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Robert Downen

@robertdownen.bsky.social
56K followers 4K following 2.2K posts

Texas Monthly senior writer focused on the far right & Christian nationalism. Helped expose the Southern Baptist abuse crisis. Fan of Hip Hop and loud guitars. Send me music.

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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 19h
In which Texas Republicans refer to Muslims as "infestations" and argue that "we basically have to make it so uncomfortable for them that they want to leave."
houstonchronicle.com
Texas Faith Fest speakers propose plans to make Muslims ‘more uncomfortable’
At Texas Faith Fest this year, speakers suggested policies that would limit Muslim religious practices and reshape the government's relationship with religion.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Specifically
open.spotify.com
Hang on to Your Love
Sade · The Best of Sade · Song · 1994
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Listening to Sade
Patrick Bateman dancing in his apartment
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Small but lovely addition to this website
a screenshot of the tag on threaded posts, showing what number in the sequence it is
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A state lawmaker flagged an issue with voter registration records in March, public records show. The agencies said that problem was resolved. But complaints about the portal continued. And in August the agencies realized they had a big issue — at least 500,000 backlogged voter registration records.
votebeat.org
Some Texas voter registration delays flagged months before public learned of errors
State officials acknowledged an issue processing voter registrations and updates in March, but said that it had been fixed.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
UPDATE: Texas officials knew about this issue since at least March, when it was flagged by a state lawmaker.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Governor Greg Abbott has pulled his endorsement from a Texas House candidate after video emerged of him using a racial slur during a drunk driving arrest earlier this year.
houstonchronicle.com
Abbott pulls endorsement of Texas House candidate after DWI arrest, racial slur
David Flores, the Republican nominee for House District 144, has lost Gov. Greg Abbott's endorsement after a video showed Flores use a racial slur while being arrested for drunk driving.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Interesting subplots happening right now in the (mostly on pause) fight between the Texas GOP far right v. moderate flanks: Charlie Geren, a well-respected GOP House member, is sharing anti-Paxton stuff; and State Sen. Paul Bettencourt is touting a meeting with Karl Rove, a major Paxton critic.
screenshots of Charlie Geren sharing posts about Ken Paxton's handling of various rape cases - including one from the Talarico campaign. A photo of Karl Rove and Paul Bettencourt. There is nothing like a lunch speech from the "Architect", per Bush 43, @KarlRove at @texaschemistry in Baytown! As usual you have to dish it out to keep up with him, especially whose Trumpster impression is best! Hard to compete with Karl's actual  @realDonaldTrump nickname of "Stone Cold (BLANK)", but you'll have to guess the right fill in the blank below in the comments! LOL Good update on historical politics and current politics, in this most "crazy" of election years. Karl and I agree it is the most "frothy" we've seen in our lifetimes.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Using a fake name, the son of a man who was pardoned by Trump for federal tax crimes gave $250K to Ken Paxton, as well as to other Republicans. Paxton has previously called Ben Pogue's father, who owns a construction business in his home town, a "family friend."
politico.com
Who was behind a $250K mystery donation to super PAC backing Ken Paxton?
The Texas Senate hopeful has ties to the donor’s family going back decades.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Governor Greg Abbott has pulled his endorsement from a Texas House candidate after video emerged of him using a racial slur during a drunk driving arrest earlier this year.
houstonchronicle.com
Abbott pulls endorsement of Texas House candidate after DWI arrest, racial slur
David Flores, the Republican nominee for House District 144, has lost Gov. Greg Abbott's endorsement after a video showed Flores use a racial slur while being arrested for drunk driving.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
To be fair, it is not as if there was an entire cohort of vocal evangelical leaders, journalists and scholars who said as much but were routinely dismissed as leftists
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"Blasphemy laws and blue laws are discussed far less often than how terrible Rabbinical Judaism is, how flawed democracy is, and female voting." In which a prominent Christian nationalist writer declares the Christian nationalist movement dead - for now. jonharris.substack.com/p/whatever-h...
Instead, increasingly, what separates the more popular online voices in the Christian nationalist movement, which is where it is most prominent at present, seems to be more more anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, or anti-MAGA sentiments, particularly toward Christian members of the Trump coalition whom they perceive as more liberal or hypocritical. The focus on moral degeneracy has taken more of a backseat. Blasphemy laws and blue laws are discussed far less often than things like how terrible Rabbinical Judaism is, how flawed democracy is, and how, until conservatives grapple with the problems associated with female voting, progress is muted. It is not as though these discussions, especially in a historical or theoretical sense, are forbidden, but as priorities, they do not readily translate into practical politics. The average Christian is increasingly alienated from the reprioritization.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Texas public schools lost more than 14,200 immigrant students last school year. The actual number could be far higher.
texastribune.org
Texas lost at least 14,200 immigrant students last year
The actual enrollment loss amid increased deportation efforts is much higher as the federal definition that identifies immigrant students is limited, experts said.
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Steven Rich @datab.ae · 29/09/2026
god bless student journalists
thecut.com
How Student Journalists Broke the ‘Cornell Seven’ Case
“Our coverage was absolutely completely raw from the lawsuit and nothing was concealed. At a minimum, that’s what we can do as the student newspaper.”
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wu on redistricting if Dems get control: "You do the exact same thing that they did to you until they say mercy" and agree to national, bipartisan reform.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Texas dem minority leader Gene Wu at Texas Tribune Fest: "I think we can take the (Texas) House."
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Update:
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Per Texas media, it’s looking like +100K registrations were affected. Secretary of State is saying that it shouldn’t affect voting.
We reached out to 24 counties today to see the extent of the problem. Here's what we got back:
Collin County - 40,000+
Travis County - 32,000
Brazoria County - 9,000+
Hays County - 8,100
Cameron County - 5,000
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
‼️ Weeks before midterms, Texas election officials have discovered that an unknown number of voter registration applications havent been processed due to an error by the DPS. The Texas Association of County Elected Officials say number could be "tens of thousands" - much of them in urban areas.
votebeat.org
Error means unknown number of Texas voter registrations haven’t been processed yet
It’s unknown how many prospective voters have been affected.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New Marist poll has Talarico with 50% of the vote and, wait for it, with a 56-point lead among 18 to 29 year olds.
Crosstabs from the new Marist poll
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For all the anti-brown bigotry that emanates from this state, a reminder that this story is so much more consistent with how daily life actually is here
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is such a lovely Houston story
nytimes.com
This Houston Restaurant Is the Busiest Uber Eats Restaurant in the World (Gift Article)
Aga’s, an Indian-Pakistani spot, generates more Uber Eats deliveries than any other single-location business around the globe. A visit shows that’s only the start.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
lmao. So either Blake Schwarzenbach went completely off the deep end or Spotify messed something up, because this is, on a note for note basis, the worst song I have ever heard in my life.
open.spotify.com
Edge of Gold
Jets To Brazil · Edge of Gold · Song · 2026
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHAT

