The Rabble | Texas Politics for the Unruly Mob-logo

The Rabble | Texas Politics for the Unruly Mob

News & Politics Podcasts

Let's stop flipping out and start flipping Texas! A weekly conversation between three progressive activists bringing confetti and taco cannons to Texas politics. Plus, we always offer one simple, straightforward mission to turn Texas blue. Hosted by Rouser: Becky Bullard, Ashley Cheng and Kristen Gunn. Find us on socials: @therabbletx.

Location:

United States

Description:

Let's stop flipping out and start flipping Texas! A weekly conversation between three progressive activists bringing confetti and taco cannons to Texas politics. Plus, we always offer one simple, straightforward mission to turn Texas blue. Hosted by Rouser: Becky Bullard, Ashley Cheng and Kristen Gunn. Find us on socials: @therabbletx.

Language:

English


Episodes

We play "Spin the Bottle" with the 87th Texas legislature (& Diana Gómez of Progress Texas & Mike Kanin of the Texas Observer)

6/7/2021
The 87th Texas legislature has yee'd its last haw, so we decided it was time for a slumber party game now that we can all actually sleep again. We invited Diana Gómez of Progress Texas and Mike Kanin of the Texas Observer to put on their jammies and join us for a (very chaste) game of Spin the Bottle. We determine which bills we'd like to make out with and which bills we wish got shoved in a locker or thrown in a dumpster or given an atomic wedgie. Also, mark your calendar for THIS Thursday,...

Duration:01:03:08

How bills get passed (or don't) in the Texas legislature

1/13/2021
Tuesday was opening day of the 87th Texas Legislature (also known as "nerd prom," according to state Capitol insiders). We revisit a conversation from our third episode ever (!) about the bills and the bees (aka how laws are made here in Texas) with friend and shero Stephanie Chiarello, founder of the Over the Lege comedy series. We also reflect on how much is different from the last Texas legislative session 2 years ago. FOLLOW THE RABBLE...

Duration:00:43:32

The Rabble's 2020 End-of-Year Extravaganza!

12/30/2020
We're kickin' it old-school style to close out 2020... political f*ck, marry, kill is back! And so is Kristen! We talk about the things we loved and hated in 2020 and drop some hints about what we're gonna get up to in 2021. RA News (formerly Reform Austin) is the presenting sponsor of this episode -- go check out their excellent, Texas-specific journalism: https://www.reformaustin.org/ (& their great memes on Instagram @ranewstx) FOLLOW THE RABBLE...

Duration:00:50:16

Day 46: Daily Democracy Challenge (0 Days 'til Election)

11/3/2020
The moment we've been waiting FOUR FRICKING YEARS FOR is HERE!!! It's Election Day 2020! We're all a little anxious, so we wanted to offer up some calming ASMR at the end of today's episode. You're welcome... ? TODAY'S ACTION: We know voter suppression is real, plus there are a lot of first-time voters and first-time poll workers out there, so even in the most innocent cases there are gonna be some serious questions arising this Election Day. Your mission today is easy: share share share...

Duration:00:11:17

Day 45: Daily Democracy Challenge (1 Day 'til Election)

11/2/2020
Election Day is tomorrow! What the... how the... ??? We are having so many feelings. This episode is sponsored by Reform Austin - a local, non-partisan newsroom keeping us up to date on the latest in the Lone Star State: https://www.reformaustin.org/ TODAY'S ACTION: Okay, y'all. After 44 episodes of the Daily Democracy Challenge, we decided to make today a choose-your-own-democracy-adventure. Hopefully you've tried at least one thing out of the previous 44 that you enjoyed. So, do that...

Duration:00:09:17

Day 44: Daily Democracy Challenge (2 Days 'til Election)

11/1/2020
Last two days to turn out the vote!!! AGHHHHH! We can do it! TODAY'S ACTION: Sign up by 5pm today (Sunday) if you want to be a poll monitor on Election Day! You just watch a polling location and report to the pros at the Texas Civil Rights Project if you see any funny business: https://www.mobilize.us/tvp/event/338947 Follow up with your friends who haven't voted yet! How to know? There are a couple different tools we've been using to check if our friends have submitted a...

Duration:00:10:03

"In the House": Series finale with Swing Left

10/31/2020
In our "In the House" series, we explore Texas-specific tidbits about a timely topic + how we can have a flipping good time while flipping this state. In our series finale of "In the House," we get a four-fer: we support FOUR amazing women running to flip seats in the Texas House. This episode was recorded 10/21. Reform Austin is the presenting sponsor of this episode -- go check out their excellent, Texas-specific journalism: https://www.reformaustin.org/ THIS WEEK’S GUESTS: Akilah Bacy...

Duration:00:41:42

Day 43: Daily Democracy Challenge (3 Days 'til Election)

10/31/2020
Happy Halloween! Only 3 more days until Election Day, whoa! Early voting is DONE. What are your Halloween costumes? Are you wearing a costume while you drop election info all over town?? We wanna see! Tag us @therabbletx TODAY'S ACTION: The Texas Democrats are doing a Halloween Spooktacular phone bank with FOUR different time options today. Make sure no one ghosts on voting -- get everyone out to the polls! https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/350239/ Know anyone in TX who hasn't voted...

Duration:00:05:20

Day 42: Daily Democracy Challenge (4 Days 'til Election)

10/30/2020
Only 4 more days until Election Day and one more day until Halloween! What are your politically themed Halloween costumes? We wanna see 'em! Tag us @therabbletx TODAY'S ACTION: We've started to get nervous about losing some of the 12 seats Democrats picked up in the Texas House in 2018, so today we're finding ways to support them. Becky is kicking each of these folks $5 -- we will also link to each of their campaign websites so you can donate to or find a way to volunteer for at least one...

