Key Point: You know why last night's election in Masssachusetts doesn't bother me? Because it happend in Massachusetts! Texas isn't Massachusetts, Texas Democrats aren't Massachusetts Democrats, and the incumbent all Texans are rejecting this year is not Barack Obama, it is Rick Perry.
If Texas doesn't equal Washington, and Massachusetts is a communist/socialst state, then how can anyone believe Rick Perry's crowing about last night's win? Honestly. Forget "the spin." Refuse to accept "the spin" as anything. It's nothing. It's called spin for a reason. Who cares if you and I and every Republican on Twitter -- Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Cornyn, Todd Staples, Ted Cruz, Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Linda Harper-Brown, even the Republican Party of Texas -- can figure out the spin. That doesn't make it any more or less true. It just means it's obvious and that a monkey with a typewriter could figure it out. So why repeat the spin? Why do you find yourself feeling bad about the chances of Texas Democrats this morning, based on an election held in a state whose politics are completely the opposite of those in Texas? Why would any political analyst in Texas, or close follower of Texas politics, believe that what happened in Massachusetts last night has any bearing on what will happen in Texas 2010? Jason Embry nails this point home today, in the Austin American Statesman's First Reading: One year ago today, an incredibly popular Barack Obama took the oath of office. And in the coming days, if you watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox News for any amount of time, you’ll hear plenty of chatter about how he’s lost his appeal, about how he’s damaging his party and how Democrats might lose the U.S. House this year. The point is that things can change quickly, and we shouldn’t rush to judgment about what will happen in Texas in more than nine months based on what happened Tuesday in Massachusetts. The national mood will matter, but Texas elections will be contested on Texas issues.
I mean, think about it -- all those Texas Republicans I listed before are supporting a pro-choise, anti-Bush-tax-cut, Sotomayor-supporting Republican from Massachusetts. What, exactly, is that supposed to signal for Texas? Do all these Texas Republicans believe there is a huge pocket of lberal Democrats (since we're the only Texans who are pro-choice, ant-Bush-tax-cut, and Sotomayor-supporters here) that will vote for Republicans in 2010? Does Rick Perry think that a progressive Democrat in Houston is going to choose Rick Perry over Bill White in November? In Texas, anti-incumbent is anti-Republican. We weren't Massachusetts yesterday, and we're not Massachusetts today. Unfortunately, here's who we are -- or, who we are until we decide to change it: That's who we are. That's who we were yesterday, and that's who we are today. And until Rick Perry is no longer in office, that's who we will be. Is last night's loss tough for all Democrats? Of course it is. We don't like to see our team lose. But at least we're fighting for the right cause. Will we still get a health insurance bill passed through Congress? Probably -- if everyone takes a look around them and remembers that the status quo is an unfathomable failure. Here in Texas, the status quo is Rick Perry. He is our unfathomable failure. We can't change what happened yesterday in Massachusetts, but we can change what happens tomorrow in Texas. Here's at least one way we can start making the changes Texas needs today. |