Spotify screenshot for new music from Jets To Brazil
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Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
How much influence is end times prophecy exerting over American policy right now? The short answer: more than one might like My latest for The New Republic
newrepublic.com
We Need to Talk About the Apocalypse
End-times prophecy, pro-war prayer circles, Democrats as demons: Christian dominionism’s influence is everywhere in the second Trump administration—and increasingly, within America itself. Can democra...
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I agree that it is a confusing ethos.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
100%. And it is so counterintuitive to the "leave me alone" ethos of Texas and the "hell yeah" ethos of college football
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Will also say that Ive rarely seen national media swarm on a story while universally describing it as racist. Most Texans dont even know what the Railroad Commission does, let alone the its candidates. Now it's in natl headlines for the worst reasons. Aziz Ansari is doing bits at the Comedy Cellar!
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
All to say: I don't think anyone leaves the far right over this. But it gave a lot of people (including some prominent Republicans) a final straw/reason to say "enough."
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
And then there's the emotional aspect: That UT win was one of the most joyous moments in Texas sports history. We were absolutely losing it. And then it got spoiled by Bo French, an avatar for the far right's vision for America. In a few tweets he showed how joyless that vision is.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I think it also gave away what remained of the game. People here know UT as a model for meritocracy. Those kids earned the right to be there, "assimilated" in all the right ways and still woke up to a fire hose of hate. There's no ambiguity about what drove it.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Cant quantify it but, as someone who covers this stuff, I have yet to see universal disgust like I have re: Bo French. Going after kids doing quintessentially "Texan" stuff really bothered people. I dont think its a "mask off" moment as much as a moment where people just go "I'm so sick of this."
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Honestly think that the whole Bo French stuff may be a turning point for the far right. They have fundamentally misunderstood why they won in 2024, and are now poisoning the one break that people have from a horrible economy with the most noxious part of their platform.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
With November fast approaching, Texas Republicans are in their weakest position in a generation, facing voter revolt over data centers, transmission lines and a faltering economy tied to the party’s standardbearer, President Donald Trump.
texastribune.org
Two months from Election Day, Texas Dems are truly competitive
Democrat James Talarico is consistently leading in the polls over Ken Paxton, which is unheard of in recent decades. National forecasters are calling Texas a tie, or else giving the advantage to the D...
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Next week: Come see me say things festival.texastribune.org/schedule
a screenshot for an upcoming panel at Texas Tribune Festival on threats to pluralism, featuring Robert Downen, David French of the NYT, religion expert Joseph Locke and Shariq Ghani of the Bridges foundation.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
💅💅💅💅
Article text: French has begun to direct his venom Rosenthal’s way. Texas Monthly’s Robert Downen, the foremost chronicler of French’s rise and the Texas far-right, recently reported on a fundraising email from the campaign that accused Rosenthal, who is Jewish, of “mocking Christianity” and compared him to the Bolsheviks who killed Russia’s ruling Romanov family—a trope with a deep antisemitic history.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sat down with @janecoaston.bsky.social to talk Bo French, Ken Paxton and the Texas GOP's ongoing racism problem.
youtube.com
Republican Race-Baiting Is Backfiring With Their Own Base
YouTube video by What A Day
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sat down with @janecoaston.bsky.social to talk Bo French, Ken Paxton and the Texas GOP's ongoing racism problem.
youtube.com
Republican Race-Baiting Is Backfiring With Their Own Base
YouTube video by What A Day
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 15/09/2026
Donald Trump made nearly 29,000 securities trades in 17 months — more than every member of Congress combined. The stock-purchasing ban he’s pushing would leave him exempt
bloom.bg
Trump Made 29,000 Securities Trades, More Than All of Congress
Donald Trump made nearly 29,000 securities trades in 17 months — more than every member of Congress combined. The stock-purchasing ban he’s pushing would leave him exempt
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I have been waiting for this for so long
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wrote a bit more about Bo French's long history of racism, why Republicans are finally calling it out - and what his candidacy says about the current state of the GOP. Gift link: www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
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gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
As Rob has pointed out several times now, the viral UT post Bo French made is "tame" compared to the stuff he regularly posts, re-tweets and replies too. Not that long ago he was quoting obscure a racist, nationalist French dystopian novel. To call this guy a gutter racist would be charitable.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Robert Morris, the former megachurch pastor and Trump spiritual advisor who just finished a sentence for sexual abuse charges, has an...interesting new photo on the sex offender website
A photo of Robert Morris with a gigantic black eye
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wrote a bit more about Bo French's long history of racism, why Republicans are finally calling it out - and what his candidacy says about the current state of the GOP. Gift link: www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: Amid blowback to his racist post about University of Texas, Bo French is touting support from, among others, an influencer who has praised fascist dictators, and a Canadian who is so racist that his dad, a Christian college president, publicly denounced him. (Gift link).
texasmonthly.com
Texas Republicans Finally Rebuked Bo French’s Racism. What Took Them So Long?
The Republican candidate for Texas railroad commissioner has a history of making xenophobic comments. This time he came for University of Texas students.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
As we wrote back in July, Bo French has a long history of posting fascist and white supremacist rhetoric. By and large, Republicans have stayed quiet about it.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
After months of staying quiet on his gutter racism, top Texas Republicans are now condemning a post in which Bo French, candidate for Texas Railroad Commission, posted a photo of brown UT students at yesterday's game and said "the problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
Sen John Cornyn, quote tweeting Bo French: "This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized.  This is how great political parties self-destruct.  Sad."Texas House Rep. Jared Patterson: This is racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation.

