Thread by @AriSchulman

Purely my gut sense, but I think most people are floored by the collapse of government's ability to handle the most basic collective-action functions and will support whoever can plausibly claim to get the trains running on time, whatever ideological banner they're flying.

Although I'm not hearing that message from Dems, somehow I suspect that the "this is all AOC's fault" message isn't going to do the trick either.

The Texas GOP is doing everything it can to set up this fight on terms they will lose.
houstonchronicle.com/business/energ…

See, when it's a Come and Take It! bumper sticker LARP vs. a hypothetical blackout, maybe Perry wins this one. When millions of Texans directly experience a week of this nightmare, I'm not so sure.

https://twitter.com/Mike_Hixenbaugh/status/1362066429542100994

It's baffling how many in the Texas GOP simply assume that any of the old shibboleths — this doesn't sound conservative so it's bad — have deep ideological, rather than merely tribal, attachment in their party.

People want the libs owned because they feel threatened on a gut, metaphysical level. But when you're threatened on a ground, physical level — no water, no roads, no power, no heat — that will only hold out so long.

The problem with the Trumpy right is that it correctly sensed that "I would gladly freeze in my living room in Austin for the sake of William F. Buckley" did not actually have a deep commitment, but all it has to offer instead is "I would gladly freeze to own AOC."

Does that translate to AOC winning? Maybe not, but it at least gives her a broad hearing she might not otherwise have.