In Defense of Texas.

[flamin lib]

A guy carries an AR-15 “assault rifle” to a Phoenix town hall meeting and nobody assumes that Arizonians are all crazy RW nuts. Nobody bashes Arizona as a state.

Portsmouth, NH, a man wears a loaded 9mm pistol on his hip to a town hall meeting. Nobody assumes New Hampshireites are all RW nuts. Nobody bashes New Hampshire.

The leader of the GOP in Florida rails against Obama’s back to school speech, saying it’s indoctrination of innocent school children with socialist propaganda. Nobody bashes Florida as a whole.

Ohio throws a presidential election. Everybody piles on the GOP, and rightfully so, but leaves the state of Ohio alone because like all the other states it has good loyal liberal Democrats in it.

Texas does anything, however tiny the nutbar population is, and it’s automatic pile on Texas time. Let ‘em secede! Who need’s ‘em! They’re all dumbass republicans!

Well, ladies and gents, I’m fucking tired of it.

Texas gave you:

Lyndon B. Johnson who passed the most sweeping civil rights legislation in history and by sheer strength of will passed Medicare and Medicaid. Obama might learn a thing or two about leadership from him.

John Connally who single handedly put LBJ on the ticket with JFK over the objections of the national party because JFK COULD NOT WIN without Texas.

Ann Richards, one of the greatest ladies in politics who, as governor of Texas, actually did what others only promised.

Barbara Jordan, the first black woman to serve as a US Congressperson from a southern state, a statesman of the highest caliber and recipient of the Medal of Freedom for her contributions to the nation. If you’ve never heard one of her speeches, your education is lacking.

Sam Rayburn, speaker of the House for seventeen years, the longest tenure in history and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the House can bestow.

Jim Wright, US Representative for 34 years and Speaker for two who was brought down by Newt Gingritch over a book deal, the same deal that brought Gingritch to shame a few years later. That’s an irony that isn’t lost to Speaker Wright who only smiles when asked about it.

Tom Hightower, former Texas Agricultural Commissioner who pioneered using biology to fight weevils in grain, a feat that resulted in a Republican lawsuit and his defeat, and a liberal writer as well as talk radio host.

How about that Sandra Day O’Connor, supreme court justice for twenty five years and on the right side of every decision made in favor of the people of America.

Ya’ want journalists? How about Dan Rather who had the balls to take on Bush Jr. and then to take on CBS for the cover up that followed or Walter Cronkite, voted the most trusted man in America and the first to speak the truth about Vietnam. Maybe she wasn’t a journalist but Molly Ivins sure as hell spoke truth to power.

All work and no play? Not in Texas! We gave you Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks and Gene Roddenberry. All you Boppers, Rockers and Trekkers out there owe the state some respect, okay?

There are more, literally hundreds more. Yeah, for the last decade or so the state’s been in the hands of some really classic right wing nuts but it was once, and soon will be again, a bastion of deep blue Democratic leadership.

Put your criticism where it belongs; on the people who act a fool, not on the whole damn place. Texas has Democrats too and I can assure you it’s a whole lot harder to be blue here than in so many of those places that spawn Texas bashers.

There, I feel better now . . .

[Zen Democrat]

1. John Connally didn't put LBJ on the ticket -- Mr. Sam Rayburn did. n/t

[flamin lib]

8. Yes, Mam, you are so right! I had two window open at the same time

and transposed who did what. Dyslectics UNTIE!!

[trumad]

2. I'm from Florida

and I admit--- are politics suck.

Can you admit that?

[seabeyond]

7. yaaaah. but then most of the politics across nation sucks. can they own that? nt

[sofa king]

3. Ahem. Sam Houston was a Virginian. That is all.

[MajorChode]

79. Ahem. All the Bushes are Yankees. That is all.

[PVnRT]

88. Sam Houston? Who refused, as governor, to secede, and resigned instead?

He may have been born in Virginia, but he might as well have been a Texas native.

[sofa king]

101. Yep. The first and last voice of reason.

I have made it my crusade to inform Texans at every opportunity that Saint Sam is a Virginian, to disabuse them of their delusion that Texas was created by parthenogenisis, or virgin birth, or something. Of course, doing so also shovels a considerable proportion of the blame for Texas and the Texans we don't wish to remember back onto the Commonwealth, which is okay, too.

Houston was also, for awhile, the de facto leader of a band of Cherokee, making him a governor of two states, a Member of Congress, a President of an independent nation, and a tribal headman. He also hung out with Alexis de Toqueville. That's a resume you don't see every day.

[TxRider]

128. Last voice of reason? Not by a long shot.

Back then every white man here in Texas was from somewhere else.

Native Texans know the only native Texans who died at the Alamo were mexicans.

It was certainly good enough for Sam to leave Virginia for.

Your not telling Texans anything they don't know. Immigrants who moved here from elsewhere maybe.

[TxRider]

121. All whites in Texas were from somewhere else at that time

And most are today as well.

Many from places like Michigan and and Cali have been flooding into the state for years.

[Feron]

4. Texas is a beautiful state...

and there are a lot of nice people.

Unfortunately, like the rest of the South, they have to dragged into the late 20th century kicking and screaming.

Living in the deep South can be frustrating, but fortunately there are islands of progressive-minded people. I can't criticize Florida or Texas because Louisiana isn't any better. LOL

[TxRider]

122. Did ya know Texas has had 39 dem govs but only 6 repub governors?

Bet ya didn't.

[TxRider]

127. Did ya know Texas elected a woman a democrat governor all the way back in 1925?

Only the second woman ever to be elected governor of a state?

Bet ya didn't.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

133. Ma and Pa Kettle, uh, Ferguson.

Pa Ferguson couldn't run again, so he ran his wife.

This was long before George Wallace did the same trick with wife Lurleen.

