The Texas GOP: Out of touch with real-world realities

DallasBlog.com | Vince Leibowitz:

“If you happen to be one who has never taken part in the political process or voted in an election and looked at the conventions of Texas' two major parties this year in hopes of trying to determine which party was most closely aligned with your beliefs, chances are you reviewed some of the voluminous media coverage directed toward this weekend's Republican Party of Texas Convention and wondered if, in fact, the people at the podiums and drafting the platforms had any grasp on reality at all.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

It's dangerous to assert that a political party that has been winning every statewide election for a decade is somehow out of touch with voters. The GOP overreach may allow Democrats to pick up a few local elections here and there, but the legislature, the governorship, and the Texas Congressional delegation will remain firmly under GOP control in 2006.

Nationally, the country has been much more closely divided. The GOP governing majority may be slipping, but it's because of incompetence and hypocrisy, not because the country itself is changing core beliefs. Like it or not, guns, God and gays, abortion and amnesty are still wedge issues that drive deep and determine election results.