Rep. Lizzie Fletcher: Texas May Finally Be in Play

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher – Texas May Finally Be in Play

Host: Sarah Longwell (The Bulwark)
Guest: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX)
Date: March 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell sits down with Texas Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher for a deep dive into the transformation of Texas politics. They explore the ongoing redistricting wars, the prospects for Democrats in a historically red state, infighting and coalition-building among Democrats, and the failure of Congress to effectively govern amid MAGA dominance. The conversation is candid, energetic, and surprisingly optimistic about Democratic chances in 2026.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Texas Redistricting & Gerrymandering: The “War” That Backfired

[03:11–07:54]

• The Redistricting Timeline:
  Rep. Fletcher outlines three phases:

  1. Legislative Push (2025): Gov. Abbott, at former President Trump's request, asked the state legislature to redraw congressional maps to create five more GOP seats—not because Texas was slipping, but as a buffer for potential GOP losses elsewhere.
     • “President Trump said, I want five more Republican seats from Texas... and thought they could just redraw the map. And they thought the Democrats would just kind of take it. And that is not what has happened.” (Fletcher, [04:08])
  2. Litigation: Lawsuits challenged the maps as racially discriminatory, with a Trump-appointed judge initially siding with plaintiffs before the Supreme Court stayed the decision. The legal battle isn’t done.
     • “The judge who wrote the opinion was appointed by President Trump who said, this map discriminates against Texans. And so they won. And then the Supreme Court stayed that. But that case is not over.” (Fletcher, [05:11])
  3. Electoral Response: With the new map in place for this cycle, Democrats are fighting at the ballot box.
     • “...Our job is to make sure they pick up as few as possible, hopefully pick up zero, maybe even lose one.” (Fletcher, [08:11])

• Democratic Fightback as a Model:
  Texas Democrats surprised Republicans with strategic pushback, from breaking quorum in the legislature to uniting behind legal challenges and grassroots organization. - “Democrats, I think, surprised them by fighting back. But let me assure you, that was a strategy. And I’m really grateful. Like, Leader Jeffries has been there saying, like, we’re not giving an inch.” (Fletcher, [06:53])

2. Texas in Play? Demographic Shifts, Candidates, and Hope

[07:54–15:17]

• The GOP Strategy Is Failing:
  Fletcher is adamant that Republicans overreached and will not gain as planned:

  • “No, they're not. They're not going to be able to pick up five seats. And you can mark my words now.” (Fletcher, [08:08])

• Key Races and Candidates:

  • Incumbents like Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez expected to hold on.
  • Bobby Polito in TX-15 has run a “genius” campaign (“the quinceanera thing, like, genius, genius.” [08:41]).
  • “We want to do it by winning and we want to do it by turning out. And look, that can have some other benefits, like electing a Democratic senator from Texas.” (Fletcher, [09:51])

• Enthusiasm and Turnout:
  Democratic turnout is up—highest primary turnout since 2008—and recent special elections indicate voters are open to non-GOP candidates, even in deeply red districts.

  • “Highest Democratic primary turnout since 2008. So lots of enthusiasm... for the first time in years in a Trump +32 district, a Democratic senator was elected in this special election.” (Fletcher, [15:07])

• Shifts in Texas Republican Identity:
  Texas GOP, once seen as champions of local control and small government, have subsumed themselves to Trump’s GOP, ceding authority and alienating traditional Texans.

  • “They are 100% subservient to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans and Washington Republicans telling them what to do. And they put Donald Trump ahead of Texans. And Texans know it.” (Fletcher, [14:03])
  • “There are votes up for grabs in Texas... Republicans have helped us by showing that they're not prioritizing Texans, they're prioritizing Trump.” (Fletcher, [16:41])

3. Democratic Unity & Coalition-Building after a Rough Primary

[17:17–19:42]

• Bloody Primaries:
  Sarah notes the “bloody” primary between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico, pushing for visible unity going forward.

  • “My hope is that Jasmine Crockett will start to campaign for James Tao Rico with tremendous energy.” (Longwell, [18:03])

• Fletcher’s Take:
  Yes, party unity is possible and necessary—citing her own experience with unity events after a tough primary.

