The Halcyon Days Of Yore

The "Don't Beto My Texas" yard signs so perfectly encapsulate what's so ugly about our current politics:

It's not *our* Texas; it's *their* Texas. And those who don't share *their* political preferences (Beto supporters make up > 40% of likely voters) simply don't belong.

Sigh.

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) October 21, 2022

Ah, yes, I remember the genteel days of American politics when party distinctions were just an easy way of organizing candidates (I just filled out my mail in ballot for an  “off year” Texas election. 14 pages (7 sheets double sided), 4 columns, 20 offices per page. You need some way to decide how to vote.). Of course, that was true in Texas because we were (still are, effectively) a one-party state.

And any vote for a “liberal” was a vote against Texas. Or for communism, as the people protesting JFK’s visit to Dallas in 1963 made clear. And a vote for communism was a vote against America! (What, you thought MTG was original in any way?)

Yes, the past was so much more tolerant than the present.