Bigotry Defeats Republican Incumbent

Victor Carillo (pictured) was the incumbent chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission (which regulates oil and gas production in the state). The Republican was appointed to the post by Governor Rick Perry to fill a vacancy on the commission, and he was running in the Republican primary to keep the job.

Most political pundits figured Carrillo would easily win the post in the primary. After all, he was a friend of Perry's and had the governor's support. And he outspent his opponent, who was not nearly as widely known, by a 12 to 1 margin. But those pundits evidently had a brain-dead moment and forgot the make-up of the Texas Republican Party.

Before 1965, Texas was a one-party state (Democratic). There were a few moderate and traditionally conservative people in the Republican Party, but not nearly enough to actually win a state-wide election. Then President Lyndon Johnson used his considerable political skills to pass the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. President Johnson knew this would probably cost Democrats many supporters in Texas and throughout the South, but he did the right thing anyway.

And that's exactly what happened. Racists and bigots left the party in droves and became Republicans. With the addition of these racist voters, the Republican Party quickly grew to the point where they could compete for state-wide posts in Texas and the South. When they were joined by the haters of the religious right a few years later, they became the dominant party throughout the region.

To this day, the bigots still make up a large part of the Republican base in Texas, and they showed that in the recent primary. Entering the election booth, those voters saw two names on the ballot for railroad commissioner -- Carrillo (a Hispanic name) and Porter (a very Anglo sounding name). True to their nature, they voted for the Anglo name.

It became clear that money, incumbency and the support of the governor (who was triumphant in his own race) were not nearly as important as having an Anglo name in the Republican primary. Carrillo didn't just lose -- he lost big. He only got 39% of the vote, while his virtually unknown and under-financed opponent got 61%.

Carrillo said, "Given the choice between 'Porter' and 'Carrillo' -- unfortunately, the Hispanic surname was a serious setback from which I could never recover, although I did all in my power to overcome this built-in bias." He's absolutely right, but I can't feel sorry for him.

What was he, as a Hispanic, doing in the Republican primary anyway? Was he completely ignorant of recent history? Was he blind to the anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-homosexual and anti-equal rights actions of the Texas (and national) Republican Party? Has he never attended a Republican state convention (it's so white you need sunglasses)?

Meanwhile the Democrats, the party of inclusion in Texas, elected Linda Chavez-Thompson as their nominee for Lt. Governor. They thought she was the best candidate (even though she also had a well-known opponent with an Anglo name -- Ronnie Earle).

These two races clearly show the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties in Texas. The Democrats have not done enough for minorities, but the Republicans have done absolutely NOTHING.