Beto: We are nearing a failed state in Texas.

[RandySF]

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All In with Chris Hayes
@allinwithchris
“We are nearing a failed state in Texas. And it has nothing to do with God, or natural disasters. It has everything to do with the leadership and those in the positions of public trust who have failed us,” says
@BetoORourke

.

[dalton99a]

1. No shit. This is a MAN-MADE clusterfuck.

Texas is no stranger to snow and ice.

[rainin]

83. I've lived here my entire life and we've never had temperatures this low. The disaster is still

man-made, but, we've never seen weather like this. I bet this won't be the last time, though.

[lame54]

90. Or a LET'S NOT BOTHER TO MAKE ANYTHING cluster

[SoonerPride]

2. The power problems are republican deregulation coming to roost

Those who made the mess, I’m sure their power never fluttered.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Worth watching....Beto is offering/bringing a different reality to Republican Texas.

Beto for Governor.

[42bambi]

13. He IS the man of the hour in Texas ... our whole state is in disarray.

[dalton99a]

14. +1. He is the only Democrat that is well known statewide

No one else comes close

[Chipper Chat]

78. And Cecile richards for Lt governor.

[BadgerMom]

37. That's what I thought upon hearing this.

It may be an early volley in a campaign for governor. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[DonaldsRump]

4. Has any figured out how TX will falsely blame Joe, Kamala, and/or my dog

for their failures? Basically anyone or anything but themselves.

[PatSeg]

16. And Obama and Hillary!

[DonaldsRump]

22. Her emails! His tan suit! Michelle's bare arms!

Comey's letter! Socialists! Baby killers and baby pizza eaters! Hunter Biden! Kenya! Benghazi! HER EMAILS!!!!

Did I forget any other R phony smears? I'm just going back to 2015 or so.

QAnon and trump: Bwahahahahaha! You are a bunch of idiots. It worked once, but the second time didn't work out quite as well, did it? Some of you are going to prison for a very long time.

Shoot me if I missed something (Rs: don't take that seriously/literally, but if you do, know that: (a) I have life insurance; (b) you'll go to prison; and (c) my estate will go after you for civil damages for the rest of your life.)

How's that for your 2nd Amendment right vis-a vis my First Amendment right?

[PatSeg]

26. Oh I'm sure there are a few more

but that should do for now!

[electric_blue68]

45. 🤔 wasn't there something involving fancier mustard?

[muntrv]

76. You forgot the Clenis.

[Roc2020]

79. That there is funny

[cstanleytech]

68. Probably will involve pizza in some way.

[PatSeg]

71. And the Deep State,

George Soros, and their evil overlord Bill Gates! Perhaps even the ghost of Hugo Chavez was involved as well.

[cstanleytech]

73. So Deep Dish?

[RestoreAmerica2020]

42. Found this article/video where RW nut is blaming Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for TX freeze

Crooks and Liars 2/16/21

Stuart Varney, a staunch Trump and big oil supporter, unconscionably blamed the massive power outages in Texas on environmentalists, and named Bernie Sanders and AOC as the culprits.

With no proof or evidence (as usual) the FOX Business host belched propaganda for two minutes about "coastal elites depriving you of your heat in the freezing cold."

"Our hearts go out to the people of Texas and all those caught in his deep-freeze. Being without power, water, heating, in frigid conditions is no fun, they can be deadly," he said.

https://crooksandliars.com/2021/02/foxbusiness-blames-bernie-sanders-and-aoc

[DonaldsRump]

46. Thank you for posting this.

So they are already blaming "our" folks for this catastrophe?

[DBoon]

55. They are already blaming the Green New Deal

All those wind generators were at fault. The wind generators that were built with private investment.

[Corgigal]

5. I read 4 million without power.

How can they survive in this weather? Horrific

[dalton99a]

8. Galveston is making plans to collect bodies:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/02/16/galveston-county-calls-for-refrigerated-truck-to-handle-expected-influx-of-bodies-from-freezing-weather/
Galveston County calls for refrigerated truck to handle influx of bodies from freezing weather

GALVESTON, Texas – Galveston County officials are calling for a refrigerated truck to hold the expected influx of bodies of people who have died from subfreezing temperatures.

