Governing Texas PDF
Preview Governing Texas
' ' WHAT GOVERNMENT DOES AND WHY IT MATIERS Certain myths define Texas-and Texans in the popular imagination. The cowboy who challenges both Native American and Mexican rule, the rancher and farmer who cherish their economic independence, the wildcatter who is willing to risk everything for one more roll of the dice, and the independent entrepreneur who fears the needless intrusion of government into his life such are the myths about Texans. But the reality of the people of Texas is a far cry from the myths. Texas today is not only the second-largest state in the Union, comprising more than 261,000 square miles; it is also the second most populous state. Texas has a rapidly expanding population of more than 25 million people that is becoming more and more diverse. Anglos constitute a little more than 45 percent of the population, while people of Hispanic descent constititue more than 37 percent. Just fewer than 12 percent of the population are African American, and 3.8 percent are of Asian descent. Eighty-eight percent live in urban areas, with many of them involved in an economy that is driven by the twin engines of high-tech industry and globalization. More than a quarter of the population have a bachelor's degree. On the whole, Texans are young, with 27 .3 percent under the age of 18 and 10.3 percent over the age of 65. 3 Texas today is a political community that is dominated by the Republican Party. The Democratic Party of Vice President John Nance Garner (1868-1967), Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), President Lyndon Johnson (1908-73), and Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock (1929-99) no longer controls the key political offices in the state. Texas politics and government are largely controlled by a Republican Party led by such individuals as President George W. Bush (b. 1946), Governor Rick Perry (b. 1950), and Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus (b. 1959). In recent years, the Texas Republican Party has advocated increasingly conservative political positions on a variety of social and economic issues, including abortion, birth control, gay marriage, immigration, and lower taxes. Conservatives in the Republican Party in Texas have been revitalized at the grassroots level by the Tea Party movement. Tea Party supporters have pushed Texas Republicans further to the right by melding a cultural conservatism on issues like abortion and gay rights to an anti-Washington rhetoric that calls for lower taxes, less government spending and regulation, and a balanced budget. A new myth has emerged about the people of Texas: that they are business savvy conservatives who reject government interference in the economy but want a government that protects "traditional" values such as the family and marriage. As with many myths, there is some truth to this one. But the reality of Texas, its people, and its politics is much more complex. Republicans may con trol the short- and near-term political agenda of the state, but their long-term dominance in politics and government is by no means certain. Long-term demo graphic pressures appear to favor the Democrats. The future of the state and its people will be determined in large part by the struggle between an assertive Republican majority and a resurgent Democratic minority as both try to address the various political, economic, and demographic challenges facing the state. chaptergoals • D rlbe the defining characteristics of political culture In Texas (pages 5-7) • Identify the major geographic regions In Texas (pages 7-9) • Trace the evolution of Texas's economy (pages 9-20) • Explain how the population of Te has changed over time (pages 20-26) • Describe the shift from a rural society to an urban one In Texas (pages 27-32) 4 CHAPTER 1 THE POLITICAL CULTURE, PEOPLE , AND ECONOMY OF TEXAS • Texas Political Culture Studies of Texas politics often begin with Describe the defining a discussion of the political culture of the political culture broadly shared characteristics of political state. Though the concept is somewhat open values, beliefs, and attitudes culture In Texas about how the government should ended, states do often exhibit a distinctive function and politics should culture that is the "product of their entire operate. American political culture history." Presumably the political culture of emphasizes the values of liberty, a state has an effect on how people participate in politics and how individuals and equality, and democracy institutions interact. 