Prevent content from getting lost
The new issue of "Cultural Vertical" will be released in February 2024, click on the picture above or the lower left corner at the end of the article to read the original article, check the submission email: [email protected] "Cultural Vertical", postal code: 80-942
✪ Lawrence Wright, full-time writer for The New Yorker ✪ Huinuo (compiler) | Culture Vertical and Horizontal New Media ✪ Karan (Proofreading) | Culture is a new media
In the past few days, the state of Texas and the federal government have been fighting over the immigration issue, which has aroused widespread concern. In recent years, as a "fortress" of the Republican Party, Texas' political influence is no longer limited to the region, and it has played a leading role in many key issues such as finance, education, health care, immigration, and gender. With the 2024 election approaching, the conservative community in the United States has launched a "final charge", and "Texas" seems to provide some inspiration for explaining and predicting the future of the United States.
This article was published in 2017 when the authors predicted that Illinois (where Chicago is located) and New Jersey (the most dense) were more corrupt than Texas, California and New York, and that Kansas and Louisiana were more chaotic, and that neither of them could truly lead the future of the United States. Conversely, Texas represents the divide between much of modern America (South, West, Plains, Border, Latino Community, Urban and Rural Areas). What happens in Texas tends to affect the rest of the country.
The author argues that Texas is not monolithic, and its urban-rural differences are particularly obvious, and the contradictions between the state government and the local government are also prominent. Overall, while the Republican Party dominates the political economy, the Democratic Party is infiltrating through the addition of new immigrants at home and abroad. Today, Texas is more conservative from the political team to the core voters, and it is very much in line with Trump's governing philosophy, becoming a "fortress" of the Republican Party.
The author points out that Texas' hardline stance on cracking down on illegal immigrants is based on post-9/11 security concerns but more about "newcomers" voting and competing for resources. But the state's more "hot" move, which is an attempt to introduce a "toilet bill" to avoid confusion and unease among the transgender community, has been resisted by big business and its lobbyists. The basic consensus among Republicans is that Democrats are taking over diverse emerging neighborhoods, which will be the population majority of the future.
This article is the thirteenth in the original compilation series "The Imagination and Reality of America's Change" by Culture Horizon New Media, and is excerpted from The New Yorker's July 2017 in-depth report "America's Future Is Texas". The article only represents the author's point of view and is for readers' reference and analysis.
Cultural Perspectives, New Media, and International Observations
2024 No. 4 Total No. 174
Texas, the future of America
▍Double-faced Texas, leading the United States
In 1853, the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted passed through Texas and was impressed by the solemnity of the Texas legislature. "I have visited several similar institutions in the North, the Federal Parliament, and two branches of the British Parliament," he wrote in his diary, "and yet none of them have made me admire their simple masculinity and trust in their duties as much as I respect the Texas Legislature." This assessment is unique in the political chronicles of the country. It is fair to say that the professionalism of the Texas legislature surpasses that of the US Congress, and the culture of the British House of Commons is also outstanding. However, the frequent presence of extremists and ideologues has given the state a reputation for radical "ignoramism" and arrogant "conservatism."
I've spent most of my life in Texas and have come to pay homage to what this state symbolizes, both from the people who live here and from the perspective of a bystander. Texans consider themselves the embodiment of America's best qualities: friendly, confident, hardworking, patriotic, and neurotic-free. Outsiders see Texas as the heart of America, a place of unbridled and reality-denying impulses. Texans are seen as blindly individualistic and see government as the biggest obstacle to weakening entrepreneurs. Texans are considered braggarts, dismissive of money and personal life, gullible but suspicious when they make mistakes, insecure and obsessed with power and prestige.
However, Texans are not monolithic. The state, like other regions, is divided over political views. When one drives through Texas, one arrives in two distinct areas: Texas FM and Texas AM. Texas FM represents the elegant voice of city dwellers and is the world of NPR. It's full of progressive, blue, rational, worldly, smug vibes, almost identical to California. Texas AM, on the other hand, is the "Trumpland" for both suburban and rural areas. It's full of endless boasting and advertising, with bigotry and piety being the main shows.
Over the decades, Texas has grown at an astonishing rate. Only California has a larger population, with Texas expected to double to 54.4 million by 2050, nearly as many as the populations of California and New York combined. Three of Texas' largest cities — Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio — have made it among the top 10 most populous cities in the country.
The 11th largest city in the country is Austin, the capital of Texas, and where I live. Over the past five years, Austin has been one of the fastest-growing large cities in the United States, and today has a population of nearly one million, dwarfing the college town I loved forty years ago. Because Texas represents much of the modern United States—the South, the West, the Plains, the border, the Latino community, the divide between rural areas, and cities—what happens here tends to have a disproportionate impact on the rest of the country. Illinois and New Jersey may be more corrupt, and Kansas and Louisiana may be more chaotic, but neither of them can afford to "lead the future."
(Screenshot of this article)
▍ In the 80s, it turned to the right
For more than a century, Texas has been under Democratic rule. Today, the region is culturally conservative, religious, and militaristic, but pragmatism suppresses the spread of racist and right-wing ideologies. Economic populism in rural areas provides a counterweight to urban capitalists. However, since the seventies of the twentieth century, the political leanings of the state have gradually shifted to the right.
Texas political observer Bill Miller attributed the change to May 1976, when Ronald Reagan defeated Gerald Ford in the Texas Republican primary. "Reagan won the support of every Texas delegate and the public by a two-to-one ratio," Miller said. He has enabled the current Republican president and his mainstream followers to collaborate with hitherto unknown conservative forces. That day lit the fuse for conservatives, who suddenly realized that they had what it took to win. Ford eventually won the nomination, but still lost the presidential election to Jimmy Carter, who became the last president to win the Texas Democratic nomination.
In 1978, Bill Clements became the first Republican governor in Texas since the party's re-establishment. To broaden his voter base, Clements hired a young marketing expert named Carl Rove, making him a central figure in Texas' transition from blue to red. Rove attributes the change to the growth of the suburbs and the gradual entry of rural areas into the Republican camp: "They went from economic populists (who thought the country was controlled by Wall Street) to socially conservative populists who saw government as the problem. ”
Many moderate and conservative Democratic politicians followed voters in switching to the Republican Party. For example, Rick Perry served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat and even ran for Al Gore in the 1988 presidential election before changing party membership in 1989. In 1994, Texas elected its last Democratic governor.
