It just never stops with these clowns:
Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of “punishing” Texas and being “hell-bent” on turning the United States into a socialist country.
Speaking at a luncheon for a Midland County Republican Women’s group, Perry said that “this is an administration hell-bent toward taking American towards a socialist country. And we all don’t need to be afraid to say that because that’s what it is.”
Perry praised the tea party movement to the Republican activists in attendance, crediting the grassroots groups with discouraging some Democrats in Washington from pushing for a public option in the health care bill.
No mention in the article about how exactly Obama is “punishing Texas, but then again, that would have required reporting with actual questions, and not just stenography.
You want to punish Texas and Rick Perry? Blockade it and stop the flow of everything, including hair products. I’m open to an airlift to Austin.
John +whatever (rumors have it around 7-8. Big fan of Boddingtons tonight.)
TenguPhule
I thought living in Texas *was* the punishment.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Don’t worry ladies, Hairpiece Perry will protect you from the evil brown so ci al ist hordes! Woolverines!
Here’s hoping he’ll take them all and secede.
Note to non-crazy people from Texas: Sorry, greater good and all that.
Church Lady
If Texas did leave the Union (which they actually have the right to do – the only state with that right), given their size, population and natural resources, they could probably be pretty self-sufficient. I read somewhere not too long ago that the GDP of Texas is larger than a whole lot of the G20, but I do not know how true that statement is.
Elisabeth
I believe Gov. Perry thinks the federal gummint is rounding up teh illegals in New Mexico and dumping them in Texas as punishment for goodhair’s criticisms.
cleek
Rick Perry, and the mouth-breathing fuckwits who listen to him, make a fine example of the need for better education in our schools.
since it’s apparently the biggest fucking threat our cuntry has seen since the USSR fell apart, we should at least spend an hour or two teaching kids the actual fucking meaning of “sochulizm”. let’s not let them walk around like retards for the rest of their lives, not knowing what’s what.
fuck Rick Perry and the ignorant douchebags who vote for him.
c+6.
arguingwithsignposts
@TenguPhule:
I am a native Texan and lived there most of my life. I’m proud of the characters that came from my home state (Molly Ivins, LBJ, Janis Joplin, SRV, etc.). But I have to say I would *never* intentionally move back.
Where I live now is a blue state thanks to one big metro, but there are two positives: seasons and lack of humidity.
Violet
Texas is turning purple faster than Pretty Boy Perry and his freeze dried hair can imagine. Demographics alone mean it’s happening and happening fast. He can blather away at the teabagging nuts but that isn’t going to stop it from happening.
I’m greatly looking forward to the Kay Bailey Hutchison/Rick Perry GOP primary showdown. Should be very entertaining.
We really need Molly Ivins about now.
Molly
I’m supposed to be attending a corporate luncheon tomorrow, and Perry is the keynote speaker. I told them I won’t be attending.
Sorry, all. Perry apparently was allowed to speak in public again. We’ll keep him chained up in Texas, nothing to see here, go enjoy your drinks, etc, etc.
beltane
Texas is punished just by the fact that it is Texas. It would be better for all concerned if Texas was once again a province of Mexico, and that all the wingnuts be forced to conduct official business in Spanish.
Elisabeth
@Church Lady:
I wonder who their biggest trading partner would be? ;)
Brian J
Last night, for a friend’s birthday, I met up with some of my college buddies. Every guy there was a conservative, or something close to it–not in the James Dobson sense, but more in the McCain/Romney sense.
None of these guys is stupid, but some of their opinions aren’t exactly well thought out, to say the least. I’m not going to go into any of what was said, unless someone wants to hear it, but during at least one point, which Republican might run against him.
I am not sure of who it might be, but this latest example of Rick Perry’s buffoonery is another reason why I can’t see anyone beating him, unless conditions are so bad that no Democrat could win. I’d really like to hear from anyone on the right who the top three prospects are and why they can both make it through the primary and appeal to voters who aren’t hardcore Democrats. I can’t think of anyone, unless the party undergoes a massive process of moderation in the next two years, which precisely nobody is suggesting will happen.
ellaesther
Here’s what I don’t get: How is it that you are able to produce so much coherent writing with all that alcohol in you? On the very, very rare occasions that I am under the influence, I am absolutely useless. I may be a writer, but if I had something in me, I could no more write coherently than I could drive an obstacle course.
Similarly, I don’t understand how all those rock-n-roll type people go on stage after massive indulgences in various chemicals, but hey. I’m clearly missing a gene.
arguingwithsignposts
@Church Lady:
That’s about half-right. They can secede if the union agrees. That ain’t happening. BTW, if Texas didn’t have oil, it would be a giant Mississippi.
They do have the right to break up into five smaller states. I’d propose the states of Travis and then East, West, North and South Redneckistan.
OT, but Dylan Ratigan had Dick Armey on his show this morning. WTF, Dylan?
Violet
@Church Lady:
This is a very popular bit of Texas folklore, but it’s not actually true.
BigSwami
@Molly:
This is the last time, Molly. I see him out on the street again and I will call Governor Control.
TenguPhule
Zombie lies.
Texas will leave the Union over their piled up dead bodies on the Mexican border.
They have *no* right to secede.
ellaesther
@Violet: Oh, Molly. I miss Molly.
Do you know, I only recently realized that this country flat-out stole Texas from Mexico? I mean, we trumped up a war, opposed by that other tall, lanky politician from Illinois, so that we could fucking take Texas. Because we wanted to expand slavery.
TenguPhule
And if we found ponies in Iraq, everyone would get a horsie ride.
Completely left on their own, Texas would be a Roller Derby Death Zone in two FUs.
Michael D.
I have a couple British Couchsurfers here tonight, so I’m drinking Abbaye-Abdij du Val-Dieu tonight – 9% – with them. It’s a Belgian Abbey Ale. And if I did 7-8 or them, I’d have had to type this 7-8 times, instead of the 2-3 I did.
Michael + 3 (@750ml) – I don’t drink good beer unless it’s corked.
General Winfield Stuck
@Church Lady:
Baloney. The movement to secede is based on Tenther philosophy, or the Tenth Amendment citings of state sovereignty. When they asked for and were readmitted to the Union after the Civil War, they gave up any claim of independence, just like the other confederate states that seceded. Only if the USA agrees can they legally secede. I for one, would let them, but nobody has asked me.
Midnight Marauder
This is the thing that always amazes me about the ridiculousness of Republicans right now. To borrow a page from Allen Iverson, we’re talking about the primaries. Not the general election; just the primaries. These clowns–in elections across the country–will still have to somehow regroup, coalesce around the “winner” (whatever breed of crazy
theyhe may be), and then compete against a Democrat of some kind. Who will, most likely, be fresh off the heels of monumentally historic HCR and probably trapped in respectively dogged battles over climate change/immigration reform legislation. These people will have momentum like the world has never seen. And standing in the way of that furious onslaught of Liberal Vengeance will be someone like…Rick “Governor Goodhair” Perry.These clowns are toast. It’s only the 1st quarter. President Obama is just getting started.
