You do realize that non-Texans think we all love Bush?

[muse]

I'm at a museum conference in Boston and am having an absolutely marvelous time! I was at an event tonight at the Kennedy Library. The Library does a great job with lots of video clips of Kennedy speaking before his election and during his candidacy. So, they are using him as the narrator of his story throughout the exhibits. It's a terrific place. And, it's striking to realize how brilliant he was. The guy could absolutely think on his feet - way before he was elected president and had the use of script writers. The comparison to the chimp in chief that we have now is like night and day. It's depressing on the one hand, but hopeful to think of what can be.

Anyway, at the dinner portion of this thing, I was with all non-Texans and as usual, everyone at the table was surprised, amazed and SHOCKED that a Texan could be so virulently anti-Bush. I set them all straight and this sent everyone into some serious Bush-hating verbal gymnastics that went on quite a while. Fun times, fueled by some help of the open bar. Museum people are notoriously liberal minded, so they are mostly good folk, once you set them straight about the Texas thing.

Oh, and one other thing. I am going to - I swear - appreciate Texas men a little more. We had a little problem with people at my table not saving seats while some of us got up to go get food. So, when we got back to the table, new "friends" had joined us. I found myself standing up to eat with a guy from New York. Someone made the comment that everyone at our table was "so nice". I "whispered" to the guy from New York that maybe the guys were not as nice as they seemed, because Texas guys would not let a woman stand up and eat - that in Texas every single guy by this time would have stood up and offered me their seat. Well, every single guy did stand up, made a HUGE deal about offering me their seat, told me chivalry was not dead and please, please, please sit and eat.

And, I have proof that Texas was once a blue state. In 1960, Texas' 24 electoral votes went for JFK. I took a picture in the exhibts of the map from the CBS newsroom that shows our big old state as blue as can be.

[RufusEarl]

1. Well, it sounds like you're having a large time!

and it difficult these days to have a large time, so go with it and let everyone know that all Texans or not alike.

[argyl]

2. I have two nieces,one in Seattle and one in Manhattan. They'e

seriously anti Bush and when people find out they're from Texas they're amazed and they say the next comment is often, "Well, I guess everybody else there just loves Bush."

They've both told me their answer usually begins along the lines of, "Well, I have an uncle who..."

Makes me proud. They're both briliant and beautiful inside as well as out.

[acmejack]

3. It is seriously offensive to me that they do.

perhaps I shouldn't be so sensitive to it, but the SOB isn't even from here! Plus it isn't like the State is overwhelmingly republican, it is purple.

Before the GOP played the race card with their cynical "Southern Strategy", Texas, and the rest of the South, hadn't went Republican since the Reconstruction. When Southerners Grandparents of my generation (I am in my fifties) called the people up north "Damn Yankees" they really meant it!

[muse]

5. Damn it!

I forgot to say that he wasn't from here! I did whine, as I am wont to do, that we have been dealing with him for MUCH longer than everyone else.

That was one of my points, that we have been dealing with him for seemingly forever here and that yes, we were all well aware that he was a moron and an idiot and incapable of being the leader of the free world.

[PDittie]

4. Boston is a great town

But it's accurate that people (there, and elsewhere, who've never visited us) have a preconception of Texas that is divorced from the reality.

[Longhorn]

6. We don't have to leave the state to get that, either.

I'm so sick of people here at DU making comments about Texas as if we're all a bunch of redneck Bush-lovers. We even hear it in the Sports forum, where some make comments about detesting any team from Texas just because * claims to be from here. :shrug:

[PDittie]

7. Yep.

I get awfully tired of the Texas-bashing in here.

[CoolOnion]

9. Me, too.

Keep reminding them that the state of Texas didn't put him into office all by itself. Also, you can counter with insults about New Haven, CT (his hometown)--I stirred up a hornet's nest once by going off on some tangent like, "Well, what do you expect--he's from New Haven, and you know what a bunch of red-neck, gun-toting assholes those people are..." lol! Some people just don't get satire.

