 Good afternoon everyone, I Sarah said I'm Eric Bustos the board chair of the LBJ future forum Thank you all for joining us For our conversation post election landscape in Texas and beyond The future forum is an organization that brings together individuals different backgrounds Experiences and points of view to discuss local state-wide and international topics that affect us today Our goal is to create civil and forum to bipartisan discussions, which is needed now perhaps more than ever The future forms events are made possible though by our credible members and sponsors Including the downtown Austin Lions Jeff Eller group Carbock Brewing and Joe Cook's here I'm incredibly excited to begin today's discussion focusing on the recent elections and the political trends that we're seeing Joining us today is that state representative Celia Israel political writer for the Dallas Morning News Groomer Jeffers state representative Matt Kraus and the Washington bureau chief for the Texas Tribune Abby Livingston There will be an opportunity to answer your questions at the end of the conversation You're able to type your questions into the q&a box throughout the conversation And we'll address as many as we can at the end And now i'll turn it over to our moderator Karina Kling Post of capital tonight on spectrum news to lead our discussion Thank you and thanks for everyone for thanks to everyone for being here. Hopefully everyone's gotten some rest I'm looking at all of the panelists And addressing that to you guys right now because I know that that has not been the case for many of us Just to kick things off and to be blunts representative Israel. I want to start with you What happened to Texas Democrats? well, um I think donald trump had been to den it to Texas Democrats He's a he you know, he's he's been a difficult man to understand A difficult president to understand and he draws from a different kind of voter and I think our polling um Our polling was wrong It was wrong on both sides. I don't know about matt, but i'm ready to take our pollsters and put them in a Candid and shoot them across lake travis. It's what i'm ready to do They were wrong. We thought we'd gain seats um My republican friends thought they would they would lose some seats and neither of those scenarios happened like it would just status quo so, um you know, we've got a Pick up our pick up our bright spots where we can List ourselves off and get ready for a very difficult session in january President cross i'll let you kind of uh stem off of that But also just was 2018 the wake-up call that republicans Really needed and how did your efforts change from 2018 to 2020 to make sure that that didn't happen again? Yeah, absolutely without a doubt and grover and I have talked about this very recently that 2018 was the wake-up call and I think that's why republicans responded so well is because We didn't wake up labor day weekend of 2020 and say man, we've got to get involved It was november whatever 2018. We said we don't get our act together Things are going to go very differently next cycle. And so, um, I know for me last time in 2018 I was helping friends out around the state, uh, how I can help them and make sure they came back 2020 I said, what do I need to do to make sure I've got my house in order in house district 93? So you're exactly right 2018 was a huge wake-up call and because of that republicans prepared and we responded and responded well on tuesday night I want to ask you about the dallas area. I mean democrats have been on this study march in dallas for years What happened this time around just when it comes to? Picking up more seats and what we saw with really kind of keeping the the status quo Um, this is for me. Karina garomer. Yes Um in 2018 I think democrats got a lot of low-hanging fruit And and and a representative kraus is is right. They kind of caught republicans by surprise And um, and you know representative former representative better or work ran a really great campaign and raised 80 million dollars Um, it was sort of a different kind of race This time around though, uh, I think going into the 2020 cycle Democrats and and and the representative will probably tell you knew that It would be tough getting to nine But what happened was the polls and and on all the money coming in and their energy and excitement Gave sort of the illusion that it was a done deal in some circles and talking to republicans they were kind of uh getting used to the fact that Uh democrats would have a great night as well. It's particularly in terms of taking the house Uh, but as to what happened. I mean morgan mire angie tim budden Uh representative kraus and everybody all the five targeted seats in tarrant county won Um, even in collin county. And so what that shows you is yeah, the republicans were ready um I think the the polls were wrong and there was an under it was underestimated how tough it would be uh, even with the close races in 2018 to actually Get from Minus nine to to plus whatever Abby at the end of the day. I mean we're seeing Biden still or trump still won by six points, which is a smaller margin than we've seen in decades And as more of these mail-in ballots, uh came in for texas. We actually saw Tarrant county then flipped to biden so the landscape there and and even if these uh house lawmakers and some congressional members Are able to hang on to their seats. How do you think that changes moving forward and with what you saw on election night? There's going to be a lot more caution nationally with texas. Um, whether it's spending money, um an enthusiasm I'm endlessly fascinated with tarrant county. That is my home county. I grew up in fort worth and If you I just wouldn't have believed you if you told me that the county would flip as it appears to have for joe biden But they wouldn't pick up any state rep seats and I'm I'm Terribly interested with the the representatives have to say about that. But um, I think when you're looking at this and I'm in washington right now The chatter in national circles is there were a number of democratic incumbents across the country on the house who lost and like In particular one really hurt was a woman named Donna Shalala congresswoman of south florida and she used to be the um secretary of hhs She's a very notable political figure along before she came to congress and she lost and um, I think there's some questions of why were democrats so bullish on Going on offense particularly in texas and then they've taken all of these losses And so there's a lot of consternation in national political circles um Everything that happened in texas played out nationally and it's it's just a scrambled and I think that's a reflection of donald trump Has just completely upended all of the normal. I guess laws of nature. We used to apply to politics President across i'm not unawaying on that too