+1
ellaesther
@General Winfield Stuck: GWS! Would you like Texas to secede?
Ben Richards
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is an American hero.
Brian J
@Violet:
I have no idea if this is likely, but I’d really like to see the Democrats make a serious play for Texas in 2012. I’m talking the sort of deep investment in the state that made Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina pick up opportunities. I’m talking the sort of pouring in of resources that would make Republicans all over the country piss themselves in fear. Remember that video of David Plouffe announcing that they were going to spend $40 million in Florida? I want to see him (or his replacement) announce they are going to spend $100 million.
Of course, this would require a lot of early planning, and if as election day approached, it looked like a lost opportunity, I wouldn’t be angry if they decided to shift resources to other states. That would be a sound strategy, after all. And if he’s in a position where he’s fighting for his life in Pennsylvania early on, then a big leap into a traditionally red state wouldn’t be a smart move. But if things are looking positive, I want to turn on the television in October 2012 and see 50,000 people screaming their heads off in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
different church-lady
Which clowns? Republicans or Poltico?
Marc
Greetings from Austin, deep behind the moronic curtain.
Ich bin ein Perry ridiculer!
Midnight Marauder
+12
Clearly, you can see why I made that mistake.
FYWP. Also.
+13
Lyle4
According to a Politico article, which I won’t link to, the “punishment” consists of
oklahomo
@TenguPhule:
I think the matter was settled at Appomattox, when they tried it the first time.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@Church Lady: Gosh. If only there were some easy to search information database that we could access from our homes.
MBSS
same difference
gbear
Obama should just ask Perry exactly what it is that he wants and then give it to him. Perry’s Texas would sink like a stone.
gbear +0. 25th anniversary last sunday. It’s good to not lose my car anymore.
Violet
@Brian J:
I’d love to see that too! Texas has a lot more purple/blue potential than anyone outside of the state really knows unless they dig into the election data. Unfortunately, all the headlines go to horrible people like W and idiots like Perry.
But the demographics are changing rapidly and that alone will turn Texas purple in a very short time. Add in a little help in the form of money and organization and I think that process could be hastened.
It sure would be fantastic to see Texas as some sort of swing state. The GOP would be apoplectic if that happened.
b-psycho
If they sell it where you’re at, try Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial stout. Trust me.
Brian J
@Violet:
I’m actually thinking of living there for a few years, if I end up getting into certain schools in the state. It seems like such an…interesting place, for lack of a better phrase.
Violet
@Lyle4:
WTF? How and when is this happening? Is this part of the re-education camps where Obama is sending all the wingnuts to turn them gay and force them to have abortions? I guess he’s making them speak Spanish too.
These people are insane.
TenguPhule
Well obviously because a large enough portion of adult Texans thought those jerkoffs were worth voting for.
Does not speak well of the average Texan.
Ben Richards
@Violet: Totally agree. Much more likely to turn than the deep South states or Oklahoma. The primary/caucus thing we had here was really fun and people were really energized.
MBSS
eventually texas will be violet, violet.
Ailuridae
@Violet:
Church Lady doesn’t care if its actually true, silly goose!
El Cid
Yeah, no fucking shit. This kind of shit vanishes into history, basically like the entire period between the Civil War and the First World War. (Reconstruction? Redemption? Pshaw! Details, Shmetails!)
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Church Lady: According to wikipedia, Texas is the 15th largest economy in the world and the largest exporter in the US. That would definitely make it interesting if it did secede.
TenguPhule
You can tell the difference by the pies.
Politico takes them in the face.
Republicans take the cream in the trousers.
General Winfield Stuck
@ellaesther:
Either that or put up a fence to keep them from coming next door and littering up my beloved Land of Enchantment.
Ben Richards
@Brian J: I lived in Austin as a grad student for 2 years and loved it. Best place I ever lived. In Houston now which takes some getting used to but really good now.
Mark S.
@Church Lady:
According to Wikipedia, they would be 15th in the world. I would imagine an embargo by the rest of the United States might hurt a bit though.
@Violet:
If Texas does indeed go blue someday, I can’t imagine any scenario where the GOP could win the White House. Lou Dobbs-style Latino bashing is going to kill the GOP.
General Winfield Stuck
@ellaesther:
Or, yes.
Morbo
He’s punishing them by BPWB. And this wine really hits the spot right now.
Morbo +1
Mark S.
Geez, that was like twenty comments in the span of three minutes.
Ailuridae
@Brian J:
It would be money better spent in 2012 with a greater demographic shift toward Latinos and a likely/possible Catholic heading the ballot for the Democrats. There isn’t a possible scenario where the Democrats need Texas in 2012 (i.e. if they can carry Texas they have already won) no matter how much effort.
The states I want to see them focusing on in terms of expanding the map in 2012 are Missouri, Arizona and Georgia.
Violet
@TenguPhule:
There are a lot of other states that voted for W as well. Do you suggest it doesn’t speak well of the average whatever-state-residents, too? That’s tarring with a broad brush and there are a lot of people to blame. And don’t forget, about 50% of Americans don’t vote at all. Even fewer vote in non-Presidential election years. So the people who elected those guys are a small percentage of the actual population.
As for Perry, part of the problem is that the Democratic party in the state of Texas isn’t very well organized. That’s changing, but it doesn’t change overnight. That’s why Brian J’s suggestion of putting a lot of money into Texas is a good one. Getting the party organized and supported would be incredibly helpful.
You can rant all you want about it, but I’d rather be part of the solution.
Ailuridae
@Ailuridae:
That should have read It would be money better spent in 2016
Comrade Darkness
Is it just me who is imagining Lily crooning along with John about now?
ARrrrroooo arr arr arrrooOOOOooo
TenguPhule
Texas was the one that let him get into power as governor. Enough voting adults fell for a smear campaign against a decent female politician run by Karl Rove that know nothing Bush got into office.
SpotWeld
In short it’s been recently pointed out that Texas has a population that’s about 25% uninsured (with the national average at about 15%).
The GOP is terrified that the Texas population will realize that they’ve been pretty much screwed over for a long time now. (Or at least realize that Texas will be getting some substantial benefit from the proposed health care plan).
So, they gotta lie, and lie hard. Fear Uncertainly Doubt. The evil foreigner, etc etc etc.
Texas GOP stinks of desperation and empty campaign bank accounts.
Fulcanelli
Texas is a state of mind that thinks it’s a country.
I’m proposing legislation as we speak that would enact an import tariff of oh, say 100 million or so per politician for every fucking reactionary wingnut jackass they send to Washington to compensate the rest of the country for punitive damages, pain and suffering. Given the state’s size and number of gerrymandered pure, undistilled wingnut districts sending brain damaged House reps, it should bankrupt the state in no time.