Between 1995 and 2000, when George W. Bush was governor, inter-party relations tended to ease. Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and Speaker Lenney, both Democrats, proved that Bush claimed to be bipartisan during his presidential campaign. Like Lyndon Johnson, Bullock has a weathered face and a deep affection for Texas that allows him to cross the lines of partisan loyalty. In July 1996, at George W. Bush's 50th birthday party at the governor's residence, Bullock toasted the governor and called him "the next president of the United States." "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the state's top Democratic official has spoken publicly about George W. Bush's presidential prospects.
In January 2003, the Texas legislature was finally taken over by Republicans, and Lenny's Speaker was replaced by Tom Craddick, an ultra-conservative Republican from Midland, the oil capital. With his superior fundraising prowess and relentless campaigning, Kladik has a great responsibility in securing a Republican majority in the House of Representatives. "When I was elected in 1969, there were eight other Republicans in the House and two Republicans in the Senate," he recalled. "The first time I tried to introduce a bill, they told me I couldn't because I'm a Republican. ”
When he entered the House of Representatives, he was only twenty-five years old, becoming the youngest member of parliament. "At that time, most of the other members were of retirement age, and they were considered civic duty to run for office," he said. Today, at the age of 73, Kradick is the longest-serving legislator in Texas history. Small, gray-haired, humorous, slurred, and faltering, he was inconspicuous among a group of energetic young legislators. Kradick recalls that his political career began in the late eighties, when the party had little infrastructure, and he helped organize the candidates' campaign campaigns, asking them to report on the number of knocks on doors and the number of mails delivered.
Kradick was the first Republican congressman to serve as speaker since 1873. His election marked the successful completion of the coup d'état. "But it's not just about winning elections," he admitted, "and we have a plan to redistrict." ”
▍ Redistricting and "republican" rule
In the 2002 election, 56 percent of Texas voters voted Republican, but the Democrats had more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — 17 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Kradick co-sponsored a comprehensive plan with Congressman Tom DeLay, then the majority whip, to give Republicans a permanent majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Under Kradick's leadership, the Texas legislature began redrawing historic congressional districts. Lawmakers have carefully followed the Supreme Court's guidelines on minority representation to shape Texas as one that decisively reinforces the state's right-wing position.
In May 2003, redistricting was scheduled to be voted on in the Texas House of Representatives. Fifty-three Democrats, feeling mortally threatened by their party, fled to Oklahoma. Due to the lack of a quorum in Kradick, he cordoned off the Capitol chamber to prevent more defections, and called state police to hunt down the missing members, who came to be known as "Killer D."
Amid the hustle and bustle, former Speaker Pete Laney flew a turboprop from Panhandle to Ardmore, Oklahoma, to meet up with Democratic colleagues at the local Holiday Inn. Guys in Derey's office obtained Lenny's flight plan from the Department of Homeland Security, suggesting that his plane had landed late and could have been in an accident or hijacked by terrorists. Texas police and reporters from across the country flocked to Ardmore. Democrats stayed in Oklahoma for four days until the deadline for new legislation passed. Governor Rick Perry, who was a Republican at the time, then called a special session in late June, which led to the emergency travel of 11 Democratic state senators to New Mexico. It took two special sessions for the vote to pass.
The redistricting has had far-reaching implications. Today, the Texas delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives consists of 25 Republicans and 11 Democrats, a more conservative percentage than the state's political demographics. The Austin metro area, the heart of Texas' left, is divided into six congressional districts, each of which is a minority of city residents. All but one of the districts are now Republican-controlled. My current representative is Roger Williams, a conservative car dealer from Weatherford, 200 miles north of Austin.
Another Republican congressman, Lamar Smith, lives in San Antonio, but his district includes and neutralizes liberal districts around the University of Texas at Austin. Smith, a member of the Washington Tea Party caucus, denied that human activity caused global warming. He is chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which oversees NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Lloyd Doggett is the only Democrat representing the Austin area, and his district stretches along Interstate 35 from East Austin to East San Antonio, drawing as many Democratic voters as possible.
Since then, Texas' redistricting process has been used in state legislatures across the country, creating virtually unchallenged congressional districts and giving Republicans an unshakable advantage in Washington. "Texas became a model of control," Mr. Craddick told me.
▍Paranoid and stubborn, Trump's vote warehouse
There is no shortage of witty and satirical elements in Texas' political history. Molly Ivins, a well-known columnist, was keen to write about Mary Lou Bruner. Bruner, a 70-year-old retired teacher from Mineola, Texas, ran last year as a Republican for a vacant position on the Texas Board of Education, a battleground in America's "culture wars." With about 10% of U.S. public school students living in Texas, the state has a significant influence on the textbook publishing industry.
During the campaign, Bruner posted on social media that Obama worked as a male prostitute in his twenties. "That's how he paid for it with drugs," she reasoned. She also claimed that climate change was a "ridiculous hoax" and that the dinosaurs went extinct because the dinosaurs on Noah's Ark were too young to reproduce. Although for unknown reasons, she managed to reach the runoff, but ultimately lost.
In March 2016, Robert Morrow was elected chairman of the Travis County Republican Party, where Austin is based. Like many journalists in Texas, I have been receiving insane emails from Morrow for years. He has accused George W. Bush of being "a seriously addicted gay pedophile" and involved in the CIA's drug-smuggling ring with the Clintons. In 2011, Morrow ran a full-page ad in a local newspaper exposing Perry as "a hypocrite and liar full of Christian buzzwords, 'family values,' and a liar." ”
Mr. Morrow, 53, a graduate of Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Texas, is a self-proclaimed independent investor. In 2015, he co-authored a book with Roger Stone, Trump's political adviser and interim adviser, called "The Clinton Couple's War on Women." After the book was published, Trump commented on Twitter: "Hillary's latest book, rare and wonderful!" Morrow has since won the Travis County election with 56 percent of the vote. Local Republican officials were ashamed and promised to "explore all feasible options" to remove him from power.
