
Lessons from a Failing State
In 2016, Venezuela had 30.7 million people but became engulfed in political and economic crises, which led to more than 7.7 million people leaving the country. How did this oil-rich country, which used to be the third-richest country in the hemisphere, get into so much trouble? In the recent Presidential election, Venezuela’s opposition party alleges massive government corruption.
It has been widely reported that Maduro had used fraud and physical force to retain power when all polls showed the opposition party and candidate had won. There are reports of ballot boxes being seized and burned.
Further, as Red State reported today, "Kamala Harris and Joe Biden had different ideas. While the press will no doubt bury the story, the current administration was at the center of this fraudulent election, having handed Maduro sanctions relief in exchange for "free and fair elections." That sounds like a great deal in exchange for only a hollow promise. Just two weeks before the elections, Kamala and Joe throw Maduro a bone and a boatload of economic benefits. Figures, I guess; leftists supporting leftists.
AP Photo by Fernando Vergara. © Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Licensed for our use.
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Latest Blog Posts
Since October 9, 2021, Jennifer, Susan and Bill have written regular blog postings on the dallasgop.org website. Since all of their postings are no longer being published on that site by the new DCRP team, we are republishing those posts written by those three authors (all are now members of the DCR United team) to provide continuity. Going forward, new blog postings published after June 15, 2024, will be shown here.
What to Know About the Proposed Texas Constitutional Amendments on the November 2025 Ballot
- 09/22/2025
- Matthew G. Patrick
- Commentary
Voters across Texas will have the opportunity this November to approve or reject 17 proposed amendments to the state constitution covering issues ranging from property tax exemptions to bail reform. The propositions were approved during the regular legislative session and now head to the people for final approval, as required for all constitutional amendments in Texas.
First Large County in Country To Do Hand-Marked, Hand-Counted Primary
- 09/8/2025
- Jennifer Stoddard Hajdu
- Commentary
In a series of recent meetings, the Dallas County Republican Party has made it clear that it intends to conduct a precinct-specific, hand-marked, hand-counted primary in March 2026. That is very exciting. It is what we all have been waiting for and anticipating. After all, that is what Chairman Allen West promised us during his 2024 primary campaign. But, has anyone seen the DCRP’s plan? Have 3,000+ hand counters been identified and confirmed? How much are they being paid? And perhaps most importantly, has the money been raised and secured to fund the hand-counted primary? According to the DCRP’s last Federal Ethics Commission Report in July 2025, the Party had approximately $137,000.00 in the bank with a monthly burn rate of approximately $23,000.00 a month. A very conservative estimate of the amount needed just to pay the workers in a hand-counted primary far exceeds $800,000.00 and that amount does not take into account the cost of the equipment and supplies.
Is the Dallas County Republican Party Hand Counting Paper Ballots in the 2026 Republican Primary?
- 04/18/2025
- Jennifer Stoddard Hajdu
- Commentary
It is a fair question, considering that hand counting paper ballots in the Republican Primary is the platform that current Chair Allen West ran on in the 2024 Republican Primary. Yet, since his election, we have not heard one word from him about hand counting paper ballots. It is the Party’s choice to hand count its own Primary. We are a little less than a year away from the 2026 Primary, and I have not seen a plan or a resolution to hand count paper ballots in the Primary. Have you?
Punditry and Persiflage
The "Punditry and Persiflage" section will feature curated selections of the news of the day and social media. From serious to silly, these things simply require comments. You are invited to add your comments to the posting as well.
VP Harris bungles interview with influencer so badly he doesn't air it
- 11/4/2024
- Bill Anderton
- Reporting
See Fox News Article