  • “One of the best things that happened was that every single person in that race got together... and, you know, really just talked about how important it was to beat John Culberson in 2018 and to take back the House. And Democrats know it.” (Fletcher, [18:38])

• Democratic Coalitions Matter More Than Reaching Across the Aisle:

  • “I want you guys to reach across to each other and like show people what a community looks like together as Democrats.” (Longwell, [18:25])

4. Senate Races: The MAGA Factor, Paxton/Cornyn, And Fallout

[10:14–11:40], [20:01–21:27]

• Ken Paxton vs John Cornyn:
  Paxton is likely to win unless Trump throws support behind Cornyn, reflecting the deep MAGA shift in the Texas GOP and the consequences for incumbents.

  • “If I had to pick right now, my money’s on Paxton. I think he will win. I'm not saying I'm voting for him... those are all protest votes. Right. Those are the people who don't want to vote for Cornyn.” (Fletcher, [20:24])

• Voter Backlash Against MAGA Allegiance:
  Even some who once supported Cornyn won’t vote for him now due to his perceived capitulation to Trump.

  • “He sold out to Trump. Right. And it goes back to the same idea... now he's just showing that he's serving Trump. It's the same thing Governor Abbott's doing. It's the same thing our legislature's done. They're all serving Trump. And Texans aren't going to take it anymore.” (Fletcher, [20:37])

5. Congress in Dysfunction: The Do-Nothing (or Harm-Doing) Branch

[21:27–25:13]

• Congressional Paralysis:
  Fletcher issues an unsparing diagnosis: Congress is not just stymied—it’s actively undermining constitutional checks and balances under Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership.

  • “I think we voted seven times on the capacity of your showerheads... they are pretending like they’re governing and legislating when they have ceded all of their authority to the White House and to Donald Trump.” (Fletcher, [22:23])
  • “This Congress is doing harm, right? And that's the problem. They're doing harm to the constitutional system, to the sense of checks and balances, and to these institutions that are going to need a massive amount of repair.” (Fletcher, [24:40])

• Checks and Balances Abandoned:

  • “Congress is the Article 1 branch of government... And as I said, Congress—thank you—Congress is the Article 1 branch of government.” (Fletcher, [22:46])

• The Hope:
  Change in leadership is possible; it’s up to the voters.

  • “The system... can be fixed because all it takes is sending different people to Washington and putting different people in charge. We need Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and not Speaker Mike Johnson. And that is within all of our power... in Texas, we're going to do it.” (Fletcher, [25:02])

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the Redistricting War:
  “If you’re gonna dish it, you gotta take it. Right. And this was their idea. And we need to make sure that they see what a bad idea it was.” (Fletcher, [06:53])

• On Texas Being in Play:
  “No, they're not. They're not going to be able to pick up five seats. And you can mark my words now.” (Fletcher, [08:08])

• On Democrats Surprising with Fight:
  “Democrats, I think, surprised them by fighting back. But let me assure you, that was a strategy. And I'm really grateful.” (Fletcher, [06:53])

• On Texas Republicans and Trump:
  “They are 100% subservient to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans and Washington Republicans telling them what to do. And they put Donald Trump ahead of Texans. And Texans know it.” (Fletcher, [14:03])

• On Congressional Dysfunction:
  “I think we voted seven times on the capacity of your showerheads... In Congress, things are bad. Things are bad in Congress. And I try to tell my constituents every week kind of why I'm voting against everything. Partially it's because they're not bringing the right things to the floor. And partially it said it's a farce.” (Fletcher, [22:23])

• On the Need for Unity:
  “I want you guys to reach across to each other and like show people what a community looks like together as Democrats.” (Longwell, [18:25])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Main Conversation Starts: [01:00]
• Redistricting/Gerrymandering in Texas: [03:11–07:54]
• Democrats’ Election Prospects, Strategy, Key Races: [07:54–15:17]
• Democratic Primary Unity & Coalition Politics: [17:17–19:42]
• Ken Paxton vs Cornyn, Texas GOP’s MAGA Problem: [20:01–21:27]
• Congressional Dysfunction and Hope for Reform: [21:27–25:13]

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is candid, humorous, and sometimes sharp, but threaded with hope and resolve. Fletcher mixes expertise with relatable anecdotes, painting a picture of both Texas’s volatility and national implications.

