In the United States, Texas is a state that has seen its political landscape evolve dramatically since it was first established as a one-party Democratic state. The rise of other political parties and factions within the two major parties has caused an increase in potential for conflict between differing viewpoints and ideologies. As this shift has occurred, so too have changes in the social and economic make up of the population of Texas, creating further potential for conflict among groups with varying interests and goals. This essay will discuss how these changes have led to an overall increase in potential for conflict within the state today compared to when it was a one-party Democratic state.
First, as Texas transitioned away from being a one-party state towards becoming more politically competitive, various demographic changes accompanied this shift (Hirsh 2018). Specifically, many exurban areas around cities saw large increases in their populations due to both internal migration from rural areas combined with immigration into those same areas (Hirsh 2018). In addition to bringing new people into these areas that had different views than local residents born there did on politics and policy, they also brought new cultural influences as well (Hirsh 2018). This combination of differing perspectives along with culture clashes between various groups created greater possibilities for conflicts amongst them over issues ranging from taxes to educational policies or anything else but especially those where there were conflicting opinions regarding beliefs about race or gender roles (Hirsh 2018).
Why is there greater potential for conflict in the plural now than when Texas was a one-party Democratic state
Secondarily, multiple factions within each political party vying for control creates even more divisions along regional lines where candidates may be fighting for votes by playing up differences instead of looking at what unites them all (Corrigan 2019). For example, while Texas Republicans are generally united behind socially conservative values like supporting gun rights or opposing abortion access; there are significant divisions among Congressman representing different regions on issues such as free trade or immigration reforms(Corrigan 2019). Similarly Democrats may have similar stated positions on issues like healthcare access or income inequality but actually differ greatly when it comes down to deciding which specific policies should be implemented which can create further divides between party members depending upon who controls the agenda. All these differences leave room open for increased levels of disagreement between different individuals over not only policy solutions but also questions about what principles should guide decisions made by elected officials representing their constituents’ best interests.
The result is an environment full of opportunities for potentially explosive conflicts between different types of Texans living together in close quarters with diverse backgrounds either economically or culturally speaking (Rodriguez 2014). With so many competing factors making up an individual’s view on certain topics such as taxes or education funding any sort of real dialogue becomes difficult if not impossible because no single side holds absolute power over another any longer thanks largely due partly Texas’ changing demographics making sure neither side dominates completely anymore(Rodriguez 2014). As former Governor Ann Richards said “Texas is much more plural now-than when I grew up…it’s complicated”(Richards 1992), however Richards believed that this complexity could bring out both positive and negative effects leading Texan citizens closer towards understanding each other better while ultimately resulting in better decision being made by elected officials at all levels (Richards 1992) .
Clearly then we can see why there is greater potential for conflict in modern day multi-party Texas than when it was a one-party democratic state before: because due demographic shifts coupled with intra-party competition driving voting blocs apart rather than together makes consensus building much harder if not outright impossible thus opening doors even wider open confrontations based upon difference whether ideological or otherwise arise routinely occur throughout society because agreement cannot often be found quickly enough if at all oftentimes leading electorates feeling disillusioned after electing leaders fail fulfill promises made during campaign season