The odds of beating Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018 are slim to none, a moot point already settled in the minds and hearts of most Texans republican or democrat. We all know our state with its dominant conservative underpinnings and dogmatic religious scaffolding—where the people as a whole don’t take kindly to words like ‘progressive’ and ‘neo’ and are slow as molasses to change or accept changing with the times. Why no wonder states up north think of us Texans as a bunch of stubborn mules.
With Abbott as governor, our state has taken a backward turn specifically on morality issues. Case and point: fetal burials. That’s right. Any fetus from abortion or miscarriage within the womb of Texas must be buried proper—as if a fetus really is a fully formed newborn baby Texan. Why all the women who suffer miscarriages have to be placed in the same hot snipin’ controversy as abortion is beyond rational thinking. To punish those who miscarry is also beyond empathy. And that has become Texas, our Texas.
On the related issue of family planning, however, Abbott did some good a couple of decades ago as Attorney General. Remember when he practically single-handedly went after deadbeat dads (and some moms, too)? We don’t even hear the term ‘deadbeat dad’ anymore. Families who were owed back child support finally had someone who listened, seriously pursued the whereabouts of ex-husbands and children’s fathers, left no house or apartment or trailer or family member or employer unbothered to doggedly find parents who individually owed tens of thousands of dollars to their rightful children. No ifs, ands or buts. It was a beautiful coming together, so to speak, of what is fair and just and legal.
On this sore subject, before Abbott came along the general rule was if a father was out of work and can’t afford to pay child support, throwing him in jail as punishment would solve nothing; he certainly couldn’t earn money behind bars, heh heh. So, many Texas children were financially unsupported by their fathers for … well, probably since the great state of Texas formed in the 19th century. We’d grown accustomed to it. But then modern mothers and computer technology capable of locating the whereabouts of anyone changed the old ways and excuses of deadbeat parents.
Just a shot away
But recently Gov. Abbott, a fiercely loyal party republican, took on the status quo of sanctuary cities like Houston and Dallas, cities where local law officers didn’t take on the federal role of immigration. Abbott banned ‘sanctuary cities,’ a phrase not really legal yet muy caliente among the philosophical right. A so-called sanctuary city means local authorities will not pursue immigration status of citizens; in other words, illegal immigrants are allowed to remain and live and work in certain U.S. cities. If the feds come knocking, however, illegal immigrants always could be deported.
Neo conservatives like President Bush and new democrats like President Clinton saw eye to eye on the subject of illegal immigration. Businesses brought in cheap labor. Then it became necessary for the government to look the other way when it came to snooping around for the legal status of human beings, millions of people living all over the U.S. not just in Texas and California. In the manner of his former job as attorney general, Abbott threw down by threatening state funds from Texas counties with sanctuary cities. Some elected officials stood up to the Governor on this controversial issue, again one that may call for some level of human empathy. One was former longtime Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
Valdez was born in Texas to a large family of migrant workers. Prior to being elected sheriff, she earned two college degrees and worked in the military as well as the federal government in law enforcement. Now she is running for Texas governor on the democratic ticket. Her recent candidacy drew controversy when the Dallas Police Association summarily backed Gov. Abbott. Folks wanna know why. Was she ineffective as sheriff? How? Was she not tough on crime, too soft on illegals? Could her stance or public perception come from her upbringing, her background, her ethnicity, her ties to migrants and her family heritage?
Valdez has not been a major political player in Texas. But she gained nationwide recognition as the first openly gay female Hispanic sheriff in the U.S. back in 2004. Liberal supporters may believe she is unique for modern Texas history, even our future: Hispanic, female, gay. But see, this is Texas, ya’ll: a real big state with thousands of small towns, more small towns than big cities. Small Texas towns haven’t yet totally embraced gay and lesbian, let alone transgender, people—many who move to the cities for support and the pursuit of happiness. The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex has become the number one haven for gays, lesbians, transgender, and bisexual people and couples—this demographic population larger than those in San Francisco and New York.
But there’s Dallas, and then there’s Texas. In many ways, the city and state are incompatible (though Dallas voters as a whole remain a major republican stronghold, proving deep Texas roots all right). That’s what the rest of the U.S. doesn’t know about Texas and Texans. The people have become as diverse as the state terrain: from grassy plains to rugged mountains, sandy seashores to towering forests. For a long time, we’ve been able to just pack up and move far away enough to get along yet still call ourselves Texans. But like everybody else has found through travel and relocation, Texas is becoming a small world after all.