Why won't myth of conservative TX die? (Houston, Dallas: buy, public school)

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Here are things that people from out of the state of Texas (well, okay, I'm from KY, so I should be careful) don't understand:

• Austin: Twice, a homeless transvestite (named Leslie, usually hanging around 6th & Congress as I understand it) ran for mayor unsuccessfully. However, b/c of his popular street "cred," he actually accrued a significant number of votes from the 6th Street "scene" folks. (My question is: if he's truly homeless, how could he have registered for mayor twice?) Oh, Austin and Travis County each have property tax rates about 4x and 2x, respectively, above the average than just the rest of Texas--which means much higher than taxes in about 40-42 states.
• Dallas: Dallas County went for Kerry by a larger margin than did Los Angeles or Contra Costa Counties. Dallas County is in the process of reelecting (probably) a Democratic, hispanic, lesbian sheriff; the latter two descriptives are the first in county history.
• Houston: Harris County is much more spread out and has more of a "suburbia" mindset. That is reflected in the electorate. However, inside I-610 is a strong "sea" of blue. Sure, Mayor Bill White may be Republican, but the majority of Houston's population (and consequently its electorate) lives outside of I-610. But, Montrose itself puts to rest any allegations that some Austinites have about Houston being a "Bible-thumpin'" town.

I'm an out-of-state conservative, but just thought I'd give my honest analysis.

I already posted a link in the thread starters other thread showing that the majority of Dallas county voted for Bush, NOT Kerry.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Here are things that people from out of the state of Texas (well, okay, I'm from KY, so I should be careful) don't understand:

• Austin: Twice, a homeless transvestite (named Leslie, usually hanging around 6th & Congress as I understand it) ran for mayor unsuccessfully. However, b/c of his popular street "cred," he actually accrued a significant number of votes from the 6th Street "scene" folks. (My question is: if he's truly homeless, how could he have registered for mayor twice?) Oh, Austin and Travis County each have property tax rates about 4x and 2x, respectively, above the average than just the rest of Texas--which means much higher than taxes in about 40-42 states.
• Dallas: Dallas County went for Kerry by a larger margin than did Los Angeles or Contra Costa Counties. Dallas County is in the process of reelecting (probably) a Democratic, hispanic, lesbian sheriff; the latter two descriptives are the first in county history.
• Houston: Harris County is much more spread out and has more of a "suburbia" mindset. That is reflected in the electorate. However, inside I-610 is a strong "sea" of blue. Sure, Mayor Bill White may be Republican, but the majority of Houston's population (and consequently its electorate) lives outside of I-610. But, Montrose itself puts to rest any allegations that some Austinites have about Houston being a "Bible-thumpin'" town.

I'm an out-of-state conservative, but just thought I'd give my honest analysis.

The City of Houston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan, but Bill White is a Harvard-educated Democrat from San Antonio who served in President Clinton's cabinet. The mayor before him, Lee Brown, was an African-American Democrat. Before him was Bob Lanier, and before him was Kathy Whitmire in the 1980's, also Democrats. I don't know when the last time was that Houston had a Republican mayor, if ever.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by houstoner

The City of Houston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan, but Bill White is a Harvard-educated Democrat from San Antonio who served in President Clinton's cabinet. The mayor before him, Lee Brown, was an African-American Democrat. Before him was Bob Lanier, and before him was Kathy Whitmire in the 1980's, also Democrats. I don't know when the last time was that Houston had a Republican mayor, if ever.

I'd be perfer to stay neutral; Both liberals and conservatives are annoying.

[calid00d]

Actually, Bill White, Houston's mayor, is an ivy-league Democrat.

[calid00d]

Originally Posted by miamiman

You act as though Texas leans slightly to the right. Most of the counties around the state are extremely heavily Republican. If you look at the 2004 presidential election results, the only counties that voted Democrat were in the Rio Grande Valley, 2 counties West Texas (El Paso County included), the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, and Travis County (Austin). Dallas, Houston, San Antonio all with CITY populations over 1 million failed to produce enough Democratic votes to turn those counties blue.

I wouldn't compare Texas to Arizona or Nevada. Arizona is basically a red state because of residents of Maricopa County (home of almost the entire Phoenix metro area) tend to vote MUCH more conservatively than any other area of the state due to heavy Mormon presence, an abundance of conservative Midwestern transplants, and low-tax loving long-time residents. Tucson, Nogales, and Flagstaff are all Democratic havens. In Nevada, the Las Vegas metro area is primarily Democratic. The metro also makes up nearly 70% of the entire population of Nevada. Therefore, I fail to see how Nevada is in the same league of conservatism as Texas.

Texas is heavily red and will stay that way for a LONG time.

And yet...nevada is projected to be more republican than TX. Las Vegas metro is very conservative.

[calid00d]

Originally Posted by miamiman

Dallas County didn't go for Kerry.

He meant Dallas City, which went 75% Kerry, more than L.A. city.

[KantLockeMeIn]

Yes... I hope one day people realize that the independent spirit of Texas really aligns best with the libertarian philosophy.

[WillysB]

Something mid-late 70's I developed a friendship with a well heeled gal from NYC who had migrated to Houston. In discussing politics and my commentary about Texas being politically democrat (and at that time was) she laughed and explained her amusement, 'that a liberal democrat in Texas would probly be more conservative than a conservative republican in New York state.'

That was my awakening in national politics and I've been libertarian since. That's a small 'l'.

[randian]

Originally Posted by coog78

Living here inside the loop Houston, good luck getting elected as a Republican. Sheila Jackson Lee is one of the most liberal House members in the US and she accurately represents the views and interests of urban Houston.

Obviously, importing a large number of former New Orleans residents had nothing to do with it. Texas has the same demographic transformation Florida does: children of illegal immigrants voting Democrat for the government handouts, and transplants from liberal states like Michigan and Massachusetts who inexplicably vote for the same Democrats that screwed up the states they escaped from.

[JamesAbilene]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Here are things that people from out of the state of Texas (well, okay, I'm from KY, so I should be careful) don't understand:

• Austin: Twice, a homeless transvestite (named Leslie, usually hanging around 6th & Congress as I understand it) ran for mayor unsuccessfully. However, b/c of his popular street "cred," he actually accrued a significant number of votes from the 6th Street "scene" folks. (My question is: if he's truly homeless, how could he have registered for mayor twice?) Oh, Austin and Travis County each have property tax rates about 4x and 2x, respectively, above the average than just the rest of Texas--which means much higher than taxes in about 40-42 states.
• Dallas: Dallas County went for Kerry by a larger margin than did Los Angeles or Contra Costa Counties. Dallas County is in the process of reelecting (probably) a Democratic, hispanic, lesbian sheriff; the latter two descriptives are the first in county history.
• Houston: Harris County is much more spread out and has more of a "suburbia" mindset. That is reflected in the electorate. However, inside I-610 is a strong "sea" of blue. Sure, Mayor Bill White may be Republican, but the majority of Houston's population (and consequently its electorate) lives outside of I-610. But, Montrose itself puts to rest any allegations that some Austinites have about Houston being a "Bible-thumpin'" town.

I'm an out-of-state conservative, but just thought I'd give my honest analysis.

Leslie lived in Abilene for awhile before he moved to Austin. Abilene is a very conservative city. Yet, when he visited Abilene's Southern Hills Church of Christ, a very conservative church, wearing his women's clothing, he was welcomed, and he continued to attend. (Of course, it made the local paper.) I am rather liberal (not as liberal as Leslie!), and I appreciate the tolerance that the conservatives in this town have toward those of us who lean to the left.