[MagickMuffin]

15. Here's something I use,

Bush is a Connecticut yankee in cowboy's clothing. :evilgrin:

[WolverineDG]

20. Me too

I've started hitting "alert" when I see that stuff. It really bugs me when they come to THIS forum & bash. I don't go to Utah & make fun of that state; why do others feel free to come here & do it?

dg

[CoolOnion]

8. They need to get out more & learn some history

Thanks for setting the record straight & serving as representative for all us "Blue" Texans! The only people I know who voted for Bush in 2000 were from other states, even though real Texans like me (& Molly Ivins, of course) tried to warn them. Before the 2004 election, a friend in Philly emailed me, "I shoulda listened to you last time!"

[tanyev]

10. Thanks for being our ambassador to Boston!

:dem:

[Paladin]

11. Yes, As A Matter Of Fact, I Do Realize It

I guess that realization started to sink in, after I came across my 40th (or thereabouts) thread shit-canning the entire state, all of us loyal Texas Democrats included. Right here in Democratic Underground.......

[PDittie]

12. It's pretty much the reason why

I severely restrict my participation in every forum outside of this one.

The World Series finished me, basically. I could've gotten myself tombstoned if I had given in to the temptation to respond to all the horseshit I saw posted.

Texas and a little Sports. The Lounge has been on ignore for over a year, and I look at the Greatest page threads but they're mostly 'read only'.

[muse]

14. I thought it was just me!

Yeah, pretty much just Texas and Greatest Page.

Every once in awhile I'll go to GD: Politics and if they are discussing DeLay I'll throw in a comment about how I am a Lampson volunteer and wait for the love to flow my way.

My favorite comment on this thread is CoolOnion telling people that everyone from Bush's home town of New Haven is a gun-toting redneck. I'm using that one!

[sonias]

13. I know exactly what you mean Paladin

If you can't even get "good Democrats" on DU to cut us some slack and see that there are good Democrats in Texas, how are you going to convince the rest of the country that mistakenly thinks we hatched the bushies. We have to take responsibility for electing jr Governor. Texas did do that, even if none of us voted for the idiot. But he's not a Texan.

Sonia

[pearl]

16. Dear Texas Friends

I am about to move back to my home state of Texas from the north side of Chicago. I was born in Corpus Christi and
lived in Houston 16 years. A corporate job brought me to Chicago 20 years ago and many things, primarily my health is
bringing me back. I will be re-locating to Marble Falls May 9th. A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of dining out with PDittie and wife. I have already started receiving rw forwarded email from someone I recently reconnected with who lives in Georgetown. I replied to said message with "I am a liberal democrat and don't want to see this right
wing bullshit. It's a deal breaker, take me off your forwarding list"
Well folks, see you soon. One answer to people who don't understand Texas politics is. When you have an oppressive political system, the counter culture, the opposition is strong. My theory, living in the one party town of Chicago
{dem} is the Blue states have gotten lazy and dems in red states are fighting for their lives and ours.
Cheers to all of you and hope to see you soon.

[PDittie]

17. Keep us posted, pearl

For those of you yet to met pearl, she's just as charming in person. I still have, on my bookshelf, a small watercolor she did for us when she visited Texas last year (or was it the year before?)

There's a great bunch of Democrats in your new area: Darien Chamberlain, a grassroots coordinator for the DVO campaign, is in Burnet and our candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, Dale Henry, lives in Lampasas. There's an active, thriving group of committed progressives in Burnet and Lampasas counties.

Look 'em up -- and us, too -- when you get settled in.

[muse]

18. You sure are right about the fighting!

The group I was with at the Kennedy Library was fascinated with my Lampson campaign volunteer stories. I think they were amazed that we have been hitting the streets going door to door as long as we have already this early in the 06 campaign season. But, obviously, we have to if we are going to win in TX-22! So, while that group could talk the talk, they were pretty well in awe that I was walking the walk. But, like you say, Pearl, we have to here in our red state!

I was taken aback that the guy from PA knew so much about TX-22. As soon as I said I was in DeLay's district, he drew my district on the table cloth with his finger - the whole weirdly shaped thing from Sugar Land all the way over to Clear Lake with all of the jagged parts - and asked me which part did I live in. It's always good to know the rest of the country is paying attention to 22.

Anyway, we'll welcome you back to Texas, Pearl! You sure have the right attitude! And, welcome to Texas DU!

[redqueen]

19. Not *all* non-Texans.

You pretty much turned around and did the same thing, din'tcha? ;)