Initially, I was going to do a post in the big blog about Ronnie Earle's op-ed. As I was writing it, I realized that we often talk about framing ideas to appeal to the voter, but in a general sense. This is great, but what works in Illinois won't work in Texas. The approach has to be developed that includes the beliefs of that area and the people who live there. I gave Texas and Illinois as the example, because I was born and raised in Illinois, and have lived in Texas for the past 8 years. Totally different worlds.
More after the jump.
MKC
Texas is much more conservative. In Illinois, I was an independent voter. I considered myself socially liberal, but fiscally responsible. Down here, I am considered a darn liberal. In Illinois, we viewed ourselves as americans first, and Illinoisans second. In Texas, many people view themselves as Texans first and americans second. Remember that Texas was its own country first before it was part of the U.S.
In Illinois, social justice is really stressed there. The focus is on how we can work together to make everyone stronger. We are all in this together. That there is power in numbers. Remember, unions are big up there.
Texas was part of the deep south. States rights were big here. We the citizens make and abide by our laws. No outsider can come in here to tell us what to do. It also was part of the southwest. You have the cowboy culture were individualism and personal responsibilily is prized. We make our own decisions and take responsibility for
There is a sense of tribalism here though. There is a lot of pride in being 5th or 6th generation Texan. How W. got around that one, I don't know. Texans are friendly, but view outsiders with suspicion. It is getting better with people like me moving down here.
Now for some points from the op-ed after the jump
Yet no member of Congress has been indicted in the investigation, and none is a target unless he or she has committed a crime. The grand jury will continue its work, abiding by the rule of law. That law requires a grand jury of citizens, not the prosecutor, to determine whether probable cause exists to hold an accused person to answer for the accusation against him or her.
As we all know, W. is well known for his bloodthirstyness in executions. Contrary to what people think, there are alot of people in Texas, who are very uncomfortable with that leading statistic. Whenever W. was taken to task about the number of executions in the state, he always had this defense: The citizens of Texas saw the evidence and made the decision. I trust them. I won't go against the citizens. T I think that Texans take pride in this attitude. They won't take lightly anyone saying that they made the wrong decision. That makes it much more difficult for Delay to say that this is a partisan effort. It is the people who decided. It would probably back fire on him.
In terms of moral values, this is where the rubber meets the road. The rules you apply to yourself are the true test of your moral values.
This past election, the word morals and values were thrown around quite a bit. Especially Texas values. One Texas value that was really stressed is one of individual responsibility. That we are responsible for the choices or decisions in our life. That if you make bad decisions, you have a bad outcome. You then are a bad person or not a very moral person. This viewpoint really has gain strength with the rise of the christian right down here. Tom Delay is responsible for his choices. Therefore he is responsible for the consequences.
There is no limit to what you can do if you have the power to change the rules. Congress may make its own rules, but the public makes the rule of law, and depends for its peace on the enforcement of the law. Hypocrisy at the highest levels of government is toxic to the moral fiber that holds our communities together.
The open contempt for moral values by our elected officials has a corrosive effect. It is a sad day for law enforcement when Congress offers such poor leadership on moral values and ethical behavior. We are a moral people, and the first lesson of democracy is not to hold the public in contempt.
Ronnie Earle has seperated congress from Texas. Congress from the people of Texas. Who is Tom Delay? He is not only a member of congress, he is their leader. He really isn't one of us. Their values and ethics are not our values and ethics. So Tom Delay's values and ethics is not our values and ethics.