Cruz and Cornyn Withdraw Their Roy Moore Endorsements: Your Texas Roundup

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“To be able to have success in this world, you’ve got to keep quiet.”

—A former Capitol staffer to the Texas Tribune. Through interviews with over two dozen current and former lawmakers and legislative aides, the Tribune found that “sexual harassment not only is pervasive at the Texas Capitol but also regularly goes unchecked.”

BIG NEWS

Senators Ted Cruz and John CornynRex Features via AP Images

Tell Me Moore
Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz withdrew their endorsements of Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore on Monday, joining a group of Republican senators distancing themselves from the candidate as new details and another allegation surfaced. After a woman came forward Monday with what the New York Times called “the fifth and most brutal charge leveled against the Republican Senate candidate,” senators began to openly discuss not seating or expelling Moore if he wins the December 12 special election. Shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on Moore to step aside, Cornyn—McConnell’s number two—withdrew his endorsement, but told the Dallas Morning News that it would be “premature” to talk about expelling the candidate if he reached the Senate. “I believe the accusations against Roy Moore are disturbing and, if true, disqualifying,” McConnell said in a statement. “The most appropriate course of action, in my view, is to leave the final judgment in the hands of Alabama voters—where it has always belonged—and withdraw my endorsement.” As the Morning News notes, that and several other withdrawals left Cruz and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as some of the only high-profile Republicans still backing Moore. Cruz withdrew his endorsement on Monday night. “One of two things should happen: If these allegations are true, Judge Moore should drop out now. Today,” Cruz told reporters Monday night, according to KUT. “The people of Alabama deserve to have the option of voting for a strong conservative who has not committed criminal conduct. Or two, if these allegations are not true, then Judge Moore needs to come forward with a strong, persuasive rebuttal demonstrating that they are untrue.” Cruz went on to say that he was “not able to urge the people of Alabama to support his candidacy so long as these allegations remain un-refuted.”

MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS

A One-in-Five Year Flood
A new study says that because of global warming, Houston could be in for Harvey-like hurricanes with much greater frequency by the end of the century. The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says that between 1981 and 2000 there was roughly a 1-in-100 chance that a hurricane would bring twenty inches of rain to Houston. If the planet continues to warm at the pace it is now, from 2081 to 2100, those odds increase to 1-in-5.5. “When you’re planning for the future of cities like Houston, it would be unwise to assume that the climate of the future is pretty much similar to what it’s been for the last 100 years or so,” Kerry Emanuel, the author of the paper, told the Atlantic. “Even if the climate wasn’t changing, records of rainfall are too short, and the quality of them is too low, to really get a handle on flooding risks.”

Going Out on Top
Fresh off of winning a World Series title with the Houston Astros, Carlos Beltran is retiring. The forty-year-old outfielder, who has appeared on the lineup for the Rangers and twice for the Astros, made the announcement on Monday in an essay for the Player’s Tribune. The poignant retrospective on his career ends with the big announcement: “I am blessed to have played this game for 20 years. I am blessed to have played for so many great organizations. I am blessed to have shared all of my experiences with my wife and my three kids, my family and friends. To have so many loving fans. To have been able to build a school in Puerto Rico and change the lives of so many kids. To have won the Roberto Clemente Award, which is the greatest honor I could have ever received as a ballplayer. And I am blessed to be a champion. But now, my time as a player has come to an end. Today, I am officially announcing my retirement. Muchas gracias, béisbol. I can’t wait for what the next chapter holds.”

Strong Backing
Making good on his promise last summer to be more aggressive in the 2018 campaign season, Governor Greg Abbott endorsed a primary challenger to incumbent State Representative Sarah Davis of Houston, a fellow Republican. Abbott backed Susanna Dokupil, who the Houston Chronicle describes as a “more conservative Republican like Abbott, who is running against the more moderate Davis.” The Chronicle notes that it is rare for governors to involve themselves in legislative races this early (the month-long filing period opened this weekend). “We need leaders in Austin who will join me to build an even better future for Texas,” Abbott said in a video. “That’s why I’m so proud to support Susanna Dokupil for state representative of House District 134 in Houston, Texas.”