A reader writes:
You mention that incoming Senator Ted Cruz "might" be the GOP answer to moderation in the party. Your skepticism could've run a lot deeper, since Cruz criticized his opponent for marching in a gay pride parade, thinks Shariah Law is an "enormous problem," and wants to triple the Border Patrol with "electronic surveillance, a wall, helicopters and, most importantly, boots on the ground" to fight immigration. That doesn't strike me as a guy who will successfully push Republicans towards libertarian positions or successfully reach out to and mend relationships with the gay community, Hispanics or other groups.
Another:
You quoted Munisteri: "You cannot have a situation with the Hispanic community that we’ve had for forty years with the African-American community, where it’s a bloc of votes that you almost write off…" Yet, Texas seems poised to continue its current trajectory. One of the four "emergency items" on the state legislative list from Gov. Perry's office is banning "sanctuary cities". One of last session's emergency items, Voter ID, was blocked in court. Three main legislators in Texas recently came out against offering in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants.
In the recent US Senate race here, both Cruz and and his main primary opponent, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, opposed the DREAM Act.
Ads here in Texas had both candidates attacking each other falsely for "supporting amnesty", when in fact, both are far from it. Cruz and Dewhurst moved rightward, opposing any kind of a national guest worker program, with even the less conservative Dewhurst stating he would not support any path to citizenship. Cruz stated he would triple the size of the US Border Patrol in Texas, and supports e-verify.
I would say that from the perspective here in Texas, Perry looks like he realizes the coming change; he's shifted slightly leftward in regards to immigration reform. However, the legislature has not – and Perry's brand here is quite damaged among conservative groups. Furthermore, as more proof they're not making much inroads, Romney only got 29% of the Latino vote in Texas (the national rate was 27%). The move to getting Latinos here in Texas to follow the Republican party is, to be frank, a long, hard climb ahead. It can be done, but things – and people – will have to drastically change in the legislature.
Another:
Anecdotes are not the same as data, but my impression from here in Dallas is that Texas is indeed turning purple quicker than people think, and not just because of an influx in Hispanic populations
My wife and I moved to Texas five years ago for work. I am a Californian by birth who spent all his previous adult years living in New York City. My wife is Canadian. In short, we're pretty liberal. Culturally, moving was a huge shock. The racism was overt and the Jesus talk was overwhelming. I could fill a book with the crazy things I heard and saw. I heard people praise Katrina for killing so many black people. I saw agnostics hounded at parties for hours until they accepted Jesus. My wife and I quickly learned that if we wanted any semblance of a social life we had to keep our mouths shut when race, religion, or politics came up. We bit our tongues through many talks of Death Panels, Obama as a dictator, etc. Arguing against it all had left us friendless for too long. It was hard.
But things aren't like that anymore. Part of it is that there has indeed been a large influx of people from other states. I've met a number of people who have recently moved here from NYC, LA, etc. and every time I go to a social gathering, I meet more.
The funny thing is, the reasons are pretty much all the things Perry was trying to trumpet in his bid for the White House. The economy here didn't suffer as much, there wasn't as much of a housing boom (or bust), and the cost of living is cheap enough to attract those suffering in more expensive cities. But, those people aren't Texans and they're not adopting Texas' politics as their own. They're bringing their views and tastes with them. When it comes to politics, it's our old conservative friends, the ones who used to lecture the rest of us about the evils of Obama, who stay quiet. When we got the invite to an Election Day party, it was assumed that the attendees would be rooting for an Obama win. My wife's work numbers about two dozen Obama supporters and one Romney supporter.
The amazing part is to see how it's benefited even the local conservatives. My once Bible-thumping co-worker who used to lecture me about Jesus was finally able to accept that she was gay. She's now in a committed, happy, and monogamous relationship with another woman. The bitterness in her is gone (as are the Jesus lectures). There are openly gay teenagers everywhere and the local gay neighborhood has become a focal point for social life, even among heterosexuals. I can't even remember the last time someone said something overtly racist when it used to be a near-weekly thing. My liberal friends still send me emails asking, "So what crazy racist things have you heard recently?" and my answer for quite some time has been, "I don't really hear anything anymore!"
Simply put, it's just a nicer, happier, more accepting place. Don't get me wrong. It's far from perfect. There's still plenty of bad stuff and I still have many friends who are conservative (mostly those in the oil and gas industry). But I think even the locals are starting to realize that liberals aren't crazy communists who want to steal their money or their guns. The politics of hate don't work when you actually start interacting with the hated "others" and realize they're nice people. Not only that, the locals seem to really enjoy the new shops, art galleries, restaurants, street fairs, farmer's markets, etc. catering to the sensibilities of these new liberal arrivals. Turns out there's more to food than Texas BBQ and more to clothes than shirts bedazzled with rhinestone crosses and they like it!
On a personal level, my wife and I went from counting down the days until our contracts were up and we could leave to thinking that maybe this isn't a half-bad place to settle down and raise some kids. The small towns of Texas, however, are another story …
The Dish 