because I mean this is your area and what you saw with the house races versus at the top of the ticket Yeah, it really is fascinating. I was just looking at the numbers again today and as abby said, um, I think biden has about 12 15 1600 vote lead in taren county, which is crazy But you go right below that john cornan won the county by about 41 000 votes and you look at all the judges You look at the spring court judges quarter criminal appeals our local judges And of course the state reps And each one of those statewide county wide races the republicans still hold about a 41 000 vote margin in that area So um, did taren turned blue for purposes of the presidential election? Possibly or it looks like it's going to but for all the down ballot things the republicans again showed their strength and 41 000 is a pretty healthy margin In our county and um as people were talking about donald trump's a unique figure people love him people hate him But there can be a about a 42 000 delta between biden and cornan and taren county is just fascinating Karina, let me just add though uh, that's all one taren county in 2018 I believe which gave fuel to democrats coming into uh, 2020 So something is happening at the top, right? Uh, that isn't translating in the in the down ballot races for whatever reason and maybe it's message Candidates, whatever but there's something going on there. It's fascinating. Well, let me. Yeah, go ahead representative is Only in here and say one of the things we can say, you know from two years ago is we had a We had a big gap between republicans and democrats in the house And one of the reasons why the gap was so big is because democrats weren't able to tell their story telling your story cost money Uh, direct mail digital ads and tv. Well, that was all in place this time Um, but the trump factor is is the is the is the weird thing that was I think throwing the polls off so We had three house races that were um lost by less than one percent We had seven house races that were lost by less than five percent. So What makes me feel good Is that I and my republican colleagues were held more accountable to a november vote at the end of the day That's a good day more than an 11 million texans voted. That's a good day um, so, you know, we'll be digging into the data to see to see what happened, but it it tightened up and Go back to, you know, the pollsters, you know, it's just it still drives you drives you nuts that the data could be That far off and we'll we'll see if that was a if this was a the year of trump effect because he has so many he brings so many weird Points with him or or if this is a trend Bermont, I'll ask you about I want to ask you about straight ticket voting I mean there this was the first election that we didn't have straight ticket voting How much do you think that had an effect on down ballot candidates? but also with what representative israel's saying and the fact that yes Uh incumbents may have kept their seats democrats may not have flipped their seats, but these were very close races Yeah, I I think straight ticket voting Other the elimination of it had to have an impact It's hard to to really quantify but when you look at the fact that you know Someone going into tarrant county or any any other place and and voting for trump or biden And and then a down ballot candidate gets an automatic vote I think that that that meant something removing that and what's hard to know is how many Casual voters would come in and and see r or d and just vote the straight ticket But I think that's a significant number I don't know how significant But but we'll we'll we'll have to see Uh, but the bottom line is yeah A lot of you know, a lot of the viewers and and readers They see that the republicans won and think it's just you know, they just rolled out the ball And and just had an easy win. It's not like that. I think what's getting lost here is that texas may not be A battleground in a sense of a presidential battleground where you see presidential candidates Invest time and money here But it's a competitive state And if you don't work hard to win you will lose and I think representative crowds will tell you that I mean if if if those republican candidates down ballot candidates didn't have money and didn't work hard The democrats would have beat them and the the other part too is message And and we'll see I still think this is a center right state And if a democrat is going to win their message probably has to be center left Uh, I I let's see representative israeli she can speak to that, but I think that that message Is important, but it's not easy for republicans anymore. This is going to be about a a competitive state from here on out Representative cross i'm interested to hear your take because i mean republicans were the ones that did away with straight ticket voting But do you think that that would have hurt you had it been there this time around? Uh, that's a great question. Uh, we got rid of it in 2017 and I think it definitely hurt us But we said it's going to take effect 2020. I think it definitely hurt us in 2018 for sure Uh, I think everybody agrees that with the bettomania the betto effect There's a lot of folks that went in there hit betto went all the way down and that had a huge effect This time, I mean you had people at least 40 some thousand people in taren county who voted for biden and then voted for corn And so I don't know if it was maybe they were going to do that anyway And you weren't going to have as many straight ticket votes Um, as grover said, we really don't know. Uh, I'm waiting for derek ryan to crunch all the numbers and get back to us On what it means, but I it could have had a huge effect It may not have but I as um as representative israel said and others have said the fact that it makes voters more engaged Didn't have to go down the ballot and actually come out to vote to go down that ballot. I think is a is a positive thing Derek ryan's been a busy man Abby, I know since you're in washington I want to kind of shift the conversation just a little bit to you and what type of influence you think texas will have In congress, I mean was there an expectation in dc that at least a couple of texas seats would flip Absolutely I think um, and I shared this this analysis at least two seats of the many that democrats were targeting would probably flip and obviously none did um, again, it's very status quo um texas is In a in a transition period in congress, and it's actually not related to who wins or who loses partisan wise It's because house republicans have a rule that you can only be a chairman for six years or ranking member And so that's what has fueled a lot of these retirements that had been nicknamed texas were Members who'd been at the top of their committees and looked around and said, you know what? I don't want to go back to being