Chuy Hinojosa - A Republican In A Democratic District

The biggest question is: When will a real Democrat primary him? The RGV deserves better.

I’ve often been critical of Conservative Democrats and their tendency to align themselves with Republicans on social issues. However, after Senator Chuy Hinojosa’s performance at the RGV Economic Summit today, there is no doubt in my mind that Hinojosa is a Republican and not a Conservative Democrat.

When you see the video, you will be convinced, too. Here it is, eight straight minutes of Senator Chuy Hinojosa licking Greg Abbott’s boots:

Hinojosa claims that the governor, who has recently been in the news for orchestrating the drowning of migrants on the Rio Grande River, including small children, is the best governor Texas has ever had.

It makes you question if we’re living in the same reality.

He spoke about how Texas had the best economy in the nation. We’re actually in eighth place, but perhaps he meant we have the highest GDP. Although, that would also be wrong since we’re number two, behind California.

While it’s important to note Hinojosa was at an economic forum and he was speaking to the audience, this narrative of how great Texas’ economy or GDP is harmful because it overshadows “at what expense.”

In Texas, the child hunger rate is 18.1%. In the RGV, that number is 28.4%.

What Hinojosa was doing, in an area where 1/3 of the children are hungry, was talking about how flush the state is. On top of that, he was kissing the ass of the man letting all those kids go hungry on his watch.

The poverty rate in Texas is 14.1%, higher than the national average. In some places, the poverty rate in Hinojosa’s district is as high as 40%.

Prioritizing corporate profits over the well-being of people is a Republican position, not a Democratic one.

Have you ever read the Texas Democratic Party Platform? It’s a chef’s kiss, but Senator Hinojosa doesn’t appear to subscribe to many of the platform’s planks. Here are some:

• Ensure that the minimum wage in Texas is a living wage indexed to inflation.

• All employment positions must guarantee retirement and health benefits, equal pay for equal work, safe working conditions, Workers’ Compensation insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation leave, paid family leave, workplace accommodation for child nursing, and payment of prevailing wages for public projects.

• Mandate the right for employees to form or join a union in order to negotiate collectively with their employer without fear of union-busting attacks or laws such as prohibitions on payroll deduction of union dues.

• Repeal so-called “right-to-work” laws designed to weaken labor unions.

All of those would drastically cut the poverty rate and food insecurity in Texas and the RGV, but we can’t even get bills like that through committed due to Republican control.

It’s easy to see why so many in the RGV have been disheartened by politics. People are literally starving, and their children are going without. They want Democratic policies to improve their lives, but the Democrat they voted for placates Greg Abbott.

Senator Hinojosa was the worst-scoring Democrat in the Senate.

Mothers Against Greg Abbott finally released their 2023 Texas Legislative Report Cards earlier today. Hinojosa scored an ‘F’ in public education.

One of the saddest economic stories to come out of the RGV this year was how the high poverty levels are impacting the literacy rate. Living in poverty often means having limited access to health care, food, and housing security, greater risk of school drop-out for children, homeless, unemployment due to lack of education or child care, and, unfortunately, not reaching one’s full potential.

Yet, Hinojosa has used his vote in the Senate to align with Republicans for school vouchers, which would substantially hurt the RGV and the children that live there. Vouchers will strip away public school money, allowing the upper-middle class to send their kids to private schools on the taxpayer’s dime.

Republicans have tried to paint everyone as eligible, but the parents have to front the money for the private school tuition up front for the state to reimburse them later. People living in poverty don’t have $8,000 or $10,000 lying around to pay the upfront costs. Since nearly 1/3 of the RGV is living in poverty, they will largely not benefit from vouchers, but their schools will still lose funding.

What does the Texas Democratic Party Platform say about education?

• Protect and enhance Texas public education so that our students are prepared for a diverse and changing labor market and to participate as engaged citizens.

• Fund schools to reflect the actual cost of educating all students.

• Guarantee a safe and high-quality classroom learning environment.

• Ensure students with disabilities receive an appropriate early childhood, primary, secondary, and postsecondary education in the most equitable environments, including access to the full range of services and supports called for in their individual education plans at all learning institutions.

• Ensure that public school employees have attractive compensation packages that incentivize career-long public service of education professionals.

• Guarantee local control by locally elected school boards, reflective of the district’s diverse demographics, and require single-member districts for districts with 20,000 or more students.

That’s only some of it. Hinojosa’s support of vouchers and lack of support for public schools not only goes against the principles of the Texas Democratic Party Platform, but it also goes against the very essence of serving the needs and aspirations of the RGV.

Chuy Hinojosa has directly voted against citizens' voting rights in Nueces County.

Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez (D) made headlines for believing in fairness. One Florida-based GOP group is attacking him for it.

HB17 is the bill the GOP passed this session to “remove rogue DAs.” As we heard this bill go through both the House and the Senate, it was clear that Republicans’ intent was to remove District Attorneys who refused to prosecute women who had abortions or parents who obtained gender-affirming care for their children.

Although prosecutorial discretion has a long-standing precedent, Senator Hinojosa voted in favor of HB17, making it easier for GOP extremists to remove Democratic DAs.

Removing duly elected officials from office to “own the libs” because Republicans are fighting an imaginary cultural jihad goes against every fundamental principle of democracy and representation that America holds dear. It's disgusting to witness Chuy Hinojosa, who should be safeguarding citizens' rights, siding with a partisan agenda that undermines the very essence of fair governance and the will of the people.

Hinojosa's support for HB17 reflects a departure from this essential democratic principle. Nueces County Democrats have a huge bone to pick with him.

All of these positions Hinojosa has taken are Republican positions. He solidified his alignment with the GOP in his speech with the cast amount of lies he told.

Hinojosa said that Abbott used to say, “I get up in the morning, and I sue the federal government.”

I remember that most of us do. What Abbott actually used to say was, “I wake up in the morning, I sue Obama.”

Why does that matter? Because a big part of that was Abbott was pandering to the white supremacists in Texas who hated having a Black president. The other big part was most of what Abbott sued Obama over was healthcare.

The Obama administration jumped through hoops to try and get healthcare access to Texans, but Abbott blocked it. Anf Paxton blocked it after him.

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in America. The RGV has the highest rate of uninsured in Texas. That is directly due to Greg Abbott.

Hinojosa also said Abbott has made sure we had a strong (electric) grid.

However, just today, ERCOT called on Texans to voluntarily conserve energy amid high temps. That means it’s not fixed. It hasn’t been fixed, ever. We could all lose power at any moment, and it might take them days or weeks to get it back on.

Or the grid is not stable or secure. This is because Abbott, Dan Patrick, and the other Republicans in the legislature are beholden to oil and energy moguls over the people of Texas. Hinojosa received a ‘C’ on the Mothers Against Greg Abbott scorecard for energy/environment. The Senator has crossed the aisle more than once to enable the GOP’s pro-fossil fuel platform.

This is a call to action!

Democrats in Nueces, Jim Wells, Brooks, and Hidalgo Counties should be working hard to find someone who actually adheres to Texas Democratic principles to run against Hinojosa. They have four months until the filing deadline to get a solid primary contender in the race.

Life in Texas doesn’t have to be how the Republicans made it. Our state is better, our communities are better, and Texans deserve better.