Texas Politics & Government: Ideas and Institutions

A colleague at ACC and I have been conversing via a departmental Google+ site about the Tea Party and the positions of its members on social issues. We agree that Tea Party members are economic conservatives and that economic issues are most important to them; however, we disagree on whether Tea Party supporters are conservative on social issues (my position) or that many of them are liberal on social issues (and thus libertarians), which is his position. I am familiar with Abramowitz’s argument that Tea Party supporters are conservative on both economic and social issues and a similar finding by the Pew Center study , which states that “In addition to adopting a conservative approach to the economy, Tea Party supporters also tend to take socially conservative positions on abortion and same-sex marriage.” My colleague did not provide the basis for his belief, but I subsequently found the following sources, which support his position. David Kirby and Emily Ekins wrote a report ...

Texas Republicans are known for their support of individualism and the idea that the government should not meddle in one’s personal affairs. However, a recent bill authored by Republican House members Jodie Laubenberg, Jeff Leach, Cindy Burkett, and Greg Bonnen and co-authored by Republican House members Dan Flynn, Larry Phillips, Kenneth Schaefer, and James White demonstrates two characteristics of Texas Republicans that infuriate me: (1) their disregard for science, and (2) their willingness to use government to invade the most personal of personal space. The bill is HB 2364, which prohibits abortion at or after 20 weeks post-fertilization. Here is the first section of the bill and constitutes the justification for the act: SECTION 1.  (a) This Act may be cited as the Preborn Pain Act. (b)  The legislature finds that: (1)  substantial medical evidence recognizes that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain by not later than 2...

The February UT/Texas Tribune poll contains new party identification results for Texas registered voters. There isn't really much difference, but as I've stated before, one wouldn't expect much difference, given the nature of party identification. Here's the chart: Republicans (SR & WR) are 35 percent of registered voters, and Democrats (SD & WD) are 32 percent of registered voters. Independents (including leaners) are 34 percent of registered voters. In party identification, registered voters in Texas are very similar to the way they were in 1990.