• Hope is not lost for Texas Democrats—Republicans’ overreach has created opportunity.
• Democrats are fighting on multiple fronts—from legal battles to unified campaigns.
• Coalition-building is essential—Democrats must model unity not just for themselves, but for a fractured nation.
• Congress is broken but repairable—if voters send new leaders to Washington.

“We know how to do it... there’s a way that you do it, and it’s by talking to everybody, going to everybody for their vote, and being true to Texas and what our real values are as Texans.” — Rep. Lizzie Fletcher ([16:41])

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For listeners seeking context on the state of Texas politics in 2026 and the national significance of redistricting, this episode offers substance, strategy, and a rare dose of optimism.

Transcript

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[Sarah Longwell]

Hey, everyone, Sarah Longwell here, publisher of the Bulwark, and I just got back from three days in Texas, which is why I look like this, because I just got off a plane not that long ago. But I didn't want to wait to bring you my conversation with Texas Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. We had an awesome conversation. It was really good because she covered gerrymandering and what's happening with that. The Texas redistricting that kicked off the entire redistricting wars that we are currently living in. 2. We talk a lot of Texas politics, which, you know, is Texas in play for the first time, maybe. We had James Talrico at the Dallas show. And so we talked about just sort of what's going on in Texas politics, both on the Republican side and the Democratic side. Then we also talked a little bit about why Congress isn't doing anything, why it's not able to actually engage in its role, its article, one role. So a lot of good stuff in there. I think you're going to enjoy it. Also, she went to Kenyon, so obviously she's awesome. Check it out. Hello, Lizzie.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Hello, Sarah.

[Sarah Longwell]

Lizzy. You're from Houston.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Yes, I am.

[Sarah Longwell]

We got a lot of Houston in the House.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Yes, we do.

[Sarah Longwell]

So you guys may not know about this. I don't know if you've ever heard me mention it. I don't talk about it a lot. It's not something I like to put out there. But I went to Kenyon College. Did you know that?

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Yeah.

[Sarah Longwell]

Very proud of that. So did Lizzie Fletcher. She also went to Kenyon College. You don't have to. That's fine. I know it's. You're like, I don't care about Kenyon College. It's okay. But I will say we met because we were at an alumni event. I'm not gonna say which one of us is older, but we were at an alumni event, and they put us on a panel together at the school. And it was, like, a real highlight for me to have Kenyon be like, you're important now. Like, be on the stage with this congresswoman.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

It was great. And we were supposed to be the opposite viewpoints, Right? You were the Republican, I was the Democrat. And yet we agreed on so many things.

[Sarah Longwell]

We did. Although I will say I do remember, because I didn't know you at all then, but I had. I had words for how I felt like Democrats were not meeting the moment. And so I remember being like, I'm sorry, Democrats are failing right now, as I remember doing something like that in the audience tonight. Yes, it is. It is. Okay. Because that's the fail part. You're right. We're going to start.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Not Democrats, Congress. Congress is failing right now. Democrats, we're going to turn things around.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah. Okay. Well, let's see. Let's see. Okay, let's. All right, so I want to start with fight, because here is a thing that Texas did that has been interesting, or I would say Texas has modeled the fighting back that is actually blowing up Republicans. What they started here, which is the redistricting war that they launched in. In Texas, which is right now blowing up in their face.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Yes, it is.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah. But I know that obviously, when we do our podcasts and everything, you're like, God, these guys sound so smart. They sound like they know all of these things. We don't know anything. We're just calling people who know more about it, and we're saying, can you explain Texas gerrymandering to us? Like, explain redistricting? You're my person who does that for me. So tell us what's happening with the redistricting right now.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Okay, I'm going to try to do it quickly, but just with a little overview. I think there are three phases to the redistricting, and they tie into all of the themes that you outlined before. But basically, as we all know here, unfortunately, last summer, at President Trump's behest, Governor Abbott surrendered the state of Texas and just said, we're going to have the legislature redraw the maps. Right? That. Yeah, that was it. President Trump said, I want five more Republican seats from Texas. Not because he was worried they were going to lose Republican races in Texas, though they are. But because he was worried they were going to lose them elsewhere in the country. And so wanted to pick him up in Texas and thought they could just redraw the map. And they thought the Democrats would just kind of take it. And that is not what has happened. And Texas Democrats showed so much fight, responding strategically. Right. And so lots of things to push back in the legislature. That was phase one, including our Texas House Democrats leaving the state, breaking quorum and telling the whole country the crazy things that were going on here and how bad it is and how it was coming across the country, which of course it is. So that was kind of phase one. They pushed through the maps. Not. Well, I have a lot to say on that, but we'll just, I'll summarize by saying then we went on to phase two, which was the litigation phase. Right. Challenge those maps in court. And I do want to remind everyone that there were plaintiffs who were already suing over the existing Texas congressional map for being racially discriminatory. And they were already in court. They got an injunction against this map from a three judge panel. And the judge who wrote the opinion was appointed by President Trump who said, this map discriminates against Texans. And so they won. And then the Supreme Court stayed that. But that case is not over. There will be more to come in the litigation.