1 Daniel Elazar has created a classification scheme for state political cultures that is used widely. He uses the concepts of moralistic, individ ualistic, and traditionalistic to describe such cultures. These three state political cultures are contemporary manifestations of the ethnic, socioreligious, and socio economic differences that existed among the original thirteen colonies.2 According to Elazar, moralistic political cultures were rooted in New England, morallsttc polltical culture the where Puritans and other religious groups sought to create the Good Society. In belief that government should be active in promoting the public such a culture, politics is the concern of everyone and government is expected to good and that citizens should be interventionist in promoting the public good and in advancing the public wel participate in politics and civic fare. Citizen participation in politics is viewed as positive; people are encouraged activities to ensure that good to pursue the public good in civic activities. Individualistic political cultures, on the other hand, originated in the middle indlvldualistic political culture states, where Americans sought material wealth and personal freedom through com the belief that government should mercial activities. A state with an individualistic political culture generally places limit its role to providing order in society, so that citizens can a low value on citizen participation in politics. Politics is a matter for professionals pursue their economic self rather than for citizens, and the role of government is strictly limited. Government's interests role is to ensure stability so that individuals can pursue their own interests. Traditionalistic political culture developed initially in the South, reflecting the tradlttonalistlc polltical culture values of the slave plantation economy and its successor, the Jim Crow era. Rooted the belief that government should be dominated by political elites in preindustrial values that emphasize social hierarchy and close interpersonal, and guided by tradition often familial, relations among people, traditional culture is concerned with the preservation of tradition and the existing social order. In such states, public par ticipation is limited and government is run by an established elite. Public policies elite a small group of people that disproportionately benefit the interests of those elites. dominates the political process States can, of course, have cultures that combine these concepts. One book clas sified Colorado, for example, as having a "moralistic" political culture. California was classified as having a "moralistic individualistic" political culture and New York an "individualistic moralistic" culture. New Jersey was classified as "individualistic" and Georgia "traditionalistic." Florida and Kentucky were seen as "traditionalistic individualistic." Often Texas is categorized as having a "traditionalistic individualistic" politi cal culture.3 Taxes are kept low, and social services are minimized. Political elites, such as business leaders, have a major voice in how the state is run. In spite of the difficulty in measuring the concept of political culture in any empirical way, it is a concept widely regarded as useful in explaining fundamental beliefs about the state and the role of state government. Yet, the political culture of a state can change over time. Texas is undergoing dramatic changes, including some change in its political culture. It is also difficult to classify the political culture of a state as large and as diverse as Texas in any one The Lone Star is the symbol category. In fact, Texas has many different political cultures or subcultures within of Texas and reflects its its borders.4 These people of Texas reside in a state that is larger in area than the individualistic political culture. TEXAS POLITICAL CULTURE 5 ..., • •• combined area of the 15 smallest states. Texarkana, in the far northeastern comer of the state, is actually closer to Chicago than it is to El Paso. El Paso is closer to the How would one describe Pacific Ocean than it is to the eastern boundary of Texas, and the eastern boundary Texas political culture? What is closer to the Atlantic Ocean than it is to El Paso. One can drive in a straight line patterns of Texas politics for over 800 miles without leaving Texas- almost the same distance as from New reflect its political culture? York City to St. Louis. Three long-lasting patterns in Texas politics seem to indicate a "traditionalis tic individualistic" state political culture. These patterns relate to a domination of the state by political elites interested in limited government with low taxes and few social services. It is also the case that at least some of these characteristics of state politics are undergoing rapid change. These three patterns of state politics are described below. The One-Party State For over 100 years, Texas was dominated by the Democratic Party. Winning the Democratic Party primary was tantamount to winning the general election. As we will see in later chapters, this pattern no longer holds. During the 1990s, substan tial competition emerged between the parties for control of the state legislature. Following redistricting in 2002, the Republicans secured a 7-vote majority in the state Senate and a 24-vote majority in the state House. Between 2002 and 2012, all major statewide elected offices were controlled by Republicans. The question today is not whether the political culture of Texas will continue to be defined by a powerful Democratic Party, but how that culture will be redefined by two forces: a powerful Republican Party in most suburban and rural areas and a resurgent Democratic Party in Texas's most urban counties. Provincialism provincialism a narrow, limited, A second pattern that once defined Texas political culture is provincialism, a nar and self-interested view of the row view of the world that is often associated with rural values and Jeffersonian world notions of limited government . The result often was an