Duration:00:06:55

Day 41: Daily Democracy Challenge (5 Days 'til Election)

10/29/2020
Only 5 more days until Election Day! Because we really, really want to make every day count, we're talking about the tactics that have been most successful for us and how we plan to spend our time these next few days. TODAY'S ACTION: Call your neighbors, call your friends! Becky shares her new strategy for getting the people she calls to actually listen and respond. Tonight, JVN and Wendy Davis, can you even???! RSVP for this 6pm event here:...

Duration:00:08:54

Day 40: Daily Democracy Challenge (6 Days 'til Election)

10/28/2020
Only 6 more days until Election Day! AGH! Early voting ends Friday, please encourage everyone you know to vote early. Today we are talkin' about our two favorite things: democracy and snacks. TODAY'S ACTION: Have you ever heard of being a "poll concierge"? Becky hadn't, even though she'd done it before! It's a fancy phrase for "give the people in line to vote snacks and water so they don't leave before casting their vote," haha. You can, of course, just do this on your own at your local...

Duration:00:07:07

Day 39: Daily Democracy Challenge (7 Days 'til Election)

10/27/2020
Only 7 more days until Election Day! ONE WEEK! AGH! Early voting ends Friday, please encourage everyone you know to vote early. TODAY'S ACTION: So, we've been taking other people's election literature around, but we realized... wait... we made our own guide! And it's actually really good and more thorough than anyone else's, ha! So if you want to do a little walking in your neighborhood and you live in Travis County, consider printing out some copies of The Rabble's ballot shortcut and...

Duration:00:09:22

Day 38: Daily Democracy Challenge (8 Days 'til Election)

10/26/2020
Only 8 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Today we ponder... how best to support constituencies we don't belong to? TODAY'S ACTION: Ashley hooks us up with the chance to meet a celeb tonight at 6pm CT on the Texas AAPI Virtual Phone Bank with Actor Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee! Crazy Rich Asians!). Sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/tdporganizing/event/357087/ Know anyone who hasn't voted yet and might need some additional info? Send 'em our...

Duration:00:08:51

Day 37: Daily Democracy Challenge (9 Days 'til Election)

10/25/2020
Only 9 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Lit dropping is lit, y'all. TODAY'S ACTION: Grab a friend or two, and hit the streets taking campaign materials door to door. It's fun and non-intimidating for first-time volunteers. Find opportunities across Texas here: https://www.texasdemocrats.org/events/#/ Find opportunities in Travis County here: https://www.mobilize.us/traviscountydems Know anyone who hasn't voted yet and might some...

Duration:00:07:25

Day 36: Daily Democracy Challenge (10 Days 'til Election)

10/24/2020
Only 10 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Today we're focusing on women gettin' it done. Like astronaut Kate Rubins, who cast her Texas ballot from outer space, whaaaa?! TODAY'S ACTION: Today we're supporting the work of Sisters United Alliance, an organization working to turn out women in Texas who lean Democratic but who don't regularly vote or who have never voted. These are exactly the kind of people we need to work to turn out if we...

Duration:00:07:51

Day 35: Daily Democracy Challenge (11 Days 'til Election)

10/23/2020
Only 11 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! We gotta make these last days count. TODAY'S ACTION: Okay, we are nervous about what these early voting numbers are saying about who is driving the huge turnout in Texas... we aren't getting young folks and new voters out at high enough rates if we really want to flip this state. So we need to recruit our friends to volunteer so we can turn out ALL the votes!! We are down to the last 2 weekends to...

Duration:00:05:56

Day 34: Daily Democracy Challenge (12 Days 'til Election)

10/22/2020
Only 12 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Know anyone who hasn't voted yet and might some additional info? Send 'em our voter guide: https://www.rousertx.com/2020-ballot-shortcut TODAY'S ACTION: This is an easy and satisfying one! Sign up to learn how to textbank to Texans so everyone can get all their election questions answered and VOTE. Never textbanked? Neither has Becky! Let's all learn together:...

Duration:00:08:07

Day 33: Daily Democracy Challenge (13 Days 'til Election)

10/21/2020
Only 13 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! But guess what... we get to see you tonight! TODAY'S ACTION: Come to our series finale of "In the House" TONIGHT at 6:30pm CT, in partnership with Swing Left! It's gonna be a big ol' Texas House Party with comedy, music, art, and a bunch of sheroes, including MJ Hegar! Here's the amazing lineup: ❖ Thao Nguyen (of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down) ❖ Texas US Senate Democratic Candidate MJ Hegar ❖...

Duration:00:08:05

Day 32: Daily Democracy Challenge (14 Days 'til Election)

10/20/2020
Only 14 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Who else is feeling sweaty??? TODAY'S ACTION: Ooookay, Election Day is officially 2 weeks from today. If you have friends who haven't volunteered yet, now is the time to bring them into the fold! OUR dear friend Cari Marshall (the mastermind behind Flip the Texas House) has organized a "Friend Bank" for two of our favorite candidates tonight from 6-7pm -- Wendy Davis and Julie Oliver. Here's what...

Duration:00:05:18

Day 31: Daily Democracy Challenge (15 Days 'til Election)

10/19/2020
Only 15 more days until Election Day, and early voting is going on now through October 30! Just over 2 weeks to impact this election. TODAY'S ACTION: Texas is experiencing record voter turnout during early voting, but we're a little concerned that our most progressive counties are not at the very top of the list when it comes to percentage turnout compared to 2016. For Texas to flip, we need to have massive turnout in our blue-est counties -- Travis and Harris. People who aren't confident...

Duration:00:07:54