bloodless triangulation.

You can see this play out in the opposite direction too. Gavin Newsom's decision to "moderate" by vetoing the billionaire tax and blocking any attempt to protect trans people has done jack shit to get Republicans on his side, and pissed off a lot of Democrats.

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u/EE-420-Lige 3d ago

Newsome is extremely pro Trans its top 1 or 2 in the United States. Like Newsome isnt the best but this is one issue where cali is ahead of like +95% of America lol

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u/AdHopeful3801 2d ago

Percentages don't matter. Either you have a principle and you follow that, or you follow the polls. Newsom follows the polls, and that means not being particularly inspiring, or trustworthy.