Being a RED state hurts Texas

[UTHORNS96]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

Like a gal from NYC 'splained to me back in '84...

A liberal (democrat) in Texas is still more conservative that a New York conservative, who would be pretty far left in Texas.

In the sense of being a liberal blue state, Texas will probably never get there. Could Texas have a majority of Democrat (not necessarily very liberal) representation, it could happen. Unfortunately, some of the liberals would be whipping boys of the Madame Speaker. Such the nature of 'falling for anything'.

I think Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulture would disagree.

[TexasHorseLady]

My point (which was evidently missed for some reason) was that being a "Yellow Dog" Democrat OR Republican means that you're handing over your brain to someone else. Advocating that a state be either Red or Blue, rather than that the inhabitants think about the issues and the candidates individually, is pretty much advocating the same thing (that they hand over their brains to whatever party you happen to prefer).

I'd really much rather that Texans remain independent thinkers who actually USE their brains rather than partiots who think a political party is the equivalent of a football team.

[DFWMike]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Yes we all knew how Texas would vote before the parties named their candidates. Here's how that hurts us.


1. Of the hundreds of millions being spent around the country almost none goes specifically to us. Press corps and campaign staff spending money- Local TV and news papers- paid jobs and way more - we lose out.

2. Anyone who really studies polls or results knows that those who didn't graduate from High School are almost as heavily for McCain as they were for Bush- Look at the cross-tabs on Gallup or any of the major polls. Last I saw McCain led among drop-outs 51-37 and in Texas its going to be a lot higher. Those who have graduated from high school are almost 2-1 for Obama. If this wasn't enough the states with the highest illiteracy are the reddest - Alabama, TX _ Miss - Lou

This hurts in that some companies - some people may not want to come here when they can chose a more middle of the road location. Not everyone likes rednecks and Bush has hurt our reputation severely. The more people who move here and start or bring businesses are better for us.


Having said all this I voted in the GOP primary but for Ron Paul, however I am totally independent and have never voted for all the candidates in just one party.

I tend to vote by issue myself, but I vote slightly left of center. I really don't see that it hurts the state at all, everyone knows the GOP is in a love fest with corporations.

Illiteracy rates don't necessarily have anything to do with voting patterns though, if we're honest here most of people voting democrat in the state of Texas would be from families comprising the highest illiteracy rate(hispanics and african americans). Many of the most educated people I know are the most stubborn republicans because they generally make quite a bit of money and tend to want to protect it. They just forget that somebody has to pay for all of our infrastructure etc.

That stat you have about high school grads is not from Texas that is for certain. You can label some people's unrelenting views on being a republican as being ignorant but that can be equally said for many democrats as well, ignorance cannot be equated to how high or low your education label, chiefly it boils down to how selfish, religious, or balanced you are. Compromise is the key to leading the nation to prosperity, that is where I tend to sit, I don't want to pay for every program every Bureaucrat introduces but I do realize I have to pay my fair share to keep the nation going.

But, no, I think being a red state has done nothing but help Texas attract business....See California if you don't believe me. Am I proud of being a red state, no, but has it helped us in attracting a bunch of greedy corporate types, yes. Unfortunately the way our economy is set up, that has helped us.

By the way, whoever said we were operating at a budget surplus in Texas is a year behind. We're presently $18 billion dollars in the hole, probably got that from a rick perry stump speech or something. By the way Bravo to Texas Horse Lady, you are quite correct with the teams concept. The Core supporters of both camps are bizarre in the way they'll support anything as long as there is a D or and R next to whatever legislation comes up to be debated.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

My point (which was evidently missed for some reason) was that being a "Yellow Dog" Democrat OR Republican means that you're handing over your brain to someone else. Advocating that a state be either Red or Blue, rather than that the inhabitants think about the issues and the candidates individually, is pretty much advocating the same thing (that they hand over their brains to whatever party you happen to prefer).

I'd really much rather that Texans remain independent thinkers who actually USE their brains rather than partiots who think a political party is the equivalent of a football team.

Great post!

[Muzzle of Bees]

Dumb people = low wages. For companies that is good for the bottom line. The dumber you are the less likely you are to have conviction, unless it is religious.
Also, Texas allows businesses to take advantage of its resources with out paying any penalties. Businesses pollute the air and water without being prosecuted. Semi-conductor manufacturing come to mind. Those businesses do require skilled labor, but they are extremely dirty. So not everyone wants them. Also, Texas has lots of customers, 26 million.

[UTHORNS96]

Originally Posted by Muzzle of Bees

Dumb people = low wages. For companies that is good for the bottom line. The dumber you are the less likely you are to have conviction, unless it is religious.
Also, Texas allows businesses to take advantage of its resources with out paying any penalties. Businesses pollute the air and water without being prosecuted. Semi-conductor manufacturing come to mind. Those businesses do require skilled labor, but they are extremely dirty. So not everyone wants them. Also, Texas has lots of customers, 26 million.

"Dumbness" doesn't equal low wages. Low education equals low wages. People need to understand that education and intelligence are not synonyms.