Battleground Texas Could Be Good For The Republicans

What is Battleground Texas?  My understanding is that it is a grassroots organization dedicated to turning Texas blue (like a Smurf) by making a sustained and dedicated effort over time.  And Smurfs are cool, so no insult is intended here.  It is only my strange sense of humor at work.  If you don't know what "turning Texas blue" means, it means transforming Texas from a long-time Republican stronghold to a place that will elect Democrats, at the local, state, and national levels.

This is quite an undertaking, if you know anything about Texas politics.  A lot of Texas Republicans are dubious that it will happen.  A lot of them seem to be turning a blind eye to Battleground Texas, expecting it to fade away.  This is foolhardy, in my little old opinion.  And I know my opinion doesn't count for much.

But, this is the thing.  Have you ever read the ancient work entitled "Art Of War" by Sun Tzu?  I have not read the whole thing, but I have read several parts.  And it seems to me that Battleground Texas is doing everything that Sun Tzu says should be done to achieve victory; and the Republicans are displaying all of what Mr. Tzu describes as the attributes of the Losers. Check it out for yourself, if you don't believe me.

As I have stated before, I am a Republican.  My husband is a Non-Partisan, meaning he is not a member of any political party.  I was a Non-Partisan for a while, but it was kind of boring.  By not belonging to a political party, I felt quite left out of the Big Party that is American politics.  And that was just depressing.  My husband, though, is kind of a "political animal."  He is very interested in politics, keeping himself quite informed.  And well before the election of 2008, well before Mr. Obama became the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in that election, I had a discussion with my husband.  I asserted that I believed Mr. Obama had not only a strong chance of winning the nomination, but he also had a very good chance of winning the Presidency.  My husband strongly disagreed.  He told me that Mr. Obama had very little political experience on the national level, and he didn't believe the Democrats would nominate him.  He also asserted that even if the Democrats did give him the nomination, that the American people certainly wouldn't elect such a neophyte to be their president.  I told my husband that, based on what I was hearing from ordinary people, I disagreed.  I felt that if Mr. Obama campaigned in a smart way, in a way that focused on the needs and concerns of regular folks, that he could, indeed, win.  And he did win, because of the type of campaign that he ran.  A grassroots campaign.  A focused and determined campaign.  And the people who were in charge of his campaign (as well as his 2012 campaign) -- many of them, anyway -- are now running Battleground Texas.

You're in for an ass-whupping Texas Republicans, if you don't open your eyes.

And it will be well-deserved.

And I, even though I am a Republican myself, will be glad to see it happen.  I think it will be a good thing for the Republican Party, for Texas, and for the nation.

(Now all the Republicans are heading to my house for a tar-and-feather party.  So, excuse me while I go lock the doors and windows.)

Why do I think it will be a good thing?  Because over the last many years, I have become a bit disturbed by my party.  It is a party dedicated to smaller government, more efficient government, the idea of subsidiarity, the fostering of the spirit of personal responsibility, valuing personal autonomy and ingenuity.  These are all good things.  The Democrats also hold many of these things in high regard.  But, I have witnessed that, since the early 1980's, the "religious right" has come to have a degree of influence in the Republican Party that I have grown to be uncomfortable with.  And along with the influence of the views of these people, perhaps intertwined with them, have come many other extreme ideas that I don't believe are representative of the views of the majority of the American people. I have heard a lot of conservative rhetoric -- embraced by many Republicans -- that I find quite distressing.   I have also witnessed actions by the Republicans that seem foolhardy, uncharitable, and out-of-touch with reality.

I will just give a few examples.

The Tea Party.  It is my opinion that many of their ideas are not grounded in reality and, if actually enacted, would be disastrous.  For instance, I have heard that some of the Tea Partiers believe we should abolish the Department of Education.  The Department of Education has been quite helpful to many families, including my own.  It has assisted us greatly in sending our kids to college, for example.  I also don't think doing away with The Fed is any kind of a good idea.  And giving out vouchers for people to buy health insurance in retirement seems like a fool's game to me.  I could go on and on...   I know we could argue back and forth for days over these things, but based on the research both my husband and I have done, these are my opinions.  Basically, it seems that the Tea Party wants to return things to the way they were back in 1780, or so.  And that is just not going to happen.  And it shouldn't happen.  Our country has grown and changed too much.  So has the world.

SNAP.  Or food assistance for the poor.  No, I don't think we should cut it.  That would be heartless.

And Texas in particular?  What Governor Perry and his cohorts did regarding abortion was just ill-advised.  They seemed like a bunch of cruel bullies.  I don't like abortion.  I wish there were no abortions.  But, you don't just come in and pull the rug out from under women in that manner.  Abortion is legal.  That is the reality.  If you want to reduce it, do it in a manner that is respectful of the intelligence and dignity of women.  Do it in a way that will give rise to cooperation between people of differing viewpoints.  Do it in a way that is thoughtful and charitable and will foster trust between people.  Dear Republicans, it just seemed like all you were doing was trying to impress each other with your conservativeness.  And combined with your actions regarding medicaid and your views on other social safety net issues, you just came across as heartless.  The results?  A LOT of angry women.  Smart, angry women.  And a shitload of ammo for Battleground Texas to use against you.

