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Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21St Century

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Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21St Century Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21st Century Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21st Century Eric Lopez Marcus Stadelmann Robert E. Sterken Jr. The University of Texas at Tyler PRESS Tyler, Texas The University of Texas at Tyler Michael Tidwell, President Amir Mirmiran, Provost Neil Gray, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences UT Tyler Press Publisher: Lucas Roebuck, Vice President for Marketing Production Supervisor: Olivia Paek, Agency Director Content Coordination: Colleen Swain, Associate Provost for Undergraduate and Online Education Author Liaison: Ashley Bill, Executive Director of Academic Success Editorial Support: Emily Battle, Senior Editorial Specialist Design: Matt Snyder © 2020 The University of Texas at Tyler. All rights reserved. This book may be reproduced in its PDF electronic form for use in an accredited Texas educational institution with permission from the publisher. For permission, visit www.uttyler.edu/press. Use of chapters, sections or other portions of this book for educational purposes must include this copyright statement. All other reproduction of any part of this book, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by applicable copyright statute or in writing by the publisher, is prohibited. Graphics and images appearing in this book are copyrighted by their respective owners as indicated in captions and used with permission, under fair use laws, or under open source license. ISBN-13 978-1-7333299-1-0 UT Tyler Press 3900 University Blvd. Tyler, Texas 75799 www.uttyler.edu/press Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 Letter from the Provost CHAPTER ONE 3 A State of Diversity: Demographics, Culture, and the Struggle for Identity CHAPTER TWO 23 The Texas Constitution in the Federal System CHAPTER THREE 53 Voting and Elections in Texas CHAPTER FOUR 73 Political Parties CHAPTER FIVE 97 Interest Groups CHAPTER SIX 117 The Texas Legislature CHAPTER SEVEN 143 The Executive Branch in Texas CHAPTER EIGHT 165 The Texas Judicial Department INDEX 193 Dear Student: This is a great time to live in Texas! Arguably the most influential state in the Union, Texas is an economic, cultural, and educational leader worthy of study. Understanding the dynamic politics of Texas is a great introduction to political science. Through the study of political science, students gain insight into their civic rights and responsibilities, empowering them to impactfully participate in the democratic process. At UT Tyler, we believe that providing access to knowledge regardless of means is an important part of a healthy society. That is why UT Tyler Press is providing the electronic version of Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21st Century free of charge to Texas students, and the print version at cost. The rising cost of higher education should not be a barrier to achievement; this free textbook initiative is one way we are working to lower the cost of higher education. The creation of this textbook is funded in part by a grant from the University of Texas System in support of our Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative to make college more affordable by providing free access to course materials. I extend our deepest gratitude to UT System for sharing our passion for student success through affordable education. Uncovering Texas Politics in the 21st Century is authored by three UT Tyler professors, and their high level of expertise and dedication to student learning is evident throughout every chapter. Dr. Eric Lopez is a specialist in American politics, the federal court system, and the development of Constitutional law. Dr. Marcus Stadelmann is chair of the Department of History and Political Science and teaches comparative politics and international relations. Dr. Robert E. Sterken Jr. is a Senior Fulbright Scholar who has taught politics around the world, most recently in Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. On behalf of UT Tyler Press and President Michael Tidwell, I congratulate Drs. Lopez, Stadelmann, and Sterken on an excellent textbook, and I again thank UT System for their critical support of this OER project. We hope you find this textbook illuminating and relevant as you progress in your academic career. All the best, Dr. Amir Mirmiran Provost, UT Tyler uttyler.edu INTRODUCTION ★ LETTER FROM THE PROVOST 1 1 The People in Texas Texas Demographics Political Culture and Ideology in a Diverse State The capitol building in downtown Austin, Texas. istock.com/Nicolas McComber Chapter 1 A State of Diversity: Demographics, Culture, and the Struggle for Identity TEXAS! What images, stereotypes, and ideas come to mind when you think of the Lone Star State? Do you think of the rugged men who fought at the Alamo or of pickup trucks that proudly display “Come and Take It” bumper stickers? Do you think of