"If the English in the Bible was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me." -- Ma Ferguson

:banghead:

[TxRider]

141. Yup, she was a real monster alright..

"Miriam Ferguson, along with a few other people, have been credited with the quote: “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it ought to be good enough for the children of Texas.”<6> There are variations of these words going back to 1881 that were often used to ridicule the backwardness of various unnamed Christians which strengthens the argument that the attribution to Ferguson was incorrect"

So she likely didn't even say that...

She also fought against prohibition, and fought against the KKK passing an anti-mask law and helped get the university of Houston established as a 4 year college.

She backed unions, backed higher funding for education and backed passage of a corporate income tax.

She got defeated because she pardoned and paroled too many convicts.

Most of the trouble her husband had that got him impeached was raising funding for rural schools, and passing a compulsory school law that raised taxes to the state maximum under the constitution. That and a big row with UT regents.

[cutlassmama]

5. Just because Gov. Goodhair and few nuts want to secede

doesn't mean the whole state of Texas wants to secede.

Also, Texas isn't full of dumb ass Repukes. There are a few too many though.

[Carl Skan]

6. It's certainly not for people who are so closed minded

they want to live somewhere everyone thinks and acts like them.

[Lagomorph]

9. Hey, dude....

just shut the fuck up and keep sending the oil....

}(

[WolverineDG]

150. Freeze a Yankee!

}(

dg

[musette_sf]

10. get newly-minted Dem Kinky into the governor's seat

(who has "seen the error of (his) ways")

and then you have a case.

sorry, i watched as the majority of Texans eschewed Dems and put garbage like DeLay in.

not even mentioning Georgie Butch and Gubner Goodhair.

[flamin lib]

19. See, another example of "fereners" not knowing 'bout Texas.

Kinky Friedman is a Republican. He voted for Bush as President and has not voted in any primaries of either party, so the only voting record he has is a big R. His last run for Governor as an Independent was largely financed by Republicans to dilute the Democratic vote and most likely, because of his novelty, caused the loss of the Governorship to Goodhair.

[Carl Skan]

20. Texas politicians are not Republican or Democrat, they are Opportunist

Like Carrol Keaton Strayhorn, Rick Perry, and Phil Gramm who all switched to the dark side Kinky doesn't care about political parties any more than they can get him votes. If Kinky were honest, he'd go libertarian.

[tammywammy]

21. If Kinky were honest

He wouldn't be running for governor, since he doesn't know squat and only runs to promote himself and sell more crap.

[sonias]

35. ROFL

Slam bam the kinky fan! :spray:

Kinky is the biggest opportunist of all.

Man I wish that guy would move to another state.

Sonia

[Horse with no Name]

60. I wonder if we could take up a collection and send him to Alaska?

:D

[musette_sf]

112. get a candidate

unfortunately, i think it's going to be Kay Bailey's to lose :-(

[mitchum]

43. 3rd rate pulp novelist...2nd rate novelty singer...1st rate attention whore

[sonias]

91. Ding, ding, ding, ding.... You are correct!

You just nailed Kinky!

:applause:


Sonia

[musette_sf]

23. um, i lived in Texas for 14 years,

voted for Annie vs. Georgie Butch, and Kinky Friedman is indeed a Democrat for the next Gubernatorial election.

honestly, i get tired of all this "don't mess with Texas" BS on DU. prove it and put a Dem into the Governor's seat. i suffered through enough RW crap in Texas to last me the rest of my life.

Dear Fellow Texans:

Here’s the way I see it: Democrats + Independents = Victory.

I was serious when I ran for governor in 2006 and I’m serious now. I am a humorist, but I know these are not humorous times for a lot of us. Part of the reason is the pathetic lack of leadership at the state level. The last governor, I believe, who was truly on the side of the people of Texas, was Ann Richards. She was a very funny lady - she was also a great governor. I’ll take my cues from Ann Richards.

I also draw inspiration from Ann Richards’ mentor, Barbara Jordan. Barbara believed that if one is attacked personally, one should never counterattack personally. During the 2006 campaign I was attacked personally. However, like Barbara Jordan, I have no desire to attack anyone personally. Instead, like Barbara, I will merely relegate them to my forgive and remember list.

It’s time to end corporate handouts, get rid of the death penalty, get rid of the TAKS Test, and get rid of the Republican stranglehold on this state. Jim Hightower told me he believes the main reason we’ve lost every statewide race since Ann Richards is the inability of our candidates to excite the grassroots. Jim is talking about rural folks, working people, independents, libertarians and even disgruntled Republicans (many of whom used to be Democrats and should be on our side).

I intend to run a serious campaign, one that grows the party. I intend to visit and listen to the voices of neglected communities, small towns, suburbs, and rural areas, often where Democrats have lately feared to tread. This, I feel, is the very definition of being a Democrat. I intend to play by the rules. I will endorse and campaign for whomever wins the Democratic Primary.

Will the independents support me and vote as Democrats? I think they will. I think many Texans appreciate and respect anyone who gets knocked down and gets back up to fight again. Will Democrats take me seriously? I think they will. When Barbara Jordan, who may well be Texas’ only modern-day statesman, was a young girl she was never very serious in school. The teachers reported to her father
(Ben Jordan, a very strict part-time preacher), that though she was the smartest kid in the class, she was a perpetual cut-up, a troublemaker and a class clown. When Ben had finally had enough of Barbara’s antics, instead of reprimanding her with his customary fire and brimstone iron-hand style, he tried a different approach. Barbara, he said, I’ll stick with you just as far as you want to go. That turned her around, and the rest is truly history.

So I say to Democrats who may not yet take me seriously, I’ll stick with you just as far as you want to go. If we stick together we’ll go very far indeed. All the way to the Governor’s Mansion!

God Bless Texas,

Kinky Friedman

PS: Please show me you’re serious about Texas’ future too by making a campaign contribution now to Texans for Kinky.

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/

[tammywammy]

No, Kinky CALLS himself a democrat now, but that doesn't mean he IS one

Someone going around only voting for republicans isn't the kind of "democrat" that I wanna vote for.

