As the saying goes, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” In her new book, “As Texas Goes…,” Gail Collins, author and op-ed columnist for our partner The New York Times, discovers that this statement also applies to the Lonestar State’s influence on American politics.
Collins attended a Tea Party rally with Governor Rick Perry in 2009 and watched attendees wave signs reading “Secede!” and cheering as the governor implicitly endorsed the idea. As she explains, she remembers asking, “Why is Texas so angry? Texas has run the national agenda for the last 30 years! Why do they feel persecuted?” Collins examines these questions, and explains the rise of Texas’ national influence.