“The world is going one direction, and the Texas Republican Party is going in another.”
This was written by Paul Burka in a recent blog post, and should be the rallying cry of every Texas Republican in their 2014 campaigns.
If true, it’s an excellent reason for Texans to be hopeful, and excellent reason for conservative donors nationwide to pour money into Texas.
The “world”, at least, the western one being referenced in Burka’s quote, is doing its best to self-destruct right now.
We spend money we don’t have, and can’t seem to stop. Western debt is beyond ominous, scares everyone, and yet capitol press corps everywhere help protect and expand special interest spending on and issue by issue basis.
The western world, under liberal rule, is dumping its heritage. Liberals have bullied the quiet majority into fighting for its inheritance with one hand tied behind its back, leaving leftist culture warriors with the vast majority of of passion and hope.
Texas isn’t immune to the cultural drift; we consume the same pop culture as everyone else. Still, Texas somehow resists the leftward goose step of the West, shuffling at our own pace and in our own direction.
Is it because Texas was once a Republic, and agreed to enter the United States, but only on it’s own terms? Is it because Texans got their foothold from Mexico, post-Spanish imperialism, and not primarily from native Americans? It’s hard to know.
The point is, Texas doesn’t bother much with the winner’s guilt that cripples the rest of the West, and Texans are contrarian to boot. This provides advantages in times like these since directing herd mentality is the left’s primary weapon in the culture war.
Burka wrote his session round-up with a sincere special interest morality, as one might expect from an honor-roll court journalist such as him.
In his world, legislators prove they are serious not by serious thinking about how to make this broken system work again, but by feeding it whatever it demands. Good job Tommy Williams for raising automobile registration fees, says Burka. Good job Joe Straus for telling Texans we can’t cut our way to prosperity and sticking to it. Bad job, Legislators, for not embracing ObamaCare via Medicaid expansion like so many other states.
Burka laments that conservative Republicans, while still very legislatively limited, have the political momentum. This is true.
Ted Cruz is the standard for statewide office seekers. Moderate statewide candidates will immediately feel the discomfort of his voter-pleasing shadow.
The pesky Texas grassroots isn’t going away; it is getting smarter. Local leaders are providing a service to their state and country that few others could do. The ruling class cannot discredit them. Their only option is to collect them.
To the extent they are successful, they will be surprised to find: 1) these people aren’t easy to streamline into special interest sausage factory hands, and 2) in the event they do fall in line, the grassroots they leave behind aren’t naive.
Perhaps Burka’s words could be slightly modified for a state rallying cry: “The world is going in one direction, and Texas is going in another.” It’s hopeful, and it fits the Lone Star state like and old pair of jeans.