Turning Texas Blue: A Process Not An Event

Last Tuesday's results show that Republicans have a lot of soul-searching to do about the future viability of their party, but the same could be said about Texas Democrats. After conceding there was much work left to be done, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said by 2018 Texas would become battleground state, "by itself." I strongly disagree, I expect national pundits and observers to casually assume demographics alone will make our state competitive but our past says something much different. Almost 50 years ago Lyndon Johnson said he signed away the South (to the Republicans) for a generation with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and still more than a generation later identity politics dominate the conversation. As the Party colors change from Red and Blue to White and Brown the demographic scapegoating of Hispanics could also potentially alienate middle-class white voters. The subtle nods to white voters that the Democratic Party was some how hostile towards them started immediately after President Obama's election was announced....

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