Monday, June 09, 2014

The 2014 Texas Republican Party Convention: Rotting Planks

Unfortunately, despite some good fiscal policy introduced in the Texas Republican Platform for 2014, almost all of the oxygen is going to be sucked up by two issues.

First, LGBT 'reparative' therapy and second, the revocation of the "Texas Solution" for immigration. Neither of these developments is good news since both planks cater to, and were forwarded by, the further reaches of the right-side of Texas politics.

Already we're starting to see some blow-back. The Young Republicans of Texas have rejected the State platform and progressive writers are already giddily projecting a GOP demise electorally because of the two issues.  As I've explained previously I don't think there will be much of a political price to be paid for the former issue, but I do think some in the Texas Republican Party are short-sighted when it comes to the latter.

So far as I can tell, most of the support for denying immigrants temporary work visas has much to do with the maintenance of "culture", or of protecting the "language" of America. That this is patently ridiculous seems to be lost on some in Texas Republican circles.

In short, there is no monolithic American culture, nor has there ever been. The vision of America as a great melting pot has always been a little-bit over romanticized as the truth was more segregated than older history books would have you believe.  Also a myth is the "speak English" cry that some have adopted, suggesting that first generation immigrants throughout history have done this. The premise is patently false of course, as first generation Italians spoke Italian, first generation Germans spoke German, and (in Texas) first Generation Czechs spoke Czech.  As with the current Hispanic immigrants, it was and is the 2nd generation that became conversational in the language of business.*

This presents a unique challenge for Texas candidates carrying (R)'s behind their names on the ballot.  On the one hand, there's party loyalty and worrying about losing the base that would suggest adoption of these issues. On the other, there's the reality that both planks on this platform are rotten and do the State no long-term good. You realize the damage of the party language on immigration when you understand that even King Dan is starting to frame the issue differently by suggesting that securing the border is key (which he has done all along) but also making hints that there will have to be a viable solution, once security is completed, for those who are already here.

Of equal concern to Republicans should be the fact that it appears King Dan, and not Greg Abbott, is driving the agenda for the state party leading up to the general election.  While I think that, even if Dan (Goeb) Patrick runs in full-on demagogue mode, there's little chance the Democratic squeals of delight come true, there's still long-term damage that can be done to Republicans should they decide to hitch their future electoral wagon to a man whose knack for self-promotion is only (slightly) overshadowed by his need to frame himself in Messianic terms.

All of that said, it could be a good thing for Republicans that the State convention ended with just a small wheeze and TLSPM bloviating over a couple of issues. Party platforms are always exercises in party extremism. It's where single-issue advocates come out and play. So far the political impact has been limited to a few silly, insignificant writers on the left and the decreasingly influential TLSPM. Given that, and the fact that the base appears motivated, I'd say the convention was a success.

























*Not really the language of "America" English is really the language of worldwide business. From that perspective it's less of a cultural item and more of a cog in the engine of prosperity. It behooves immigrants to learn to converse in English for their own economic well-being, not for any cultural reasons that some like to bandy about.