I know Austin’s cool, but Molly Ivins and Stevie Ray have passed on and they haven’t sent anything but god bothering, war mongering, Randian morons to the federal government in ages. Apologies to the sane Texans. I don’t know how you do it.
+3 : Sam Adams Oktoberfest. A salute in honor of those who gave all, and their families who miss them terribly.
TenguPhule
Yes.
SATSQ.
Jon
To hell with your airlift. Colt McCoy is overrated and Mack Brown is a whiny little jackass. F Austin.
Jon +2, who is not at all bitter about the fact that the Crimson Tide is something like 0-7-1 against the Burnt Orange Menace, and goddammit Joe Namath DID score on that last play in the Orange Bowl in ’65
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Fulcanelli: The state Repubs knew how dangerous Austin was, that is why during that last redistricting, they divided Austin into 5 parts, so that no Dem could get elected from it.
Ailuridae
@Fulcanelli:
No offense but Lloyd Doggett is as fine a Congressman as there is anywhere in the US but I get the larger point especially as it relates to the Senate and, of course, W.
jwb
@Church Lady: If Texas was to secede, it would die of brain drain. They could survive awhile pumping out natural resources perhaps, but the tech sectors would dry up almost immediately, as anyone with the ability to relocate out of state would do so.
jwb
@Violet: Barring a miracle, however, this cycle will still be very GOP, and so we’re going to have a wingnut contest between Goodhair and Hutchison.
Violet
@TenguPhule:
Again, demographics are changing. @TenguPhule:
Great. Can we have a rant against Floridians or Oklahomans or North Carolinians for a change? It’s boring to rant about Texas for the umpteenth time.
Comrade Darkness
Texas is a growth machine. As long as it is growing it can get by. But they don’t spend enough (or collect enough) public money to actually decently educate the population or do any other serious public development outside of prisons. They grow by providing exactly this climate to companies. That’s their product: a place where companies can avoid paying for any externalities. Works for a while. I don’t think it’s sustainable. When the growth slows, it will all depend on how they adjust, but by that time what they will have to work with in terms of resources is substandard infrastructure and two generations of undereducated. But, that is their choice. That’s why we have states… to run these experiments.
jwb
@Brian J: Barring a big surprise in the 2010 elections, it’s not time to dump resources into Texas yet. I think probably 2016 is when the dems should start the serious push.
Violet
@jwb:
Yep. At least it’ll be popcorn-worthy for a change.
I’m still holding out hope for Bill White to sneak into the Senate. I think it’s possible.
BigSwami
@jwb:
Basically, the same thing that happened to Iraq?
Chuck Butcher
@gbear:
And other things, 21 5/12/88
MBSS
but americans say they want less services and less taxes, just like they have in texas…
hahaha
LD50
Texas is the ONLY high-population state the GOP can count on anymore. Remove it from the electoral college, and it’ll be a looooong time before the GOP wins another presidential election.
jwb
@BigSwami: Yeah, and you’d probably end up in civil war too.
Brian J
@Violet:
That’s what makes this shit so frustrating. He’s accusing the administration of doing something that would leave some sort of trail–something that would provide evidence for Rick Perry to back up his ludicrous claims. Of course, I sooner expect an arm to grow out of my ass than I expect Perry to provide any sort of proof, yet Perry won’t be cast out of society like he should be. He’ll keep getting response that indicate he’s on the same level as a normal human being.
Church Lady
I stand thoroughly corrected on Texas’ right to secede – common folklore, but not true. That’s what I get for having a boatload of relatives living there and listening to them. What is different is that, unlike other states, Texas retained ownership of its public lands at the time they joined the Union. Any federal land within the state was purchased by the federal government from the state.
While finding out how wrong I was about the right to secede, I did find out that Texas has the 2nd largest GDP of any state (only California is larger) and their GDP figures put them as the 15th largest economy in the world. They are also a net tax donor state – they get back only approximately .94 for every dollar in federal taxes they remit.
Maybe we shouldn’t want to see them hit the exit door.
Comrade Darkness
Has Rick or Texas every apologized to California for fucking them over with the energy price scams? You know, Ken Lay, the guy who put fucking George W into office. The President from Enron? That guy. We’d all like an apology. We’d like an apology while kneeling on broken glass every morning for the next 50 years, thank you.
Everything’s bigger in Texas, especially the delusional chutzpa of the governors.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
Punish Texas all you want, but please do not interfere with the barbecque.
LD50
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
California is #8. Texas can blow me.
Wile E. Quixote
@Church Lady
Church Lady, why are you so goddamned stupid? Seriously, did Mommy try to do you in with a coat hanger while you were still in the womb, did you spent lots of time eating lead based paint chips or is there some other reason why you’re stupid to the bone?
Leaving aside your ignorant contention, which really isn’t a contention as that would involve some degree of independent thought on your part, rather than just mindlessly repeating bullshit spewed by drunken, inbred racist dipshits that Texas can secede any time it likes, and no, that whole Civil War thing didn’t really matter and doesn’t really apply to Texas let’s look at your ignorant assertions vis a vis the economic status of Texas.
If you weren’t so goddamned stupid, if you didn’t have broken off chunks of coat hanger penetrating your tiny little frontal lobes you could have gone to Google and entered “GDP of Texas” as your search string. Which would have taken you to the Wikipedia page Economy of Texas which reveals that the GDP of Texas would be the 15th largest in the world if considered separately.
Now, that probably made you all tingly and you went off somewhere and touched your naughty parts when you thought about Texas seceding and telling all of those DFH’s to stick it. Unfortunately since you’re dumb to the bone you didn’t consider where the money in Texas comes from. Texas gets lots and lots and lots of money from prominent defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Bell Textron, Vought, Raytheon, etc. Now, where does the money for these companies come from? Well it comes from the federal government, in Washington D.C. Which is not going to look kindly upon, assuming that Texas did secede, continuing to pump money into these companies.
Then there are all of those military bases in Texas. Now, being a complete moron you probably think that all of the soldiers at those bases took an oath to uphold and defend the Lone Star Reich and whatever orders issued by Rick Perry’s hairpiece. Of course you’d be wrong, not surprising because of your ignorance and stupidity. Those troops took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the lawful orders of the President of the United States. The idea bandied about by stupid dipshits like Rick Perry and Chuck Norris that if Texas seceded that the US flags on every base in Texas would be pulled down and replaced with the Lone Star flag and that US troops would swear undying fealty to the Lone Star Reich, Rick Perry’s hairpiece and Generalissimo Chuck Norris is pretty goddamned ridiculous.