2016 was undoubtedly a challenging year for Texas Republicans. Former Governor Perry was eliminated in the presidential primary, and Senator Ted Cruz, perhaps Washington's least popular politician, was ultimately defeated by Trump's campaign offensive. To add insult to injury, Morrow announced that he would run for president himself, a decision that violated Travis' rules. So, at a meeting in August of that year, the Republican Party decided to remove him. On the day of the meeting, Morrow, who wore a floppy variegated hat, did not dispute the decision.
Also in August, Trump launched his campaign campaign in Austin. Morrow did not support any other candidate except himself. He held a large red sign with the words "Trump is a child rapist" in protest against his party's nominee. Stone was forced to have the co-writer escorted away from the campaign campaign and called him a "traitor from Clinton" on Twitter.
▍ Successive governors, strongman advocates
The Texas State Capitol was built of red granite and was completed in 1888. At the time, the state was struggling financially, but it was still building on 3 million acres of public land (about the size of Connecticut) in Panhandel. It is reported that at that time, the Capitol was known as the seventh largest building in the world, and it was indeed taller than its "uncle" in Washington, D.C. On a summer day, the nighthawk soars around the dome of the Austin coronation statue, and Lady Liberty holds a golden star aloft.
The legislature meets once a year for 140 days, reflecting a natural aversion to government in the state. The meeting begins on the second Tuesday of January and ends on Memorial Day. The legislature's sole mandate is to establish a balanced budget for two years. At the 2015 meeting, the state budget was about $100 billion a year. This year, falling oil prices and a growing population have led to significant cuts in spending, making it difficult to meet the health and safety needs of citizens.
When I visited the Houses of Parliament in January, a group of high school girls stood on a terrazzo mosaic in the middle of the rotunda. In the center is the seal of the Republic of Texas, where a lonely star is wrapped around the branches of olive branches and live oaks. "This one is 218 feet from the star in the dome," one of the guides said, pointing to the ceiling, "you can fit the Statue of Liberty into this room." ”
On the walls of the rotunda hang portraits of former governors. When the current governor, staunch conservative Greg Abbott leaves office, his portrait will be placed where Rick Perry is now, while the portraits of the forty-seven previous governors will be moved one step to the left. When a portrait reaches the end of the circle on the first floor, it moves to the wall upstairs and then gets taller and taller, more and more blurred.
The next portrait that will rise from the hall is Wilbert Lee O'Daniel. In some ways, Democrat O'Daniel can be described as a pioneer for Trump. When he successfully ran for governor in 1938, he was a political amateur who had never voted and was not even eligible to vote in that election because he did not pay the poll tax. He poses as a hillbilly but is actually a savvy operator.
He is known for hosting radio shows in which he performs with his own band. Radio is his Twitter. His only real talent is to stir things up. When his opponents held rallys, hundreds of people would attend, but O'Daniel's speech attracted tens of thousands. In his first match, he defeated eleven contenders, but did not make it to the final.
As governor, he reneged on promises to abolish the death penalty, eliminate sales taxes, and raise pensions. He was an alarmist, accusing "communist labor leaders of being extortionists" and politically controlled newspapers. He was so incompetent but a striking performer that in 1941, voters pushed him into the U.S. Senate, defeating a young man named Lyndon Johnson – the only election Johnson lost. The portrait of O'Daniel in the rotunda is of a handsome, full-faced man with his hair combed back and his mouth shouting "Who, me?".
Adjacent to O'Daniel's successor was Coke Stevenson. Stevenson was more poised, while his successor, Beauford Jester, died in the arms of his mistress on a late-night drive to Houston.
Of all the governors on the rotunda wall, Ann Richards, who served from 1991 to 1995, is the most memorable, at least in my lifetime. She has white hair, a striking Pompadour hairstyle, and a switchblade-like humor that was nurtured by the raw machismo of her upbringing.
She became a national figure when she delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention as state Treasury secretary in 1988. Referring to Republican candidate George W. Bush, she quipped: "Poor George, he can't do anything, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth. Although her appearance was not good, her smile was bright, and her ice-blue eyes gleamed when the blade was inserted.
As a recovered alcoholic and a divorced mother of four, her ascension to the governorship was nothing short of a miracle. Her wealthy Republican opponent — Clayton Williams, Jr., a West Texas rancher and oilman, maintained a double-digit lead in the polls at the start of the election. However, Williams lost that advantage due to a series of character-revealing blunders. He described bad weather as rape to reporters: "If it's unavoidable, just relax and enjoy." Later, at a forum in Dallas, Richards extended a hand to Williams in greeting, but he refused to shake his hand, violating every Texan's ingrained cowboy code. From that moment on, Williams lost the election.
Richards wears a designer suit, but picks his teeth and trims his nails with a Swiss Army knife. Her slow-moving tone is the most surprising and devastatingly comic, but with a blunt edge. After the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Capitol building's "Christmas crèche," a device depicting a nativity scene, Evans called Gov. Richards to ask about its necessity. Richards responded: "I'm afraid so. This is a pity, as this is the only time we have witnessed the appearance of the Three Wise Men inside the Houses of Parliament. ”
Texas has long been known for its religious beliefs, but it has been lenient in its approach to sexual misconduct by elected officials. Charlie Wilson, as a congressional representative for East Texas' 2nd District, is in the most conservative part of the state. Wilson, however, was an alcoholic and drug addict, and was arguably the most active playboy in the area. He was re-elected and re-elected for a twelfth term.
However, Texans' tolerance of sexual freedom did not benefit Richards. She is surrounded by many powerful women, which has led to endless speculation about her sexuality. She once complained to a lobbyist: "Even if I spent Spring Festival with Charlie Wilson in Sam Houston's bed, they would still call me a lesbian." However, at the end of one term, Richards was defeated by George W. Bush, signaling the decline of a significant Democratic force in the state.