[musette_sf]

27. okay, so who are the other Dem candidates?

do you like Tom Schieffer better, who is butt-buddies with Georgie Butch through the Texas Rangers association? some "Dem".

oh, yeah, and the other guy, who no one ever heard of.

i wouldn't be dismissing Kinky out of hand just yet.

[tammywammy]

29. No, can't I not like either

I'm still hoping Bill White gets into the running. Or Ronnie Earl.

[blogslut]

31. Take a look at this fellow

http://hankgilbert.com

I'm loving him!

[Melissa G]

46. Hank Gilbert got more votes than Rick Perry

that last gubernatorial election when he ran for agriculture commissioner. He got more votes than anyone besides Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe

Hank has rural appeal and urban appeal. He campaigned long and hard against the Trans Texas corridor.

Personal story:

Hank was no end of kind to my young daughter at the state convention that year. She was 12, but savvy and independent. She came with me to the State convention. She collected buttons and talked to everyone about politics. She also surveyed people on whether they liked cake or pie better. You probably met her if you were there. Hank and his family saw her wandering about chatting with folks at a nearby restaurant full of all of us political types. They kindly asked her to sit at their table for lunch. Like I said. Nice People.

[blogslut]

47. Cool

I amy not know much but I know the real thing when I see it and this guy is the real thing. I've already joined up to his online social networking/mass communication dealio.

I'm going to try to support him with small donations, Obama style - if I can afford it. Sadly, I'm far less solvent than I was a year ago. :(

[Melissa G]

61. There is money and then there is your excellent blogging!

plus your hard work and devotion. I'm sure Hank can use all of it! :thumbsup:

[tammywammy]

54. Thanks for the heads up. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

62. I wish David Van Os would run for Governor

He is golden.

[tammywammy]

64. Ditto on that. n/t

[redqueen]

72. Oh, if only... (nt)

[WolverineDG]

152. me too

but I´ll be happy to cast my vote for HANK!

dg

[fudge stripe cookays]

169. I'd move back to Texas just long enough to vote for him.

Then. I'd have to leave again before summer hit.

[HouLib]

87. Bill White

has done a great job for Houston. Too bad his term is running out. I would love to see him run for governor.

[sonias]

37. The operative words being "lived in Texas" i.e. past tense

I see you are now reside in CA, so we're going to forgive you for missing a lot lately. I'm a life long Texas Democrat - lived here all my life. So those of us who are suffering through this right wing crap certainly get to shout about it a bit more. We suffer and we keep on moving forward. Our motto is never give up and never surrender. But Kinky is not an option. That's like asking us to vote for Joe Lieberman because he's not a Republican. Yeah right!

Kinky is a bigger punk ass chump than bush was. He was a spoiler last gubernatorial election and he's in it just to sell more of his merchandise once again I don't begrudge him selling his wares, I just don't think he should do it as a political campaign for a serious office.

Sonia

[musette_sf]

41. well, i surely hope that the Dems are able to get a decent Guv candidate

and soon.

[TxRider]

105. Says the person with Ahnold as their governor...

Get real... Mr universe and action movie star republican...

Gov Goodhair would be pleased.

[musette_sf]

111. did you know that election was rigged?

did you know that for many counties, it was the first, AND LAST, time that electronic voting machines were used?

they were decertified following this BS election.

did you know that repuke d-bag Darrell Issa was the front for putting AS as the candidate?

did you know that AS was at Vampire Cheney's secret energy meetings in 2001?

so so obvious he was SELECTED, not elected.

but thanks for playing. (?)

Texans would have actually voted for and put AS in office faster than Tom DeLay can lie straight-faced. don't fool yourself, they would have been all ga-ga for Governator. hell, if Chuck Norris ran for Gubner of Texas he'd win.

so i wouldn't be all snotty if i were you.

[TxRider]

119. In Texas that election would never have happened in the first place

Texas has had 39 democratic governors in it's history, and only 6 repub governors.. and one unionist governor. Cali has had what? 20 repub governors?

True we haven't had a dem governor since 1995, but come one give us a break...

Sure we had Bush but what state gave us Nixon and Reagan again?

With the number of Californians and cali businesses streaming into Texas these days they may just bring that silly recall notion here with them.

Like you said, thanks for playing.

[musette_sf]

155. i did my bit, i voted for Ann vs. GWDouche

really but until things change in Texas i'm happy for the change in atmosphere here in the Bay Area.

there is NO amount of money or putative size of house that would get me to move back to Texas.

BTW, the Bay Area always votes Dem.

it's SoCal that has most of the Repube nuts.

my rep is Pete Stark. after 14 years of hating whoever was my rep in Texas, most particularly that d-bag Tom DeLay, my heart is gladdened to be represented by someone who speaks for me.

we're getting rid of AS next year, in case you hadn't heard. my vote is most likely with Jerry Brown.

so, once again, thanks for playing, and enjoy the electoral show both in Texas and California.

[TxRider]

166. The electoral show is going to a hoot thise year.

And now our wonderful governor has decided he needs to make a show with elections coming up, and has sent the rangers to close the border...

I hope Kay and Rick eat each other alive and ensure neither wins.

[Carl Skan]

24. And Kinky didn't cost Chris Bell the election.

Chris Bell's ineptitude and the abundance of "yellow dog" Republicans in this state cost him the election.

Bell would have had to take nearly 65% of the Kinky and Strayhorn votes to match Perry.

[Horse with no Name]

63. Yes, he did

Texas general election, 2006: Governor<6>
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Rick Perry 1,716,803
Democratic Chris Bell 1,310,353
Independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn 797,577
Independent Richard “Kinky” Friedman 546,869 1
Libertarian James Werner 26,748
Independent James “Patriot” Dillon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_gubernatorial_election,_2006

[Carl Skan]

103. Seriously? Did you not read my post or did you not understand my percentages?

I know those numbers and actually alluded to them in my previous reply.