Oh, and the National Guardsmen in Texas took the same oath as their fellow service members on active duty. So the idea that the guard would rise up and overthrow the evil federal government is ridiculous because as soon as they did so the evil federal government would stop paying them. So not only would they be guilty of treason, but they’d also wouldn’t have any money to pay for uniforms, fuel, ammunition, supplies, salaries, etc. But that wouldn’t matter because Chuck Norris would teach them all to defeat their enemies using wicked round house kicks.
So let’s see, Texas secedes and all of a sudden all of that federal money that goes to big, stupid bloated defense contractors dries up. All of the money paying for the Texas National Guard dries up. All of the military bases in Texas become highly armed camps in enemy territory. Oh, and all of those companies in Austin, the high-tech companies like Dell, HP, Cisco, Apple, AMD pack up and leave because they realize that if they want to locate their facilities in fascistic third world countries that there are plenty places cheaper than the newly founded Lone Star Reich that will fit the bill. This is of course assuming that the residents of Austin, one of the more liberal parts of the state, don’t counter-secede from Texas and either drive Perry and his supporters into exile or capture them and surrender them to the US for their treason trials.
Then there’s the matter of the border. That’s lots of fun. The US can just call up Mexico and say “guess what, Texas is yours again. Have fun. And then build a border wall, guarded by armed guards between New Mexico and Texas, Texas and Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana and Texas and Arkansas. If we hire the guards from the local populations of each state we should be able to insure that we get a force that’s bloodthirsty enough to keep the rest of the country safe, because if you, or that douchebag Rick Perry think that people in Washington, D.C. hate Texas it’s only because you’ve never been to New Mexico or Oklahoma or talked to anyone from Louisiana.
In short Church Lady you are stupid, lazy and worthless. If you had done 10 minutes of research on Google had some basic knowledge of the area as well as a capacity for critical thought you never would have made such an incredibly fucking stupid post. Of course this applies to every other Balloon Juice post you’ve ever made. You claim that you run a small business, given your abject ignorance and complete absence of critical thinking ability it is a wonder to me that that you were even able to start a business, much less not have it go into receivership. Judging from your posts on Balloon Juice you can’t even be trusted to not fuck up when asking customers “would you like fries with that” or “paper or plastic”.
Brian J
@jwb:
Maybe you’re right. But I think it’s always better to get an early start. A lot would have to go right for the Democrats to make a serious push. A friend of mine thinks the fund raising prowess Obama demonstrated last time won’t be nearly as strong next time around, and if he’s right, that means a lot will have to change about how the Democrats approach expanding the map.
I don’t know, really. I just worry that after making so many gains, they (or rather, Tim Kaine’s DNC) will start to retreat for no good reason.
Fulcanelli
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Check out the documentary on Tom Delay called “The Hammer” if you get the chance, it goes into great detail on how he was behind that stunt and a lot of his other illegal chicanery. I loathe that fucker with the rage of a thousand suns.
@Ailuridae: I admit being unfamiliar with Doggett, but if he is really that good ya’ll should best be lining up some of those legendary Texas women to have his babies. The bench for good, sane politicians down there is pretty thin.
FTW.
LD50
@Comrade Darkness:
I’ll just assume that’s a rhetorical question.
donovong
Well, at least this takes the heat off of South Carolina for one night. Won’t last, but I’ll take it!
Corner Stone
@Comrade Darkness: Fuck you. Has anyone from wherever the fuckety fuck Goldman Sachs is from apologized to anyone?
Fuck you jackass.
arguingwithsignposts
You missed the Crist thread earlier?
Oklahoma is irrelevant to anything but cattle and flat. North Carolina has its fair share of stupid (isn’t Rep. Foxx, R-idiot from N.C.?).
Corner Stone
@Violet: Tell me about it. What a bunch of bs.
Corner Stone
@LD50: Yep. A state named Enron fucked CA over.
Your handle should be IQ 50.
jwb
@Brian J: Well, I think the dems need to figure out a way to engage the younger demographic in Texas, so that by the time 2016 comes around they haven’t simply grown cynical about politics. That’s the biggest danger actually, is that the demographic shift that is taking place in Texas will not register as quickly as it should because people don’t vote.
As for Obama’s fund raising, that is hard to see at this point because it will depend a lot on how the economy is doing, how he ends up doing on the legislative front, and, perhaps most importantly how scary his opponent is. (Nothing did more for Obama’s general election fund raising than Sarah Palin opening her mouth.)
Corner Stone
@AngusTheGodOfMeat:
Nothing and no one can stop the heaven that is TX BBQ.
LD50
@Corner Stone: Posting drunk again tonight, are we?
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Fixed.
This is because A LIBERAL MUSLIM COMMUNIST FASCIST MANCHURIAN/KENYAN BLACK MAN WHO HAS UPSURPED THE WHITE OWNERSHIP OF THE WHITE HOUSE. It’s as simple as that and nothing less. These racist fuckwits are trying to rally the troops by piggybacking on dissent about Obama, pushing for a critical mass of racism to explode. People have already died because of this shit and I am sad to say that I expect more innocents will die because of this inflammatory racist bullshit. I am really expecting a Klan march on Washington, just like they had in the good ol’ days. What, they already did that? Yes they did, Nazi images, hate and all, bared for the world to see, like a festering boil on the ass of our country.
Like the Klan, these asshole nutjobs are embracing the cross and it is all but on fire right now.
2009 Teabaggers == 1920’s KKK sans flaming crosses (for now)
The Republicans are children in a closed, unventilated room who are playing with matches while surrounded by open containers of gasoline, napalm, nitroglycerin and C4. The South just might rise again and if it does the Republican party gets full credit for making it happen. Why would they do it? They would do it because they love America. Ignore the fact that while the say they love their country they make it clear that they absolutely hate a lot of people who live in it, that isn’t important.
What is important to note is the fact that they love a concept more than living, breathing people. I think that this would even make a long-dead Clive shudder in revulsion.
Sorry for the rant but this shit is getting pretty damned bad and I am aghast that so-called “responsible” politicians are encouraging this bullshit. Man have we sunk as a nation and I believe it is going to go a lot lower.
Violet
@arguingwithsignposts:
Apparently so. I was in class and didn’t get back until late.
Oklahoma has oil. And it doesn’t have to be Oklahoma or North Carolina. Any state that went for W at any point is fine with me to be chosen for a rant thread for a change. Kansas or Ohio, maybe? West Virginia? Indiana? Any of those are fine, too.
Fulcanelli
Uh-oh. Liquor and blogging about Texas, this could get ugly. Especially with no edit or preview.
Look what you started, Cole.
How about a Lily pic? That pretty little doggie!
Did somebody in the last thread say boobs? Pictures of boobs?
Church Lady
@Commrade Darkness:
I don’t know about your assertions concerning lack of dollars for education in Texas.
