Mike Conrad's blog

Editor's Note: Mike Conrad is new to FutureMajority so lets give him some love.

To promote a better understanding of what is going on Texas, and Democratic opportunity there, it's necessary to address fairly pervasive myths about the state. Let's start with what the Lone Star State is not. Texas is not "Wyoming South" or "the most right-wing state in the country." It's definitely not "hopeless" and it's simply not true that "all you need to know about Texas you learned from George W. Bush." (If you're a Dem who is relatively bullish on Texas, there's a good chance you've been met with these sentiments.)

George W. Bush's posturing as Mr. Texas was successful in numerous ways. Unfortunately among them is the extent to which the association of Bush with Texas in the minds of Democrats has pushed aside recognition of Texas Dems and what they represent -- from LBJ and Ralph Yarborough, to Barabara Jordan and Ann Richards, to Lloyd Doggett and Annise Parker today. Bush doesn't tell the whole story, and he's certainly not the future.

If you want to get an idea of Texas' future, think of a fictional president (though in fairness, during his first term Bush 43 was a fictional president; he didn't actually win the 2000 election). The fictional president I'm referring to is Matt Santos, the Texas Democrat elected president in the final season of The West Wing. The Santos character was based on then-Senator Barack Obama, so life has already imitated this art once. It could very well do so again. The notion of a Latino Democrat from Texas as a national presence in an upcoming election isn't far-fetched.

While calling attention to Blue Texas Rising is bound to trigger skepticism, there is good reason to be confident. Contrary to popular belief, Democratic candidates do not get routinely crushed in Texas. Let's look at three recent statewide results.

'08 TX-Pres.

• McCain (R) - 55.4%
• Obama (D) - 43.6%

'08 TX-Sen.

• Cornyn (R) - 54.8%
• Noreiga (D) - 42.8%

'10 TX-Gov.

• Perry (R) - 55.2%
• White (D) 42.3%

Note: During the Bush years, the TX GOP began to promote straight-ticket voting, which paid off for them.