[redqueen]

48. Ugh... no.

No fucking way.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

52. Bush was from Connecticut though

And, if we were to bash every state or country that elected a bad leader or a succession of bad leaders, we'd be here all night

[fudge stripe cookays]

135. Got news for ya, hun.

If you ain't from around there, you don't know squat.

Texas had huge influxes of folks from out of state. First in the very early 80s because of the oil boom, then in the early 90s because of the tech boom. Just about everyone we met was from somewhere ELSE. Like Wisconsin or Ohio, escaping the Rust Belt.

If "Texans" were voting for these morons, you can be assured that most of them brought their values from somewhere ELSE.

fsc <-- native Texan now in Wisconsin, and has never heard as much nastiness from people as she has since moving up here

[tammywammy]

139. Hey you!

I haven't seen you around in forever. I hope you're doing well. :hi:







And on topic, the majority of immigration to Texas is from OTHER STATES. :)

[musette_sf]

157. so all those years living in Houston and Sugar Land were all in my imagination

and i never, ever met any RW nuts who were Texans, they were ALL "from somewhere ELSE".

never heard Lush Rumballs coming out of radios in many many public places (like no where else i had ever lived).

never got harassed for my Dem bumper stickers.

thanks for letting me know that i "don't know squat" and it all was just a dream.

now i have 14 years of amnesia to try and figure out where the hell i was, since everyone bashing me on this thread seems to think that i never lived, worked and voted in Texas, and that 14 years of adult life spent somewhere just doesn't count for anything.

:crazy:

[fudge stripe cookays]

170. Many of them were.

And you obviously didn't learn anything from living there. So just enjoy your little liberal oasis, and brag about it somewhere else.

But when you come into a thread on Texas just trying to piss off the nice people who still live there and fight their asses off for that state, you can expect to get exactly what you're getting. The state is finally beginning to see some change, but all you can see is your stupid shit-colored glasses.

[Paladin]

173. Well Said, FSC. Thank You. (n/t)

[WolverineDG]

151. Bet you´re glad Prop 8 failed

oops.

dg

[musette_sf]

158. Northern California voted NO on 8

and at least we HAVE a significant part of the state that is overwhelmingly liberal.

you know, instead of just 1-1/2 cities.

(i give Houston a half, since in town many things are relatively liberal. it's when you get outside the Beltway that things get bad. like that nutjob who put up that gigantic cross that NO ONE in the neighborhood likes.)

[redqueen]

159. It's kinda sad that that significant part of the state keeps re-electing DiFi.

Also... 1 1/2 cities? Dallas is blue, you know...

[musette_sf]

162. re Dallas:

it must be really, really recent, because i spent the whole summer of 2005 working in Carrollton and flying in and out of DFW. saw tons of "W" stickers on cars and nary a Dem sticker at all. got a LOT of GWDouche, pro-Iraq war, and anti-choice rhetoric flung at me by local colleagues, since after living in Cali i forgot how to pretend to "fit in" for survival's sake.

no fan of DiFi here. but we have the wonderful BB to balance things out.

[redqueen]

163. It's been changing slowly actually.

We elected Laura Miller as our Mayor in 2002 (didn't hold that office though, it's now a repuke again). Yes, there are tons of proud republians, but they're slightly outnumbered.

Dallas Dems are very proud of what they've accomplished, and rightly so.

[tammywammy]

167. In 2006 Dallas County went blue n/t

[fudge stripe cookays]

168. Carrollton ain't Dallas.

It's a suburb. RedQueen didn't say the suburbs were blue, she said Dallas was blue, and she's right. So's inner Houston. So is Austin. So is the Rio Grande Valley.

But you came here to bash, mostly just because you hated living outside Houston. So bash away. And then we'll bash right back.

[Rick Myers]

11. It's Jim Hightower...

Don't forget, Texas once used a slogan for tourism that read: Texas, it's a whole 'nother country!

[WolverineDG]

153. Still is

Don´t mess with Texas.

dg

[Jane Austin]

12. Yikes. You left out Stevie Ray Vaughan!

And Van Cliburn for that matter.

[flamin lib]

14. There are many more, literally hundreds more. Thanks for

adding to the list.

[fudge stripe cookays]

136. Steve Earle...

A troubadour who is now mightily pissed, and never misses a chance to point fingers at crappy politicians.

Joe Ely, who serenaded us in 100+ temps at the capitol rally against redistricting.

Leticia Van De Putte, an awesome legislator from San Antonio who walks the walk.

David Van Os, who doesn't take shit from ANYBODY. His response when some asshole once asked him where his "Christian values" were? "Lady, I'm Jewish!"

[tammywammy]

13. And..

I LIVE in Arlington. I don't see crazy ass shit. Do I disagree with the school board? Hell yes, and that's why I participate in school board election. Are my neighbors outside with guns and waving the Confederate flag and talking secession? Hell no and I'm in the old working class area of the city. I didn't even get dirty stares or comments for my Obama bumper sticker that was on my car until July of this year.

I'm also a byproduct of Arlington schools graduating in 1999. My high school had a Christian, and Atheist/Agnostic club and an Islamic club. The high school newspaper adviser left the school after a few reverends made a big stink over and article that was discussing a center for gay students to go for counseling and help with their sexuality (in the, I'm scared to tell anyone I'm gay not the let's make you straight). So yeah, it wasn't all redneck rightwing bullshit for me growing up.

[derby378]

15. I'd delete O'Connor from the list if I were you

She voted to put Bush 43 in the office and circumvent the will of the people.

Replace her with Steve Martin, instead. He was born in Waco.

[calimary]

165. I'd delete o'connor, too.

She voted for bush over gore and every calamity that he foisted upon our poor, besieged, mixed-up country is directly on HER score card. I, for one,

My friend Annie moved to Texas a few years ago. That's one redeeming thing I can think of. And the brisket sandwich at Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que - one of the nation's ten best. Even though Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que is here in SoCal.

I must admit that I had this whole rant ready to go, on the subject of those "don't mess with Texas" types. It answered back with "I'm from California... " and all the reasons that thus entitles me to mess with Texas any time I please. But I'll behave myself. We have as much to apologize for (nixon and reagan and dan white and duke cunningham to name a few) as we have to boast about.