[Sarah Longwell]

So you guys are still fighting that it's not over.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

It is. Yes, it is not over. But we know that for the next election, the map that they drew last year is in place. And so we're in phase three, which is making sure we win these elections and fighting back at the ballot box.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah. So let me ask you about that, because the part of the reason it's blown up in their face is really because of what it set off in other states. I mean, Abigail Spanberger right now is showing no mercy in Virginia. And Republicans, it is fun.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Class of 2018.

[Sarah Longwell]

I love that. Class of 2018. A lot of great women in that class of 2018. But she's out there, like, with no Fs to give. And they are whining. I'm watching Republicans being like, it's so unfair what they're doing on the Jerry. And you're all like, they started it. I'm sorry.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

If you're gonna dish it, you gotta take it. Right. And this was their idea. And we need to make sure that they see what a bad idea it was. So you had Prop 50 in California. You have this fight back in Texas. You're seeing it in Virginia. And Democrats, I think, surprised them by fighting back. But let me assure you, that was a strategy. And I'm really grateful. Like, Leader Jeffries has been there saying, like, we're not giving an inch. Like, we're fighting this. And we had conversations early last summer when there were rumors that there would be this special session to redraw the maps. And the House Democrats have been all over it, making sure that this strategy fails in every possible way. And so my focus now that we're in the spring is to make sure that of the five seats they want to pick up, that that fails too, here in Texas. And I know everybody here wants to do that.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay. But I want to ask just about the election part here, because part of where it might fail is like, okay, they redrew it and they still might not go those seats.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Right, exactly.

[Sarah Longwell]

Because they're being abandoned by Hispanics. Like, what do you.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

What do you.

[Sarah Longwell]

Cause this is. I'm move into the hope part. This is my segue into the hope part. What do you think is going to happen with the seats that they gerrymandered? Like, is it going to work out for them? Are they going to be able to pick those up?

[Lizzie Fletcher]

No, they're not. They're not going to be able to pick up five seats. And you can mark my words now. And our job is to make sure they pick up as few as possible, hopefully pick up zero, maybe even lose one. So that's the plan. Right. And I think there are a couple of things that happened just in the basic framework. They tried to shore up Republican votes and make the districts more Republicans in the Valley. And to your point, that strategy is gonna fail. I think that our incumbent members, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, are gonna hold onto their seats. That's two of the five. I also think we have an incredible pickup opportunity in Texas 15 with Bobby Polito, who is running an awesome campaign. I mean, the quinceanera thing, like, genius, genius. So he is running a great campaign, and he's a real person that people are responding to. I also think we have a good chance of holding to Texas 35, which is on the east side of San Antonio. It's Greg Cassar's currency reconfigured. And I think there's a runoff in that race. But I think that we have a great chance of holding that. And there are a couple of other seats we're obviously looking at. We've got a candidate in Texas 23, which is Tony Gonzalez's seat. We also have some great candidates in other places. But I think that what we are going to do is make sure that we have a strategy statewide. And I want to make this plea to Texans everywhere. No matter what district you live in, it is absolutely essential that we turn out every Democratic vote that we can in every single district, whether it's solid blue or not, because there are important reasons, including they're going to draw these maps again. And we want to show them that they can't find the votes anywhere. And so we want to do it by winning and we want to do it by turning out. And look, that can have some other benefits, like electing a Democratic senator from Texas.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay, thank you.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Maybe a governor.

