On energy, immigration and more, Biden’s policies would be especially bad for Texas

In a recent conversation with a Democrat friend, I found some unexpected encouragement in the age of irrational hatred for the president.

He asked me if I had thought about how Texans were at the greatest risk in a Biden-Harris administration. He said he had and was planning on voting for Donald Trump.

Immediately, I wanted to know if I could quote him on that. He declined, explaining that he would be shunned if word got out about what he was going to do.

His concerns of how the Democratic agenda could hurt Texans more than the residents of other states can be highlighted in just a few of the ultra-liberal initiatives that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are promising if they seize power in November.

First up are plans to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, the top priority of the Green New Deal that Democrats say is needed to save civilization from climate change.

Never mind that the targets they have set to end drilling for oil and natural gas, according to the U. S. Department of Energy, cannot be achieved. Their plans to shut them down poses a serious threat to the Texas economy and the 350,000 people employed in that industry.

The devastating impact goes much further when you realize that the largest state producer of energy that powers American industry and the daily lives of its citizens pays more than $14 billion in state and local taxes, with royalties that represent almost 30 percent of Texas’ gross state product.

Texas Oil and Gas Association president Todd Staples sums it up: “No matter where you live in Texas, the Texas oil and natural gas industry benefits you, and it does so in a greater capacity than you might realize.”

The next area of concern to Texans is the threat to confiscate our guns. Biden promised to put failed primary opponent Beto O’Rourke in charge of removing “assault weapons” from the hands of those who own such mislabeled rifles.

Listening to the passionate resolve of both Biden and Harris, you have to wonder just where seizing guns from law-abiding citizens would end.

Gun ownership statistics vary due to states’ differing registration requirements. But one study found Texas has the largest number of people exercising their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

Then, there’s the issue of border security. Again, Texas has the most at stake in Democratic plans to reverse Trump’s initiative to control illegal entry into our country.

A 2019 report from Texas Public Radio identified more than a half-million unauthorized border crossers caught in the Rio Grande Valley since 2016.

Among immigrants in the country illegally, the conviction and arrest rates for homicide, sex crimes, larceny and most other crimes in Texas occurring just three years ago supports the president’s determination to build the wall and advance other initiatives to significantly reduce illegal immigration.

Biden promises to end construction of the border wall.

The popular euphemisms of “reproductive health” and “reproductive freedom” that Democratic candidates use to support the horror of late-term abortions and infanticide are of special concern to Texans.

The Texas Right to Life PAC celebrated the victories of pro-life conservatives in the Republican primary runoffs in July, further substantiating the expressed concern of Texans over this key issue that could affect the outcome of the November elections.

There are more issues like these that has moved my Democrat friend’s vote over to Trump. And, just maybe, there’s more like him who have set their visceral disdain for the president aside in favor of some degree of rationality.

This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 9:33 AM.