Posted on 11/15/2008 4:31:17 PM PST by reaganaut1
PERRYTON, Texas -- In this thriving corner of the Panhandle, "change" is a political message residents don't much believe in.
Who needs change, voters here say, when the economy is booming, thanks to strong prices for oil and wheat? Unemployment is still under 3%. New businesses are still sprouting along the wide Main Street, where most storefronts are filled and parking is free
Perryton and surrounding Ochiltree County last week handed John McCain 91.7% of 3,109 votes cast. The lopsided result reflects that "a lot of things that have been going on here we like, and we're not ready for a big change," says Barry Willis, managing director of Alpar Energy, an energy exploration company.
Now, apprehension is in the air in this high-plains town near the Oklahoma border, 120 miles from the nearest city, Amarillo, Texas. "We're very disappointed. Very skeptical," said Theresa Brillhart, chairman of the county Republican Party.
Some people here still can't quite believe that President-elect Barack Obama won the White House; they consider him inexperienced and too liberal. "I had one fellow ask me, 'Has the whole country gone slap dab crazy?," says Jim Hudson, publisher of the Perryton Herald.
Anxiety about the political future has become common in rural Republican areas in Texas and much of the energy belt that stretches north through Oklahoma all the way to the Dakotas. These places prospered under George W. Bush, and even when residents didn't agree with him, at least they were confident the former oilman and Texas governor knew their concerns.
Not so with the incoming administration.
...
Or as Mr. Willis puts it, "It's common knowledge that the very liberal side of the Democratic party is not going to have this part of the world's interests at heart."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“PERRYTON, Texas — In this thriving corner of the Panhandle, “change” is a political message residents don’t much believe in.
Who needs change, voters here say, when the economy is booming, thanks to strong prices for oil and wheat? Unemployment is still under 3%. New businesses are still sprouting along the wide Main Street, where most storefronts are filled and parking is free.”
Sounds great. I’m there.
What Obama blues? Quite the contrary, his ... (s)election has energized the conservatives to a level I haven’t seen in years!
I live in Haskell County. The town I live in was originally populated to those who left deep south after civil war.
I am not sure we have ever had a Republican county office holder. There are still a huge number of yellow dog democrats, but many voted for McCain/Palin this time.
The poling in our precinct was 65% McCain and 34% BO. McCain/Palin in many cases were the only cross party votes cast.
They all know my wife and I are Republican, but my family was here before the town was. Since the mid-1880’s.
Ignore the hype. The fiscally conservative upscale voters will come crawling back to the GOP once they see what Obama does to their retirements with more regulations and higher taxes on their income.
The most conservative places in the US have seen high growth. The senate may be a bridge too far in 2010, but the house won’t be.
The political landscape in Texas is changing faster for most of the state than it is for these folks up in Perryton, sad to say. Ten counties flipped from Bush majorities to Obama majorities in this election. In addition Bush won the state with a 23% majority in 2004 which shrank to a 12% majority for McCain. I guess the home state advantage help Bush some but 11% I’d question.
The ten counties that flipped are:
Bexar
Brewster (Sul Ross State University, Alpine)
Cameron
Culberson
Dallas
Frio
Harris
Kleberg (Texas A&M University-Kingsville)
Reeves
Val Verde
In addition when the GOP took control of the State House in 2002 they had a lead of 82-68. That lead has steadily declined to where this year it will be either 76-74 or 75-75 depending upon a runoff in one district. The GOP controls the state Senate by a large majority although the democrats gained one seat this election. But because of the senate rules the democrats can control what legislation is taken up in the sentate.
Texas is changing it seems. Not sure why other than immigration both legal and illegal.
ping
Screw the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) they have become Obama stooges like Fox News along with the MSM scum. I will be subscribing to IBD and cancelling WSJ.
Ochiltree County also cast more than 90% of its votes for Bush in 2000 and 2004. It may be a hotbed of conservatism, but it’s only 50 miles from the most Liberal town in America.
Tennessee here. Still holding on to sanity.
What is the liberal spot you mentioned? Blue spots near Perryton are few and far btwn.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=perryton&state=TX&zoom=4
And I thought I was being too obvious by capitalizing Liberal. For the record, Liberal, KS, is the county seat of Seward County, which went better than 3-1 for Bush in 2000 and almost 4-1 for Bush in 2004. I guess it is liberal in the old-fashioned 19th-century sense, being devoted to liberty.
Steve Moore on Fox yesterday was talking about how Ireland has gone from the poorest country in western Europe to the richest, and trotted out the old joke about why Ireland is a good place to invest (because the capital is always Dublin).
Oops, I feel stupid. I thought about Tx and Ok towns, but didn’t think to go to Ks. Sorry to waste your time.
I haven't been in Liberal but have just noticed it there on the map of Kansas. How liberal it is, I can't say from experience. On the other hand, I've been through Normal, IL, but they had a bunch of detours because of road work, so conditions were not normal.
Karen Hughes used the name of Normal in a book about her experiences working for President Bush: Ten Minutes from Normal.
You make a good point. If McLame would’ve won it would’ve been more of the same. Trying to garner the energy to support yet another RINO for 4 maybe 8 years. Now hopefully, we can focus on getting someone to really get excited about.
McCain did no worse than Dole did in the last GOP loss. Bush did indeed over perform in his home state.
The state house losses can be blamed on the unpopular GOP Speaker.
McCain did no worse than Dole did in the last GOP loss.
Dole got a little over 48% in Texas as opposed to McCain’s 55%. So yes McCain did better than Dole.....
Sorry I meant Obama did no better than Clinton. Perot cost Dole in 1996.
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