Texas politics are formidable. Right now, it’s looking like the main swing state in next year’s presidential election will be Texas. That’s a surprise. Texas has solidly been red, meaning Republican, since the 1990s. But that’s not how it used to be. I know, I lived in Texas for forty years until the end of the 1990s. From hundred years ago until then, Texas was solidly blue, meaning Democratic. It could go back to blue in next year’s election.
Last Tuesday, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California officially announced the opening of a House impeachment inquiry into the alleged wrongdoing of President Donald Trump. 
She spoke yesterday at a public gathering in Texas hosted by The Texas Tribune, a non-profit media organization in Austin. She said in reference to Texas, “This is it. Texas is our hope for the future. And I’m not just talking about Democrats. I am talking about the country and the world. When Texas goes blue, that’s going to be very wholesome for our nation. It is a beautifully diverse state in every way.” Indeed, if Hispanics and African-Americans will get out and vote next year in large numbers, Texas will go blue.
Texans have a reputation for being independent-minded. Texans also are fairly courageous and principled people. They stand up for what they believe is right. That’s what, “Remember the Alamo,” is all about.
Back in the late 1950s into the 1970s, like much of the nation, Texans developed a fierce reputation for being anti-Communist. They adhered strongly to principles of democracy and small federal government. Thus, Texans believed in protecting our free and fair electoral system of government. Texans likely would be first in line to go toe-to-toe against anyone who would try to change our nation into something controlled by a dictator. Texans love freedom as much as any people I know of.
As I posted as early as Donald Trump took office as president and afterwards, I don’t think he really believes in America’s form of government. The main thing about Donald Trump, sadly, is that he believes in himself rather than the good of others. I believe he would rather be a dictator of this nation. I think he has proved that by some of his remarks since being president and his siding up with the most prominent dictators in this world, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom our entire intelligence community and special counsel Robert Mueller said tried to hack our 2016 election to get Donald Trump voted in as president. Putin, the old KGB head, hates democracy and is trying to restore what was lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
With these new revelations about Trump trying to get political dirt of Joe Biden by pressuring Ukraine President Zelensky, and apparently withholding $391 million in largely military aid as leverage to ward off Russia’s further invasion to take more than Crimea away from Ukraine, which it did in 2014, I think stuff like that will cause Texans to swing against Trump and go blue in 2020. It could even be a landslide victory for Democrats if the impeachment hearings prove even more devastating against Trump. But, it will depend somewhat on the Democrats putting forth an acceptable nominee for president. As Pelosi thinks, if Texas goes blue, so does the nation.
And don’t go calling me a Democrat. I’ve always been a political independent.
The only thing that could keep Texas red next year is old white guys like me. Lots of ’em in Texas have money and influence. And businessmen tend to be Republican. But us old white guys in Texas went through that period of strong anti-Communism in Texas during those early decades of the Cold War. With Trump favoring Putin and Russians, and his crazy dirty dealing politics trying to get Ukraine to fork over some dirt on Biden, which could have involved Putin himself, I don’t think those olde white Texans will keep standing en masse with dirty-dealing, Putin-loving Trump.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In