right in file So there is there are a lot of folks over the last four years who've faced out of congress And so we have a very increasingly young delegation Um, not a lot of seniority not a lot of know-how but I do think that that is also a good thing There's some new energy and new perspective in both parties and things have just kind of freshened up and livened up again So there's trade-offs, but um, I think that and I think we should um, and I don't have a strong sense right now but who does joe biden appoint to his Um administration and our texas in the mix and I think it'll be an interesting few months Representative israel, are you worried that flipping the texas house will be even more difficult in 2022? um With president biden as president biden elect um in those mid-term elections Well, I don't know what to make of it. I'm um My head is really just full of what we've just been through I I spent my last few days calling candidates to congratulate them as I called my colleague with crouse And I called candidates to say i'm sorry it didn't work out um, so right now we're not really thinking about that where My staff and I visited this morning about legislation today's the first day of filing Who are going to be our allies who can help us pass common sense reforms? So I'm I'm really not thinking about that yet tarina. I'm I'm I'm focused on what you might think is a cup of coffee And through the day reading reading what other smart people have to say And um and respecting the traditions of the house which we make sure that we're not congress that we want to be able to work together And and get things done and perhaps at the end of the day the voters in texas were the big winner Over 11 million voters many of them It's making a statement on these house races and um and saying We do want you to get things done and I and I hope that that's ultimately we will continue the traditions of the house And um and not be congress and that's that's been that's been my my focus Starting this morning. It's a new week. It's a new day. Let's get ready for session Representative cross. I mean how will governing in the way you approach your job be different in a post trump world? Uh, I would like to say not different I've tried to be very consistent the last four years and say hey the president does something good We should praise him for it if the president does something wrong or steps out We ought to call him uh to account and you know make sure that he's he's accountable And so I think that's the best approach to take with any elected official to be honest with you I've tried to be consistent with that. So uh for me personally, I hope it's not much different Um in the grand scheme of things uh president trump is is a unique political figure I don't know if we've seen anybody like him and so um, I think I think there will be a little bit of a Recalibration uh at some point and so but it's hard to tell at this point But uh as representative israel says we are focused on getting through this 2021 session with the things we have going on It's going to be a tough session in a lot of ways and we're all going to have to pull together and work together So no matter what's going on at the at the national level if there's dysfunction if it's perfect If it's harmonious, texas has a lot of work to do in itself and we need to make sure we're focused on those efforts I want to ask you guys more about the texas house in just a second gromer I would just wanted you to weigh in on um with what we're seeing in this transition Maybe you're maybe not right now, but um The way things will work here in texas versus the way things will work in washington and how you see that playing out with a president biden and I know we're still waiting to see what the u.s senate and what happens there, but how that trickles down yeah, I I think texas sort of Uh reverts back to to being um You know trump was such a powerful force In in national politics, but also texas politics. I think it kind of goes back to while trump will I don't think he's going any Anywhere uh In terms of party politics, but I do think you'll see the focus shift more on on governor avid and and sort of the local texas leaders And and I expect avid and patrick and the republican leadership to use Biden as as as a as a boogie man of sorts a A whipping person they will Treat him the same way they treated barack obama when he was president They will point to him and say watch out for this guy Uh, he doesn't represent texas values and use him as a sort of a political prop for 2022 And it's a midterm year democrats would By virtue of having a white house would be to party in power And so they will have to look out for Sort of that backlash vote that you saw in 2010 I think that's the big challenge for democrats is try to try to not get overwhelmed by Sort of a a republican tide During a midterm year, but that's that that would be the change not so much trump But more of a texas flavor You know sort of vibe going into 2022 Abbie uh, then attorney general, uh, greg abbott used to say during the obama administration I like to wake up through the obama administration and go about my day. I'm not quoting that correctly, but How do you see this all playing out from the dc perspective on down to texas? well, I think what DC folks are going to increasingly become obsessed with um in the legislative session is redistricting And do republicans choose texas and reapportionment is expected to get two to three seats and do republicans Choose to be super aggressive and get as many seats as they possibly can in both the state ledge and the us house um, or do they maybe take a more conservative and we're not speaking ideologically like strategically conservative approach Focus on incumbent protection. Um, my sense among talking to republicans in the state Everybody wants as much rural landscape into their district as possible And so there's a real choice ahead strategically because what happens sometimes Um in states if they're super super aggressive by the end of the decade, it's almost like etch a sketch You shake the map up and those lines become less reliable on determining the winner Um and and because the populations come in people have moved around And so what kind of path do they take there? That was the root cause of why there was so much fascination with texas It was because of redistricting democrats thought that there was maybe a lot of ground to gain To bolster there what is increasingly looking like very thin majority in the us house So I think that's the central focus, but I think bigger than that I think Eyes will be on texas in a way. Um, just it is the second largest state. It is like california Those states always have outsized influence and um because the state house of representatives held There are probably some legislation there that'll make it to the new