If you want to find a place in Texas where conservatives are bucking the state’s rightward shift of recent years, look no further than the Texas Panhandle—at least that’s what The Dallas Morning-News alleged in a recent commentary.
The editorial by Lubbock author Jay Leeson begins by noting that, “in the Panhandle . . . “conservative” still means “to conserve.” Leeson goes on to write, “Whatever political tides have flooded Texas, they've continually failed to rise much higher than the Caprock. Left to their own, to think and do on their own, frequent rebellions against various Texas establishments have emanated from the Panhandle.”
The editorial mostly concerns Empower Texans, a shadowy group that is rumored to be sticking its fingers into the gears of Panhandle politics.
The machinations of the group lead Leeson to wonder: “Is a Texas-style Russian oligarchy at work in the top of Texas?”