Usually, when I write about Art Acevado, it’s to proverbially slap him around over something grotesquely stupid he said about guns and gun rights. As a result, I write about him more than most police chiefs in the country. Considering this is the same country with Portland and Chicago, that’s actually saying something kind of impressive.

However, I also believe in giving credit where credit is due. Every now and then, a blind squirrel finds a nut or what have you and this time, it was Acevado who found it.

In particular, he touches on a stark reality on why Democrats failed to flip Texas despite all the money spent on doing just that.

Houston police chief Art Acevedo, who was previously the police chief in Austin, offered some ideas on Twitter for why Texas wasn’t won over by Democrats this time. In response to a statement about there being more Republicans than Democrats in Texas, Acevedo wrote: “Texas Democrats can thank ‘socialist democrats and defund the police crowd’ led by @GregCasar, @JimmyFlannigan and the rest of the AustinCity Council. Fact, Americans and Texans want better policing, not de-policing, and they don’t want anything to do with any form of socialism.”

Texas Democrats can thank “socialist democrats and defund the police crowd” led by @GregCasar, @JimmyFlannigan and the rest of the AustinCity Council. Fact, Americans and Texans want better policing, not de-policing, and they don’t want anything to do with any form of socialism.

— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) November 4, 2020

Come ride with me in a marked police car and we can ask folks.

— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) November 4, 2020

Acevedo is not a conservative or a Trump supporter. On the contrary, he made news back in June when he appeared on CNN and told the president to, basically, shut up about how to deal with protesters. And last year, Jazz wrote about Acevedo going on a gun control rant after four of his officers were shot. He definitely leans left and would probably be happy to see Texas turn blue.

But even he considers Austin’s socialist city council members a bridge too far for Texas. And that’s not an exaggeration in this case. If you’re not familiar with Greg Casar, who Acevedo mentioned in his tweet, he’s a Democratic Socialist on the Austin City Council:

It’s important we remember that there are divisions in the liberal ranks. The only thing they all agree on is how much they despise President Trump. That includes some like Acevedo who lean fairly far to the left but still aren’t going to support outright socialism and damn sure don’t want to see their police defunded.

That might work in New York, California, or Massachusetts, but it’s never going to fly in Texas.

Now, there are a lot of people who look at Texas as being more conservative and pro-gun than Texas really is. Oh, it’s both of those things, but there are states that are much more conservative and much more pro-gun. Despite that, though, Texas has a reputation.

Another part of that reputation is a love of law and order. They like their lawmen there. Lawmen are part of the mystique of the Old West, a mystique that Texas has embraced completely.

Defunding the police is never going to fly there.

Of course, that’s not to say that Democrats would have fared any better without socialism or “defund the police” rhetoric. I’m not convinced that would have made a lot of difference, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt their chances to at least appeal to more moderate centrist independents.

Not that it matters, though. They did and it backfired on them spectacularly.