intolerance of diversity and a notion of the public interest that dismissed social services and expenditures for education. Some of the more popular politicians in Texas have stressed com pone, intolerance, and a narrow worldview rather than policies that might offer advan tages to the state as it competes with other states and with other nations. Like the one-party Democratic state, Texas provincialism has faded as a defining feature of the political culture. The growing influence of minorities, women, and gays in state politics and the ongoing urbanization of the state have undercut provincialism. Business Dominance A third, continuing pattern that has helped define Texas's political culture is its longtime dominance by business. Labor unions are rare in Texas except in the oil-refinery areas around Beaumont- Port Arthur. Other groups that might offer an alternative to a business perspective, such as consumer interests, are poorly organized and poorly funded. Business groups are major players in Texas politics, in terms of campaign contributions, organized interest groups, and lobbyists. This chapter will investigate the economic, social, and demographic changes that transformed Texas's political culture during the twentieth century. These changes shook Texas government and politics in the 1990s and have continued to shape them in the second decade of the twenty-first century. 6 CHAPTER 1 THE POLITICAL CULTURE, PEOP LE, AND ECONOMY OF TEXAS Ties between business and politi cal leaders in Texas have always been strong. Here, Governor Rick Perry appears with Ralph Babb, the chief executive of Comerica Bank, to announce that Comer ica would move its corporate headquarters to Dallas. • The Land Much of Texas's history has been shaped by Identify the major the relationship forged between its people geographic regions in and the land. Texas is the second-largest Texas state in size, next to Alaska, comprising 267,000 square miles. The longest straight- line distance across the state from north to south is 801 miles; the longest east-west distance is 773 miles. To put this into per spective, the east-west distance from New York City to Chicago is 821 miles, cut ting across five different states. The north-south distance between New York City and Charleston, South Carolina, is 763 miles, cutting across six different states. Distances alone do not tell the whole story of the diverse geography found in Texas. There are four distinct physical regions in Texas: the Gulf Coastal Plains, the Interior Lowlands, the Great Plains, and the Basin and Range Province (Figure 1.1). 5 The Gulf Coastal Plains The Gulf Coastal Plains extend from the Louisiana border and the Gulf of Mexico, along the Rio Grande up to Del Rio, and northward to the line of the Balcones Fault and Escarpment. As one moves westward, the climate becomes increasingly arid. Forests become less frequent as post oak trees dominate the landscape until they too are replaced by the prairies and brushlands of central Texas. The eastern portion of the Gulf Coastal Plains-so-called east Texas-is char acterized by hilly surfaces covered by forests of pine and hardwoods. Almost all of THE LAND 7 N NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS Upper Guadalupe Rio Mtns. Pine Grana& Belt ~ Rio Grande Plain ~ \>'v 0 30 miles Texas's timber production takes place here. It is also the home of some of Texas's most famous oilfields. To the west is the Blackland Belt . A rolling prairie soil made the Blackland Belt a prime farming area during the late nineteenth and early twen tieth centuries. It was a major center of cotton production in Texas. Today it is the most densely populated area of the state and has a diversified manufacturing base. The Coastal Prairies around Houston and Beaumont were the center for the post-World War II industrial boom, particularly in the petrochemical industry. Winter-vegetable and fruit production plays a major role in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, while livestock is important in the Rio Grande Plain, an area that receives less than 24 inches of rainfall on average every year and during the summer months experiences rapid evaporation. The Interior Lowlands The Interior Lowlands are an extension of the interior lowlands that run down from Canada. They are bordered by the Balcones Escarpment on the east and south and the Caprock Escarpment on the west . Beginning to the west of Fort Worth, the eastern edge of the Interior Lowlands has predominantly an agricul tural economy and a rural population. The western portion, meanwhile, rises from 750 to 2,000 feet in elevation. The West Texas Rolling Plains contain much level, cultivable land and are home to a large cattle-raising industry. Many of the state's largest ranches are located here. 8 CHAPTER 1 THE POLITICAL CULTURE, PEOPLE , AND ECONOMY OF TEXAS The Great Plains Pushing down into northwest Texas from the Rocky Mountains to the Balcones Fault, the Great Plains define the terrain in much of western Texas, rising from 2, 700 feet in the east to more than 4,000 feet along the New Mexico border. The major city on the northern plains is Amarillo. Ranching and petroleum production dominate the economy. The southern plains economy centers on agriculture and fa-,...,.ifl'n-o!..fl cotton production, with