My entire family lives in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Area – Plano (wealthy), Frisco (wealthy) and the HEB area (mixed income). All have independent school districts and have really high taxes in support of those school systems. My sister-in-law teaches AP American History in Frisco and my sister’s three high school age kids are all enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program. From what exposure I’ve had to their school systems, they seem pretty darn good to me.
Access to public colleges in Texas is in such demand that the competition to get into the flagship schools -UT Austin and A&M – is brutal. It used to be that you had to be in the top 10% of your class to feel comfortable about gaining admission. Now, as demand has continued to increase, you have to be in the top 10% of graduates statewide in order to even stand a chance.
There is no doubt that poorer parts of the state most likely are wanting for resources, but it’s like that in any state, including my own. Poorer areas usually have trouble competing for resources.
Comrade Darkness
@Corner Stone: Ha. Our governor is out there whinging about punishment from the president, is he?
Hm, actually, he might be, but that would be personal, directed at him, not the state.
oklahomo
@arguingwithsignposts:
Truth. When our wingnuts make headlines, it’s not about the lofty idea of the state going Galt: it’s our climate-change deniers or the fear of feral packs of high-school lesbians.
Fulcanelli
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): Birthers Of A Nation?
Ash Can
@Church Lady: Texas strikes me as a Quebec of sorts — they could probably eventually make it on their own, but not without a shit-ton of serious growing pains. And you can bet that an awful lot of what’s accounting for Texas’s GDP (or GDP-equivalent) number are national/multinational businesses that would pull right the hell out of Texas at the first sign of serious secession tendencies.
Moreover, there are Texans who think that if they were to secede, they could quickly and easily re-join the union whenever said union elected a federal government more to their liking. Make no mistake, these folks are more than a little divorced from reality.
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
@arguingwithsignposts: Don’t forget Jim Hightower!!
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule:
Calyforneeyah is about to get there first. What have you to say about CA?
Ailuridae
@Fulcanelli:
I’m no Texan. I just didn’t want a whole state unnecessarily slurred but in hindsight while your words weren’t clear your intent was and I was just being a disagreeable nit. Sorry
I know little of the Texas democratic House delegation but they can’t all be shitbirds and know that Doggett, Al Green (no, not that Al Green) and some others seem like decent Representatives.
Ailuridae +8
Fulcanelli
@oklahomo: You do realize that by saying the “L” word BoB’s decoder ring has begun to hum and vibrate and he’ll be here any minute, right?
Damn you.
Feral high school lesbians? Really?
Corner Stone
@Fulcanelli:
Whuh?…Where?…boobs?
Seebach
Texas is a growth machine. As long as it is growing it can get by. But they don’t spend enough (or collect enough) public money to actually decently educate the population or do any other serious public development outside of prisons. They grow by providing exactly this climate to companies. That’s their product: a place where companies can avoid paying for any externalities. Works for a while. I don’t think it’s sustainable. When the growth slows, it will all depend on how they adjust, but by that time what they will have to work with in terms of resources is substandard infrastructure and two generations of undereducated. But, that is their choice. That’s why we have states… to run these experiments.
Like China.
Corner Stone
@Comrade Darkness: Point being, Enron was a multi-nat corp and not a state. No matter how much political influence they had on a state level, nothing compares to GS and their national/world level influence.
IOW, Enron did what all de-regulated companies do/did during that era. They aren’t the state.
LD50
@Corner Stone:
I feel I covered that adequately in #76.
Ailuridae
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
The racial and ethnic aspects of their attacks on Obama are just opportunism. Right-wing eliminationism has very little to do with Obama’s name or blackness or Hillary’s genitalia. Its founded in a simple belief that a whole lot of America isn’t real America and while Obama’s race is a convenient totem its (very just and wise) Democratic policies that anger them.
If Hillary were elected this would all be about her castrating men, who she is rumored to be sleeping with in the White House etc.
arguingwithsignposts
@Church Lady:
that’s part of the problem. The wealthy live in their suburbs and spend their money on their local school districts without a way to allow poorer areas of some school districts (not just entire districts) access to adequate funding. There was actually a method called “Robin Hood” that tried to alleviate that situation, but I’m sure the idiot Rs in Texas have gutted that effort.
It’s also called White Flight.
gbear
@Chuck Butcher:
Good for you. Hope the loss wasn’t major or painful.
Tokyokie
I was under the impression that by crossing the border without the proper travel documents those folks were violating federal, not Texas law. Silly me. But the big facilities that house undocumented immigrants in Texas are private prisons, meaning that their owners cut deals with the Bush administration to ensure that a profitable level of undocumented immigrants would be assigned to their facilities. So every time one of these low-security inmates is sent to Texas to await deportation, more federal money flows into Texas. Pretty severe punishment.
Comrade Darkness
@Seebach:
Possibly. Like Texas, time will tell. They have so much money, the Chinese do. They might accidentally, despite party corruption and all the attendant problems of top-down control, actually spend that wealth on the right stuff.
It sure does look like a crazy house of cards, though. Social upheaval seems like the biggest risk and the one threat that might keep spending in line with needs.
Church Lady
@Wile E. Quixote:
Wow. That was really personal.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@gbear: Go GBear! Losing my car was just one of the many adventures of the evening of 1/11/80 that ended my infamous drinking career.
Comrade Darkness
@Corner Stone: That’s like saying Goldman Sachs isn’t the Treasury right now. Which, you are free to assert, but it sounds a little silly. Corporate influence is the biggest enemy of the American Way at all levels. Hell, they’ve managed to convince the unwashed it IS the American Way.
Ailuridae
@arguingwithsignposts:
Don’t mean to be a prick or seem like I am interested in defending large municipalities in Texas but DFW is well on its way to having a reasonable urban plan and public transit. DART, while not a perfect transit organization is good and getting better.
Chuck Butcher
@gbear:
Lots of that. Lessee, wasn’t married or kids and kept health and brain cells – that’s about what was left. I don’t fuck around about things – even things like fucking up.
Corner Stone
@LD50: Tonight, this morning, this afternoon, all day Catilsday.
Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a moran.
mclaren
Texas as a Roller Derby Death zone populated by feral high school lesbians. Man, this is better than episodes of FRINGE.
More soshulism faster, please! And let’s all punish the state of Texas. In fact, Texas should be walled off and turned into a giant theme park renamed Medieval-Land. They could have witch-burnings, medical treatments with leaches to remove evil humors, minstrel shows, slavery, the whole nine yards.
In fact, I think every inhabitant of every other state of the union should have a button on their barcaloungers that reads PUNISH TEXAS. Press it and, bingo! Instant tasings and pepper spray for random inhabitants of Texas. I’d definitely vote for a big new federal appropriation to punish Texas. Maybe sit the entire population of Texas on those spring-latched boards above water pools and every time someone press the PUNISH TEXAS button, some Texas asshole gets dumped into ice-cold water spluttering and glubbing and yammering about the evils of diabolical soshulism.