According to the county Medical Examiner’s Office, officials are expecting to receive a couple of dozen bodies of people who have died during the cold snap. Officials said the trucks are necessary since many funeral homes in the area have lost electricity and are unable to house the bodies.

“That number is going to climb as we have the ability to do more welfare checks and check on people who’ve been trapped and without power for the last 48 to 50 hours,” said Galveston County Judge Mark Henry.

Henry said the county’s medical examiner covers Galveston, Brazoria and Matagorda counties, so they will take care of weather-related fatalities for not only Galveston County residents but also others as well which could contribute to the high numbers.

[BootinUp]

6. with GQP in charge its just a matter of time till the next avoidable crisis. nt

[gratuitous]

7. Careful, Beto

You're going to get called smug, and Republicans will call you an enemy of unity, and then someone will say you're bad-mouthing God, implying that God isn't in control of every little detail of His creation, right down to the proverbial (and literal) gnat's eyelash.

[LuvLoogie]

57. That's actually a good admonition. His comments are slightly gratuitous for a politician

seeking office in Texas.

[theneworiginal]

58. I always think of that old joke about St. Peter and the 3 boats

when I hear voters invoke God in a situation in which common sense and human intervention were ignored. In short, a homeowner keeps refusing rescue from boat after boat as the river levels rise and overtake his house, claiming that "God will provide." Finally, he is washed away and drowned in the flood. At the gates, he asks St. Peter what happened and why God didn't provide.

"Well, we sent you 3 boats."

God does provide. Use your noggin and be proactive. Don't ignore common sense solutions. Recognize help when it's there.

Good politics and religious faith are not mutually exclusive at all.

[yellowdogintexas]

61. I have told that story many times, except he refuses his friend in a truck,

then the boat, and a helicopter before he gets to St Peter.

As the water rises, he moves to a higher level in his house until he is on top of the chimney.

A lesson in taking responsibility for your own actions

[StClone]

9. Sad such a Great State is at the mercy of such a catastrophe...

[demigoddess]

10. we lived in Texas for seven years. Democrats elected everywhere. Nothing like this at all.

They even had great services for handicapped children. And the cities were in great shape.

[BigmanPigman]

12. What time frame was this?

Was Richards the gov?

[UpInArms]

50. In the 70s, Potter county (Amarillo) had a

Democratic representative ... Graham Purcell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_B._Purcell_Jr.

My mother was his secretary

[yellowdogintexas]

63. I have known his son, Davis for nearly 30 years

We attend the same church and were in the same Sunday School class
Our kids did mission trips and choir together.

He and his family are Good People!

[demigoddess]

89. 1972-1979

don't remember.

[dalton99a]

18. Democrats still control urban areas.

But they have practically zero influence in state government because of gerrymandering by Republicans after W. defeated Ann Richards

[Horse with no Name]

59. Yes they do

And every time they try to enact positive, Abbott overrules it.

[yellowdogintexas]

65. Tarrant county (Fort Worth) the last red metro area turned blue in 2018.

Beto won handily here and we picked up a State Senate seat (Wendy Davis held it for 6 years,then we had this horrible woman who was a founder of the Tea Party here but we got rid of her!! )

This past election, Biden carried the county, and several of the state wide Democratic candidates won here. We have been picking up local offices: JP, Constable, County Commissioner, School Board. Tarrant flipping to blue has to be scaring the Republicans.

The gerrymandering started in 1991 and got worse in 2001. Three new COngressional districts were added in 2011 after census and one is a heavily Democratic district up here. It was supposed to be a majority minority district expected to lean Hispanic. However, the new Congressman is African American and has a heavy majority every election. He started his 4th term this year.

[EX500rider]

11. So Texas is like Somalia, Haiti and Afghanistan? lol... not quite. nt

[Klaralven]

15. Likely Beto knows next to nothing about electrical generation & distribution grid design & operation

Texas' problem is due to separating generation and distribution functions in a grid that was never designed to be separated because of a bunch of politicians who theorized that free market economic principles would make it more efficient and cost effective. Utilities formerly designed and operated their generating plants and distribution grids as a unified whole under state regulations regarding cost, availability, service tariffs, etc.

