I have seen this newsletter several times and it is usually your cookie cutter conservative rag. This edition however (Volume XI Number 5 – February 16, 2012) is very instructive. It is not only instructive in what it says but what it does not say. We all know the little subtle subliminal messages that the GOP is expert at putting out there to get at the most carnal fears of Americans.
Texas has grown in population over the last 10 years. 65% of that growth can be attributed to Hispanics. The demographic of Texas is 45.3% White, 37.6% Hispanic, 11.8% Black, & 3.8% Asian. The voting demographic of Texas is 49.6% White, 33.6% Hispanic, 11.4% Black, & 3.9% Asian. Those numbers are scary for the Republican party because their hostility towards women issues, gay issues, minority issues, and other issues make the party unattractive to the vast majority of Americans.
If 40% of Whites (it is likely more in spirit but that’s another topic), 65% of Hispanics, 85% of Blacks, and 50% of Asians have Democratic values then Texas is really a very blue state. It is for this reason that our redistricting fight is so intense and roadblocks to voting and voter registration is tantamount on the GOP action schedule. When Texas minority voting percentage matches the population at large, Texas becomes the 2nd largest blue state in the country. The calculation is irrefutable.
Why the above narrative? The Texas Conservative review has a snippet on redistricting where the author states the following.
The San Antonio Sellout
Redistricting guru and former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt has observed the impact just in Harris County, "The result is, even though the GOP carried every county-wide race in 2010, the Republicans don’t even have half the State House seats based on any likely settlement in San Antonio. At risk are the seats of conservatives like Rep. Ken Legler and Rep. Beverly Woolley. And if you were not already depressed, because of the over the top aggressive Voting Rights Act interpretation, other seats are at risk and once they go Democrat, we can never get them back."
TCR Comment: With no racial majority in Harris County, one wonders when Anglo voting rights will be protected. Of course, what is needed is for the U.S. Supreme Court to toss the entire Voting Rights Act because it unconstitutionally discriminates and violates the principle of one man, one vote. Coming soon: An in-depth tell-all story as to what happened on this critical subject.
ACTION OPTION: Contact Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (greg.abbott@oag.state.tx.us) and State GOP Chair Steve Munisteri (smunisteri@texasgop.org) and ask them to protect our GOP seats in Harris County.
Note the sentence I highlight in yellow. That he is comfortable to put that statement in writing speaks volume about those who read it and not take offense to it. He is attempting to put that carnal fear of marginalization and racism into a declining white percentage in the population as opposed to celebrating a country, the United States born with a cancer that was not allowed to metastasize. How sad that instead of working towards policies that earns ones vote, the attempt is to create policies to diminish the value of each non-Republican citizen’s vote.
It is imperative that we understand what is occurring in Texas and across the country. It is imperative that we not wait till the results of Republican policies reach the point of activation before we get serious about the fight. We must begin the fight yesterday.