barbecue, boots, and sad country music at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo? Do you see Texas as the land of oilfields, cowboys, and hardworking super-patriotic people who defy all governmental authority? Whether you have lived in Texas all your life or just arrived from Vietnam, you likely picture Texans as rugged and rowdy people with a fierce streak of individualism. To some extent, these images of Texas are based on reality, but an entirely different picture is woven into these old stereotypes of Texas culture. The cowboy image of Texas was always unidimensional and incom- Photo from Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune Texas Photo from Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The plete; it is now far outdated. In Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, Mineola, Nacogdoches, San FIGURE 1.1 Capitol building in Antonio, and Tyler today you will find a cowboy or two driving a pickup truck, Austin, Texas. but you will also find poets, high-tech business leaders, edgy musicians, super- star athletes, aerospace engineers, fine artists, celebrated professors, and uttyler.edu CHAPTER 1 ★ A STATE OF DIVERSITY 3 FIGURE 1.2 Top 10 Languages Other than English Spoken in TexasHouseholds, 2017 Of the 25 million people in Texas five years or older, 65 percent speak only English at home. The rest speak more than 160 languages combined. Language Number of Speakers Spanish 7,498,255 Vietnamese 214,373 Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) 164,449 Tagalog (incl. Filipino) 82,851 Urdu 77,847 Arabic 77,686 Hindi 73,089 French 69,428 German 62,527 Korean 56,064 Source: The American Community Survey 2017¹ even world-renowned chefs, all living within a widely diverse set of cultures, languages, people, and foods from every corner of the earth. The stereotypical image of Texas embodies a single state of mind and a specific way of life—a monoculture—but this image badly needs an update! The People in Texas Today, Texas is home to immigrants from all over the world. More than 165 languages are spoken across the state. Of the estimated 29 million people living in Texas in 2019, about 65% speak only English. A very large major- ity—almost 85%—of those who speak another language speak Spanish (Figure 1.2). It might be surprising that Vietnamese is the third most common FIGURE 1.2 language in Texas. The number of Chinese, Urdu, Arabic and Hindi speakers TOP TEN LANGUAGES has risen significantly since 2010. (TABLE 1.1) Political culture: the set of attitudes, All this diversity is shaping and reshaping the culture and identity of Texas. norms, and values that provide the In this chapter we will discover not only who makes up the Texas population, underlying assumptions and rules that govern a society. but how the diverse population of communities of native Texans, settlers, and immigrants combine to share and govern the state. The diverse population in Texas continues to evolve and is changing the political culture across the state and in doing so creating tensions and challenges for Texans. uttyler.edu 4 UNCOVERING TEXAS POLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY First Texans All Texans are immigrants because no humans used to live in the land today known as Texas.² Although exact dates are lost, we do know there were no native Texans—people migrated to this region of the world. Tens of thou- sands of years ago, long before humans began recording history, a land bridge connected the continents of Asia and Alaska. On that land bridge, the first human immigrants made their way to North America. When these early humans entered Texas, they had hundreds of thousands of years of evolu- tion and social development behind them. These early people were hunters, cooked with fire, wore fur garments, and made tools of flint and bones. These early immigrants eventually settled in the Valley of Mexico, far south of Texas. In Mexico, a long succession of Aztec, Mayan, Toltec, and other people farmed and grew into a complex and large society. These people developed immense cities, a written form of communication, complex mathematics, and remark- ably accurate astronomy. They worked with silver, gold, and copper to create beautiful art. Over time, farmers in the Mexican valley began to settle and plant their corn, moving northward. Around 1000 CE, these Mexican (Pueblo) people expanded into the high plains of Texas and then into the Rio Grande Valley. Indigenous People Hundreds of groups of native people with various languages, customs, and beliefs lived on the land that became Texas for at least eleven thousand years before Europeans arrived. Long before Europeans migrated to Texas, the land was inhabited by descendants of ancient immigrants from Asia and then from Mexico. Over time, the region of Texas became home to many immigrant tribes—today we call them Native Americans. Among these Native Americans were the Caddo people who lived near the Red River in Northeast Texas near present-day Nacogdoches (as well as in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma).
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