Yellow Dog Republicans? Always? Who knew!
Professor Obama’s exegesis of the political history of Texas:
“Texas has always been a pretty Republican state, for historic reasons.”
Always? I know some people think the universe began about 4000 years ago, but to say that Texas has “always” been “pretty Republican,” you’d have to believe the universe began in the 1970s, at the latest, and more accurately the 1980s: Phil Gramm’s change of party after Reagan’s election is probably the true watershed of the shift in Texas’s party allegiance. Bill Clement was the first Republican governor elected in the state since Reconstruction–and that was in 1979.
Indeed, from its statehood in 1845 until very, very recently Texas was overwhelmingly Democrat. Nowadays the phrase “blue dog Democrat” is current, but in Texas until very recently the saying was “yellow dog Democrat”–that is, Texans would vote for a yellow dog, as long as it was a Democrat.
The phrase “for historical reasons” also lingers in the air. I wonder just what he believes those historical reasons are. My guess: that phrase is code for “Texans are irredeemable racists.”
It’s worth watching the video of the interview. Obama’s petulance is on full display at the end–actually after the interview is over, when he is clearly and extremely p*ssed at the temerity of the reporter to call bullsh*t on his answers.
Remind me. During 2008, weren’t we told repeatedly that Obama had a wonderful, presidential temperament? Oh that, and really, really smart and informed. Just when will he deign to show them off?
might as well post a link to the full interview – http://www.wfaa.com/video/featured-videos/RAW-VIDEO-120240404.html
Comment by curmudgeonly troll — April 20, 2011 @ 12:59 pm
I am not that good at US history. But I was under the impression that the Texas democrats (and southern democrats in general) turned republican because they did not like the Civil Rights bill of Johnson (he supposedly quipped – I have lost the South for a generation). The position of the southern democrats – against free markets , pro segregation – is perhaps the worst of all possible worlds! It is unfortunate that the republican party got saddled with such people.
Comment by Surya — April 20, 2011 @ 7:00 pm
I appreciate that President Obama multiplies all projected deficit reductions by ten for savings over a decade. The simple trillion numbers makes the situation so much easier for the electorate to understand.
I do still have a problem understanding what I refer to as DC math (I think this must be an extension of Modern Math that is taught in our wonderful schools). Federal tax revenues in 2010 are about $2.1 trillion, interest on the debt $420 billion, and a deficit of about $1.2 trillion. As I understand President Obama he wants to cancel the evil Bush Era Tax Cuts on the fat cat moochers making over $200,000. This is where it gets fuzzy for me. Cancellation of these evil cuts will increase revenues by only $70 billion. To make the fat cats pay enough to eliminate the deficit would require nearly 20 times that. Why doesn’t the president raise their effective tax rates by 20 times or 2000%.
Signed-Puzzled In The Heathen South
Comment by pahoben — April 20, 2011 @ 8:37 pm
Why not just increase them to the levels of the 1950’s?
Comment by Sublime Oblivion — April 20, 2011 @ 10:10 pm
Let’s just go with the 1960 rate of about 90% for those making $200,000 or more. That would leave $20,000 AFIT which is more than plenty for a $200,000/yr fat cat. I think you are on the right track here.
The projected budget deficit for 2011 is $1.6 trillion and I believe this would be eliminated. We could inflate additional blood suckers into these higher tax brackets to start paying down the debt.
Comment by pahoben — April 21, 2011 @ 7:50 am
I thought the same thing about Obama’s misrepresentation of Texas history. He does not know anything about history and is making the off-teleprompter calculus that “Texas didn’t vote for me, Texas is Republican, Texas is composed of racists, historically.” Truly, I wish someone would ask him about Reconstruction some day. Does he know what it was?
Comment by Joe — April 27, 2011 @ 9:26 pm