supreme court. Um, that could be very interesting in the future Representative israel abby had a good transition their segue to redistricting. Oh, let's talk redistricting and you and Representative cross can get into a back and forth on this and Let yourselves go How do you see this playing out for uh democrats? Given the fact that you obviously will not have the majority But it is a close margin there. Yeah Well, that was the the big the lost opportunity the session was to have um a house House drawn map that reflected the true demographic trends that that have been happening But on the other hand, you can only do so much that the numbers are real We are a very diverse state. It's it's beautifully diverse and um You know, you you can only you have to apportion. You have to be equal. You have to be fair and ultimately this always ends up in the courts. So um We'll see who who is chair of redistricting under um under the next speaker That's going to be important because that person needs to be a good partner with all the colleagues in the house and and with the senate and uh So I don't I don't really know what's going to happen. I've never been through a redistricting session But my my colleagues were more senior than I tell me that That that that takes up the oxygen in the room and that becomes the thing aside from the budget So it may not be as productive on other um on other legislative Remedies, I hope that's not the case because we have a lot to do in regards to a criminal justice reform and um Just other other issues elections reform pandemic response So but I think the the window is going to be very narrow. So I I I don't know Karina we've never we've never been in this position before but You can only do so much and the demographic we've been adding a thousand people a day now and in my district, for example, it's high growth high tech and a ton of um Asian-Americans African-Americans who cannot afford to live in in central Austin and Cash out and buy the house at the edge of the county and uh, that's happening all around the state So we are we are We are a patchwork now for the state. We're not predictable in any in any one in any one region Representative cross. I mean, this will be your first time to do redistricting as well A lot of lawmakers in there there there will be some who are back But how do you see this process playing out with the republican controlled senate with the republican controlled? House and and the role that democrats will play in this Yeah, I think it's going to be fascinating. As you said, this will be my first redistricting session I came in in 2013 seniority wise, I think I'll be right around number 44 number 45 in the house Coming into this session, which is crazy Which means only about 43 people in that chamber have gone through a redistricting session And so we'll have to rely pretty heavily on them I was on the redistricting committee last session and we had already done about 13 field hearings All around the state before kovat kind of shut that down. And so We started to get an idea of where the growth was in the state where Populations were shrinking where we were going to have to do some work Phil king did an amazing job as the chair of that committee I would be surprised if he's probably not the chair of that committee going forward Just because he's already put so much time effort energy into it And he's been one of those members who's been around enough to see a couple of redistricting cycles I'm looking forward to getting to meet a lot of congressmen and women That I've never met before because they say they're down at the capital all the time But it's something that I've been told it's not just republicans versus democrats It's intro party struggles as well, especially in some of those urban areas Where you know, are you going to get paired where you're going to be? And so I think that'll be fascinating as well Not just r versus d but r versus r d versus d as you kind of have to apportion And as representative israel said having so many new people come in My area in taren county is the fastest growing district and so we're going to have to make changes And so what that looks like we don't know and it'll it'll be a fascinating process But i'm an optimist and texas has always done a good job of rising to the challenge and even on redistricting It'll be tough, but I have faith in my colleagues. I have faith in the senate that that we're going to get it done And if possible draw maps that won't go to court, but I wouldn't put money on that I'm early way in on just the the messy process that is redistricting and How you think this will Be any less messy or more messy Well, I I think there will be a lot of incumbency protection the incumbents uh will They're they're significant in the process because they're first Generally their first rule is to protect, you know, their boundaries or make their boundaries best for them the other question is And this came up. I think abby brought this up. How greedy will republicans get? uh, if you look in dallas county, uh They in 2010 at the beginning of the cycle Drew all these drew these lines to maximize Republican representation by the end of the decade they had lost what four or five seats maybe more now There are only two republicans left in dallas county morgan mire and angie chin button So in other places say like tarrant county, for instance, where you see a lot of population grow Will they draw lines to four to five? Republicans or will existing incumbents or will they kind of get greedy and try to You know add a few more seats here and there I think that's a big question And and represent a cross brought up the legal challenges. That's always significant The section five provisions in a voter voters rights act no longer exist Where you need pre clearance And so we may still have some court cases going on with previous maps So whether whether whether these maps hold up the smell test in terms of discrimination discriminating against voters of color That's going to be something that we watch as well because texas The maps always end up in court always Representative cross the the chairman of the texas gop today alan west saying that representative feeling The presumed speaker of the house who says that he has the votes to do that It is a traitor and that the party won't accept or support him. Do you accept and support him? Yeah, traitors are pretty strong word For a guy who's done a lot of things that are in the republican platform in his time I mean, he was the guy who authored the constitutional carry during a disaster Last session, which is about as far as we've moved on second amendment rights since I've been in the chamber But yes, I think representative feeling still has the support of the republican caucus as well as the entire body to become the next speaker and so I'm happy to talk with anybody in