[Sarah Longwell]

You did my transition for me. Okay, so we had James Talrico at the show last night in Dallas. We hung out with him in the green room. He's a bulwark guy, which was awesome.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Aren't we all?

[Sarah Longwell]

Listens to the focus group pod every Saturday. Just like all of you should listen to the people, guys.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I listen to the focus. I hope you know, because I send you my notes.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yes, I know, and I appreciate that. We got a lot of congressional members that listen. I would say sometimes, like, people who just live in the world are like, I'm going to murder them if I listen to one more of these episodes. I'm going to kill some of these people. So, you know, but here's the thing. So Tao Rico, I have been somebody who has long kind of been on the pessimistic side about Texas, about Democrats really pulling off big federal wins in Texas for the first time right now. There's a couple things happening. You have got Paxton, who I think is a uniquely horrible candidate for Texas, who I want to ask you about, because in my opinion, I want to know if you agree. I think he's very likely to win this runoff unless Trump endorses Cornyn. So that's one piece of the puzzle. The second piece of the puzzle is you've got Talarico, who I think is quite a good candidate, but I'm interested. I agree he's got some woke stuff between 2018 and 2022 that's coming back to haunt him. But when I listen to him, sounds like a guy trying to win this state. So those are two components.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Then.

[Sarah Longwell]

The third component is things are really bad economically. The war, things like. And it is possible that turnout just falls off a cliff for Republicans and there's a lot of opportunity for persuasion. So what is your assessment of current the current political fortunes of Democrats in Texas?

[Howie Mandel]

The global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my how we do it gaming team take on Gilly the king and wallow. $267 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo.

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[Lizzie Fletcher]

So I think that this election cycle is the best election cycle we've had definitely since 2018, and maybe even better than 2018 right now in terms of the prospects for Democrats. And there are a couple of reasons for that. But obviously I was a member of the class of 2018 and that was an incredible year in that midterm. And so we're in the same dynamics. But to your point, things are even worse for most people than they were in 2018. I mean, this administration is so much more extreme than I think anyone imagined.

[Sarah Longwell]

Oh, we imagined at the bulwark that was. We were on. We were on top of it. But yeah, go ahead.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

But I think that that. So things are bad. The other thing is what we've seen is that Texas Republicans. I've been thinking about this kind of this way for a long time. Texas Republicans have been kind of like the default for Texans because they have this brand of like small government, individual liberty, kind of local government. Right. Like the best government is the closest to home.

[Sarah Longwell]

I'm so interested in this. That would be so interesting to me.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

