Houston Council Republicans Silent On Trump/Musk Cuts-Agree Or Afraid Of Attack By Trump Mob?

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​Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says she is afraid to openly oppose Trump and his supporters. 

From Reuters: 

"Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski disclosed this week that the threat of political retaliation from President Donald Trump is real enough to make her anxious about speaking out about his tariffs, executive orders and cuts to federal agencies "We are all afraid," Murkowski told a summit of nonprofit and tribal leaders in her native Alaska..."It's quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before," the 67-year-old lawmaker added. "And I'll tell you, I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that's not right."

The retaliation Senator Murkowski is discussing involves threats of physical violence. 

From Vanity Fair:

January 6 further catalyzed GOP fear of Trump-inspired violence. Romney told his biographer, McKay Coppins, that an undercurrent of anxiety thwarted Republican efforts to formally punish Trump for his role in inciting the riot. “One Republican congressman confided to Romney that he wanted to vote for Trump’s second impeachment, but chose not to out of fear for his family’s safety,” Coppins wrote in his book. “When one senator, a member of leadership, said he was leaning toward voting to convict, the others urged him to reconsider. You can’t do that, Romney recalled someone saying. Think of your personal safety, said another. Think of your children. The senator eventually decided they were right.”

It is something that my father could fight for a year on the Korean/Chinese birder in the Korean War, but these people cannot do what is right. 

​How can we know that any Republican action-or lack of action-is simply about avoiding being attacked by Trump and his mob? 

Here in Houston, the six Republican Houston City Councilmembers have been silent even as Trump/Musk do things that will cause great harm to Houston.

​(Picture above is two Houstonians at Houston City Hall offering commentary on the state of our democracy.)

The six Council Republicans are at-large members Julian Ramirez, Twila Carter and Willie Davis & district Councilmembers Amy Peck, Fred Flickinger and Mary Nan Huffman. Here are maps of Houston council districts so you can see who your councilmember is. 

​Trump/Musk are planning to gut NOAA, the National Weather Service and FEMA. How can council Republicans be silent as the federal government puts Houstonians at risk of life and financial ruin? And it is even worse than that--Council's so-called Resilience Committee is chaired by hard right Republican Twila Carter. The committee has met in only four of the past 7 months and never to address the consequences of the Trump/Musk assault on accurate weather forecasting and disaster relief. 

Contact Council and ask that Ms. Carter be removed as Chair of the Resilience Committee, or that Councilmembers bypass the committee and hold necessary public forums on how Houston will deal with crippling federal cuts. 

Trump/Musk are slashing public health funds in a way that will lead to big job losses at Houston's Texas Medical Center and will curtail essential lifesaving research. 

From KHOU/Channel 11:

KHOU 11 has spent the last few weeks having dozens of conversations with Houston researchers from leading institutions who say these cuts will be devastating to the region, most them are  intimidated to speak out publicly, wary of what comes next..."Our success is the success of science worldwide," said Dr. Joshua Shulman. "We couldn't do what we are doing without NIH support."

Do the six Houston City Council Republicans--Ramirez, Carter, Davis, Peck, Flickinger, Huffman--agree with Trump/Musk cuts that will do so much damage to Houston? Or are they afraid that if they speak up, they will be attacked by the Trump mob? 

Call them and e-mail them and ask. Sign up to speak at Council and ask them directly. 

Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure. Local elected officials will be needed to support Project 2025 and speak up in favor of disappearing people without out the rule of law to the torture prison in El Salvador.

Ask your local elected officials where they stand and hold them accountable all the time. 

Here is information on interacting with Houston City Council--

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council.

Here is the Houston Democracy Project list of things each of us can do to fight Trump/Musk. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.

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