Corner Stone
@Comrade Darkness: Ok… Tell me again how Enron’s influence compares to GS?
Corner Stone
@mclaren: Hmmm. Interesting.
Church Lady
@arguingwithsignposts:
Plano and Frisco are pretty homogeneous school districts, but HEB is more diverse. While no grinding poverty in the district, there is quite a number of students from working class and working poor families and there is a large hispanic presence. There are only two high schools (L D Bell and Trinity) covering the three communities and, as the economic demographic of the two schools is probably pretty close to the same, I would imagine that there is parity in their funding. There are a larger number of elementary and middle schools, so it is theoretically possible that some of those might get more funding per pupil than others, but I think that funding is probably pretty even throughout the district.
Brian J
@jwb:
Assuming there’s not some sort of natural hump that he just can’t get over, my very general impression is that there’s a lot of untapped potential in the state now and that as the state changes, there will be even more votes up for grabs. Maybe a more thorough look at the numbers will prove me wrong, but right now, I suspect that an earlier investment will do exactly what you claim needs to be done. It’s always hard to maintain momentum, but can be even harder to start it. An earlier investment will piggyback on all of Obama’s assets, whereas a play for the state in 2016 won’t do that nearly as much since he won’t be on the ticket.
McCain received about 60,000 fewer votes than Bush, so they weren’t terribly far apart. But Obama received about 700,000 more votes than John Kerry without, according to what I remember, devoting any serious resources to the state. Assuming there isn’t any sort massive drop off 2012 and whomever the Republican nominee is receives the same number of votes, we’re talking about 1 million or so votes, and the state is ours. In a state where out out of about 12.7 million registered voters, only 60-65 percent of such voters actually showed up, in a state where there about 5 million unregistered voters, that’s such an impossible task? (I got all of those figures, and rounded them, from this and this site.)
Corner Stone
@LD50: No you didn’t you fucking igmo. Someone said TX was 15 and then you said CA was 8th.
Then you suggested that someone waste the next 15 yrs of their life trying to find your tiny lil pen1s for some misguided reason.
No one wants to do that.
Chuck Butcher
@Church Lady:
Did you miss the part where you invite it with your assertions? Did you miss the part where there was some alcohol fueling some of this? Did you miss the Civil War? No, really it was in like history books and stuff and there was this little issue of Unconditonal Surrender.
You see, the problem isn’t your asshole relations in TX, it is your complete and entirely vacuous adherence to stupid talking points of whomever the hell. You are probably personally a pretty nice person, but goddam…
Corner Stone
@LD50: You and General Schmuck to seem have some stigma here. You did notice that the owner of the blog stated he’s hammered, right?
We may post like children but I’m pretty sure we’re all physical adults here.
Get over yourselves.
arguingwithsignposts
@Ailuridae: That’s because they put the DFH’s in charge as mayor. :) What was her name, Laura something?
arguingwithsignposts
@Church Lady:
My ex sought teaching jobs in the DFW area years ago. HEB was at least upper middle class in terms of school funding. their teacher salary scale was much higher than, say, Fort Worth, at the time. Just because there are some darker skinned people in the area doesn’t mean the district isn’t the result of White Flight. There were a heckuva lotta McMansions and condos in that area back in the 1990s.
Compare to Arlington or Fort Worth. Or compare any of them to the 2A school district whose name escapes me where they have the nuke plant outside of DFW. The district had tax revenues where they probably could have funded a teacher per student.
Chuck Butcher
@Brian J:
It would be politically stupid to leave TX lay. I don’t see where huge investments in dollars make any sense right now, but that doesn’t preclude getting DNC organizers into the State Party and doing everything possible in outreach.
The end run of it is that the personal touch from known individuals pays much larger dividends than all the political advertising there is. County Parties wither with lack of focus and achievable ends. Adding 10% to voter roles in 2 yrs is a goal, winning a major election is much more out of their reach – it is so candidate driven.
(fill in blanks…)
Brian J
@Chuck Butcher:
Of course, the majority of the action will come from within the state, but there needs to be a reason to care. With Obama, Democrats have just that. It’s certainly possible to harness changing demographics with someone else, but it could very well be easier to do it with him on the ticket.
We can go back and forth on this, but let me put it this way. It looks up for grabs, based on the fact that there are already millions of people who are registered but not showing up and millions more who aren’t registered. There are certainly people who can, based on all sorts of numerical information, tell me why I am wrong, and really, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right when you imply it will happen, just not yet. But I really, really hope the administration is looking to expand the map once again. Nothing compels them to stick with trying to win the state if, after a period of time, it looks impossible, but there’s absolutely no reason I can think of to take a serious look at what information is available and to make decision after that.
General Winfield Stuck
@Kidney Stone:
Your the only one who’s a jackass when drunk, prolly that way sober too.
Mark S.
Someone said in the comments here a month or two ago that, 2004 notwithstanding, elections involving an incumbent are usually a massacre one way or the other. If Obama is cruising to victory in 2012, he probably will invest some resources in Texas. If the economy is still in the shitter, he’s going to have too many other problems to worry about Texas.
jwb
@Brian J: With the right economic conditions and GOP candidate, it might be a possibility in 2012, but it would be a serious, serious long shot, and probably not worth investing the money unless the election was really sewn up.
Ailuridae
@arguingwithsignposts:
Laura Miller. She’s incidentally really attractive and tough as nails. In fairness Tom Leppert (who is nominally a Republican) has done really good work on the urban planning front as well.
Bill White isn’t doing bad work in Houston either but no idea where any of that stands with the Senate run. But as cities in an urban area become more viable and dense the politics there get more progressive and the suburbs carry less weight politically. As white suburbanites have the worst politics imaginable in most places that’s a good thing for all of us.
jwb
@Brian J: At the moment at least, the anti-Obama sentiments are surprisingly strong, even in more liberal parts of the state.
Ailuridae
@jwb:
This. There are better targets for states in 2012 and better candidates to make that push (and it will be the final push for permanent Democratic dominance without a substantial move to the center from Republicans) when the time is right.
burnspbesq
@Corner Stone:
Wow. You’re even more of a dick than usual tonight.
There is no doubt – none whatsoever – that the California electricity crisis of 2000 was 100 percent engineered by Enron. Go read “The Smartest Guys in the Room,” by McLean and Elkind. Then come back and apologize to whoever it is you just slandered.
Corner Stone
@General Winfield Stuck:
The world may never know.
Corner Stone
@burnspbesq: I didn’t slander anyone you fucking reading impaired jackass.
Enron sucked. Yes. Did the manipulation they perpetrated on CA equal what it is believed GS has had a hand in on a global scale?
Go read a childrens book if you’re looking for false equivalences.
Church Lady
@arguingwithsignposts:
There really aren’t too many McMansions in HEB, but the way city limits run, it’s easy to confuse Hurst and Bedford with Colleyville, where there are a lot of McMansions. There are plenty of lower income people and housing in Euless and Hurst, with less in Bedford.