our caucus and our grassroots who who has concerns or Who has issues with what a speakership under date feeling might be. I think he would do a really good job I think he would be hardworking. I think he'd be transparent He's shown that in his time in the house. And so yes, I support Dave feeling. I know a lot of my colleagues I think most most all of us at this point do And but again, I'm always happy to talk to you never want to just dismiss the people in your party who have Disagreements you always want to talk to them See where maybe you're wrong Where maybe you can inform them in other places So I look forward to having those conversations with Chairman West or anybody else who wants to have those in the coming months But I do think Dave feeling on day one january 12th. We'll have the gavel in his hand and be our next speaker Representative israel. I mean, what do you want to see from a speaker feeling if that is indeed in fact The way it ends up. I mean, I know he's been an ally of Speaker bonin the outgoing speaker. Do you think he needs to show that he's different from bonin? Well, I think Rep I support rep feeling I expect him to be the next speaker of the house I It is disappointing to see the the once once it was a Once the decision is done, like we got to move forward Transition just as you see in the White House is important transition to the speaker level is equally important We've got to prepare for a session where we'll have COVID concerns health care concerns And You always want to make sure that the speakers are on a very really smart policy people who are a liaison to my office To help us all be better representatives, but I've I've gotten the assurance from Chair feeling that he believes that He believes in what I believe in and that the speaker should help every member succeed to the extent that they want to succeed And if you want to sit on the in the back rail and And pout you can but if you want to get in there and get some stuff done That lane is open. So I'm I'm sure that that's the case A lot of what we work on is is Is non-partisan and and if you're smart you work across party lines to say I've got this support on both sides Can I get a hearing can I get out of here and move it through so for that reason I I have I have high expectations Of repealing, but I'm assured that he and I share those same goals I'll ask this question to all of you. It's just kind of a general one about the State of the next legislative session, but Girmah, maybe I'll start with you I mean everyone's still having to deal with the coronavirus pandemic There's still many Texans who are unemployed I know that during the course of this campaign and I know representative israel we talked about this on on my program, but There's been some change in the conversation about Medicaid expansion and whether more republicans will look to that Because of the corona virus pandemic. How do you see that conversation playing out in the next legislative session? And do you see it as as more of a bipartisan approach? I You want to start yeah, I do. I mean the pandemic will be Of course the major topic and and inside that topic is is health care When you think about 2018 and to some degree 2020 health care has been really A major issue and an issue that democrats have been able to to really gain traction on Because voters respond to it. I mean lot of the gains in 2018 on a congressional level And on a state level were because of in my opinion the health care issue And I think that will bring republicans to the table You mentioned Medicaid expansion except the federal deal Let's say even if they don't do that there has to be a conversation on what the texas solution is To to get more people Affordable health insurance. So yes, I think that will be a big issue. And I think the voters In essence have pushed republicans to the table on this Having I'll let you in Well, I I can't speak too much the legislature. I'm just not well sourced enough on that front But what I can say is corona virus is going to be the dominating issue that congress takes up I think it's also going to be a fascinating display. We have three pretty elderly people running the presidency the senate assuming the republicans hold the senate and The u.s. House and they're all deal makers And so I think you're going to have a lot of clashing Priorities and Nancy Pelosi is very weakened going into the session given how many seats she lost There may be a chance that if seven democrats band together they can kill any Legislation she's trying to move through there, whether it's not conservative if it's too conservative or not liberal enough or Along those lines and so I but I think corona virus is going to be a dominating issue and you know My hope is that these folks all know each other and hopefully will be able to negotiate in a productive way Representative cross what's your take on just the idea of some bipartisan movement on medicaid expansion or Some of these other health care issues dealing with the corona virus and that being The key issue next session Yeah, again, it is going to be the key issue and it's not just at the broader level of policy It's at the uh lower level of just how are we going to get our jobs done, right? There's questions. Do we meet in the chamber? Do we have in-person committee hearings? Do we do certain things in a different way? And so that that's all covet related as well And I I'll continue to say and I hope representative israel agrees with me That if we're in session, we need to be in the people's house and we need to be present Teachers are sending to the classroom every day health care workers are sending to Hospitals every day. Everybody is is going to their jobs. And so we need to be at our job as well So I have to do that on the health care front. I think groomers, right? I think there were a lot of strides gained in 2018 on that issue And I think you saw last session republicans respond to that Senator kelly hancock and representative tom oliver sent had a bill Last session that created a high-risk insurance pool so that people didn't have to worry about pre-existing conditions Here in texas Should they not have an insurance provider that could could do that form so texas was proactive We worked at that To make sure those were pre-existing conditions were still covered And I think that's the kind of ingenuity and kind of bipartisan cooperation We're going to look for solutions as groomer said to texas specific stuff whether Whatever it is. We're going to be looking for those issues and not looking to washington dc to save us on them Representative israel, what's your take on this because I know that there's been plenty of criticism about what representative matt cross is talking about with regards to that bill from democrats Well, I was heartened to see this summer Another conservative state who expanded