The Great Red State of Texas

                  Let's face it. Texas has lots of white people. And most of those white people in Texas support Republican. The reason is simple: Republicans are especially known for their xenophobia and state's right. Over more than a century, Republicans, or Democrats during Civil War era, have been making agenda for Texas. However, some of those policy agenda are slowly driving their power away from them. The recent Republican push on the abortion bill enraged many Texas women across the state, tough immigration policies have made many Latino voters to turn their back against them, and the recent court ruling on the Voting Rights Act that would eventually encourage the Republicans to perform unscrupulous gerrymandering is making people sick of their action. With all these reasons accountable, is it time for Texas to turn into a blue state?

                  Texas abortion bill had outraged many Texas women. I know that they are angry, because I marched and protested with them. This is a bill that would supposedly improve the standards of abortion clinic and make sure that abortions are performed safely. Under these pretty sugar coating, people have realized that this bill will narrow Texas women's abortion options to five clinics across whole Texas and increase the cost of women's health care.  No matter how much a person supports Republican political agenda, when things become personal and poke her skin, she will stand up against it. Republicans have poked the most vulnerable part of Texas women. Whether she is a strong Republican or not, if she feels that she's discriminated, she will not vote for them. This is where they lose potential half of Texas population.

                  It's easy to see how Texas Republicans are abandoning possible Latino supporters. The most vulnerable part for Texas Latinos is immigration, but Texas Republicans' policies are trying their best to suppress any chance of illegal immigration. It's not that they are encouraging legal immigration either. I haven't noticed any news about the quarter for international students earning the green card increasing. They stopped issuing driver's license to illegal immigrants and even discussed the similar racist law that Arizona had passed. Texas Republicans also were trying to enforce an ordinance in Dallas to outlaw landlords from renting their housings to immigrants without legal documentation. Fortunately, the Supreme Court found it unconstitutional since immigration is in the hands of the federal government. The growing number of Latinos can't be undermined. As we saw in the last presidential election, Republicans can't no longer depend on Texas that easily; Obama had 41.7 percent of the total  votes.

                  Recently, the Supreme Court had allowed the government to make voters to present their photo ID in order to vote. Now this news is a very good news for conservatives, because they get to discourage minorities from voting. Many minorities are living in a city where they take public transportation. Many of them don't even have a valid photo ID or have the time to wait ridiculous hours in DPS to get a twenty dollar photo ID; they just don't have the inspiration to go through all that. This is pretty much like putting poll tax on people. Most of minorities have supported Democrats in the past. Republicans might benefit from this unscrupulous gerrymandering for short time, but people will definitely be disgusted by it for sure.  

                  It is not too much to say that the Red state is slowly turning blue. Republicans had to touch the most vulnerable part of Texas in a very wrong way. Texas women will remember who voted for this ineffective abortion bill, Latinos will remember how they have been treated, and black and other minorities will remember the shadow poll tax that bar them from voting. If Texas really want to stay red, they really need to wake up and fix their political agenda.