These are just a few examples of things that some or many of those in the Republican party have endorsed or done that disturb me.  I have also been distressed at hearing Republicans complain about people who "depend" on the government without wanting to be independent.  I have witnessed first-hand how difficult it is for many people to achieve economic independence in today's world, even though they truly hope to.  I have been disappointed that many Republicans fight meaningful gun control.  I have been disturbed at the lack of a charitable attitude towards illegal immigrants.   I also think the Republicans need to allow for higher taxes on very wealthy people, without giving those wealthy people "legal dodges" so that they can avoid paying those taxes.  And I get very, very disturbed when Republicans say and do many of these things while acting as though God is on their side.  I also do not like it at all when certain groups of people are marginalized by the Republican Party, especially when those groups of people don't conform to the religious ideas of many in that party.  I recall that, not so long ago, many conservatives in government wanted to marginalize Catholics.  And there are probably some states where that is still the sentiment.  So, when I hear that someone in the GOP (I believe it was in Texas) expressed the view that the Republicans in that state don't really want black people to vote, I get kinda miffed.

So, this is why I am rooting for Battleground Texas.  The Republican Party in that state -- and on a national level -- needs to be shaken up and renewed.  And that may mean that a little ass-whupping is in order.   

Who Do We Listen To?

There has been a great outcry -- and rightfully so -- over the tragedy in Connecticut.  And it has caused me to do some reflecting...  Who do we listen to about this?  And who do we choose to listen to about life events and life philosophies, in general?  How can we make wise decisions in this area?

There was a lady I knew during the years in which I home schooled my kids.  She was beautiful, intelligent, and extremely opinionated.  She was also an assertive individual.  I came to view her as a "pied piper" type of character.  Whatever she said -- whether based in actual fact or not -- everybody in our social circle seemed to believe.  And once my fellow home schoolers heard her opinions and "bought into" them, they were pretty much immune to any other way of thinking.  A bit of a pack mentality, if you will.  And she was definitely the alpha dog.  I found this pretty fascinating to observe.  I also found it quite painful at times. (think: Y2K hysteria)

Observing this phenomenon, I had to ask myself a couple of questions:
     1.  Why didn't I believe her when everybody else did?  It certainly would have made life easier.  I would have experienced more acceptance in the group.  As it was, people were nice to me.  I had friends.  But, I didn't really feel like I fit in as I would have if I had followed along.  And --
     2.  Why did everybody else buy into what she said, seemingly so easily?

I also had an experience during roughly this same time period, in which I was royally duped by another individual.  When I think about it, there were plenty of warning signs that this person was arrogant, manipulative, and dishonest.   Eventually, I got a clue.  But, not before significant harm had been done to me and mine.

So, I had to ask myself these questions:
     1.  Why did I trust this person, in spite of many "red flags?"  And --
     2.  Why did certain other people realize, much more quickly than I did, that this individual was up to no good?

My conclusions?

I think there are various factors which influence us to listen to and follow someone.  Certainly, we tend to more easily listen to someone who is attractive, confident, assertive.  Someone with "leadership skills."  And some people are natural leaders.

But, that doesn't explain it all.  Obama has these qualities, but not everybody is willing to listen to or follow him.  Reagan had these qualities.  And -- again -- not everybody was drawn to him.  The two people I just described above had these qualities, too.  Yet, I was willing to listen to one and not the other.

So, what else is going on here?

I think we tend to follow "natural leaders" -- people with objective leadership abilities, who want to lead, who are somewhat "larger than life."  But, perhaps we are drawn to those leaders who embody, at least for the most part, our own world-view.  Our own ideas about how life should be lived, about how society should function, about faith.  And maybe we also are attracted to those who express sympathy for our personal problems and concerns.  This is probably natural.  But, it can also be dangerous.

When we listen to somebody, when we follow somebody, especially in areas in which we have an emotional investment -- such as the terrible events in Connecticut -- it is difficult to remain objective about the person who is leading us.  We so much want to solve a problem, we so much want be comforted, we so much want to feel safe and secure, that we can lose sight of the negative qualities of the person we are following.  We may allow ourselves to be blinded to those "red flags" that may be appearing, in either the individual or his/her opinions.  We might become so caught-up in the hope that person makes us feel that we do not see the situation clearly.

Now, I do not mean this as a back-handed criticism of Obama or anybody else.  I simply mean that -- whatever your feelings about mental illness and gun control and the proper role of government -- it is important to try to keep some emotional distance from the "pied-pipers" that are popping up.  And it is especially easy for these "pied-pipers" to get a lot of attention these days, due to that wonderful thing known as the internet.  So, before we jump on anyone's bandwagon, let's take a little time to breathe and quiet our quivering nerves.  For, in spite of what some might be saying, we do have time to calm down without missing the opportunity to do something meaningful about gun control.  Maybe something that is actually thoughtful and effective.