▍ New leader, conservative representative
Texans are "notorious" for their love of guns, but in my younger years, it was illegal for residents to carry weapons outside their homes or vehicles. In 1991, George Hennard, a 35-year-old unemployed man, drove his Ford pickup truck into a Texas restaurant, causing the fourth-worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Suzanna Hupp, a chiropractor, was having lunch with her parents when she didn't bring her revolver into the dining room for fear of having her license revoked, and her family lay on the floor while her father and mother were shot and killed by gunmen in front of her eyes. Hennard shot a total of 50 people, 23 of whom died instantly, and then he also committed suicide.
"The shooter is like a mad dog, and it doesn't do me any good to be angry with him," Mr. Hope said angrily at the hearing in Washington. "But you legislators have deprived me of my right to protect myself and my family." In 1996, Hope was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and she subsequently passed a law allowing the carrying of hidden weapons.
Since then, it has also become legal to carry firearms openly. While I haven't seen anyone "wielding knives and guns" in public, this law has been respected across the country. Especially among Texas politicians, the desire for arms is precisely an open declaration of self-preservation and the Second Amendment. In 2010, Governor Perry boasted that he shot and killed a coyote that threatened his daughter. Ruger even launched a "Coyote Limited Edition" of the same pistol, with the case marked "For Texans Only."
A feature of Texas' new gun law is that you don't need to go through a metal detector when entering the state capitol if you can show a "gun license" to a guard. In addition, many lobbyists and journalists (like me) have also applied for "gun licenses" to avoid queues.
One winter in 2017, while I was bypassing the metal detector, Governor Abbott also rushed over in a wheelchair. He was an energetic man: a track star in high school who was said to have never lost a race, and in 1984, while jogging along the Oak River in Houston, a tree fell on him, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He had just graduated from law school and had no health insurance. Fortunately, he won the lawsuit against the homeowner and the property management company around the big tree and received 9 million yuan in compensation. Abbott has since moved to the Texas Supreme Court, where he has since served as attorney general and sarcastically limited pain damages in medical malpractice cases to $250,000.
Abbott's top priority is to defend against California's "bad influences." California has long been seen as the antithesis of Texas: complex regulation, high taxes, and almost all state government officials are Democratic; However, Abbott declared in 2015 that "Texas is being Californiad, and many cities are banning plastic bags, fracking (shale gas), and cutting down trees." Prohibitions, rules, and regulations are eroding the Texas model."
Even Democrats like Austin Mayor Steve Adler have warned that "if we continue on the current course, we will end up with the cost of housing spiraling out of control like San Francisco." Here, too, newspapers often run stories of Californians fleeing to Texas.
Although Abbott is less nationally known than his predecessors, Perry and George W. Bush, he clearly has similar ambitions. By the time the legislative session began in January 2017, he had seized on a proposal that had already been adopted by ten other states: the convening of a constitutional convention aimed at controlling the power of the federal government. Abbott renamed it the "Texas Plan": requiring the federal government to balance its budget as Texas did, and prohibiting federal agencies, such as the EPA and the Department of Labor, from issuing regulations that override state law.
As Texas attorney general from 2002 to 2015, Abbott filed numerous unsuccessful lawsuits against the U.S. government on behalf of the state. Under the fast-moving Texas Plan, the U.S. Supreme Court would need an absolute majority of seven justices to overturn state laws. Abbott succeeded in worrying the establishment in Washington because it could lead to an uncontrolled attack on federal authority.
Another urgent project of the governor is "moral reform". Various agendas are dominated by evangelical Christian Dan Patrick, a former radio talk show host in Houston and an lieutenant governor since 2014. The lieutenant governor is also the speaker of the Texas Senate, and with the Republicans in the majority, Patrick's power is not to be underestimated — he sends bills to specific committees, and no legislation is put into practice without his consent.
While working in radio, Patrick developed the skills of self-promotion. He has since brought anti-abortion authoritarianism and hostility to same-sex marriage and undocumented immigrants to Austin. In 2006, he ran for the Senate for the first time as an outsider and won the election with nearly 70 percent of the vote, beating three prominent candidates in the Republican primary. Since being elected lieutenant governor, one of his signature accomplishments has been the passage of open gun laws, which have even been promoted on campus. In the 2016 election, he became Trump's campaign chairman in Texas.
Patrick pushed Texas in a more radical direction. His core agenda was to strengthen right-wing positions, such as subsidizing home-school and private school subsidies, a "missionary safeguards" bill to stop clergy from being subpoenased, and strengthening the administration of voter eligibility. If all of its legislation is passed, the power of the affluent (white evangelical) class in Texas will be significant.
Patrick, however, was often opposed by House Speaker Joe Strauss. Strauss was a centrist, business-oriented conservative from San Antonio. The lieutenant governor is elected by state voters, while the speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by the councillors. This has had a crucial impact on the way both are governed. "Patrick by fear, Strauss by consensus. ”
▍ Maternal and child health care has been reduced to a secondary priority
As long as it occupies the "name of the people", politicians rarely pay for the damage they cause.
In 2017, Republican state legislatures turned their attention to eliminating Planned Parenthood. The long-term goal of cultural conservatives is to cut off access to abortion in Texas and end state subsidies for birth control and related organizations. They cut their budgets from $111.5 million to $37.9 million, and 82 family planning clinics were subsequently closed.
Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the country. About 17 percent of Texas women live in poverty, and the budget cut will significantly increase the number of births outside Medicare. In addition, the legislature has blocked many women from being screened for breast and ovarian cancer.
In May 2011, Governor Perry, who was preparing for his first presidential campaign, signed a bill requiring all women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before surgery. When the state Senate approved the bill, then-Senator Patrick declared, "This is a great day for Texas and women's health." ”
Between 2010 and 2014, however, the proportion of Texas women and newborns who died in childbirth doubled, the worst in the country and even less than in many developing countries. Researchers say it's not entirely clear why maternal mortality is rising in Texas, as it was already rising before the law went into effect in 2011. Obesity, heart disease, drug overdose, and lack of health insurance are all potential factors. If Governor Abbott releases the records of these women's deaths, the mystery could be solved. But the state attorney general, then, rejected that possibility.