medicaid and now texas is in the minority states that said no to those federal dollars Missouri passed an initiative that was similar to my bill Which is if the body doesn't want to make a decision on a ticket to the voters that's happened I think in Idaho and utah and most recently in Missouri where they said let's expand medicaid and you can have your own your own version of what that looks like but I think it's I think it's malpractice to put a medical term on it It's malpractice to not take back your federal dollars to help texas have more insurance So that their insurance isn't tied to their job at a time when the when those jobs are untenable And on shaky ground We we have a we have a conservative model And and that comes in the form of various conservative states that have done it and we continue to lose rural hospitals left and right so I'm Representative you see and I have An initiative that would just simply say let's let's follow the Missouri model and take it to the voters The the the appropriations committee will be key to that on our side to see what what does that solution look like? What's our skin in the game to pull down those federal dollars? but we've seen several several um of my republican friends who are open to to new ideas and um I think the voters have spoken on that issue in particular i'm going to get to some questions from the participants now i'll try to get to all of these but um Representative cross i'll start with you on this one It's this very zoom related and virtual related assuming the capital remains closed during session How effective do you think zoom meetings will be for constituents? I work for a trade association and normally we host an advocacy event in february I worry about zoom fatigue from both lawmakers and constituents Yeah, god bless you. I feel that zoom fatigue right now before session even starts Again, i'm going to go back to i think the capital should be open You might have to limit how many people can be in a committee room at a time You might have to limit certain things but i want to hear those trade association days And i'm sure representative isra will agree with me or some of my favorite days because we are hearing from constituents About the issues that are important to them. So we're going to do our best to keep our office open the entire session I I do think members offices are everyone's a little unique some are older Some may have health conditions where they may make different decisions than I will in my office I think you have to allow that but I think we do need to meet in person I think the capital needs to be open for the people to express themselves and uh and petition their government We work for them. They don't work for us. And so I'm hoping the capital is open Business as usual as much as possible And and we'll be having those interactions where we can really hear from constituents and have real meaningful conversations Zoom is going to be okay in some instances if you have to have invited testimony or special circumstances But I think that should be the exception not the rule It has not been easy easy from a tv news standpoint. I'll tell you that As good as all of you gotten with your uh a background and everything else Representative israel, I mean, have you heard anything about where or how the session might look where it might take place? Now it's your take on this No, that that goes to my point I think it was really important first to decide on the speaker apparent quickly because uh he and his team have to work quickly To uh with our house administrative committee chaired by charg garen Here in central texas donna howard is on that committee. Uh, she's a former critical care nurse um, and just as a reminder the The the bulk of the work that happens is underground. So it's it's not really conducive to airflow Um, although it was a uh an architectural wonder when it was built. It's a beautiful facility So we've we've got to come up with with some Happy medium here, but we are all very concerned about visitors in small spaces And and just being careful. We don't want to do more harm in the course of doing the people's business But it is the people's house. Um, we just might not have all those, uh, you know Boy scouts with uh journey hands running all over the place But uh, we I still want people to come and and and do what they need to do and visit that It makes a difference when you visit in person. I know when we passed um Kenna Boyd oil for example meeting My constituent who was in a motorized wheelchair to tell me her story and to know that she was my constituent Um, she didn't care if I was a public in a democrat She just wanted she wanted me to feel her story and her kid's story and I did So that's an example and other safety related issues that I hear about in the transportation committee Um, when people can tell you their story in person it it it makes a difference So I I hope that we can find a way to make that happen Having I've got another question. I'll call this person out jennifer sarver hi jennifer as a As a native of the real grand valley I was fascinated by the results in south texas and the growth and trump share of the hispanic boat Can you comment on that? That was one of the questions that I did not get to so i'm glad she asked it Well, I think that oh, oh, I'm sorry I'll head abby. I'll say something in the name of god. Okay But I will say I mean I We the democrats got an overwhelming majority of the latino vote In areas that were not in the valley and all the other urban areas of texas the latino vote came out strongly democratic But that tells you we shouldn't take the latino vote for granted And there's members who have been redistricted into a strong comfortable democratic position and They need to tell their story too We all were taking a victory lap for the public school money that the public support funding that we put out there and That's that's another dynamic I think in south texas who have the energy sector have weighed into it Border issues weigh heavily. We don't agree on on all of that stuff And um There were there were a lot of lies being told about democrats that we that we supported defunding the police For example, which is incorrect now at the end of the day I'm a small business person chamber of commerce democrat who happens to be a lesbian from El Paso, texas So I I have a lot of different layers to me And I represent a high growth diverse district in texas very proud of my border background So I I think what happened in the border was um Was disappointing but uh, it should be a wake-up call for for latinos And and progressives and republicans alike. You can't take that vote for family Abia, I'll let you in. I know you guys have written a lot about this and has has gromer I mean, this is going to be something I think will be studied for years and years both by journalists