Beto O'Rourke Can Take his West Coast Politics and Stick 'Em Where the Sun Don't Shine: The Texas Redistricting Battle

You can take your like and shove 'em on up the line.
People in Texas don't care if the sun don't shine.

Charlie Daniels

"Texas"

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently called a special session of the state legislature to draw new boundaries for the Lone Star State's congressional districts. The legislature is controlled by Republicans, and the redistricting process is expected to conclude with more districts going to Republicans in the next election.

Democratic legislators cried foul and more than a dozen fled the state to prevent the legislature from raising a quorum. Many sought refuge in blue states--California and Illinois in particular. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker welcomed them with open arms, accusing Texas Republicans of unfairly gerrymandering district boundaries to benefit their party.

As several commentators have pointed out, the blue states are masters at gerrymandering, with Illinois being the gerrymander in chief. Illinois redrew congressional district boundaries in 2020, which resulted in fewer Republican victories in the 2022 congressional elections.

Wealthy West Coast progressives have poured millions of dollars into Texas election battles, hoping to make Texas as blue as California.  In 2018, Robert Francis O'Rourke, a totally unqualified progressive candidate, raised an astounding $80 million in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Senator Ted Cruz in the most expensive Senate campaign in history. Much of this money came from wealthy Californians.

O'Rourke recently formed a political organization called Powered By People to raise money to help absent Texas legislators pay their expenses during their out-of-state holiday. Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, sued O'Rourke and his organization, accusing them of illegal fundraising in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

A few days ago, a Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order barring O'Rourke and Powered By People from aiding the recalcitrant Texas legislators. Among other restrictions, the judge's order prohibited the defendants from:

Using political funds for the improper, unlawful, and non-political purposes of (1) funding out-of-state travel, hotel, or dining accommodations or services to unexcused Texas legislators during any special legislative session called by the Texas Governor, or (2) funding payments of fines provided by Texas House rules for unexcused legislative absences. 

Ultimately, I believe Governor Abbott and the Republicans in the Texas legislature will prevail. At the end of the day, congressional district lines will be redrawn to give Republicans a better chance of prevailing in upcoming elections. 

Texans are tired of out-of-state money pouring into their state to undermine traditional Texas values. If the wealthy West Coast progressives are unhappy with the new district boundaries, they can take their unhappiness and stick it where the sun don't shine.

 

Guns are banned at the Texas State Fair. Thank God!

Texans can legally carry handguns, but some Texas venues still ban them. The Texas State Fair, which hosts millions of visitors every year, doesn’t allow people to bring firearms onto the fairgrounds.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tried overturning that ban, but the Texas Supreme Court upheld it. Thank God!

Many years ago, when I lived in Dallas, I had an unpleasant encounter at the Texas State Fair. I was standing in line to make a purchase (perhaps a Fletcher's Corny Dog), and a young Mexican woman was before me. She was accompanied by a small child. I think she was an immigrant because she didn't speak English.

Three men in line made racist remarks about her, calling her a wetback and making other derogatory comments.

I came to the woman’s defense, and soon, I was in a shouting match with these three bigots. All three men began hurling abuse at me. I remember they repeatedly called me a homosexual. In addition to being racists, they were homophobes.  Calling me gay was the worst thing they could think of to demean me.

I admit that my responses were no more appropriate. I began calling them white trash— the worst thing I could think of. I may have called them redneck white trash, which would’ve been gratuitously redundant.

I finally walked away and realized I had made a severe mistake by coming to the Hispanic women’s defense. I had triggered a confrontation that frightened her. She would’ve been better off had I said nothing.

Here’s my point. If my three antagonists had been armed, I think one of them would’ve shot me. And if I had been carrying a gun, I might have shot one of them--maybe all of them.

Americans have a Second Amendment right to own weapons, and several states allow people to carry concealed handguns, and even to wear them openly.

Mark Twain observed that the Constitution guarantees people the right to free speech, but most people have the good sense not to use it.

I feel the same way about handguns. In many states, people have a legal right to carry a pistol. Thank God, most citizens have the good sense not to avail themselves of it.

Urban crime is on the rise. Except for wealthy people who are protected by private security, everyone knows this is true. The day may come when it will make sense for law-abiding people to carry handguns, but that day has not yet arrived.

I’m glad the Texas Supreme Court upheld the State Fair’s firearms ban. If the time comes when people need to carry pistols to the State Fair, then that event should be canceled. Then where would I get my Fletcher's Corny Dog?

Hands off my corny dog, pilgrim.

California bans state-funded travel to Texas. Frankly, my dear, Texans don't give a damn.

In a fit of governmental lunacy, the California legislature passed a law last year banning government-funded travel to any state that discriminates against LGBT people.  As of this week, eight states are on California's travel-ban list: Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. 

As a former Texan who is proud to have received a law degree from the state's flagship university, I feel quite confident in saying that Texans don't give a damn.  Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, jokingly remarked that California probably imposed the travel ban to reduce the number of Californians who visit Texas and decide to relocate. 

In fact, 600,000 Californians moved to Texas over the last decade, while only 350,000 Texans moved to California. Between 2009 and 2014, California suffered a net population loss of nearly 1 million people; and Texas absorbed more California emigrants than any other state.

California's travel ban is a display of cultural arrogance equal to that displayed by the British Empire toward India during the days of the Raj. Texas, after all, is not a cultural backwater. It has the nation's second largest economy, and its cities are as culturally diverse as Los Angeles. Houston, which will soon pass Chicago to become the nation's third largest city, has a thriving gay community and even elected a lesbian mayor. 

As of now, California's travel ban only applies to eight states; but there will surely be more. Kentucky, for example, was put on the travel-ban list because it passed a religious freedom statute. But 19 other states have adopted similar laws. Why single out Kentucky?

Let's face it. In the eyes of California's progressive politicians, the entire country is benighted compared to the Golden State. Why doesn't California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who put Texas on the travel-ban list, make a clean sweep and ban state-funded travel anywhere in the United States except Boston and New York City?

No one in California wants to visit flyover country anyway, and people in flyover country will do just fine even if they receive fewer visitors from California.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn if you don't want to visit Texas.

References

John Daniel Davidson. California's travel ban messes with Texas. The Federalist, June 27, 2017.

Phillip Reese. Roughly 5 million people left California in the last decade. See where they went. Sacramento Bee, 2017.