:evilgrin: :P :silly:

"Well WE have the frickin' damn TERMINATOR as governor!" "Um... yeah, unfortunately, we certainly do..."

[Faryn Balyncd]

16. & roy orbison

[kjackson227]

17. Jack Johnson, Buddy Holly were Texans :)

[Are_grits_groceries]

18. Molly Ivins!!!!!!! nt

[Ilsa]

73. You say "Molly", I say "Ann".

you: "Molly"
me: "Ivins"
me: "Ann"
you: "Richards"

What an awesome pair they were.

[onestepforward]

22. You can add Bill Moyers too. n/t

[musette_sf]

26. and don't forget proud grad of San Jacinto High, Walter Cronkite

the good'uns in Texas are indeed good'uns.

[onestepforward]

33. Yes, Walter Cronkite too!

:hi:

[w8liftinglady]

25. don't forget Flamin Lib and W8liftinglady

It's tough being liberal out here

[Iggo]

28. Don't forget Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Hey, man. Texas is a real easy target.

Just like California, New York, Florida, The South, etc, etc, etc...

You can't take it personal or it'll eat you up.

[sofa king]

30. And the Butthole Surfers

And The Reverend Horton Heat. And Scratch Acid.

[Texasgal]

32. K&R

I get so tired of all the bullshit Texas bashing here....

[sonias]

34. Thank you flamin lib - I'm standing right along side of you

:kick: ing it for you and for Texas!

Sonia

[ddeclue]

36. I vote we force Texas to secede from the union and put up a 20 foot high fence

topped with razor wire and then cut off all outside contact with the world for TX.

:rofl:

[sonias]

38. Oh you're one to talk Florida

There are plenty of DUers willing to dump Florida too, remember. I'm not one of them, but I see those cracks all the time. Your state barely made it into the blue states but you got your own bushie to control there.



Sonia

[flamin lib]

67. Be nice Sonia. The shoe is on the other foot here.

'Course my 3 year old grandson always says his shoes are on the right feet 'cause he doesn't have any other feet . . .

[treestar]

39. The illegal population would go up

We'd get illegal Texans on top of the illegal Mexicans. :rofl:

[TxRider]

142. Actually Texas would get illegal Americans

If the rate of people moving here from other states kept up.

Folks are flooding into Texas at the moment. Many of them are some of those flooding out of places like Cali and Michigan.

Something to do with low cost of living, low unemployment, state budget surplus and no state income tax etc...

[proteus_lives]

40. Kicked and Recced.

I used to live in Texas, it doesn't deserve all the bashing.

[BolivarianHero]

42. I'm Canadian, but here's a favourite nobody else has mentioned...

Ralph Yarborough, a liberal Democratic Senator who favoured civil rights and was stridently opposed to Vietnam and other unjust wars, all the while remaining true to himself and to his roots in his personal life.


In 1962, he ran against and defeated a Massachusetts Carpetbagger whom he lambasted as being a right-wing extremist, a tool of big business, and an opponent of civil rights. That man's name was George W. Bush, and he was aided by powerful figures in the Dixiecrat establishment who were backing by teaching functionally illiterate people how to split their tickets.

Interestingly, Dukakis, from the state as Bush, did not mention this little bit of history in the 1988 Presidential campaign.

[PDittie]

44. Did you know that

Lloyd Bentsen defeated Yarborough in the Democratic primary earlier that same year (it was 1970, actually)?

[BolivarianHero]

45. Nope...Didn't know that...

But it's certainly a funny coincidence, and is perhaps a more plausible explanation for why Dukakis didn't open up that angle of attack. Too bad he went with Bentsen; he had ammo that could have reduced the GOP to 15 - 20% among non-White voters long before anybody outside of Harvard and Columbia gave a damn about Barack Obama.

[liberalpragmatist]

98. Bush, Sr. ran for the Senate twice

In 1964 and then in 1970. In 1964 he was crushed by Yarborough. In 1970, he hoped to face Yarborough, but Yarborough got defeated by Bentsen in the primary and then he got crushed by Bentsen.

[rainbow4321]

49. Not to mention no one bashed the entire state of Alaska

while Palin was in the limelight. Are we going to hear the entire state of S.C be blamed/trashed for Joe Wilson's heckling tonight? We can go on and on with such examples.

Why people write TX (or any regional) bashing posts is beyond me...why embarrass yourself in such a public forum?

[RFKHumphreyObama]

50. I overwhelmingly agree with the gist of your argument

I think Texas is a great state. There are, however, a few points I'd make

I personally have seen quite a bit of Arizona, Florida and other states being bashed on this board. Not to the extent that maybe Texas is but it is there

John Connally may have been great in Kennedy's day but he later became a close Nixon ally and formed the Democrats for Nixon group against McGovern at the 1972 presidential election. He subsequently switched parties and sought the Republican nomination in 1980.

<How about that Sandra Day O’Connor, supreme court justice for twenty five years and on the right side of every decision made in favor of the people of America>

Her vote in Bush vs. Gore was "on the right side made in favor of the people of America"? That the evidence suggests she allowed her personal feelings toward a Gore Administration to outweigh her judicial responsibilities? That she voted to stop the counting of votes and install the loser as President? Not the best example, I think

In place of Connally and O'Connor, I'd put Mickey Leland and Ralph Yarborough.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

51. My parents backed a Hispanic for Governor in 1958!!!!

Henry B. Gonzalez, Congressman from San Antonio.

They were state convention delegates. They told me there was a walkout and a rump convention, and fistfights. Some old lady bashed Dad over the head with her purse!!! Good times!!

:rofl:

[sonias]

92. I loved Henry B.

One of the best Congressman from Texas. He is missed. Son Charlie isn't up to filling his Dad's shoes.

:hi:

Sonia

[Manifestor_of_Light]

53. Proud Native Texan here.

And Graduate of Sam Rayburn High School in Pasa-Git-Down-Dena.

