STAY CLASSY DENTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY

Even though I have relocated to Colorado, I will occasionally lend an eye on Texas and give my opinion on the goings on there. I still have friends and family that live in the state. They will be subjected to the far right wing agenda that Texas Republicans will still be pushing for the foreseeable future.

As many of you know, I lived in Denton for a little more than 4 years. While the city of Denton is a tad more Democratic than the rest of the county, it is those suburban areas such as Corinth, Flower Mound, Sanger, and the hinterlands of Denton County that keeps it red.

The picture at the top is from the Denton County Republican Party website and was signed by chairwoman Dianne Edmondson on their party's page. The screen shot was later posted by the Texas Young Democrats on their Facebook page highlighting the langauge.

The letter uses language that has been repeated by many Texas Republicans regarding the gubernatorial candidacy of Senator Wendy Davis and the lieutenant gubernatorial candidacy of Senator Leticia Van de Putte. It began with Fox quote-unquote News propagandist commentator Erick Erickson calling Senator Davis "abortion Barbie" in a tweet back in August 2013.

The tweet is still on his twitter feed.

When Senator Van de Putte announced her candidacy in November 2013, Rick Atkinson who is associated with the McKinney, TX Tea Party wrote in his blog about how Senator Van de Putte is "Barrio Boopsie."

While the Denton County Republican Party e-mail stuck with the "Abortion Barbie" label for Senator Davis, they decided to go with the "Hispanic" label for Senator Van de Putte. That's not much of an improvement by how their most ardent supporters feel about Senator Van de Putte.

As I scrolled through their page I saw that the Denton County Republican Party is not only inviting Senator Ted Cruz and State Senator Jane Nelson to their Lincoln-Reagan Dinner to be held on 1 February 2014, but also inviting Rafael Cruz to the dinner.

We all know about Senator Ted Cruz and him leading the Republicans efforts to shutdown the government back in October 2013. State Senator Jane Nelson was my senator (just barely, when I drove on Dallas Drive to the North Texas campus I was in Craig Estes' SD-30 which stretches out to Wichita Falls). Reportedly gallery observers saw Senator Nelson laughing and joking with other senators while Senator Davis was sharing stories during her filibuster about women faced with the difficult choices of when a pregnancy faces unforeseen complications.

Rafael Cruz is the father of Senator Ted Cruz and is known for some rather inflammatory statements. The Daily Beast documented six of the craziest things that Mr. Cruz said since his son emerged on the political scene in 2012. After the October Republican-led shutdown, Mr. Cruz called the US a "Christian Nation" and said that President Obama should return to Kenya. In another public appearance in November 2013 Mr. Cruz said that atheism leads to child molestation and perversity. On Tuesday Rafael Cruz endorsed the Republican primary challenger to Rep. Pete Sessions (R, TX-32), Dallas Tea Party leader Katrina Pierson.

Simply put the Denton County Republican Party is stirring up the same race-baiting and misogynistic nonsense that worked for them in presidential elections from 1968 to 2004. Those tactics today have not worked in the last two presidential elections, and it will most likely doom them to a minority status for the next thirty years. All this will do will hasten the process to turn Texas blue and decrease the chances of a Republican EVER winning the White House. Similar to the national Republican Party, Texas Republicans are just as tone deaf if not worse to the changing demographics and shifting opinions.

Repeating the line of "Abortion Barbie" will not go over with women voters who makes up at least 50% of the population. Using Senator Van de Putte's race as a negative connotation will not go over well with the Hispanic demographic that makes up 38.2% of Texas' population. While inviting Senator Ted Cruz and his father to their dinner might go over well with the base of their party, it will not go over well with those that feel that their party worships at the feet of right wing extremists for too long and is costing them key elections.

To the Denton County Republican Party, I say keep this up. The Republican Party can offer the usual excuses about why they can no longer win elections. You know the GOP says it those immigrants, the non-existent voter fraud, and whatever else they say that isn't based in any reality. The Denton County Republican Party is providing a view about what is happening in Republican politics not just in Texas but nationally as well. I've expressed it many times over in previous postings

If this is the strategy Texas Republicans are expecting to win on, all I can say is this: be prepared to address Senator Van de Putte as Lieutenant Governor and Senator Wendy Davis as Governor come January 2015.