Civil Rights and Appellate Lawyer. Unconstitutional Liberal. Sarcastic. Promoter of Racial Justice. Defender of Free Speech. My pronouns are he/him/his.
Nov 28, 2022 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
@steve_vladeck Judge Walker is an Obama appointee. But it's worth noting that the DeSantis administration has already gotten five or six laws struck down in the past 12-18 months for unconstitutionally chilling or infringing on free speech. That includes decisions from Trump judges.
@steve_vladeck You already posted Stop Woke. I'll post others. Anti-protest law: courthousenews.com/florida-anti-r…
Nov 14, 2022 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Because I'm a nerd, I'm going to talk about why this is such an absurd opinion. It's partisan hackery at its worst. Settled law makes clear these plaintiffs lack standing on two grounds: injury and redressability. Admin gurus, please correct if you see anything wrong. 1/11
First, we have injury. For their APA claim, they have to show a procedural injury & a concrete interest. The procedural injury is the lack of notice & comment. But because this is a generalized grievance (everybody is harmed in this way), it does not alone suffice as harm. 2/11
Jun 17, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
My high school (a very white, suburban school) is currently facing a reckoning with current Black students & past Black graduates speaking out about the racism. It forced me to think back to my years there & confront an ugly truth. I failed my Black classmates. #BlackLivesMatter
As I read through the stories on social media, I couldn't help but think back to my time there. It forced me to recall both the racism masquerading as "jokes" and the explicit, unvarnished racism. I laughed along at the "jokes," and I said nothing when I saw the explicit racism.
Apr 9, 2020 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
I want to elaborate on my comment shooting down these ideas. It's hard to do it without a thread. The problem with these ideas is that they're essentially all or nothing ideas. And while those often sound good in theory, they're usually disastrous in practice. I'll explain why.
First, decriminalizing the border is bad policy. We can amend the law to prevent the prosecution of asylum seekers, stop family separation, and prohibit putting kids in cages. The problem with blanket decriminalization is that it'll create a free for all at the border.
Feb 13, 2020 • 22 tweets • 7 min read
A number of people I respect seem to be moving towards Bloomberg out of concern that only he will beat Trump. I wished more Republicans had stood up and sounded the alarm over Trump in 2016. I don't plan to sit idly by and do nothing with our version of Trump. #BloombergIsTrump
First, Michael Bloomberg does not share our values. He might agree with us on guns, abortions, etc., but he is a misogynistic and racist billionaire who is using his money to buy the primary. Those things are antithesis of what we believe. I'm happy to provide receipts.
Nov 4, 2019 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
1/8 Diary of a Heartbroken Betocrat: As I come to terms with Beto leaving the race, I think I am going to be supporting Kamala Harris. I don't expect to have the personal connection with any other candidate that I had with Beto, but pragmatism tells me Harris is the best choice.
2/8 My personal connection with Beto came from being his constituent, knowing all the good he did in our community, and watching his Texas race up close. I also felt he was the best person for the job who offered the widest path to the White House and could win back the Senate.
Aug 2, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
PSA to the Beto should run for Senate folks: You're not helping us here in TX. If you're concern trolling, just own it. If you think you're helping, stop. Beto isn't running for Senate in 2020. If he did, it would be counterproductive. Cornyn would attack him for running for Pres
We put in a lot of work to make this state winnable again. Beto put in a lot of work to make this state winnable again. But just anybody won't win it. The Dem running for Gov lost by 13%. It's still an uphill battle, so stop making it harder on us.
Jul 19, 2019 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Today, a person on Twitter asked why I support Beto. I think it's a fair question. I will state at the outset that Beto was my Representative, and I have a lot of love for the man based on what he delivered for us and his willingness to listen and engage with his constituents.
Nevertheless, there are three key reasons why I support Beto O'Rourke for President. They are: 1. Electability 2. Ideology 3. Messaging
I'll start with electability. I think Beto is arguably the most electable candidate in the race for three reasons.
