From the Dallas Morning News. Recognition that troglodyte Dan Patrick's victory in the GOP primary probably represents a turning point in Texas politics.
>>>>The tea party wing of the state GOP may be celebrating its near sweep of Tuesday’s primary runoff. But it sure feels like a win for Democrats.
Not in November. Not yet. But eventually. And then Democrats will rule in Texas for a long, long time.
It’s hard to say exactly when the change will come, but Tuesday’s results may have moved it up by an election cycle.
Science tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s not quite so precise in politics, but the effect is there.
The Texas GOP’s swerve to the right can’t help but stir reaction in the opposite direction. And Democrats are rejoicing today.
Dan Patrick, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, tried to bluster past it in his victory speech Tuesday night. “Some Democrats have said they wanted me to be the nominee. Well, they’ve got me, and I’m coming,” he said.
Big applause followed, of course. But surely some in the room were smart enough to feel a shiver of things to come. Bravado will only take you so far.
Demographics will soon call the tune in Texas.
Every Texas schoolchild learns with pride that our far-flung state comprises 254 counties. But did you know that most Texans live in just 10 of them?
In 2012, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney evenly split the vote in those top 10. Obama won in the biggest five.
The Republican base gets whiter, older and more male, while the big urban counties get more and more not.
And the state GOP put itself even more out of step with that demographic reality in Tuesday’s vote. As my colleague Christy Hoppe noted, voters will find just one lone woman among the Texas Republicans’ entire slate for Congress, statewide offices and top judicial positions.
That’s 50 races. And the one woman is U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth.
The Democratic slate is headed by two women, of course — Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte. Count on that difference being noted repeatedly.
This is not to suggest that women or ethnic minorities will vote only for candidates who look like them. But Republicans sure aren’t giving them reason to do otherwise.
Many women aren’t likely to forget that Patrick and other top Republican nominees led the charge to restrict access to abortions. In the privacy of the voting booth, even Republican-leaning women might well think of daughters and granddaughters with diminished freedom to make choices for themselves.
African-American voters won’t forget how Republican nominees demonized and disrespected President Obama at every turn. It was far easier to kick the president than discuss actual Texas issues.
Latino voters will remember for a long time how Patrick and other GOP candidates exploited the immigration issue with talk of an “invasion” across our borders. Hard-working people resent being portrayed as enemy invaders, no matter how many generations they have been here.
Texas Republicans can’t keep appealing only to angry, fearful whites. It may be a winning short-term strategy, but it’s long-term suicide. Texas Republicans have to find a platform that is more hopeful and inclusive.
This potential for Texas to morph into a blue state has big ramifications for the whole country.
Who says so? Dan Patrick himself.
Battleground Texas is the political operation already working hard in the state to organize and motivate the Democratic vote. Featured prominently on its website is a quote from Patrick:
“If we lose Texas, we never elect a Republican to the White House ever again because the electoral votes of New York, California and Texas make it mathematically impossible.”
“Ever again” may be a bit of hyperbole. But I’m sure Democrats would settle for the foreseeable future.
Republicans voters moved us a step closer on Tuesday.
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Why the GOP is ultimately fucked
