Every Friday morning, I join the Cardle & Woolley Show on Talk1370 Radio in Austin to announce the week’s Winners & Losers. This week, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finally admitted that the human race is not close to extinction after all, so we are good to go for Memorial Day Weekend. Here’s who made the list:
WINNER: Trump’s Endorsements
As the mainstream media incessantly reminds us, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are about as low as any presidents’ have ever been. Americans feel the same way about Trump as they did about Joe Biden after the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, or Obama after the Great Recession and even Clinton’s after the “Hillarycare” reforms.
But Republicans really love him, and Trump has been knocking off big time enemies in Republican primary elections for the last week or so, starting with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky.
Trump also gets the credit for keeping Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger out of the governor’s race there.
Early voting in the Texas primary is happening now. The election is next Tuesday.
LOSER: NAACP/Congressional Black Caucus College Football Boycott
The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus this week proposed that African-American athletes boycott the SEC and other public Southern universities to protest the redistricting changes several states have made following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that separate but equal Congressional districts drawn just for black voters are no longer legal.
The 13 universities targeted by the boycott include both Texas and Texas A&M, along with Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Clemson and Tennessee.
It is no surprise that the response so far has mostly been crickets from college-bound athletes. Young men and women who have spent years competing and proving they are the best at what they do may have difficulty understanding the Democrats’ argument that black people can’t be elected to Congress unless they are in segregated districts where they can only vote for each other.
Recall that Californians fell flat on their face in 2016 when they initiated something similar, banning state travel to states that had passed laws keeping men out of women’s restrooms. It didn’t work. Instead, many more states passed laws protecting women and girls’ privacy in public bathrooms and California finally waved the white flag and quietly dropped the boycott a couple years ago.
WINNER: Texas Children’s Health Hospital De-Transition Clinic
The cruel outrage of telling children that they could (and perhaps should) change their gender through hormone-blocking drugs and mutilating surgery was bolstered by an even bigger outrage—the network of clinics and “healthcare” providers who made billions selling so-called “gender-affirming care.” The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 14 in 2023 to outlaws the procedures in Texas but a whistleblower stepped forward to reveal that Texas Children’s Health Hospital in Houston was still doing sex change operations on children.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice and the Texas Attorney General investigated and this week a settlement was announced that will require Texas Children’s Health Hospital to open a “De-Transition Clinic” to help reverse the damage done by sex change operations. Texas Children’s Health Hospital will also have to pay $10 million in civil penalties.
LOSER: National Democrats Issue 2025 Autopsy
Who knows how much the national Democrat party paid for the 192 page autopsy that was finally released this week that was supposed to explain why they lost the presidential election in 2024?
The report does not mention former President Joe Biden’s age or the Democrat’s position on Israel and Gaza. The only finding that makes any sense is their conclusion that former Vice President Kamala Harris was defeated because of Trump’s ads showing her advocacy of taxpayer funded sex-change operations for prisoners and illegal aliens.
So the tagline, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you,” may be the most effective political ad since the little girl with the daisy got Lyndon B. Johnson elected in 1964.
LOSER: UPDATE — Texas Congressional Candidate Still Hates Jews
Last week, Texas Democrat congressional candidate Maureen Galindo made it to the Loser’s List by blasting Jews, claiming they own Hollywood and are not the same people as the Jews in the Bible. This week, Galindo doubled down, calling for all American Zionists to be put in prison, stating she will use the ICE detention center in Karnes County to house them. She’s also complaining that she’s getting death threats because of negative news reports. Galindo is the frontrunner for the Democrat nomination in House District 35, which includes parts of Austin and Bexar County.
WINNER: Sen. Birdwell is Confirmed in D.C.
News reports this week say that the legendary state senator Brian Birdwell was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Defense. The Senator got it right in his official announcement noting that his correct title is Assistant Secretary of War. Anyone who knows Birdwell knows that title couldn’t be more appropriate. Around the Texas Capitol, the former Granbury lawmaker was frequently heard belting out WHO RAH upon entering and leaving a room, and once promised, during an hours long Senate debate, that he would “not violate the rules of the Geneva Convention” during his presentation.
Birdwell, who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon in 2001, is known for his dedication and service—and his dry wit. His appointment is a great day for the country.
WINNER: Both Democrats and Republicans Are Tired of Tribal Shopping
A new report by Axios released this week found that Americans are doing more “politically neutral” shopping with fewer people reporting brand loyalty linked to party loyalty—Some things haven’t changed—Democrats prefer Trader Joe’s and Republicans love Chick-fil-A—but there are also surprises. Cracker Barrel is actually rated higher by Democrats than Republicans, and the GOP appears to like Teslas. You can see the chart here.
WINNER: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tops Presidential Poll for First Time
For those who like to keep a running score, AOC is currently leading the field for the Democrat nomination for President in 2028 with 26% of the vote. Early polls are no big deal—but the fact that a quarter of the Democrat party actually believe AOC is a serious person, is concerning news. Recall she said that the world was going to end by 2030 because of climate change. Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has 22%, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is at 21% and, in the only number that reflects some kind of sanity, former presidential contender Kamala Harris has dropped to 13% after being in the lead for a while.
The poll was conducted by Atlas Intel, reportedly one of the most accurate of the nation’s polls, if they do say so themselves. It is exactly 900 days until the presidential election.
WINNER: Texas and the San Antonio Spurs
U.S. News and World Report has compiled another one of those lists of the best places to live in the United States, and 40% of the towns are in Texas. Flower Mound comes in at No. 3 while Leander, Frisco and Sugar Land are also in the Top 10.
The ratings are based on value, quality of life, desirability, and job market.
If they had added “basketball” to that list, San Antonio would shoot up to No. 1. The Alamo City is buzzing with excitement now that the Spurs are back in the Western Finals for the first time since 2017. When Victor Wembanyama delivered an epic performance in Game 1, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder after scoring 41 points and 24 rebounds, people were dancing in the streets.
By Wednesday, the San Antonio Express-News headlined a story that businesses all over town were dealing with workplace fatigue as a result of the late tip-offs.
Still, it is hard for Texans to complain about an 8:30 p.m. game start when you consider that game time was 2:30 a.m. in France, where it seems like the entire country is mesmerized by their countryman, Wemby. The French media describes him as “genie,” which is the French word for genius—but “genie” works too.
The Thunder came back in the second game and now the series is tied 1 to 1. Game 3 is tonight.
WINNER: NCAA Softball Update—Texas and Texas Tech Still In It
Texas A&M was eliminated from the NCAA Regional Softball Tournament last weekend but the University of Texas and Texas Tech are still in it. Texas plays Arizona State tomorrow and Texas Tech plays Florida.
Have a great weekend!
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.