Legislators are equally ruthless towards children. One in five uninsured children in the U.S. lives in Texas. In 2004, the Texas Department of Education reduced the percentage of children enrolled in the special education system from 13 percent (about the national average) to 8 percent (the lowest in the country). Tens of thousands of children are deprived of educational opportunities.
Governor Abbott promised to overhaul the child welfare system, but things will only get worse. In 2016, at least 200 children died from abuse in Texas, up from 173 the previous year, and those numbers do not include the more than 100 other deaths that are still being investigated. The state agency tasked with investigating cases of abuse is in disarray: hundreds of children sleep in hotels or emergency shelters, or on inflatable mattresses in government offices, because there is no other place in the state to house them.
Hundreds of social workers have quit, complaining of overwork, low morale, meager pay and often in dangerous situations. Union leaders said higher wages would help attract more applicants to the job, which starts at $37,000, but state officials instead offered to lower the education requirements for social workers.
▍ Immigration issues, the focus of controversy
When I entered the Capitol in February, there were about 50 men in dark suits standing outside the Senate chambers, "digging holes" for any legislators who might appear. Although the lobbyists may look like "low-profile" Party B, they actually write most of the legislation and are responsible for wooing votes.
At this time, there was an important debate in the House of Representatives on the so-called "Sanctuary City Act" (S.B.4). This is one of Governor Abbott's priorities, essentially asking Texas to join the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Dallas and Houston alone have about a million people.
A few days ago, four hundred and fifty people lined up here to testify against the bill. The hearing lasted more than sixteen hours and ended just after midnight. In the end, the bill was passed by a partisan split of 7 to 2.
In 2016, Sally Hernandez, a British-American political amateur, was elected sheriff of Travis County and proposed to make Austin a "sanctuary city." Federal immigration authorities often ask local police stations to detain potential illegal immigrants, but Hernandez is unwilling to comply. "Unless there is a serious criminal charge, then anyone can leave after paying bail."
"Hernandez did not understand what an 'official position' meant." Governor Abbott abruptly cut off the county's $1.5 million state grant. "We're going to crack down on Travis County and any 'sanctuary' policies in Texas, and Hernandez is pandering to left-wing ideology, just like California," he said on a well-known Texas talk show. ”
The various punitive amendments attached to S.B.4 were also adopted. According to an amendment, Hernandez could be sentenced to up to one year in prison if she refuses to implement the bill. In the Senate, Brian Birdwell, a retired Army colonel from southwest Fort Worth, spoke out in support of the bill, fearing a "culture of disobedience" in Texas that would be a "complete rebellion" if not stopped.
Senator Juan Hinojosa, a Democrat from Texas' Fertile South, opposed the bill. "I 100% agree that this state has the right to define its own borders, but this bill could be a pretext for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants who have not committed a crime. As Mexican-American, he and his family were driven back to their hometown for more than a year when they first arrived in the United States. At the same time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun to pull the net across the country, with Austin being a key enforcement area. Overall, many Mexican-Americans in Texas support stricter immigration laws. "Since 9/11, there has been a greater emphasis on security," Ininojosa said.
▍ The identity of the voter must not be overlooked
The Texas legislature has long wanted to prevent election fraud by strengthening strict verification of voters' identity. A 2011 law requires voters to present a U.S. passport, military ID, state driver's license, concealed weapons permit, or Texas election identification. The law prohibits polling stations from using federal and state government IDs, as well as student IDs.
In 2014, a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas rejected the law, calling it an "unconstitutional poll tax." Texas' appeal was dismissed, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Since the 2016 presidential election, Gregg Phillips, a former official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, has proposed to Mr. Trump that he would continue to win the popular vote if he does not take into account the votes of illegal immigrants, and Mr. Trump soon called for a broad investigation into "voter fraud."
In an ironic case, a resident of the suburb of Fort Worth was sentenced to eight years in prison in February 2017 for "illegal voting." When she is released from prison, she may be deported to Mexico. The woman has lived in the United States since she was a child, is a legal resident, has the right to military service and is taxable, and voted as a Republican for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who made "voter fraud" his main target.
Although Dan Patrick and his Republican allies cut government services, they allocated $800 million for border security. In this regard, some media commented that "white people are afraid of change, believing that what they have is being taken away by the 'undeserving'." However, 'Anglos' have been a minority in Texas since 2004, and the last predominantly English-speaking high school class in the state graduated in 2014."
Texas leads the nation in Latino population growth. More than half of the 2.7 million new population since 2010 is Latino. Every Democrat in Texas believes that if Latinos have the same turnout in Texas as they do in California, then the state has turned blue.
"The core difference between Texas and California is labor organization, and unions create a culture of voting and political participation," Houston Congressman Garnet Coleman told me. In the nineteen-sixties, Cesar Chavez began to organize unions for farm workers in California, but this movement did not take place in Texas. "In conservative politics in Texas, it's all about race — a lot of public policy is thought to be about going to tax dollars to support lazy black and brown people. "As a result of the redistricting, political views have become more entrenched. But newcomers tend to be more progressive. Coleman predicted from this: "This is a battle over the future of the country, and the new majority brings new ideas, and this is a problem that must be solved." ”
▍ "Toilet Bill", cultural confrontation
The most controversial project Patrick proposed in 2017 was the so-called "Toilet Bill" (S.B.6), which would prohibit "transgender people" from using restrooms or locker room facilities in public schools and government buildings in a non-compliant manner, based on the sex listed on their birth certificates. It also overturned the Anti-Discrimination Act, which allowed transgender citizens to freely choose their bathrooms.
In 2016, a similar bill became law in North Carolina. In response, many musicians have canceled their plans to perform locally, and leading sports associations such as the NBA and NCAA have abandoned hosting events in their local areas. Gov. Pat McCrory, who supported the law, was unsuccessful for re-election, in part because of a national outcry.
However, Patrick claimed that the bill would not have any economic impact on Texas because the only people who opposed the bill were journalists and the white left. Speaking at a public event in February, he said, "There are people who want to silence prayer, and they are not against abortion; they think that if a man has no problem using the women's restroom, a 10th grade boy and a girl can also take a bath together." State Attorney General Paxton, who was present, added, "It's a mental war."
