A Journey into Red America

Editor's Note: After the 2004 election, Rose Aguilar, like many other progressives, was haunted by the same question: what went wrong and why? She realized that the answer lay not in the liberal bubble of San Francisco but in the vast expanses of George Bush's America, among the many people who voted for him despite the best efforts of progressives everywhere. Over the next four months, Aguilar plans to visit a number of red states, including Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana and Utah. Her first stop was Zavala County, Texas.

The drive from San Francisco to Texas took almost three full days. The road to El Paso, Texas looks like chain store America, with loud fluorescent signs and advertisements lining the highway. John Kerry got 56 percent of the vote in El Paso County, but I am headed for Zavala County, where Kerry got 75 percent of the vote. It's as blue as you get in Bush country.

I drive into Crystal City, a small town with two main roads that reveal its slow decline. The shops on the main drag near the movie theater (House of Wax is showing for $4) are empty and dilapidated. I drive by a pinata party at Pizza Hut and spot a Dairy Queen sign touting the virtues of its rancheros plate. No other restaurant chain could be bothered to set up shop in Crystal City.

The town's staunchly Democratic tradition dates back to 1969, when more than 1,700 high school students staged a walk-out to protest a high school rule that allowed only one Hispanic on the cheerleading squad. "Cheerleading may not sound significant now, but thanks to that walkout, everything changed," says Diana Palacio, Crystal City's city manager who led the walkout. The issues at stake were much larger: bilingual education, Hispanic teachers, college preparation and representation in the curriculum.

"Today, every member of the school board is Hispanic. Back then, they were all white," she says. "We couldn't even speak Spanish and had no one to look up to."

It was a proud moment in Crystal City's history when this small town became a catalyst for similar protests across the country. The walkout did not, however, change the town's fortunes, and it has since languished as a neglected outpost of progressive America.

The Religious Left

I attend Mass at the Church of the Almighty, a Pentecostal church with parish of around 200 people, and am immediately greeted with a dozen handshakes and hugs. After the service, which focused on Mother's Day and the importance of family, I ask the pastor, Brother Dino Espinoza, whether he discusses political issues in church.

"If I want people to vote for a certain issue, I will do it outside of the building," he says. "I never bring politics into my church. It's not appropriate." Brother Espinoza is a registered Democrat and is staunchly opposed to abortion and homosexuality, but he never preaches against them from the pulpit. "I believe God loves everyone. Therefore, everyone is welcome in my church," he says.

The vast majority of the people I meet at service say they're very religious and vote Democratic for its economic policies and anti-discrimination stance. They never mention abortion or gay marriage.

It's no surprise that the economy is the number one issue for women like Sofia Munoz, who works 64 hours a week at three jobs. She averages $5.60 an hour as a cook for Head Start and at a taco stand and as a labor contractor in the fields.

"I've always voted Democrat and always will," she says. "I feel the Democrats fight harder for us poor people than the Republicans." Munoz says she barely makes ends meet, but rarely complains about her 1 percent annual raise -- not when the unemployment rate in Crystal City is 14 percent, one of the highest in the state. "If you have a job you keep it, because you won't get a better one," she says.