But that's been the thing, right? And what they have shown, especially in the last year, especially in the context of redistricting, is that that is not who they are. They are 100% subservient to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans and Washington Republicans telling them what to do. And they put Donald Trump ahead of Texans. And Texans know it. They saw it in redistricting. They saw it. Right. I mean, we all saw it. They didn't even draw the map. Right. I wasn't in the legislature. I don't know how that gets done. But typically when legislatures draw the map, you know, everyone's sort of picking the things that they want in their future congressional district, stuff like that. And there's some guy sitting in a basement in Washington drawing the Texas map. Texans just. Governor Abbott and the legislature just ceded the whole territory. And we know it, we know who they value, and it's not us. So those votes are up for grabs. And that's the thing is we, what we have seen in recent elections in Texas really endorses that view. A. We saw it in the primaries with incredible turnout from Democrats.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah, that was amazing.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Highest, amazing 2008. Highest Democratic primary turnout since 2008. So lots of enthusiasm. But what you also saw is a lot of those people vote in the general but hadn't voted in primaries before. But you also saw, like, we had this special election in Tarrant county where for the first time in years in a Trump +32 district, a Democratic senator was elected in this special election. And. Right. I mean, that was incredible. I mean, people were so surprised. And people I knew going into it were like, well, you know, if it's a close win, we'll feel, I mean, close loss, we'll feel great. Well, he won and he did because we had an A plus candidate. A plus candidate who was a real person talking about real things that mattered. And so people knew he, he cared about his constituents and the people in Tarrant county, not Trump, but also that the Republicans have lost this whole group of people in Texas. And so there was sort of this sense that nobody was unaligned. And it's not true. Right. There are votes up for grabs in Texas. And I think to your point, James Talarico is talking to everyone. This is the last thing I'm going to say before you ask me another question. We haven't won statewide in a long time. And for those of us who grew up with Ann Richards as our governor, that is frustrating. Right. We love her. We haven't won statewide in a long time, but we have beaten Republicans in elections and we know how to do it. I did it. Colin Allred did it. James Talarico did It. Ann Johnson did it. A lot of great people have. Well, I've just put myself in that category. Sorry. But a lot of people have beaten Republicans. Hey, thanks. But you know, we have had a lot of great campaigns and a lot of great people who worked on campaigns for candidates who have won, who've beaten Republicans. And there's a way that you do it, and it's by talking to everybody, going to everybody for their vote, and being true to Texas and what our real values are as Texans. And the Republicans have helped us by showing that they're not prioritizing Texans, they're prioritizing Trump. So I think those votes are up for grabs and we're gonna get them in 2026.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay, I love that. I love that. This is good. This is hopeful. This is hopeful. Here's one of my concerns. One of my concerns is like, you guys just had a pretty bloody Democratic primary though, between Jasmine Crockett and James Talariko. It was interesting to talk to him last night because I feel like he's really working hard to mend that. My advice on the stage last night, and I actually wanna put it out there again. Cause I think it's important is my hope is that Jasmine Crockett will start to campaign for James Tao Rico with tremendous energy. And I think that Texans who urge her to do that. You know, we live in a really divided country, not just across the political parties, but also inside the political parties.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Right.

[Sarah Longwell]

We're like dealing with what it means to do coalition politics at a time when people are desperate for something new. And so they're looking at these new models. And both Jasmine and Talarico represent kind of different new models of how Democrats could be. And I think that Democrats, sometimes I hear Democrats are so well meaning, they're always like, I want to reach across the aisle for Republicans. And I'm always like, stop it now, now's not the time. I want you guys to reach across to each other and like show people what a community looks like together as Democrats. But do you feel like that can happen? Do you think, do you feel like there's like the divide that happened during the primary can be healed?

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I do. I absolutely think that it can be healed. Look, I had a tough seven way primary and a runoff election back in 2018. And one of the best things that happened was that every single person in that race got together at, you know, once I had won and had like a unity event and, you know, really just talked about how important it was to beat John Culberson. In 2018 and to take back the House and Democrats know it. And I think that, you know, Jasmine put out a statement congratulating James, and I think that she will support him and support the effort because we all really help bad it is with him.

[Sarah Longwell]

I want them to, like, travel together. I want to be like. I want them to do like a buddy comedy together.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Yeah. I'm saying a statement is where you stop. Believe me. I get enough comments about how people are tired of, like, you know, strongly worded letters and, you know, fiercely written statements, and they want to see a little bit more than that. So I hear you. It resonates. But I do think a. I think that we're all capable of it, and frankly, we all need it. And that probably goes to your third topic. I know I'm just segueing right over

[Sarah Longwell]

there, but your segues are awesome. Actually.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I try. I try. I did go to Kenyon.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah, that's true. This is a liberal arts education at work up here, ladies and gentlemen. All right, so I want to talk quickly. Well, actually, you segued me to Congress, and I do want to get there, and we don't have a lot of time. But just really quickly on the Ken Paxton, John Cornyn thing, because you ran against Wesley Hunt here. He ran against you.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Thank you for that correction.

[Sarah Longwell]

He ran against you. You beat him. Then he took. Then after that he went, because you told me this backstage, that he went into a different district, he got super maga. But my contention, or I would assume that Wesley Hunt, he got a decent amount of votes in the primary, I think those go to Paxton. Like, do you think Paxton's going to win if Trump stays out? Do you think Paxton wins?