Some businesses in Texas strongly oppose S.B.6, producing a report suggesting that it could cause $850 million in damages. The National Football League (NFL) has hinted that if the bill passes, it may not host the Super Bowl in Houston. However, during the congressional debate, Gov. Abbott was adamant that the NFL should not meddle.
Over the same period, more than a dozen other states had similar bills pending, but Patrick's behavior appeared to be more representative. Legislators argue that the law will protect women from possible "fake transgender people," but genuine transgender people appear to be "targeted" and their only remedy is to alter their birth certificates, which would be an expensive and time-consuming process.
▍Within the Republican Party, there are obvious differences
I had a lunch exchange with House Speaker Joe Strauss in March. I went to his office first, where he was watching a press conference for the Texas Freedom Caucus, a new group of more than a dozen cultural conservatives. The group is led by Rep. Matt Schaefer from its east and is modeled after the far-right House Republican coalition in Washington. Members of the group were vehemently opposed to Strauss, declaring its mission to "amplify the voices of free-thinking grassroots Texans and take bold action to protect lives, strengthen families, defend the Bill of Rights, restrain government, and reinvigorate personal and economic liberties in Texas." ”
Strauss gave me a tired look, and then we headed to the dining room together. "My concern is that we have almost completely lost our influence in the business world," Strauss told me. "CEOs are no longer stepping directly into the Houses of Parliament and are working exclusively through lobbyists."
Strauss comes from an old-school Republican family in San Antonio. One of his ancestors founded the "L. Frank Harness Company" to produce saddles, harnesses and whips. In 1898, while Teddy Roosevelt and his troops were on their way to the Spanish-American War, he stopped in San Antonio and used his equipment.
When Strauss wasn't in Austin, he was an executive in the insurance and investment businesses. He entered the industry after working for a time in Washington, D.C., where his wife worked for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. During this time, Strauss worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
He was slender and well-dressed, like the account manager in the American drama Mad Men, and was the most famous Jewish politician in Texas history. On the campaign trail, his opponents mentioned his Jewish religion, but with little success. This is the fifth time he has served as Speaker, tying the all-time record. To the surprise of many observers, Strauss, who was simple and peaceful, persevered.
His work focused on providing the labor and infrastructure needed by Texas businesses by preserving public education, building roads, building more top-ranked universities, and expanding job training. Perhaps his greatest victory came in 2013: in the midst of a devastating drought, he introduced a $2 billion revolving loan fund for the Texas Water Project.
At each meeting, Strauss watched the Republican Party drift away from George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism." On the contrary, Christian thinkers such as Patrick have become increasingly influential, while they consider economic issues to be secondary. Strauss told me: "I'm only focused on fiscal issues and away from divisive things, and a few loud fanatics will actually upset most of the real mainstream Republicans." ”
Unlike bills that Patrick could decide directly to enter the Senate, Strauss had to exert influence by skillfully appointing committee members. He believes that his moderate attitude contrasts sharply with that of the senators, so more violent conflicts will occur within the Senate. For example, a majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives also don't want to vote for S.B.6, but many fear accusations from the extreme right.
Strauss argues, "I can't imagine anyone really wanting to repeat the political setbacks in North Carolina, but I can't guarantee that it won't happen." At the same time, he is actively pushing his legislative agenda, such as securing additional funding for public schools, improving child protective services, and devoting more resources to mental health.
▍ Budget competition, sword tension
On the evening of April 6, I watched the Legislature work through the annual budget at the State Capitol. The House of Representatives has been debating all day, and it will continue until the wee hours of the morning. "Budget Night", the parliamentary chamber is filled with despair – the last stop for bills that have yet to be funded. The trick is that in order to get the money you need for legislation, you have to get the money from somewhere else. Members are on their toes to avoid a sneak attack on their bills. More than 400 budget amendments are expected to emerge today.
Among the many amendments, one controversial proposed by Valoree Swanson seeks to block the use of state funds for restroom renovations, which could allow transgender people to enter. Some prominent members of the House of Representatives, such as Senfronia Thompson, who is entering her twentieth term and is one of the few Democrats with real power, have a committee that vehemently disagrees with the matter.
As a business conservative in the Strauss model, Dr. John Zerwas, a Republican, chairs the grants committee and proposes a "rainy day fund" for health care and education using most of the money from oil and gas taxes, which is expected to grow to $12 billion by 2019, more than the annual budgets of a dozen other states. Lieutenant Governor Patrick, the Senate leader, insisted that the fund should not be used for "ongoing spending," but Zevas wants to take $2.5 billion out of the fund, in part to fund health care and public schools — exactly what Strauss is a priority.
A case in point shows why "budget nights" are so draggy. Briscoe Cain, a newcomer to the Freedom Caucus, had an interesting exchange with Zevas. Kane tried to disband a hospice advisory group, but Zevas, an anesthesiologist, effectively challenged his misinformation, causing Kane's amendment to be withdrawn.
Another Republican member, Pat Fallon, focused on defunding certain investigations into the Travis County Public Integrity Unit and shifting responsibility to the Attorney General's Office. His proposal reflects a broader conservative agenda in the legislature. The powerful right-wing group, which calls itself the Empower Texans, is led by Michael Quinn Sullivan and funded by Big Oil Merchant and billionaire Tim Dunn. Dunn has a significant influence in Texas politics, aiming to push the Republican Party further to the right and crack down on moderate figures like Speaker Strauss.
Jonathan Stickland, a member of the Liberal Caucus backed by Empower Texans, has sparked backlash from rural lawmakers when he proposed cutting funding for the control of wild boars. Drew Springer, a Republican in northern Texas, confronted him fiercely and humorously offered to transfer the same amount of money from his hometown of Stickland to his highway project. Stickland rushed to Springer in a fit of rage, and it was known that Stickland had always carried a weapon with him, which made everyone worried.
After a long night, the Strauss-led state House of Representatives managed to defeat several Republican right-wing initiatives, including subsidized tuition and cuts to arts funding. He managed to dig into a corner and have Governor Abbott's $43 million corporate fund and the attorney general's $20 million budget reallocated to social services such as child protective services and foster care. In a compromise between the Democrats and Republicans, controversial amendments were postponed or withdrawn.