I met Governor Connally and Vice-President Johnson when I was little, at the Rice Hotel in Houston. This would have been 1962 or 63. People were jammed together, there was no security to speak of. My dad had to pick me up and carry me in his arms so I wouldn't get squashed.

So up on Daddy's shoulder, I met John Connally and Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon gave me a Pass to the Senate, since he was President of the Senate. I still have it.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

55. It seemed to be his signature gift

He gave one to every young child. He even gave a pass to the senate to some of the poor, impoverished children that he visited during his trips to Southeast Asia as VP!

He was a classic, larger than life legend and he doesn't get half the appreciation he deserves

[tammywammy]

56. Wow, that's a pretty cool story! n/t

[XOKCowboy]

57. I'm with ya. Gotta lot of friends in TX

Some Repugs, some not. One thing about them all is a unique spirit that's hard not to like. I always have fun when I'm working in Texas. I guess I just relate since I grew up just north of the Red River.

[midnight armadillo]

58. Dunno, that almost balances out GWB.

Just kidding.

Florida, though, let it drift out to sea.

[flamin lib]

65. Can't do that. It's not in keeping wirh the spirit of the OP. nt

[Horse with no Name]

59. I was in Sam Rayburn country today

He is such an adored man. We could sure use a few of him today. Sigh.

But Sandra Day O'Connor? HER vote gave us Bush. Anything she did prior to that was obliterated. Her vote brought us to the brink of destruction in this country. It is still shaky whether we can recover from HER vote.

Other than that? Nice job.

[LT TX]

66. You go!

I can't stand the Texas bashing either. There are some batshit crazy people around here, though. It really came out in open since Obama was elected though. A friend of mine called upset the other day. Her husband found a noose hanging off his truck at work. I urged them to see a lawyer. The thing about it is, the racists have always been racist. They are just coming out of the woodwork now.

I think I saw his name, but don't forget Bill Moyer! Janis Joplin was from Texas as well, correct?

[tammywammy]

68. Janis Joplin was from Pt Arthur. n/t

[PDittie]

81. There's a great museum there

in Port Arthur with a permanent exhibit dedicated to her:

http://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/personalities-music-legends-janis-joplin.html

And the historical marker in front of her childhood home:

http://moonlightflower.org/janisjoplin.html

[tammywammy]

89. My mom graduated high school with Janis' younger sister, Laura

They were next to each other alphabetically, so they always sat next to each other in homeroom.

Jimmy Johnson (the football coach) graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Pt Arthur too.

[PDittie]

95. Then do go look at that second link in my post above

There's a whole bunch of high school annual photos posted at the bottom, and more linked.

[tammywammy]

140. I checked it out last night, pretty cool pics

Though not of my mom's class ('69). :(

[flamin lib]

69. Yes and yes. It's like one of the talking heads on CNN said;

in a country of 300 million people you're gonna' have some really stoopid people. Same goes for a state as large as Texas.

FYI, Dallas, Texas has a larger population and a larger operating budget than Alaska. McCain would have been better off looking to major cities in Texas for real managerial experience.

[Ilsa]

70. Don't forget Dan Rather, born in Wharton Co, Tx, College and JD from

Texas colleges/universities.

[flamin lib]

76. My home town!

I even know where his house is!

[Ilsa]

85. So cool! Sorry I missed DR's name in your list. My

brother works in that area, but is ready to move on in a few years if his current job lasts a little longer.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

77. Dan Rather has a law degree?

You said "JD from Texas colleges/universities".

????

[Ilsa]

83. Oops. I found only one source for that, so it must be in error. Sorry. nt

[musette_sf]

113. Dan used to make jokes about how he went to

Sam
Houston
Institute for
Teachers

good old S-H-I... um...

[Fleshdancer]

71. I agree with most of what you said, but I must admit....

...that as a Texan, I find myself making fun of Florida as much as possible.












:hide:

[flamin lib]

74. Then jist quit it, ya heer? Quit it rite now. nt

[Joe Fields]

75. I put my criticisms where they belong.

Most of the people I've known from Texas were overly testosteroned assholes. I was escorted to the state line by the Texas State Patrol and told to never set foot in Texas, because they don't like my kind there. My crime? Having long hair and driving a convertible that had out of state plates.

Your examples are really pretty weak, as they are isolated incidents. In Texas, you have hordes of idiots on the steps of the statehouse screaming for secession!!!

It is by accidents of birth that many celebrities you named were Texans. They don't begin to make up for the millions of idiots that live there. Texas is the only state I know of, where driving distance is measured in the number of beers it takes to get to where you are going.

Why is it that most Texans I know of just HAVE to work the name of their state in to any online username? I don't see it with people from any other state. Is it because Texans are so indoctrinated from kindergarten through college?

Having said all of that, I'm well aware that there are good people in Texas. Even most of the assholes are good people. They're just obnoxious assholes, that's all.

Tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. I'm from Missouri. You can bash it all you want. It deserves it. But hey, I don't have to like your state, and I don't like your state, for my own set of reasons, so you'll just have to get over it, somehow.

[MilesColtrane]

102. "In Texas, you have hordes of idiots on the steps of the statehouse screaming for secession!!!"

A "horde" of 200, at one rally, out of a population of 24 million...

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/08/secessionists-rally-texas/

Don't let the facts get in the way of your bigotry.

[Joe Fields]

104. you failed. where else in the country do you see such a spectacle?

An EMBARRASING spectacle, at that?

Just cut your losses. Don't tangle with me.

[MilesColtrane]

108. Suck it.

asshole

[Joe Fields]

110. typically texas. just what I expect fom you.

[Nevernose]

123. Vermont?

http://www.vermontrepublic.org/

Everybody's got an asshole, a maxim that applies to states as well as to individuals.