by political actors by academics Um, I one thing I would flag um for as much criticism as uh, secretary hillary clinton got for her 2016 campaign um She did her she did better than biden if I recall in south texas and she had she and bill clinton have tied going back to 1972 in that region for the mcgovern campaign. Um, and this is a region both of them feared about so If you had told me that joe biden would underperform hillary clinton in south texas It wouldn't have shocked me what shocked me was that one of the congressmen down there a congressman vincente gonzalez Who's based in mcallan and his district goes north? Um, he he won. I think by 3.5. I haven't seen the final margin But there was a moment in the middle of the night I thought he might lose and that was one of the things I felt like something strange was going to happen And I was worried the polls were wrong Um, just because there were so many new people coming out But that is not what I was looking for and I was completely stunned with that And so when democrat national democrats are looking at texas before they can go on an offensive They have to worry about protecting him before anything else. And so it's going to be very fascinating Gourmet here's another question. Um, given the closeness of various down ballot races What results for democrats have been better if biden had spent one or more days campaigning in major texas cities like san antonio houston and dalas Well Yes and no I I think a presidential Presidential candidate visits always help you saw with trump how uh his whirlwind campaign Uh tour of uh, pennsylvania and michigan and all those states. I think help tighten things And so a biden visit here, uh strategically probably would have helped Maybe even more so than than money because the airwaves were so saturated Uh toward the end and I don't know that that matters, but but yeah, I think it it helped would it would But it probably wouldn't have given him a victory here I think the numbers just suggest that this is still a republican leaning state And so you you really really have to do a whole lot Uh to flip it statewide Uh particularly with trump having that hidden strength that I think a lot of people want to estimate it But could he have done more to pump up uh, even african americ even black voters, uh, which Look They perform very well, but there's always what meat left on the bone. There's always something Areas in the state that you can look at what you say wow Uh and and this happened with better or work. I wish I could Pumped up those numbers a little bit more. So a visit would have helped. What do you have want texas by coming here more? I don't think so representative cross um What's the current situation with the state budget? Are we still anticipating major cuts in the next session? Good luck with that one Yes, um, but you know that that's the big question Representative israel and I when we get sworn in we only have one constitutional duty for 140 days And that's to pass a budget a balanced budget And so um, I know i've been in a lot of talks with the appropriations chair Giovanni Capriglione up here in south lake Who my guests will continue to be the? Appropriations chair and and he says it's going to be tough I mean, we're going to have a tough session to figure out how to fund all of our priorities with the money We have because of cobit related um Environment and and what happened with oil and gas a few months back and so it was kind of a perfect storm of economic maladies You could say that's going to put us in this position And so it's going to be tough, but again the optimist in me says we will come together We'll figure out a way to fund those things that we need to And and and we've always done that we have to do that and and we will do that even though it's going to be tough Have there been any talks yet about additional revenue? Uh, well, there's been a lot of talks about everything you can think of I think everybody's looking At any way we can do this. I know the rainy day fund has been talked about quite a bit You don't always have that going into session But I think everybody understands that this isn't a rainy day What is and so I think you'll be looking at some ways to use that economic stabilization fund to short some of our Shortfalls and and and luckily we have that money and we haven't touched it in the past For other causes so that we do have that now So I think you'll see that and then other ways to to try to figure out that budget shortfall But there're going to be some hard conversations Although I've had a few veteran lawmakers that say session sometimes is easier when you don't have money When you do everybody comes to you and it's hard to say no when you don't have money You can just tell them. Sorry. We don't have it. Uh, you're not going to get it and just just get ready for a tough session So we'll see how it goes, but uh, but we'll get there Representative is there a what do what do democrats fight hardest for in terms of Not cutting some of these. I mean there was so much money pumped into education last time around and various others areas Well, I think we fight we fight hardest to uh for public education because that is our future We want to if we want to continue to lead continue to grow and innovate Um and do cool stuff Uh with our with our business with our business world. We've got to make sure that there's a pipeline there and uh So that's going to be I think the big the big area for us is How do we maintain the revenue that we put in because in the last economic recession we cut public education by 5.4 billion dollars And that that left um, that did real real harm and real damage who layer on top of that Of course the cobit environment where teachers are um in some districts are have some kids are Distance learning that some kids are in the classroom. I know I couldn't do that. Um, so there's a There's even more challenges and then internet access So there's a lot of a lot of things that we're all having to to learn about the intricacies of how do you teach a kid? And uh, I think that's got to be our number one um defense force Um, I'll just ask you this too. And it's one of the questions But how do you foresee new revenue streams in that battle? Um in the next legislative session? well, um There's always, um There's always the corporate, um Gifts that the state government gives and I think this is time for us to look at those array Of incentives that the state has and see working working nip and top That can't that's not the only answer So we're going to have to we're going to have to cut it cut some of our expectations Some of our agencies are going to have to cut expenses Um, and some of our special interests are going to have to to give in um For example, there's a retailers get a get a discount for submitting their sales taxes online That's a that's