The Utter Collapse of Texas Democrats: Big Doings in the Rio Grande Valley

For about two years (since early to mid 2010), I've heard rumblings from the Rio Grande Valley.  Folks have told me that, beyond the longstanding failure of the Federal Government to secure our border, the degree to which it has gotten worse under Obama has shaken the foundation of Democrat dominance in South Texas.  I've yet to write about this, but this trend is starting to pick up steam; in just the past week, we've seen:

- A Cannibalistic Democrat county chair race descending into threats and a Constable race thrown into chaos because of $1million in shady money found on one of the candidates.

- A Latino member of the Texas House (HD - 43) switching parties because: “It is voting in line with being pro-life, pro-business, pro-oil and gas exploration. That is huge in my district. Jim Wells and Bee County are playing an important role in the Eagle Ford Shale exploration. The port in San Patricio builds multi-million dollars of equipment for the Eagle Ford Shale and for offshore drilling. I am a product of my environment. If I am to continue to support that, the same values I was raised on, it is in line with the Republican Party....I am voting my district, I am voting my conscience and it is clearly not in line with the Democratic Party, it is in line with the Republican Party....I tried, at the start of the [2011] session, to make the Democratic Party the party of small business. I said in one of our meetings that I was a small businessman and that so were many in my district. Not only was I ignored, I was, in a condescending way, dismissed. So, I can say that I tried. I will no longer try. I will do my part in the Republican Party to continue to vote pro-life, pro-business, and pro-oil and gas exploration.”  Ouch.

- Another Latino Democrat switch parties in HD-41 citing 'threats' from the Democrat party junta in Hidalgo County: "I felt saddened that there is no transparency and openness in the Democratic Party in Hidalgo County and I want to see change. I want to see an open platform. This is why I have decided to switch to the Republicans."

As I said, I might do a longer write up on this at some point; for now, however, I want to document this trend picking up steam.  The Federal Government's utter failure to secure the border, the fact that border security has gotten orders of magnitude worse under Barack Obama, and the Obama Administration's well documented opposition to energy development in Texas have combined to create a massive opportunity for Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  This could get fun, stay tuned....:)