Lone Star Lunacy

You heard that right, folks. Don't turn your back on your nanny, housekeeper or gardener. These people are a threat. And you thought those extra hands helped you live a better life.

Perry -- who seems to be preparing to run for president again -- needs to stop bashing California. Instead, he should bash Patrick. Moral courage is a rare commodity in politics, and you won't find much of it among Texas Republicans who are afraid to stand up and shout down this hatemonger for fear of incurring the wrath of the tea party.

Where have you gone, George W. Bush?

"43" needs to come out of retirement and help the Republican Party in his home state come clean. As the most immigrant friendly president in recent history, Bush should call a news conference and blast away at Patrick in the same way that this loudmouth blasts immigrants.

Something like this would totally be in character. In 1996, then-Gov. Bush was approached by anti-immigrant activists from California who -- having helped pass Proposition 187, an insidious ballot measure that denied education and social benefits to illegal immigrants -- wanted to do the same for Texas. Bush told the activists to get lost, and insisted that Texas didn't need the division they were peddling.

Ultimately, the California initiative -- which Wilson successfully rode to re-election -- was declared unconstitutional, and the GOP brand became toxic in California. That helped elect more Democrats, but ironically it also hurt the California Democratic Party by fostering hubris and making it so easy for Democrats to win elections that they are now defined by mediocrity, corruption and incompetence.

Mark my words. If the drama in Texas plays out like it did in California, it won't be long before one party in the Lone Star State is winless and the other worthless. When this happens, Texans will wish that their only worries were droughts, tornadoes and forest fires.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.