I’m not too familiar with Ft. Worth – the only parts I’ve ever been are nice enough, but Arlington, except for the strip joints in Industrial as you come into the city limits on the north side, is a pretty decent town. The new Texas Stadium is there, GWB’s ballpark is there, the race track is there, Nokia Theatre is there, and family entertainment in the form of Six Flags and We-N-Wild. My brother-in-law’s family lives in Arlington and their houses are in nice areas.
Admittedly, I can’t speak to the school systems of either Ft. Worth or Arlington, although my brother-in-law graduated from high school in Arlington and college at UT-Arlington, and he’s bright enough to be a programmer for a big Dallas area tech company, and his sister, also going to the same schools, was smart enough to get into Duke for grad school.
It’s interesting that you talk about what it was like in the 90’s. My parents relocated there in 1983 and Mom and my sister and her family still live there. White flight had nothing to do with their decision to locate there. Instead, it was convenience to my Mom’s job in Las Colinas at that time. That’s the reason most people in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area live where they do – because commuting anywhere in those cement cities is an absolute bitch.
General Winfield Stuck
@Kidney Stone:
The world doesn’t care, nor do I.
Anne Laurie
Y’know, back during my long-vanished youth I made the decision not to start testing my alcohol tolerance, due to tragicomic family history. Threads like this affirm that I made the right decision, because it seems to be more entertaining and less rage-inducing on this side of the table.
Ailuridae
@Corner Stone:
Energy deregulation is likely worse as its “success” led to horrible decision to further and continued deregulation of other industries. In fairness to you, your initial point, that TX wasn’t to blame as a state for having Enron within its boundaries is germane and true. The rest of it is a bunch of fools on the internet yelling about whether Stalin or Hitler is worse.
Corner Stone
@General Winfield Stuck: A riff off the old Tootsie Pops commercials.
The world may…ahhh, why fucking bother with a clueless hump like yourself
Corner Stone
@Ailuridae: Agreed in part. Texas had nothing to do with deregulation of crucial industries across state lines.
Yeah, GWB was Governator of TX but a lot more jackies voted for him to be Pres twice than just us hicks in TX.
Enron==TX.
Just tired of this nonsense. Where’s Sanford & Son when you need them?
Ailuridae
@Church Lady:
White Flight had everything to do with the decision to move there because before white flight there was nothing your family would have wanted to move to. It was fucking farmland!
You know the history of Las Colinas? FFS, this is why people get infuriated with you and things get personal. Los Colinas was a white flight town (as were Plano and Allen). So if your parents were moving there to work in Las Colinas white flight had everything to do with why they lived where they did. Whether it was their personal racism is a different question and not really the point.
General Winfield Stuck
Then leave. And don’t let the door hit your head, or ass on the way out.
Corner Stone
@General Winfield Stuck: Dumbass.
Corner Stone
@Ailuridae: I’ve long wondered if “White Flight” could ever become a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor.
Macadamia nuts and maybe peppermint ice cream chunks?
Ailuridae
@Corner Stone:
Well, no. Texas and the Southern states like OK and KS did push for that deregulation. More properly their politicians and business interests did. There were a lot of northern R in the early 90s who saw stuff like this and realized it was insanely radical and stupid and said as much.
But Texans and Texas don’t bear that responsibility. As a nation we failed to stop the con men but those con men indeed were Southerners and almost exclusively so.
Ailuridae
@Corner Stone:
I imagine you could make a pretty easy “White Flight” cocktail.
General Winfield Stuck
@Corner Stone:
You witty devil.
Church Lady
@Ailuridae:
So by your assertion, every single suburb and bedroom community in every single metropolitan area is the result of white flight? It has nothing to do with the fact that the areas within the cities were completely built out?
Here’s a real estate development clue for you: when a city is essentially built out, for development to occur, empty land seems to be where developers go to build shit. Things like office buildings, shopping centers and homes. They’re not always running away from “teh blacks” – most of the time they’re just chasing dollars by developing empty land.
In 1983, Las Colinas pretty much consisted of some office buildings and some condos. I can’t remember for sure, but I think the golf course was there as well. Other than that? Pretty much not jack shit. There were maybe one or two restaurants on the canal and some sandwich shops in the office buildings. Other than that, you had to drive into Irving to each lunch.
Ailuridae
@Ailuridae:
Also +10 and getting tired.
Ailuridae
@Church Lady:
I forgot more about the development of Las Colinas than you will ever know.
Also, look at Dallas and Ft Worth proper right fucking now – they still aren’t built out! How can you ignorantly fucking claim that they were 35 years ago? This is exactly why people lose their shit on you.
I’m not even going to get into an argument with you. Earlier you posted as fact that Texas could secede. WTF is your reason for not thinking you are ignorant here as well?
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Fulcanelli:
Birthers of a Nation? That ought to be a tag…lol!
@Ailuridae:
It’s opportunism from all segments of the lunatic asylum and the racists are right in the middle, stirring up the hate. They have a symbiotic relationship in their mutual dislike for Obama.
Common Sense
@LD50:
Cali also gave us Nixon and Reagan. At least Texas has the mitigating factor of also providing the Prez who passed civil rights. California has no such redeeming grace.
Chuck Butcher
@Ailuridae:
It isn’t like there aren’t Texans in on this, but Church Lady knows. There are fence posts you’d have more luck arguing with. When she talks about something she actually knows about, you get some sense. Otherwise…
She does think ’cause somebody she likes said so it must be true.
Steeplejack
@Fulcanelli:
I think I saw that movie on Cinemax once when I was on a business trip.
Steeplejack
It has been a weird night. Having finally read through this whole thread, I have to say that Church Lady has been (for her) unusually reasonable and yet has received much worse vituperation than usual. Go figure.
She freely admitted her mistake about Texas’s right to secede, but then Wile E. Quixote still piled on with “Church Lady, why are you so goddamned stupid?” Yes, nice approach. That’s guaranteed to open the door to mutual understanding.
Maybe, as Anne Laurie said, the alcohol-fueled thread “seems to be more entertaining and less rage-inducing on this side of the table.”
And maybe everyone should take a deep breath and go look at David Bohm’s book On Dialogue. It couldn’t hurt. It’s a nice treatise on the idea of “dialogue” vs. “debate.”
kay
Rick Perry is just angry because Tom Delay and George W Bush aren’t pouring federal dollars into Texas anymore.
bob h
Midland? Isn’t that the place that gave us George W.?
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
stupid.
Just thought I would wrap up that loose end. Couldn’t leave it like that Chuck. ;)
Svensker
@ellaesther:
Back in my yoot I worked for a major rock band and the drugs were amazing. However, they wouldn’t allow me to indulge at all because I became totally useless when under the slightest influence. Even stoned out of their minds they could tell I was useless — it was pathetic.
