Ever notice how national media outlets can’t seem to get our Lone Star State right? One look at their writing, and it becomes clear that their knowledge of Texas politics is shallower than a kiddie pool.
Take for instance, the classic “Texas is about to turn blue” routine. The media has it down like clockwork: they find a Democrat running for statewide office, write a gazillion puff pieces about how “this time, it’s different,” and help funnel in millions of outside campaign cash.
Where are we in the current cycle? Just check out this line in Time magazine’s story on Colin Allred, who’s vying for Cruz’s Senate seat this go-round:
“Despite well over a decade of unfulfilled hopes among Democrats that Texas might finally turn blue, no one who spoke to TIME for this story was ready to write the state off as a lost cause.”
Meanwhile, Texas has actually been getting more red over the past few election cycles.
Different day, same old song.
It’s even worse when you get into the nitty-gritty details of actual policy-making.
Reuters wrote about the gender legislation that Republicans have been passing around the country.
Texas was barely mentioned in a sentence, but boy, they couldn’t have been any more incompetent in what they wrote.
“Demonstrators swarmed the Texas House, leading lawmakers to send a bill banning gender-affirming care back to committee.”
What was this reporter smoking?! The bill was sent back to committee because of Democrats’ procedural maneuvering, not because the trans activists in the gallery were mooning lawmakers!
And conservative national media isn’t much better about covering Texas, either.
National Review has published a lot of great pieces. This particular coverage on SB 14 isn’t one of them.
“Valerie Swanson.” Really? They can’t even spell a lawmaker’s name right, let alone provide any informative context on the bill?
Do yourself a favor: read National Review’s article on SB 14, and then go read The Texan’s story on its passage.
There’s a lot going on in Texas politics — from important legislation to talk of a special session to the impeachment of the attorney general.
Don’t rely on national news to stay informed. If you haven’t already, subscribe to The Texan.
And if you’re a subscriber, then keep reading and sharing what you learn with your friends and family!