But we also have another bunch of politicians who want to charge the nation's fleet of electric cars using the same rickety grid.

And we have another bunch of politicians who want to attach all kinds of alternative energy generators of highly variable and uncontrolled output to the same rickety grid.

Politicians are going to make things much worse before they get better.

[demtenjeep]

20. Beto likely knows more than people on a forum

bitching when people try to make things better

[Bongo Prophet]

24. I would love to hear some suggestions (sincere, not snark!)

We are 6 hours back online here in DFW, and believe me, I had some time to ponder the hows (we know many of the 'whys') of getting hooked up to an upgraded system that can handle the alternative sources, etc while huddling and cuddling under 10 inches of covers.

Here at home, we were wondering about these issues before this clusterfuck happened, and gave us a good case study of how not to do this. It is a good thing to focus on for when the dems roll out our infrastructure to improve the grid(s) and internet access and so many other aspects which have been degrading for so long. It will be quite a challenge, and the more we know, perhaps the better off we will be.

Thank you for your input, Klaralven!

[Major Nikon]

28. The grid itself was never the problem

Deregulation (state not federal, btw) was never the problem. The problem is power plants that weren't winterized against weather conditions not seen much more than once in a lifetime. It's worth noting massive pattern outages do happen all over the US from time to time. This isn't just a Texas thing.

The reality is that electricity in Texas is largely apolitical. The electrical production and transmission in Texas is actually pretty progressive when you consider we produce far more wind power than any other state and our grid is one of the most modern in the nation. The rates we pay are also far lower than most. As a Texan and someone who just lost power for a day and a half I have to say our system of electricity is not something I'm particularly at odds with our current (lack of) leadership.

[Bongo Prophet]

29. Thanks for that, and I appreciate the good points

Yes on them cheaping out on available winterizing tech.
Is it your opinion that we need updating wrt handling more lectric vehicles, and to allow more connection with other grids? I am trying to learn a bit more as I go, and appreciate the input sir.

Also, as an aside I have long enjoyed your photographic work posted here.

[Major Nikon]

41. There is interconnection with other grids for emergency purposes

The problem is Texas isn't next to very many high population areas, so there's not much such interconnections can offer us unlike denser population areas found on the east and west coasts. The farther electricity travels, the less efficiency you get due to transmission losses. We tend to think of electricity being fungible across large geographic areas, but in reality this isn't all that true. Although such interconnectivity exists, electricity is most efficient when the supply is relatively close to the demand all other things being equal.

Electric grids and electric production are two different things. Some companies do both, some do one or the other. Many companies are involved. ERCOT (in Texas) manages the interconnections between those companies, but it's still by and large more of a network of providers of one sort or another and less of a singular thing.

Texas has never really had much of a problem with demand outpacing supply. As demand increases, more supply will be built. It's the same everywhere. The difference is Texas has plentiful sources of natural gas, so that is our biggest source.

[questionseverything]

82. Y'all need to winterize

Maybe it used to freeze once a century but as global warming continues extreme storms are going to be more frequent....the scientists have known that for a while now

[Major Nikon]

84. That is the actual problem

Which has absolutely nothing to do with regulation or the grid. It was the power generation sites that failed in extreme weather with temperatures that still haven't gotten above freezing in many areas.

[questionseverything]

86. I saw a video of electricity arcing between power poles

I thought it said it was blown transformer......wouldn’t that be a grid problem?

[Major Nikon]

87. Yes, as would a defective meter at your house

But neither of those things caused widespread outages. Transformers blow all the time and under normal circumstances the power company can replace them in 2-3 hours.

[Klaralven]

31. We need some national top down design of the grid.

Possibly something like a backbone network of high-voltage DC transmission lines would be appropriate to ship power longer distances so that variable wind and solar generation could be averaged out over wider geographic areas.

Texas being on its own is a good thing, since it did not tear down adjacent networks. So compartmentalization of smaller reliability units could be achieved by removing AC interconnects and replacing them with DC interconnects.