Lubbock as the major city. Large-scale irrigation from underwater reservoirs, particularly the Ogallala Aquifer, has played a major role How has the diverse in the economic development of this region. A major concern of policy makers is geography of Texas affected that pumping out of the aquifer exceeds replenishment, raising questions of the its development? viability of basing future growth on the irrigation practices of the past. 6 The Basin and Range Province The fourth geographic region in Texas is the Basin and Range Province. Here one finds Texas's true mountains in the Guadalupe Range along the border with New Mexico, which includes Guadalupe Peak (8, 749 feet) and El Capitan (8,085 feet). To the southeast is Big Bend country, so named because the Rio Grande River surrounds it on three sides as the river makes its southward swing. Rainfall and population are sparse in this region. • Economic Change in Texas The famous twentieth-century economist Trace the evolution of Joseph Schumpeter characterized the capi Texas's economy talist economic system as being a process of "creative destruction."7 By this he meant that capitalism was an economic system that underwent periodic waves of transformation fueled by technological innovations in production and distribution. These waves of technological transformation were put into place by entrepreneurs who had visions of new ways to produce and dis tribute goods and services and who were willing to act on those visions. The capi talist process of creative destruction not only creates a new economic and social world; it destroys old ones. The world of railroads, steam, and steel transformed American economic and social life by nationalizing the market and making new opportunities available to businesses and individuals during the late nineteenth century. It also destroyed the local markets that had defined rural American com munities since the Founding. Similarly, the technological innovation tied to gaso line combustion engines, electricity, and radio restructured the American economy again in the 1920s, leaving in its wake a society and economy that would never be the same. Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction provides a useful way to think about the economic changes that have shaped and reshaped the Texas economy since the days of the Republic. Three great waves of technological change have helped define and redefine the Texas political economy over the last 150 years. The first centered on the production of cotton and cattle and their distribution by an extensive railroad system. The second grew out of the oil industry. The third and most recent is tied to the development of the high-tech digital economy. ECONOM IC CHANGE I N TEXAS 9 Cotton Cotton is one of the oldest crops grown in Texas.8 Missions in San Antonio in the eighteenth century are reported to have produced several thousand pounds of cot ton annually, which were spun and woven by local artisans. Serious cultivation of cotton began in 1821 with the arrival of Anglo Americans. Political independence, statehood, and the ongoing removal of the Native American "threat" in the years before the Civil War promoted the development of the cotton industry. By the mid-nineteenth century, cotton production in Texas soared, placing Texas eighth among the top cotton-producing states in the Union. Although production fell in the years following the Civil War, by 1869 it had begun to pick up again. By 1880, Texas led all states in the production of cotton in most years. A number of technological breakthroughs further stimulated the cotton indus try in Texas. In the 1870s, barbed wire was introduced, enabling farmers to cor don off their lands and protect their cash crop from grazing cattle. Second, the building of railroads brought Texas farmers into a national market. Finally, a newly designed plow made it easier to dig up the prairie soil and significantly increase farm productivity. Throughout the 1870s, immigrants from the Deep South and Europe flooded the prairies of Texas to farm cotton. Most of these newly arrived Texans became tenant farmers or sharecroppers. Tenants lived on farms owned by landowners, providing their own animals, tools, and seed. They generally received two-thirds of the final value of the cotton grown on the farm, while the landlords received the other third. Sharecroppers furnished only their labor but received only one-half of the value of the final product. Almost half of the state farmers were tenants by the tum of the century.9 Two important consequences resulted from the tenant and sharecropping sys tem. First, it condemned many rural Texans to lives of social and economic depen dency. The notorious "crop-lien" system was developed to extend credit to farmers in exchange for liens on their crops. The result often was to trap farmers in a debt During the late nineteenth century, in most years Texas produced more cotton than any other state. But although one quarter of the cotton produced in the United States still comes from Texas, the importance of the cotton industry to the state's economy has declined since the 1920s. This photo shows land and machinery used to farm cotton. 10 CHAPTER 1 THE PO LITICAL CULTURE, PEOPLE, AND ECONOMY OF TEXAS
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