only because of the promise. other states have as bad people/governance, but the potential for greatness isn't there. that's what makes texas such a disappointment
yes, because the R's have been waging effective voter suppression measures for-fucking-ever too. it's not the people who have been showing up I care about right now. it's riling up those that haven't been to see what is going on and vote accordingly. the r's see this and are trying to rig things even more in their favor
no, we don't. we have been living under minority rule my whole life. the r's have been gaming things in their favor since the dawn of time because they know ultimately their policies are not popular. we're looking at things through a current lens, but historians will will see this for what it is - one party completely capitulating and selling its soul for power to the worst and most abhorrent members of society. whatever bullshit they have pulled since Richards (I dunno, I was a kid at the time and I'm not keen to brush up on Texas history that I lived through) it has worked. but clearly they are doing this because they realize it won't last. they have to keep gaming the system (read: cheat) to maintain power. they've done it my whole life, this is just one of countless examples and a pretty extreme one, but anyone paying attention for any length of time should not be surprised by this
that's the part that enrages me the most. this regime could have just coasted on the policies from their predecessors and claimed all the good coming from it as their own, and I would have been fine with it because I wouldn't be lying awake at night wondering if I can keep my business or not.
bigger-brained idiots will tell you it's because D presidents spend their time coasting on R policies and R admins have to come in and do all the work and their policies aren't realized until the next admin. but of course we all know that is bullshit. we have see firsthand how current policies wreck the economy. we're watching it real time right now