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I mean, if I had to pick right now, my money's on Paxton. I think he will win. I'm not saying I'm voting for him. I can't vote in that. Don't get confused. But I do think that he is most likely to win because those are all protest votes. Right. Those are the people who don't want to vote for Cornyn. But the good thing I will say is I also saw somebody recently who said he's voted for Cornyn in every general election that he's run in. And there's no way he's voting for him this November if he's the candidate. Because he sold out to Trump. Right. And it goes back to the same idea. Like, he was a good. Well, he was a Texas senator who understood that his job was to serve the state. And now he's just showing that he's serving Trump. It's the same thing Governor Abbott's doing. It's the same thing our legislature's done. They're all serving Trump. And Texans aren't going to take it anymore. That's not what we stand for. It's not who we are. And we're gonna show everybody in November. People are gonna be so surprised and so delighted.

[Sarah Longwell]

God, I kind of wanna end there. Cause that's such an upbeat thing, but you just can't. I just. I gotta ask. You're in Congress, which is a interesting institution at the moment. Tim. Tim was like. Before he came out, Tim was like, ask her who she hates the most on the Republican side. And I was like, I'm not gonna do that. I mean, he asked James Talrico if God about God's penis size. So that's just.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I'm so glad I'm with you, Sarah.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah, I'm a safer space than Tim. But here's the thing. I just want to know about Congress. Forget who you hate or whatever, but Congress is an important branch of government. I was told one of three in civics class, my political science major. I was like, that was. Checks and balances were a thing. I know. It's the one that. It's the people's branch. So what you guys doing these days over there? Anything happening or.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Not a whole lot. I think we voted seven times on the capacity of your showerheads.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

I mean, that is. Seriously, y'. All. It's what Congress is doing. So. Sarah knows I've entered sort of my radical protest phase of my, you know, red to blue frontline career has sort of come full circle to screaming that the House is on fire and that, you know, the arsonists are in charge. In Congress, things are bad. Things are bad in Congress. And I try to tell my constituents every week kind of why I'm voting against everything. Partially it's because they're not bringing the right things to the floor. And partially it said it's a farce. Like they are pretending like they're governing and legislating when they have ceded all of their authority to the White House and to Donald Trump and. And if that's what they want to do, they shouldn't be there. Right. There's a reason we have three branches of government. And as I said, Congress. Thank you. Congress is the Article 1 branch of government. And when you read the Constitution, which I'm sure everyone here has their pocket constitution and is doing that every day, I know you have many from Your years at various institutes, because I listen so often. But they're all of these rights and responsibilities delegated to Congress in the Constitution. And then there's like this tiny little bit on the executive bridge. Their job is to faithfully execute the laws. It's Congress's job to write the laws. Instead, you've got the Republicans saying nothing. I'm gonna wrap this up. Cause I can tell we need to saying absolutely nothing. When the President declares war on Iran and doesn't come to Congress to seek its permission, nor does he come to Congress to explain it really after the fact. Nor does he come to the people. Where's the Oval Office address? Where's making the case to the people? Hasn't happened. The other thing Congress is not doing is talking about the fact that our immigration enforcement policies have people killing American citizens in the streets. Masked federal agents are killing Americans in the streets. And we are voting on the capacity of your showerhead Congress. And I used to say this. I was saying this is like a do nothing Congress. You know, under Mike Johnson's leadership, Congress is doing nothing. But unfortunately, and I don't want to end on this note, this Congress is doing harm, right? And that's the problem. They're doing harm to the constitutional system, to the sense of checks and balances, and to these institutions that are going to need a massive amount of repair. So, because I know we're wrapping up, I just see it on your face. I'm going to go to the hopeful part, which is the system I think can be fixed because all it takes is sending different people to Washington and putting different people in charge. We need Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and not Speaker Mike Johnson. And that is within all of our power. All of us in Texas, we're going to do it. We can take back the House. Just in Texas, y'.

[Sarah Longwell]

All. Go get them. Go get them.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

So that's the plan.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay. Well, look, I love good water pressure as much as the next person.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

Hey, me too. Me too.

[Sarah Longwell]

But what I really want is for you guys to put some real fucking pressure on these guys. This is second. You take control and you guys are in charge.

[Lizzie Fletcher]

All right. It's a plan.

[Sarah Longwell]

All right. Thank you, Lizzy Fletcher. Thank you so much.

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[Alex Canceroitz]

Hi, this is Alex Canceroitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on air contributor to cnbc. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how art artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, in meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts.