&gt;There is a view of Texas collectively as a largely backward state filled with trigger-happy cowboys and whatnot. That might be true. However, there is much more to the state than just that.<p>It doesn&#x27;t help that Texas plays up the wild west stereotype as much as it can to the rest of the country and the world, nor does it help that Texas&#x27; government panders to secessionists and lunatics, such as the Jade Helm conspiracists, and pretends moderates, liberals and Democrats really don&#x27;t exist in the state outside of the holding pen of Austin. Texas likes to pretend it&#x27;s only part of the United States as a half-hearted favor, at least whenever a Democrat is in the White House,  but it won&#x27;t say no to agricultural subsidies or disaster money from the government, even when it has plenty of cash on hand to cover itself.<p>Personally, as a Texan who loves Texas, I kind of wish Texas would get over its bullshit. If I never see another Texas political ad filmed in front of a barbed wire fence and a haybale it will be too soon.