[TxRider]

164. Where else do you see wingnut seccesion groups?

Maybe here...

http://www.hawaii-nation.org/

Or here?

http://www.akip.org/

Or here?

http://www.angelfire.com/nv/micronations/cascadia.html

maybe here?

http://www.vermontrepublic.org/

Or you could look here..

http://www.republicofnh.org/

Or possibly here..

http://patriotsforliberty.com/

There are small wingut movements like this all over the place...

The only thing special Texas has is a wingnut Governor who encourages them...

[snooper2]

160. Don't get me started on Missouri...

moving from Missouri to Texas was the best choice I ever made :)

[TxRider]

161. It is by accident of birth that your not a Texan.. ;)

I think you actually don't know a lot of people from Texas.

[texasleo]

78. k&r

[nomaco-10]

80. Alright. This op kicks ass. recc'd n/t

[JNelson6563]

82. And Molly Ivins!

Yes, Texas has given us many greats. It's really too bad so many are only aware of the assholes, which we have gotten from every state.

Julie

[apocalypsehow]

84. I assume this is in response to that semi-literate dumbass who posted the bash Texas thread.

Good for you. :thumbsup:

[raccoon]

86. "Buddy Holly,"--I was going to mention him.

It's the same with the South. Let a lynching/cross burning, etc. happen in some other region than the South, nobody bashes that whole region.

I ain't from Tejas, but I feel your pain. :hug:

[tjwash]

90. The US is stocked full of stoopid...

...and the press doing their fair share of fucking with Texas fuels that as well.

I live in So-Cal, but I would to go to Dallas once a week, as well as Houston, Austin, and San Antonio quite regularly when I worked for the Hunt brothers. I ran in to more die-hard Dems in Texas, that couldn't stand Bush, hated our wars of oil control, and absolutely abhorred Dick Cheney than I EVER have living full time where I am here.

The press is largely to blame, and the laziness of a lot of people to actually open their eyes and learn something is the other. This country is packed with judgmental idiots that have never even left their counties, much less their states, to see for themselves what is actually out there in the world, and the infotainment-driven press fuels that ignorance constantly. I know for a fact that Texas is a hell of a lot more of a blue state, and California is a hell of a lot more of a red state, than the corporate media lets on to. But...stupid people that don't know any better, will never stop allowing the spin doctors on the tee-vee to spoon feed them propaganda that keeps us constantly divided amongst each other in this country.

Keeps the peoples minds occupied while the corporations fuck us I suppose.

[sonias]

93. Thanks tjwash!

You are always welcome in Texas.

:hi:

I know one day "we shall overcome" and Texas will be a big ass blue state and I'm going to live to see it.

Oh yeah I totally agree that the corporate media are a bunch of lazy journalists who just love to feed violence and sensationalism. They stopped being a "check and balance" on government power a lot time ago. They ceded their souls to profits decades ago.

Sonia

[fudge stripe cookays]

172. .

:woohoo:

[struggle4progress]

94. Sandra Day O’Connor helped SCOTUS appoint W. Blecch!

[liberalpragmatist]

96. Texas will also probably be a blue state in 10 years

Younger Texas voters supported Obama strongly, the state has grown more diverse, the Dallas and Houston areas are becoming strongly Democratic, and the Hispanic vote offers huge potential for Democrats.

In fact Texas would already be a swing state if Hispanics voted in proportion to their actual numbers.

[struggle4progress]

99. I bet we could have a big blue shift in 2012 if we work hard enough for it

[sonias]

107. Si se puede!

By the way I hope you know that the DNC is having one of their quarterly meetings right here in Austin this weekend!

Burnt Orange Report blog
2009 DNC Austin Meeting Schedule and Calendar of Events

AAS 9/10/09
National Democrats gathering in Austin to talk up their chances in Texas

One spin: More than 300 Democratic Party players from across the United States and its territories will descend on Austin today, sending a powerful signal that long-suffering Texas Democrats stand to prevail statewide in 2010.

"They're focusing on Texas," Rio Grande Valley lawyer Gilberto Hinojosa said of the Democratic National Committee, which is holding its three-day quarterly meeting at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. "We haven't seen that in a long time."

(snip)
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie said Wednesday he's optimistic that the Democratic National Committee will invest in Texas to help Democrats recoup the Texas House majority they lost in the 2002 elections. "At the appropriate time, they will put resources in here to help us get over the hump," Richie said, according to a recording posted online by the Houston Chronicle.

By ending the GOP's edge in the House, Democrats would have some sway over the Legislature's redrawing of state House, Senate and congressional districts. Because of population gains since 2000, Texas could gain three to four U.S. House seats.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the DNC's chairman, was in Brownsville on Wednesday, Hinojosa said, marking the first visit to the region by any of the party's national chiefs.

(snip)
Like other Democratic activists, Hinojosa relished party gains in Dallas County in 2006 and in Harris County in 2008 as well as the capture of a Fort Worth seat in the Texas Senate and Democratic wins in the Texas House, which has 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats. He notes, too, that Democratic presidential nominee and then-Sen. Barack Obama carried every urban Texas county except Tarrant, though GOP nominee Sen. John McCain won statewide.

We're just going to keep working and clawing our way back!
:kick:

Sonia

[struggle4progress]

114. I did not know that

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[TxRider]

106. Texas will be a brown state, that is for sure..

Will we be the first state with a Hispanic majority population?

[struggle4progress]

97. We CAN turn Texas blue -- but there that state really is a top producer of wingnuts

[ceile]

100. K&R

[kwassa]

109. oh, go ahead, everybody! Mess With Texas!

[EndersDame]

115. heh little do most know that is an Environmental Slogan

fuck litterers

[TxRider]

143. Yup, it's our anti littering slogan..

[booley]

116. What if we do think AZ, NH and FL are crazy too?

Come to think of it, I think my own state of Misery..I mean MIssouri is chock full of nuts as well.

[Hutzpa]

117. The problem with Texas is

they seem to vomit the biggest dicks around....Why????? :shrug:

[sonias]

118. You've got a lot of hutzpa

Don't ya know that everything is bigger in Texas? I do mean everything.

