Blue Waves? Red Waves? What about the last "wave" switch in Garland and Texas in the 1970s?

Political signs running the gamut from Republican to Democrat are everywhere in Garland right now as the Red and Blue Waves compete for top billing.

With all the talk these days about a "Blue Wave" possibly ready to sweep over our beloved Lone Star State, it's helpful to remember when the "Red Wave" swept over Texas some 40 years ago and changed the whole political landscape for a generation.

Yes, for those too young to remember, for those who did not live here then, and for those who choose not to remember, Texas—and Garland—once were strongholds for Democrats. Republicans were the outsiders looking in, while Democrats sat at the table and feasted on their political victories.

Then suddenly, in over a little more than a decade, everything changed. Even politicians who once boasted of their Democratic leanings, like chameleons, became Republicans.

I had a ringside seat to watching this shift occur statewide.

Not only was I a reporter and columnist on the largest daily newspaper in the state at that time, but my desk in the newsroom at the Houston Chronicle was very near Editor Everett Collier's office. Wannabe presidents, governors, senators, legislators, county judges, county commissioners, district judges, mayors, councilmembers, etc., walked past my desk on their way to see Everett who made the decisions about which candidates the newspaper would endorse. Sometimes these hopefuls stopped to chat on their way to the top person's office. (Or if someone particularly interesting—such as characters in the Nixon White House Watergate scandal happened in—I got up and quickly offered my assistance with directions to the editor's office, hoping to get a better view of the person and maybe perhaps catch a few words to remember.)

During that time I was an actual eyewitness to the "Red Wave" moving across Texas during the 1970s and into the early 1980s.

Just like they do now with the Republicans, back in that day local and state officials also lined up with the so-called Southern Democrats in Congress. In those days it was a "kiss of political death" to be a Republican. Today, some see it as the reverse.

More than a century earlier, Southern Democrats emerged as defenders of slavery and worked for its expansion. Then after the Civil War, Southern Democrats were associated with segregation and held the white voters together as a bloc in the Old South. That monopoly broke apart with the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal, then Harry S Truman and the Democratic Party's shift toward a pro- and then aggressive Civil Rights position.

Simultaneously during that same time frame, the Party of Lincoln, the Republicans, moved right— away from so-called liberalism on social and cultural issues and toward a more so-called conservative position in our society.

By the 1970s, the two parties had de facto swapped positions on many issues. Then during the 1970s, the transition began to trickle down to lower forms of government, including states, counties, and municipalities. Historians say the Republican Party's "lock" on all forms of U.S. government was complete by 2010.

 
At the state and local level, including Texas and Garland, the so-called "southern wing" of the Democratic Party was so solid, inflexible, and so sure of itself that it worked to exclude "those Republicans" from even minor appointments such as postmasters or any other minor positions of that day. Southern Democrats were also known for "being soft" on integration but tough (at least in talk) on Soviet and Chinese communism. They failed miserably to see the shifts occurring in American society all around them then.

And within a decade—the 1970s—the Southern Democrats in Texas and Garland were either swept out of office or quickly switched parties and dressed themselves up as Republicans.

The Garland Republican Women's Club was highly active in the 1970s when that particular wave swept through town. Here is a Garland News story about one of their activities.

I saw that transition happening before my eyes in the parade of politicians seeking the Chronicle's endorsement—and also in the Chronicle's endorsements. First they were all Democrats; then they were a mixture; then finally they were mostly Republicans.

I got a real laugh out of some politicians who one day were Democrats and the next day Republicans. I still smile when I think of one state district judge who was Democrat all the way, then almost immediately morphed into a sold-out Republican. As I watched and observed, peer pressure was clearly at play as well as a desire to not be left behind in the transition that was under way.

Even here in Garland Kay and I had a ringside seat to the transition that saw our current hometown shift dramatically from blue to red. Kay's parents and some of their neighbors here on Garland's 11th Street at that time led the way to bring the modern Republican Party into heavily Democratic Garland. They were motivated in part by the rigidness and backwardness of the Southern Democrats. I stood back in amazement as they worked diligently to unseat Southern Democrats and replace them with Republicans—or worked steadily to convince Southern Democrats to switch parties, which many did, especially as they saw the Red Wave sweeping over them.

11th Street was a mecca for entertaining Republican candidates. Here Winifred Stokes, left, and Mable Wheeler, second from right, host candidate George W. Bush in a party on 11th Street. Mable was my mother-in-law.

I've been reflecting on those days now that people are talking about the approaching "Blue Wave".

The Republican Party is, in so many ways, taking on the same characteristics of the Southern Democrats in the 1950s and 1960s—exclusive, inflexible, overly sure of itself, unwilling to compromise, and unappreciative of others who don't look, talk, and act like its members.

A former Democrat herself, Kay's mother became a devout Republican. She was such a firm Republican, the first question she asked me after I told Kay's parents I wanted to marry their daughter was, "Well, there is a political difference here."

At that time, 50 some years ago, I identified with the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Now I consider myself an Independent because neither party fully represents my political views. I vote based on issues that I support and those cross party lines. And yes, I vote based on what I perceive as the ethics, morals, and transparency of individual candidates, too. I will not vote for someone just because some party boss somewhere demands it. Or because the person wears a label on his or her collar! And yes, over the past 5 decades I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and on occasion Third Party candidates. While I consider myself a centrist, I have voted for a few Tea Party and a few Libertarian candidates, too—usually because I knew and liked them or knew and totally opposed their opponents.

