WALLER COUNTY, Texas — At a roadside bar on farm road 359, where the sprawl of Houston gives way to horse stables and hay rolls, Cindy Schmid and her friend Gail Mikeska gather every Thursday to eat, drink and talk about everything: family, country music, the hard right turn of Texas politics. “We think very differently politically,” said Ms. Mikeska, a conservative who owns more than one gun and is generally happy with the trajectory of the state. “I’m a Democrat,” said Ms. Schmid, whose only gun is an inoperable Civil War antique. “I think Texas is losing its freaking mind.”In the span of a few months, the nation’s second most populous state followed what was perhaps the most conservative legislative session in state history with a special session packed with even more of the prerogatives of the right flank, a pronounced political shift that has caught even many conservative residents off guard. The Legislature is set to convene another special session Monday to consider further laws on cultural issues, such as transgender athletes, and to redistrict the state, likely in favor of Republican members.

Source: New York Times September 18, 2021 15:56 UTC