So Texas wing nuts come in extra, extra large.

Sonia

[TxRider]

120. Gotta expect some bad with the good, yin and yang eh?

[sonias]

147. Bigger on both sides

Great leaders and great crazies. You get both in Texas.

:hi:

Sonia

[Hutzpa]

156. Unfortunately for Texas

the last 8 years was just yang...

[Nevernose]

125. Your misplaced perceptions?

After all, if you seriously want dickheads, you could go to Connecticut, home of GW Bush and Joe Lieberman. Or California, home of Nixon and Reagan. And where are Jean Schimdt and Michelle Bachman from?

[saltpoint]

124. Many favorite Texans have I. Molly Ivins chief among them but also

Larry McMurtry.

Bill Moyers.

An honored cousin and his family.

And not least, Art LaForge, who when we were little kids played on the grounds of the KOA campground his father managed. Art, if you happen to be lurking tonight on DU, bless you, you rascal.

[BlooInBloo]

126. Slave state. And the overall mentality hasn't changed all that much since.

[fudge stripe cookays]

171. Nice. n/t

[Paladin]

174. And You Know That Because You Live In Seattle?

Asshole......

[saltpoint]

129. That Van Clyburn fella shore can tinkle the ivories.

[saltpoint]

130. And who but the Pride of Port Arthur, Texas but one Janis Joplin, whose

blues voice, one critic said, rose like a claw from her throat and clasped itself onto the souls of her audience.

[TxRider]

144. Don't forget Johnny and Edgar Winter either...

[saltpoint]

146. Indeed. Texas does awfully well in talented folks.

'Specially musicians.

[TxRider]

154. Yup unfortunately that includes talented assholes as well.. ;)

Gotta expect some bad with the good though.

[saltpoint]

131. By day, San Antonio is one of the most handsome of U.S. cities. But at night,

it is entirely glorious.

[saltpoint]

132. I hope nobody has a problem with George Strait.

Cuz I happen to like George Strait.

[Vickers]

134. "Nobody bashes Florida as a whole."

Bwahahahaha!




Oh, you were serious.

Sorry.

:blush:

[foo_bar]

137. true, I thought "only in Florida!" was the DU refrain

Especially following Miami2k or the primary debacle in '08. Or any human interest story involving alligators or Mickey Mouse. I guess it's human nature to reduce cultures we don't understand to an accessible stereotype, but "everything is bigger in Texas" is a self-inflicted stereotype so it gets a little dicey, but then I guess all cultures subscribe to their own stereotypes whenever self-knowledge is elusive.

[cmf]

138. Sandra Day O'Connor?

How about that Sandra Day O’Connor, supreme court justice for twenty five years and on the right side of every decision made in favor of the people of America.


Yeah, except for Bush v. Gore. One decision that she was defnitely on the WRONG side. We will be paying for that SC decision as a country for a LONG time.

Anyway, I agree with the gist of this. There are a lot of nice people in TX, but a lot of jerks as well. That's anywhere. I've lived there and I wouldn't be heartbroken to move back.

[sonias]

148. It cost her, her legacy for sure

Her entire SCOTUS career will be marred by that decision. But you have to admit that prior to that we really did count on O'Connor to be the swing decision that more often than not sided with us on big issues.

It really is a shame. I certainly can not forgive her that one partisan decision that cost us 8 years of hell and thousands of lives all over the world. She put G.W. in the White House for sure.

But we now have a more historic figure on the court in the first Latina justice. So Sonya Sotomayor will eclipse anything O'Connor ever accomplished. I love Ruth Bader Gingsberg too. But historically, I think Sotomayor will eclipse them both.

:hi:

Sonia

[bridgit]

145. Houston, you have a problem

[WolverineDG]

149. Rock on!

You forgot Freddy Fender.....pues ni modo. ;)

And you left out Lady Bird who started the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign, not only to prevent littering, but to preserve & protect our country´s wildflowers.

dg

[dysfunctional press]

175. "remember the alamo"- which was basically a showdown to keep slavery.

at the time, the alamo 'defenders' would have gladly become mexican citizens had they been allowed to keep slaves.

which is probably a BIG part of why they're seen as heroes to the ignorant redneck crowd.

texas can SUCK on it. (and i say that as a great-great-great-great-great grandson of Sam Houston.)

[TxRider]

177. BS

They -were- Mexican citizens.

And it had nothing at all to do with thing like the Mexican government requiring them all to be Catholics, to pay tithe to the Catholic church.

Nothing to do with endemic Comanche raids, burning of settlements and the government not providing any security besides a few troops who were convicts given a choice of prison or military service.

Nothing to do with control of trade and civil affairs, placing property taxes in violation of previous law, placing high taxes on any U.S. imports.

It was as much Bustamante's miltary coup, his bad record of government and then Santa Anna amassing authoritarian power and rescinding the Mexican federal constitution as anything else, that eventually ended civil attempts to come to agreement and remain in Mexico.

Yucatan revolted and declared independence at about the same time as Texas, I guess that was over slavery as well...

The short story is that Texas was very sparsely populated when Mexico gained independence. Mexico advertised for immigration because they needed more population in Texas to maintain control. The government governed poorly, could provide no services or government. Even when Santa Anna rescinded the constitution the settlers still tried to remain in Mexico, Stephen Austin even remained loyal until he was imprisoned for treason but never tried.

Yes slavery was a part of it and it was a significant issue, but to reduce it to only that issue is simply wrong. To do so would be like saying the American revolution was only about tea..

[saltpoint]

176. "Galveston, O Galveston / I still hear your sea waves crashing...

... while I watch her dark eyes flashing /
I clean my gun /
and dream of Galveston..."

--wrote Jimmy Webb in "Galveston," of a soldier's yearning for his love back in Texas as he fulfilled his mission in Vietnam.

Look and see and hear how art elevates a landscape, confers a 'secular blessing' to a place or city or region, and how lovely a light it shines on the ordinary such as to make it luminous and holy.