The popular columnist for the New York Times declares that the proud state of big oil and bigger ambitions matters most in America’s political landscape, that “what happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas anymore.” The country’s fundamental divide has long been seen as a war between the Republican heartland and its two liberal coasts. But after visiting Texas, Collins reconsiders where the epicenter of a conservative political agenda resides and how it is sweeping across the country to redefine our national identity.
Gail Collins, the best-selling author of When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present, is a national columnist for the New York Times. Her latest book is As Texas Goes...: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda. She lives in New York City.
Anne Taylor Fleming is a nationally recognized commentator, writer, and longtime essayist for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Los Angeles Magazine where she writes a monthly column. Fleming is the associate director of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, and the author of three books: Motherhood Deferred, Marriage: A Duet and As If Love Were Enough. She has also won numerous awards for her TV essays.