uh a remnant from the 1980s When when you when you incentivize people to do their transactions electronically Texas.gov is now doing millions of transactions and dollars every week So the the more that that's just one small example Where why are we why are we letting them have a discount for what is a common sense business practice now? um But those are those are budget pennies compared to what we need. So it's got to be the Where the rubber meets the road is the appropriations committee that's where all of these details get hammered out and Those folks have my complete respect because they start their day early and they go back and keep on hammering away that budget And that's and our staffs have not been in contact with our appropriators They haven't been having those regular meetings that we normally have during the interim. So there's that um lack of information As during a time of pandemic it's it's unforeseen unprecedented and I know that we're all up to the challenge Sarah do we have time for one more? Absolutely, okay um This one keeps coming up. So I don't know who wants to I think it's probably directed towards you representative israel, but others Can weigh into um Instead of defund the police why didn't any of the democrats consider reinvent public safety Yeah, we were saying all kinds of things the last thing we were saying was defund the police uh, so that's just a propaganda tag that stuck and uh, there was You know dozens and dozens of direct mail pieces and tv ads that came upon us, so The we have to we have to We're going I know we're all going to follow the lead of the black caucus they're talking about criminal justice reform and Reprioritizing how we support cities and counties so We can we can quarterback it all you want, but the propaganda war was clearly won by By my republican friends who were misrepresenting democratic Goals So I don't know what to tell you. We cannot we can all be marketing gurus, but at the end of the day we No democrats were out there saying defund the police. We were trying to say what you just said in a different plan was it How much of an effect do you think that had on Races, I mean particularly we saw it in a lot of the state house races with the governor Asking people to sign the pledge of back the blue and that type of thing. Oh, yeah, the tremendous effect I mean that and and and the fracking Question the green you know green energy all those issues were republicans were able to take And formulate attack ads against democrats and progressives On the left end of the democratic party progressives wouldn't really budge on that issue either Uh, they kept saying defund as that wasn't what most of the democratic candidates would say That's what wasn't what they were saying, but it didn't matter at that point. I think at the top Biden was a little slow To kind of denounce that I mean took a little while And by then it kind of got it got out of control. But yes that that was devastating I think for a lot of democratic party candidates had to answer that question and then Their their answers and and their positions were distorted I mean if you if you were a democratic candidate and you just knew someone who Who said defund the police or or just associated with a group that used that term You were wrapped you were pulled in there with them. So it was a tough issue for I mean, how much did that play into congressional races here in texas I mean it was in a lot of television advertising and I asked most of the democratic challengers at one point or another Do you support defunding the police and they all said no But you know, I saw it with my own eyes at protest in dc Just signs that said defund the police and things like that and we are seeing um, the the house democrats all had a conference call Which was supposed to be members only but uh reporters were managed to sneak into it and a congresswoman who nearly lost in virginia Basically said this nearly cost me my seat stop using this kind of language And I don't really think of too many official Democrats actually use that term. Um, and she said socialism as well Um, but that it is being thrown around in the democratic progressive world I think with hurtful and um, she made that point, but she got a lot of pushback too from the left So I think this is a symptom of a real fight brewing in national democratic politics President of cross, I'll give you the final word on this. I mean, how much did this play into your, uh, race and I mean, do you think it's a fair term to use against a democratic opponent? Look at him smiling kareena I was just gonna say, you know, it's hard to say that it's fabricated You don't do it when you could see a play out in real time that 150 million dollars was taken out of the austin Police department and deployed to other places. And I think that was your your example of defund the police I know My opponent had had a fundraiser with greg casar the austin city councilman Who who was endorsed by the socialist party who embraced that? That label and also almost kind of bragged that he led the fight in austin to take away that 150 million dollars From the austin police department. And so you did have Representative leech his opponent had some very strong words about defunding the police as well And so it wasn't all theoretical. It wasn't all marketing. There were some actual real world Applications and real world statements showing that that is the direction that some of our opponents could take things Should they get an office? And so I do think it was effective I think it was a misstep at the national level as gromer said for Biden not to come out more forcefully and and put that to rest but on the local level I think there were some legitimate instances of that and and I think it Was a very positive for republicans I will just note that the austin police department has not been defunded though There was money taken and out reallocated other places 150 million dollars went away from some of their critical work for other purposes And so I think that's what allowed a lot of people to say That's what defunding would look like but I I understand your point the terminal. Yes. Um, well, let's leave it on on that very controversial note But thank you guys so much for doing all of this. I'll turn it back over to eric Well, thanks. Thank you to the panel for sharing your insights with us this afternoon. I really appreciate all your time Um, if you're not already yet a member of the future forum, I strongly encourage you To sign up on our website lbjfutureform.org Members enjoy the best of what the future form has to offer including first access to events And happy hours networking opportunities and benefits at the lbj presidential library Our next event will be on december 10th where we'll explore the impact of covet 19 on higher education Thank you all and I hope to see you again