▍ Texas debate, a national microcosm
Austin, the capital of Texas, is known for its liberal views, which contrast with the conservative politics of the surrounding area. Governor Abbott openly criticized Austin's liberal policies, especially mocking the city's strict tree protection rules. Despite their political differences, many Austin residents embraced their "urban liberal" identity by unveiling a statue of apostate country musician Willie Nelson on so-called National Cannabis Day.
After Trump's election, tensions escalated in Austin. A protest march led to violent clashes between Trump supporters and opponents. Interestingly, a young Muslim woman bravely defends a Trump supporter from an agitated crowd, highlighting the city's complex social dynamics.
Austin's liberal stance is also reflected in its pro-immigration sentiment and policies. There have been numerous protests in the city against Trump's immigration policies and the state S.B.4 bill, which many consider discriminatory. Gene Wu, a Chinese-born member of the Democratic House of Representatives from Houston who compared S.B.4 to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, tearfully noted, "My parents and I and a lot of people came to the United States without papers, but we all ended up being Americans."
In addition to immigration issues, Texas has been hotly debated about other conservative initiatives, such as restrictive abortion laws and child welfare reform. Governor Abbott has sparked controversy and criticism in favor of privatizing child welfare services and improving the state's foster care system. In addition, the legislative session has seen some peculiar debates, including approval of a wild boar hunt from a hot air balloon, showcasing a unique blend of tradition and modernity in Texas politics. Finally, the Toilet Act, which aims to establish the right to use toilets and bathrooms based on biological sex, has sparked significant opposition. Despite the intense debate and demonstrations, the bill ultimately failed, reflecting the complex interplay of conservative and liberal forces in Texas politics (even within the Republican Party, the bill is deeply divided).
Austin, as a liberal haven in a predominantly conservative state, is filled with a dynamic and contentious political landscape that reflects broader national debates on issues such as immigration, civil rights, and governance.
▍ The "fortress" is infighting, and the people's hearts are lost
Steve Hotze has been a major supporter of Patrick and a major promoter of the Toilet Act. Since the mid-1990s, Holtz has made a lot of money by replacing sex hormone treatments and selling controversial supplements like colloidal silver, which he claims can treat colds and flu and improve pet health, but may turn the skin blue.
Holtz was a devout evangelical Christian who believed that all sickness and death originated from the original sins of Adam and Eve and saw the Bible as the ultimate authority in all aspects of life, including government. In the 2000s, the Holtzpatrick family had its own show on a radio station known for being anti-Obamacare and anti-gay.
In 2014, when Patrick ran for lieutenant governor, Holtz was a key patron. Holtz is a staunch supporter of Patrick, believing that his leadership will maintain Texas' conservative undertones. They believe that if the Democrats come to power, American politics will be out of balance. Traditionally, Texas has been a Republican stronghold, but its major cities such as Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have moved toward the Democratic Party, and these changes are alarming conservative leaders. Strauss in the state House of Representatives sees Holtz as a fringe figure who is not taken seriously by mainstream Republicans, but he cannot deny Holtz's influence on state politics.
After the resignation of Tom Mechler, the chairman of the Texas Republican Party, for personal reasons, there was a call for unity within the party. Meckler had previously warned that Texas could become Democratic territory if it failed to enlist the support of diverse communities. The new population is naturally close to the Democratic Party, which also reflects the trend across the country.
Within the Republican Party, the Texas Liberal Caucus was also outraged by House Speaker Strauss's obstruction, so it retaliated in an event known as the "Mother's Day Massacre." They opposed a quick vote on 121 non-controversial bills, including two that targeted Texas' high maternal mortality rate. Despite the pleas, they did not let go of the bills, causing them to miss the legislative deadline.
The caucus delayed the process in the House of Representatives by debating some minor issues, preventing the passage of other bills. Springer rushed to pass a bill to fund experimental stem cell therapy, but he failed to convince the caucus, and another casualty was H.B. 3302, which was critical to keeping the state medical board functioning. Its failure could freeze the issuance of medical licenses in Texas. Lieutenant Governor Patrick sees an opportunity here. He offered to pass a similar bill in the Senate in exchange for House approval of his priorities, such as the aforementioned S.B.6 toilet bill and the property tax cap.
Strauss and Patrick disagreed on several issues, notably Patrick's amendment to an added school finance reform bill. The amendment, which includes private school vouchers, has previously been rejected by the House of Representatives. Patrick insists that Texas schools have received enough funding, while Strauss wants to increase state funding for public schools.
The conflict escalated, with both sides accusing each other of using the bill as a "hostage" to threaten each other. Eventually, a compromise amendment was worked out, but it did not fully meet Patrick's requirements. He believes that Strauss is no longer on the side of the Texans and the Republican Party, and "my request is very clear, and I hope that the governor will stand up and uphold justice."
Governor Abbott tried to break the deadlock by proposing a special session for the Toilet Bill. But he also knew that a special session focused almost entirely on the toilet bill would put Texas in the spotlight of national opinion. As the legislative deadline approached, the CEOs of 14 companies with significant operations in Texas, including Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Google, and IBM, sent a joint letter to the governor: "We are gravely concerned that any such legislation would seriously damage Texas' reputation as open and friendly to businesses and families; ”
Clearly, Abbott hated the situation he was facing. At the same time, he signed a gun bill at the shooting range. He showed the media a target riddled with bullet holes and joked that he was going to shoot reporters. It was recently that Trump declared the media an "enemy of the people."
▍ The parliament is over, and the bitter battle is prelude
During regular legislative sessions in Texas, more than 6,600 bills were filed, of which about 1,200 became law. Patrick shone at the meeting, but many of his key proposals failed to pass.
After the meeting, several cities in Texas initiated lawsuits against S.B. 4 against illegal immigrants. They said the bill could be racially discriminatory and that immigration should be controlled by the federal government. However, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed his gratitude to S.B. Jeffrey. 4 in favor of it, saying it aligns with Trump's immigration agenda.