My response to my future mother-in-law was, "I don't intend to make an issue of it, and I hope you won't either."

None of us did! We called a truce, effective on most occasions.

Fortunately for all of us, after the dreadful and divisive days of Watergate and Nixon, we could all agree on the Bush family. They and we had interacted with the Bushes personally in different ways, but we all found them people worthy of our respect.

One subject that brought varying political views together in our family was respect for the George H.W. Bushes. My wife, son, and I had the privilege of meeting Bush I and his wife, Barbara, when we lived in Houston, also the Bushes' hometown.

So fast-forward to today. Kay and I have many friends and acquaintances in both parties. We personally know so many who are running for election, or re-election, in county, statewide, and national races right now. Some are Democrats. Some are Republicans. Some are Libertarians. And some are Independents.

Nevertheless, like many others, I wonder whether a Blue Wave is on the horizon. If it is, it won't be a tidal wave like many hope and expect. It's been creeping into North Texas slowly for the past several elections. Dallas County officials, including its Commissioners Court, have been in the forefront of the change.

Even Steven Wong, the State Director of the Republican Party of Texas, sees the possibility of a political shift on the horizon.

In one of his recent fundraising emails, he said, "The Democrats continue to tout a Blue Wave that will sweep across Texas, wiping out countless Republican seats and effectively turning our state Democrat.

"We CANNOT let that happen. 

"One of the greatest ways to help us prevent this is to volunteer for our Republican Party of Texas Cavalry today!"

I would much have preferred Wong had said, "Let's head them off at the pass by starting to treat one another respectfully and show the citizens of this great state that WE can lead by proving that WE can work together—Republicans with Republicans, and Republicans with Democrats, and Republicans with Independents—for a better Texas."

But, alas, what he and others are saying is far, far removed from that. I am an idealist who believes our leaders ought to really work together in actions—not just words—for the good of this city, state, and nation—not selfishly crowd into a tiny phone booth and espouse inflammatory rhetoric that sets our teeth on edge.

Unless the Republicans change their flamboyant rhetoric very soon, the Blue Wave that many anticipate will continue onward and change the political landscape for perhaps another 40 years. When that's going to actually happen, I won't predict.

Remember, Texas and Garland didn't become Republican overnight. It took longer than a decade. And the Party in Power then misread the signs of the times badly. Like the Republicans and their reaction to Hispanic citizens today, the Southern Democrats of yore failed miserably to see the end-result of the nation's fervent march toward civil rights. That party made lots and lots of blunders and mistakes during that transition, especially in reaction to the revulsion of many to its policies and politics.

Because my mayoral campaign sign was blue, some people automatically and erroneously assumed I was a Democrat, although I am an avowed Independent. I chose blue because it's my favorite color and because blue and gold (gold signifying hope) looked good together.

I believe in a United States of America where people of different races, parties, religions, economic levels, and regions work together for the common good of ALL—not for the good of one or two particular special-interest groups.

I do not like polarization, nor do I like polarizing leaders.

In my worldview, people of differing parties work together calmly to find solutions, not reasons to bicker, undercut, and destroy.

But that's not happening right now. And all the bickering seems to be getting worse and worse.

One of the reasons I'm hesitant about whether the Blue Wave will actually occur this year is the way our elections have shifted during the past 40 years from being based on issues, policies, and hard work to today where money, money, and more money (and the slanted, narrowly focused advertising and marketing it will buy) are the drivers. 

On the other hand, one of the reasons I believe things might shift, if not in November then later, are the candidates themselves.

District 2 constable candidate Bill Gipson is on the run in hoping to bring a Blue Wave through North Texas. If Bill wins, he will be the first African-American in the office he is seeking. We've enjoyed having Bill in our home for social visits.

Not since my days at the Houston Chronicle have I personally known so many who will be on the ballot this fall in the midterm elections in Texas. The Party in Power is wielding too many that are seasoned political veterans nearing or in the older-adults category. With rare exceptions, the Democrats are younger, more energetic, and full of optimism about their personal futures. If they lose, many of these candidates are likely to be back on stage next election time—older, wiser, and more seasoned.

A Blue Wave coming? Look carefully at what the previous Red Wave taught us:

1. Something similar has happened in the past, so a transition of that magnitude is possible in the present.

2. Such transitions happen slowly, usually not overnight. One election does not a pattern make.

3. Don't jump to conclusions too quickly when such a transition is under way. I've read too many articles over the years that could have been titled, "Is the Republican Party (or the Democratic Party) dead?” Political obituaries are dangerous to write or read—and even more dangerous to believe.

4. If and when it does happen, you will see lots of people in red quickly changing their colors again. Politics, after all, is a fluid business, with way too many in both parties licking their fingers and sticking them in the air to test which way the wind is blowing.

We've been in numerous social occasions where we've gotten to know many of the candidates running for office in the November elections. Congressional candidate Colin Allred is a graduate of our alma mater, Baylor University. Five of our 10 immediate family members are Baylor graduates. We'd love to see many of the next generation graduate from there, too.