I have a new column this week on OnlySky. It’s about the blue tsunami of Democratic wins in this week’s midterms, and what it means for the future of politics in America.
Last night, in a decisive verdict on Donald Trump’s chaos and cruelty, Democratic candidates romped to victory in red states all across the country. They won back both houses of Congress and claimed a majority of governorships. Possibly the biggest and most welcome surprise was in Texas, where Democrats swept the governor, senate, and many other statewide races besides, shattering Republican control and breaking a thirty-year electoral drought.
Is this a short-lived fluke brought about by voter anger, or the harbinger of a lasting American sea change? Only time will tell, but we have one relevant historical example to study. Namely, California used to be a solid red state just like Texas – but gratuitous Republican cruelty toward Latino immigrants galvanized a political realignment whose consequences continue to this day. It’s not inconceivable that Texas is headed down the same path.
Read the excerpt below, then click through to see the full piece. This column is free to read, but members of OnlySky also get special benefits, like a subscriber newsletter:
Nothing is new under the sun, and in the 1990s, as it is today, illegal immigration was a hot-button issue in American politics.
There were several high-profile scandals revolving around politicians who employed undocumented immigrants as household help. The passage of NAFTA decimated the agricultural industry in Mexico and forced thousands of Mexicans to emigrate to the U.S. in search of work, raising fears among prejudiced voters of Latino immigrants “stealing” jobs that rightfully belonged to Americans.
In 1994, pandering to these fears, California Republicans introduced Proposition 187. It would have made California the opposite of a sanctuary state, requiring local police to report to federal officials whenever they arrested anyone whom they suspected of being an illegal immigrant. It would have banned undocumented immigrants from receiving publicly funded health care, attending public school, or receiving any other public benefit.
Republicans thought this was a slam dunk, and at first, it seemed they were right…