Since the separation of power generation and distribution more or less has to continue to accommodate wind farms, solar farms, roof top solar, as well as independent gas and nuclear generation. the commercial arrangements for generators have to include specific availability requirements and/or characterization.

There also needs to be well designed power storage such as pumped hydro or storage batteries. Otherwise we continue the system where the power generated and the power consumed have to match in real time. This makes the system fragile.

It will not be an easy problem to solve. See also for example:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/the-blackout-of-2003
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/ieee-spectrums-continuing-coverage-of-the-blackout-of-2003

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/the-smarter-grid/blackout-threat-unmitigated-a-decade-after-the-northeast-went-dark

[Bongo Prophet]

38. Thanks for the links!

I will read them after some needed things on my "to do when I have power on again" list.

[Clearly fogged in]

27. Basically, Republican leadership gerrymandered the physical power grid?

[coti]

30. Decentralizing power generation through renewables and

storage is a good place to start if you have a "rickety grid"...

[Hermit-The-Prog]

44. Gee. If only that fleet of electric cars had some batteries or something to store energy.

[yellowdogintexas]

62. he mentions that in the interview. El Paso can draw from New Mexico

and is in much better shape than the rest of the state.
The EL Paso metropolitan area extends to Las Cruces NM

I read this morning that upper NW Texas can draw on NM and Oklahoma

Oklahoma is better off than we are and it is colder with more snow than here

[roamer65]

17. Governor Beto will hire people who know how to fix it.

Repukes hire people who embezzle from it.

[dalton99a]

19. +1. You don't have to be a trained chef to distinguish an omelet from a pile of shit

[roamer65]

21. THIS.

Well put.

👍👍

[Klaralven]

23. But a trained chef will know whether combining several ingredients will produce a tasty dish or

taste like shit.

After the fact, everybody's a genius.

[AllaN01Bear]

25. deregulation never has and never will work, but will work for the rich.

[yellowdogintexas]

66. maybe losing power like this will make them wake up and smell the coffee nt

[matt819]

32. Guess that secession thing might not be such a good idea

Texas, along with most other red states, would wither without their sugar daddy, Uncle Sam.

[Bongo Prophet]

39. Yeah, that secession thing will likely never happen. I hope not.

Like most democrats, I believe we are stronger together, and are invested in the promise of justice and liberty for ALL.
A work in progress.
We will keep chipping away at the oiligarchs here, eventually improving our collective lot, to the benefit of fellow humans both in and beyond Tx or the US.

It's a long journey, made better by making friends along the way.

[Vivienne235729]

33. He really needs to run against Cruz again for that senate seat.

I think he would have a great shot.

[JI7]

35. He has said he is considering runnning for Governor and considering all the problems

in Texas that might be the best for him and for the state.

Either way he needs to run for one of those offices.

[flying_wahini]

34. Gov Abbott was on TV tonight for the first time in MONTHS. He's worried about Covering his ass.

BETO can win.

[onetexan]

47. Yes! Beto for TX Governor in 2022!! So tired after 25 years of GOP rule here.

[Progressive Jones]

36. In general, the Dems need to make a hard push for Texas. Every election, every office. nt

[yellowdogintexas]

69. our push is getting stronger every election

For so long Republicans ran unopposed (especially at the local level) that many Democrats quit voting except for President, Governor or US Senate. Except for Ann Richards, we had lackluster candidates as well. Also, when we did have Democrats on the ballot no one knew who they were, so they would vote for the top of the ballot only. Undervoting is really common here .

In the last two cycles we have had candidates for every office here in Tarrant, and there were enough Democrats running that almost all of our counties had primaries , where in the past Republicans ran unopposed.

Voter registration is booming. Candidate recruitment is excellent. Grass roots organizations are coming back all over the state. Volunteers are stepping up.

Our biggest problem has been Non Voting Democrats and we are working to change that.

[Progressive Jones]

81. Excellent !!! My state, IL, was a "red state" in recent history. We fixed that. nt

[fantase56]

40. Texas has been moving towards a failed state

since Ann Richards was assaulted by the Bush family political machine.

