Search - Last Man Standing - Politics, Texas Style on DVD

Documentary on politics

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 07/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of politics will be interested in this question: How far down does the popularity of a president flow? Here, it's regional and Republican, i.e., can W's presence in office will seats for other Texas Republicans? However, the same question was relevant for Democrats when Bill Clinton was in office.

This documentary considers itself to focus on a statewide race and a local one, however, the local race takes precedence and the statewide election was just parsley. This documentary asks, "How did the home state of LBJ turn to Republicanism?" Unfortunately, it never really answers that question.

The purpose for choosing this particular race is because the district was in the center of the state and considered swing. One gets a taste of local flavor because both candidates wear jeans when candidates from any other region would have constantly worn suits. This race was between an incredibly young Democrat and an incumbent Republican who had a slew of ethics violations on his belt. This documentary shows cordialness to be fake: the Republican candidate idly chatted with his opponent and then talked mess behind his back.

One thing shook me to the core and I think apolitical watchers will see this and be disturbed by it as well. The evangelic official talked all this church, church, church but then was as corrupt as he could be. He could quote scripture frequently, but you could tell that he would throw away those same ideas if it were to his advantage. This coverage shows that church folk can be just as sleazy as self-identified sinners. All the resentment toward the Jim Bakers and Jim Joneses will pop into your head as you watch this work. This was an interesting look into human behavior and hypocrisy.

Because there is a gender gap in voters' choices, it was surprising and difficult to see so many women proudly voting Republican. Perhaps the idea of a gender gap is region-specific. The admirable former governor Ann Richards is interviewed here, but I guess her service has not swayed other female residents in her home state.

To be honest, I do think this documentary is intended for progressives, as most POV documentaries are. Still, I think Republicans may enjoy it because it is still brought up that W and most of his allies won their seats."