Given the extremes of even the mainstream Rs and the deep bench of hard-core MAGA, what’s the intrastate civil war look like?
I swear to God, every batshit crazy evil and destructive idea that has eaten the brains of the national GOP since the 50’s has been incubated and normalized out of novelty shock in Texas by Texas oil and gas billionaires. Usually spreads quickly to Oklahoma, then jumps to Tennessee, Florida and thence to the rest of the CSA v.2026.
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What, and miss the priceless look of slack-jawed astonishment on the GOPniks’ faces when Texas and its 40 electoral votes flips blue on them? Surely you jest.
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If Texas was its own country, we’d only end up having to conquer it again.
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California used to be quite productive in the line of evil and destructive GOP policies (and presidents). Just look at Reagan’s time as governor, or the so-called “property tax revolt” thing, or heck, even as recently as Pete Wilson.
ETA: What changed? One word for ya: Demographics. And it’s coming for the Lone Star State, too.
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Prop 13 was the manifestation of that revolt, and did extraordinary damage to California’s community college system, which had been free to all for decades. I benefited from that system pre-Prop 13 (and later transferred to a UC).
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And California’s K-12 system, which had been one of the best in the nation before Prop 13, also got hammered hard, though Prop 30 undid some of the worst damage in 2012.
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Ask me again after the election, but my rule of thumb has been that Texas is moving blue at an annual rate of about 0.5%, albeit with depressed turnout backsliding in 2024. At present, it feels like Talarico by the skinniest of margins and Abbott +5, which would have seemed like a miracle 16 years ago.
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I don’t know much about Texas, but might it be time for term limits on governors? A fourth Abbott term just seems like an anachronism.
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There’s that 100 Million people number again. Who might those people be? **
14 million “unauthorized” residents (maybe it’s only 11M..)
3.6 temporary foreign nationals (laborers, students)
7 million born to immigrant parents
25 million naturalized citizens
And then there’s another 50 mil’ or so…
** information courtesy of AI (so it’s suspect)
Seriously… do these people stop to think about whether these numbers that they toss off actually make sense? Is it even possible to deport 1 in 3 US residents? Do they even care that saying these things makes them sound stupid?
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Although they did it without costing the US $29bn in military expenses and $40bn in additional fuel expenses.
Not to mention the economic cost to the rest of the world…
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That’s just the nicest thing to read!!
I hope it happens, all hail to you Texans if it does!
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It was mildly transgressive when Perry ran for a third term. That norm has since sailed, crashed upon the rocks, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
Greg Abbott – a person I have personally known and always disliked for his naked ambition as well as his politics – outperforms every other statewide political candidate. Which, to be fair, everyone who underperforms him is markedly worse.
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That tree that fell on Abbott and paralyzed him continues to apologize for missing.
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I tnink I am going to replace my gasoline powered SUV with an EV. If we all did that would show this oil industry SOB what’s what.
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He doesn’t deal so well with anyone laughing at him.
(Can dish it out plenty well, but can’t take it at all. Typical.)
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And a lot fewer dead people.
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I agree. We should deport all Trump voters.
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