[Cha]

43. Rt TY & Beto!

[BeerBarrelPolka]

48. I dare anyone

I dare anyone to come take their guns. Unless you have some wood to barter.

[Roc2020]

80. bwa ha ha ha

[malaise]

49. It has everything to do with policy

It's time to tear down Friedman/Hayek. Trickle down is a piss poor philosophy. Bring back the social good.

[bdamomma]

51. Beto

is so right, heads should roll for this.

[twodogsbarking]

52. You can't trust the people

that caused the problem to fix it. You need different people.

[Lonestarblue]

53. El Paso is not on the ERCOT grid used by most of Texas. They had outages of a couple hours total.

El Paso was able to tap into power from surrounding sources. It’s clear there was no state leadership for this crisis. Weather forecasters told us days in advance that ice storms and frigid temperatures were coming. Where was the state leadership that could have channeled power away from lighting up every big empty building in the cities and toward power for individual homes. That would not have solved the problems of power lines going down because of ice, but it would have helped prevent thousands of people from deliberate blackouts.

Abbott and power officials need to be raked over the coals for this fiasco coming right on top of the fiasco of the state’s response to the virus.

[Jetheels]

54. Exactly this.

Republiquons have no interest at all in governing anything.
All their focus is in telling women what they can do or not do with their wombs,
That we all should follow their Bible laws, cuz everyone should follow their religion,
Gays can’t marry cuz you know then what, everyone’s gonna marry their dog,
Stoke fear about bathrooms cuz their wives and daughters are all gonna get molested in bathrooms by men in dresses,
Stoking fear, spreading hate and lies does not do anything to help manage and govern a state or country.
Their only interest is in controlling what people think. Nothing else.

[Irish_Dem]

56. Nearing failed state status? I think it is there.

Pretty soon there will be food shortages on top of everything else.
When grocery stores lose power they throw away the food.

[EX500rider]

60. Seems more like confirmation bias to me...

...California has this issue every summer, is it a near failed state also?
Not surprising Texas isn't ready for once in a 100 years weather, just like Phoenix doesn't have a lot of snowplows.

[yellowdogintexas]

70. well according to Fatso the Former, California is a failed state

Lord knows he mentioned it enough. Ted Cruz has been harping on California for years.

California is the boogeyman and is sending all its liberals here doncha know

[ancianita]

64. Failed states are corporate states. Controlled of, by and for fictional personhoods and not humans.

Fictional personhoods may not control the energy production and policy for humans.


Failed states have everything to do with corporate equal standing and protections under the US Constitution, which was written for humans' "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." -- not for humans.

If there is to be true consent of the governed, humans must not allow fictional personhoods and structures to govern them.

[EX500rider]

67. Not really:

A failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly (see also fragile state and state collapse). A state can also fail if the government loses its legitimacy even if it is performing its functions properly. For a stable state it is necessary for the government to enjoy both effectiveness and legitimacy. Likewise, when a nation weakens and its standard of living declines, it introduces the possibility of total governmental collapse. The Fund for Peace characterizes a failed state as having the following characteristics:

Loss of control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein
Erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions
Inability to provide public services
Inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

[ancianita]

77. You're talking textbook definitions. The reality are the agents behind this passive definition.

This definition ignores what entities are behind the

Loss of control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein
Erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions
Inability to provide public services
Inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

When you can disprove that corporations do these things to nation-states or Texas, then I'll buy it.

I stand by my claim. Anyone can follow the donor money of Texas leaders and know who controls Texas energy and brought the current failed state to Texas.

Beto O'Rourke knows this even though much of his past donor money was big fossil, too, though Ted Cruz is the number one recipient of Texas big fossil money.

[NCjack]

72. Pres. Biden, please send troops to Texas now to maintain a civil society.

[Sogo]

74. Leadership creating an s*hole state.

Texas needs to demand better.....Vote blue!!

[JustAnotherGen]

75. I wish he would run

For Senator again. I think he could win.

[Acornsouth]

85. So when is the state going to secede from the union?

Seems to me that would be the answer so the rest of us don't have to bail them out every time they have a cluster-f*ck of their own doing.

[Blue Hal]

88. Nearing?

Okay. . .