Keith
The Onion said it best – “They say you get the government you deserve, but I don’t recall ever knife-raping any retarded nuns.”
toujoursdan
The oil in Texas (and the rest of the U.S.) is drying up. (See: http://www.energybulletin.net/node/17009 )
It does have agriculture, a smaller version of Silicon Valley and some light industry, so I wouldn’t call it a Mississippi.
But the most important thing to remember about Texas is that it isn’t monolithic. The counties that Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin are in, as well as the entire Rio Grande Valley went FOR Obama. Rick Perry only get 39% of the vote in a three way race last time.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
@Common Sense:
Um, Earl Warren.
The Warren Court carried the progressive ball after Roosevelt. There would not have been a Civil Rights Act for Johnson to take credit for without the Warren Court’s laying the groundwork.
And, he was a Republican. Not only that ….
Warren WAS progressive policy during the critical period leading up to the sixties. Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon together could not shine Warren’s shoes, and AFAIC they both owed their political careers to backlash against the progress made by Warren’s court.
oklahomo
@Fulcanelli:
Just google Inhofe and high school lesbians. Both Inhofe and Coburn are completely insane, sort of like their constituents, just better dressed.
Da Bomb
@toujoursdan: This.
It’s funny, how people seem to think that Texas is just filled with rednecks who are missing teeth and blow on a jug for music.
As I have said before, I am a Texas born and raised.
You are correct about all of those major counties going for Obama last year. For example, Houston has elected nothing but democratic mayors for the past 29 years. From Kathy Whitmire till now. And in our runoff, we will either have the first openly gay mayor or the 2nd black mayor of the city. Both are democrats.
Tom DeLay, fought to redistrict the state because he was noticing a trend. Especially in Sugarland, Missouri City which by the way has become increasingly mixed racially.
The Bushes actually are from Connecticut, they just claim Texas as their home. Most of the people I know who live here, don’t even pay attention to Perry. Perry won because of low turnout and the fact that the State Democratic Party doesn’t have their shit together.
Hopefully, Bill White will be elected to the Senate, and things can start changing in regards to State Representatives. But there are good ones, someone mentioned Al Green further up thread, but there also Gene Green, Garnet Coleman, and others.
But I highly doubt that Perry will win the state again. I hope Hutchinson doesn’t. It really all depends on the voter turnout.
jwb
@toujoursdan: As I mentioned up-thread, the anti-Obama sentiment is surprisingly high in Texas right now, even in the liberal enclaves.
Tim I
I enjoyed President Obama’s subtle dis of Governor Goodhair at the Ft. Hood memorial. As he greeted the dignataries attending he somehow forgot to mention the Gov. – who is certainly unworthy or mention (unmentionable).
Grumpy Code Monkey
@TenguPhule:
It’s worth pointing out that Perry won the last election with only a 39% plurality; 61% of the voters picked someone else. Unfortunately, that 61% was split three ways (thanks bunches, Kinky and Carole), so Goodhair winds up being the longest-serving Governor in Texas history.
Bush wasn’t the worst Governor Texas has ever had; for one thing, the Texas Governor has very little power so he couldn’t do a ton of damage, and for another, he had Bob Bullock keeping him in check. He wasn’t great, but his record in Texas would not have indicated the epic clusterfuck to come when he got to Washington.
As for Texas seceding from the Union, several people above have already made the point, but it bears repeating: Texas has no more right to secede from the Union than any other state. The original resolution for annexing Texas included language allowing the state to subdivide itself to create up to four new states + the original state (five states total; Nate Silver explores this a little bit here).
Common Sense
You take Earl Warren. We”ll take Thurgood Marshall. I’m going to go with the guy that argued Brown v. Topeka over the guy who decided it.
Sentient Puddle
OK, I’ve only been a Texan for about a year and a half now, but I’m feeling like I haven’t done my homework. Someone educate me: when you’re talking about “HEB,” you’re not referring to the grocery store, right? Especially in the context of Dallas/Ft. Worth and other cities.
Monty
@Church Lady:
Way back in the beginning the founding fathers of the state of Tx in a burst of progressive enlightment wrote:
Which has ment in practice grand full blown near civil wars over education funding in the state of tx. The Richer areas (Dallas,Plano,Sections of Houston and other high rent areas) have had to send money to the Poorer areas of the state (Everything south of a line going from El paso to San Antonio to the Southern Reaches of Houston and Boumount) in a bid to fulfill Section 1. The Public Schools are rather good on Average and in some cases Execllent (Dallas School of the Arts).
Section 2 is the Higher Education section. Due to a little short sightedness (Who can graze cattle on scrub in west tx) the vast majority of the cash being pumped out of the Permian basin goes directly into the State Perm University Fund. Dont pass go dont collect 200 dollars.
So while we have our current issues not everything is Completely fubar around here but its rapidly heading in that direction.
Monty
Church Lady
@Sentient Puddle:
Hurst, Euless and Bedford. Three bedroom communities west of DFW and east of Ft. Worth, all running along Hwy. 183.
Church Lady
@Monty: I’m not the one that thinks public education in Texas is failing. That was someone else. Hell, compared to Tennessee, Texas public schools are the f’n Ivy League.
mclaren
Get over yourself, Church Lady, Texas is a giant gaping sinkhole, educationally speaking. If the south is America’s butt, Texas is the national anus in term of education.
Texas has led the nation in shutting out the teaching of evolution in public schools. Texas stands at the proud apex of the anti-intellectual denial of science in America. Texas looms like a sinister monument to every troglodytic, slope-browed pithecanthrepoid knuckle-walking reality-denier who hates “them pointy-headed intell-eck-shew-als” because of scientists’ infuriating habit of pointing out inappropriate facts and inconvenient logic.
Chew on this, you ignorant incompetent sociopathic narrow-minded self-satisfied git:
Can the Texas BOE Walk and Deny Evolution At the Same Time?
Anti-Evolution in America Texas leads the way, of course.
Science under siege in Texas.
Texas is the armpit of the world, the most deluded place on earth, the mecca for ignorance, the apex of failure, the acme of cruelty and savagery, the supreme pinnacle of grotesque injustice on planet Earth.
Whenever we hear about some heinous barbarism…without even looking, we know immediate it happened in Texas. Of course! Naturally! If there’s some depravity, some travesty of justice, so ignorance so monumental it’s impossible to believe humans could behave that stupidly…why, you know it had to have happened in Texas.
Texas is a shithole that defaces America. I’d suggest the inhabitants of Texas be hung, but they would defame the gallows too greatly. Texas is a slime pit that would disgrace Jabba the Hut, a malignant cancer on the body politic of the United States of America, and an eternal patch of reeking scum on the continent of North America that sticks like a lump of fecal matter in the throat of Western civilization.
Get a clue, Church Lady. That’s what Texas is.