Roughly a year ago if you told conservatives that the next president would appoint a staunch conservative to the SCOTUS, Dept of Education and EPA, pass the Keystone Pipeline, cancel the Trans Pacific Partnership and withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord within the first six months in office their first reaction would probably be “It’s good to know that Ted Cruz will win.” Equally they would be surprised to learn that the president would be Donald Trump.
Donald Trump won Texas with 53 percent of the vote. That is hardly a landslide. Many Texans were not overly excited about Trump but even less so about Hillary Clinton. Perhaps now more Texans are better pleased with the activities of President Trump when they can get news outside the squelching megaphones of the mainstream press that are determined to do everything possible to destroy the president rather than focus on what is good for America. According to the Texas Tribune most Texans that are registered to vote disapprove of President Trump while most Republican Texans are greatly supportive of the president; which is rather confusing considering Texas is a red state for the biggest part.
In Texas; however, first and foremost we look to what is good for Texans. Unfortunately, the good that Texans can create is often stifled by federal regulations that are designed to limit Texas’ ability to grow. In order to grow, Texas needs to increase electric production to compensate for its growing population and industry. The federal answer we get is “here are some subsidies; build wind and solar farms and have customers cut their usage.” Even under President Trump, the problem of an over-bearing regulatory state remains.
Another issue with federal leadership for Texas is exacerbated by the fact that the federal bureaucracy sucks in Texan leadership. In the case of Gov. Rick Perry there is no dispute that his eyes were on bigger prizes. Nonetheless, Texas’ longest standing governor occasionally spoke with Texas’ best interest in mind. Gov. Perry stated the Dept. of Energy should be abolished. After his second failed attempt to occupy the White House Mr. Perry was made head of the Energy Dept by Pres. Trump and now the former leader of Texas says, “I’m telling you officially the coolest job I’ve ever had is being secretary of Energy.” Being Secretary of Energy is “cooler” than being governor of Texas. Therefore; the thought of an independent Texas grows in difficulty when Texas leadership becomes entrenched with the federal hierarchy.
In another example, when serving as Attorney general, Greg Abbott vowed to overthrow the TSA because of their inappropriate screening practices in Texas airports. Ultimately A.G. Abbott capitulated to the Obama administration rather than the other way around. With that in mind, how reasonable is it for Texans to count on Gov. Abbott to stand firm against Pres. Trump when he wants Texas to comply with something Constitutionally questionable? Originally Texas leadership was less enthusiastic about following Donald Trump. While it is important for the Republican organization to stand together against opposition, what effect will the Trump administration have in massaging relations between Gov. Abbott and the federal government, especially with Abbott’s former boss at the helm of a regulatory agency that Texas is dependent upon?
Though President Trump may be doing a better job than conservatives expected, especially when compared to the Democrat candidates, he is still the top rung of the federal bureaucracy that sets the tone and agenda for each state’s ability to achieve its maximum potential. People seem to overlook that the proposed Trumpcare preserves much of the much despised Obamacare and that Trump will sit back and watch as the federal courts decide if it is OK for the government to grab up privately owned Texas land along the Red River. Trump being president doesn’t change the fact that that Texas would do better to determine her own future, for no matter who the president is, the problem with an out-of-control Washington remains. Texans need to consider a Texit. Or do Texans agree when Donald Trump said that Texas wouldn’t try to secede because “Texas loves me“?
Native Texan raised in NE Texas. Husband. Father of six.