Governor Abbott signed a law that allows adoption agencies with religious backgrounds to reject applicants based on "sexual orientation issues." In response, California suspended funding to fund travel to Texas. Patrick ridiculed California because he was concerned that its residents would continue to lose to Texas.
The meeting ended on Memorial Day, when there was a protest against Bill S.B. 4 outside the State Capitol. In a series of protests, state Rep. Matt Rinaldi called the federal immigration department to take the opportunity to arrest illegal immigrants who attended the rally, which led to another physical altercation. After a series of chaos, the Houses of Parliament resumed normal activities. House Speaker Strauss believes the meeting was a success in reforming child protective services and other things, but failed to address the issue of school financing, which he blames on Patrick's over-focus on school vouchers.
Strauss said tensions between business interests and conservative values are growing and will become even more tense under President Trump. Despite the challenges, Strauss believes the legislature is not forced to follow the governor's agenda.
As far as I can remember, this was the most intense conflict in Texas, and the dispute will continue long after lawmakers return to their districts. Immigrant communities begin to be filled with fear, legislators are vindictive, and hate agitators believe they have the right to spread whatever they say.
The bitter battle among Texas Republicans is not over. Governor Abbott convened a special session on July 18 and laid out a list of 20 items he believes needed action. Most of them could have been adopted at the regular session, but they were not proposed by him before the start of the current parliamentary session. "I hope lawmakers will come back with a calm attitude and a strong commitment to making Texas better," he said, slightly threatening. Strauss was not deterred, "We are not obligated to pass anything." ”
[ Culture Vertical New Media Original Compilation Series ]
(Click title to read the full story)
Topic 1: "Iteration and Reorganization of World Power"
1. Food Power: The Ultimate Weapon of World Politics
2. China's Global Strategy from the Perspective of Science Fiction3. The interdependence of China, the United States and Brazil in soybean trade4. The self-justification of the "wall-riding": the West misunderstands the hedging strategy
5. The Benefits of Competition – India's Great Power Opportunity 6. Reshaping the Value Chain: The Case of South Korea7. Central Asian Countries in the Context of Global Crisis: Interdependence and Divergence in the Fields of Transport, Energy and Water Resources8. Access to the mineral and energy resources of space9. Greater Convergence – Global Equity and Its Challenges 10. Geopolitics and the Future of the US Dollar as a Reserve Currency11. Vampire at the Door?Financial Expansion and Economic Slowdown12. "Little Giants" and "Individual Champions": China's Grand Plan for Shaping Differentiated Industrial Advantages13. Better, Bigger, Harder – The Asian Games Rising in a Complex Political Environment14. A New Generation of Organized Crime: Systematic Evolution and Key Features of Modern International Organized Crime 15. Why trade policy to build India's semiconductor industry?16. Another step towards international war17. Decoupling is no play, cooperation is not: the test of "economic interdependence" by great power competition 18.【Interview】Li Cheng, University of Hong Kong: Finding the "Convergence of Interests" in a Conflicting World
19. The Dragon and the Bear in Africa: A Test of Sino-Russian Relations
Topic 2: "The Impact and Reconstruction of Technological Revolution"
1. How technology is disrupting the world of intelligence
2. Will AI end language classes in high school and college?
3. The next global superpower beyond the world's imagination4. When climate science meets geopolitics
5. How the U.S. is driving China out of the global internet infrastructure 6. Atomic weapons and U.S. policy
7. Area VI: The Role of Private Enterprise in War 8. Five decarbonization trends influencing global politics9. The Paradigm Evolution of Techno-Nationalism in Japan: From Development-Oriented Industrial Policy to Security-Oriented Geostrategy 10. U.S. Quantum Policy Guidelines
Topic 3: "The Imagination and Reality of America's Changes"
1. Seismic change: The Biden administration upended decades of trade policy toward China
2. Will the mortality crisis in the United States spread to the whole world?3. Why is the United States still trapped by the illusory dream of hegemony?4. The Bankruptcy of Modern Financial Theory5. The Dangers of the New U.S. Industrial Policy: How to Prevent the World from Falling Deeper into Competition?6. Regional Roots of North Carolina and U.S. Industrial Strategy7. NextThe Big Party: American Politics in the Age of Nonalignment8. Rich enough, itself an admission qualification – a study based on elite college admissions data
9. Technology Competition: A war for talent
10. U.S. universities should not sever all ties with China11. Global Strategy 2023: Winning the Tech Competition with China
12. The source of American power – a foreign policy that changes the world
Topic 4: "The Situation and Perspective of Countries in Key Regions"
1. Turkey: It's stupid to talk only about economic issues 2. From Chinese Strategy to No Strategy: An Exploration of the Diversity of European Strategies 3. "India, i.e. the ...... of Bharata": one country, two names4. RAND Corporation: Lessons from Israel's Gaza War 5. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's conversation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States
6. Energy Resources and Regional Rebalancing in the Eastern Mediterranean: Turkey's Position
7. The ins and outs of the dispute in the Essequibo region8. Map of International Aid for South-East Asia9. Intermediate Trade and Transport Corridors: Triple freight volumes and halve logistics times by 2030
10. Concrete Cities: Material Circulation and Urbanization in West Africa
Topic 5: "Changes in Key Industries and Key Resources"1.Towards the "Metal Age": Establishing a Strategic Storage System for Rare Metals and Strengthening Industrial Resilience2. Fishery resources: Can humans feed themselves from the ocean?3. Transportation of raw materials: an extremely tense international environment4. How Japan Squandered Biopharma Competitiveness: A Cautionary Tale
5. Transatlantic agricultural trade since 1945: oscillating between cooperation and conflict
6. The Geopolitics of Hydrogen: A 2040 Outlook on Technologies, Players, and Directions
This article is the thirteenth in the original compilation series "The Imagination and Reality of America's Change" by Culture Horizontal, which is excerpted from The New Yorker's in-depth report "America's Future Is Texas". Welcome to share personally, please contact this official account for media reprinting.
There is no upper limit on tipping, which supports cultural reconstruction
Subscription service hotline: 010-8559710713167577398 (WeChat) Working hours: Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m