There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin, and declaring that they are a “problem.” These are 20-year-old kids cheering for their university—not political props and not targets for racial attacks.

We can have serious debates about our nation’s immigration laws. I have strong views about immigration policy, and Americans have every right to demand changes to federal law. But opposing an immigration policy does not give anyone license to demean people because of their race or ethnicity.

And let’s be clear: the Texas Railroad Commission regulates our oil and gas industry. It does not set federal immigration policy. Texans deserve Railroad Commissioners focused on the responsibilities of that office—not using a statewide campaign as a platform for racial division.

This does not represent my Christian faith. It does not represent my conservative principles. And it does not represent the Republican Party I believe in.

As a Texas Aggie, I’m always happy to take a friendly shot at the Longhorns when the opportunity presents itself. That rivalry is part of what makes these two great universities so special. But this goes far beyond college rivalry. We should be willing to call racism wrong no matter who says it, what party they belong to, or how politically inconvenient it may be. This is wrong, and I want no part of it.Texas Rep. Jeff Leach: This is my son Brady at the  @TexasFootball game with his pledge class. Bo thinks it’s a “problem” they don’t all look like and have the same skin color as Brady. I think that’s racist — and it makes me sick.Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows: You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity — this post has crossed the line.  Delete it @bofrench
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"A second 9/11 cheerleading routine hit the nation." Incredible stuff here from @kissphoria.bsky.social
chron.com
You don't know the real story behind that viral 9/11 cheer tribute
A tale of two ill-advised cheerleading routines, over a decade later.
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Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
News: James Talarico endorsed by David Maxwell, the high-ranking Texas Ranger who was among a group of top Attorney General officials who reported Ken Paxton to the FBI.
youtube.com
Paxton's Former “Top Cop” Endorses James Talarico
YouTube video by James Talarico
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