Senator Ted Cruz

And General Santa Anna said, hand over the cannon. And the Texians responded by making a flag with an image of the cannon and underneath it the legend, come and take it. And they flew it over the town and that was the beginning of the Texas Revolution. Now the epilogue is Santa Anna came in with about 6,000 soldiers and he did in fact take the cannon. I mean, Gonzales was a tiny little town.

And the Texas Revolution was very much like the American Revolution. We lost every damn battle. The Alamo was a slaughter. Goliad was a slaughter, much like Washington, where every battle he lost and lost and lost. And then at San Jacinto, we won, defeated Santa Ana, General Sam Houston. And we became our own nation, the Republic of Texas, from 1836 to 1845.

And the Texas Revolution was very much like the American Revolution. We lost every damn battle. The Alamo was a slaughter. Goliad was a slaughter, much like Washington, where every battle he lost and lost and lost. And then at San Jacinto, we won, defeated Santa Ana, General Sam Houston. And we became our own nation, the Republic of Texas, from 1836 to 1845.

It does.

It does.

So California used to know the answer to this. 50 years ago, California was the economic engine of the country.

So California used to know the answer to this. 50 years ago, California was the economic engine of the country.

and unfortunately you're cursed by idiot politicians who were destroying this this mighty economic engine you know none of this is rocket science in in texas we believe in freedom we believe in low taxes and low regulations and and to understand the state texas was basically founded by a bunch of wildcatters who were guys with fourth grade educations that began drilling holes in the ground and one after the other became the richest man on earth yeah

and unfortunately you're cursed by idiot politicians who were destroying this this mighty economic engine you know none of this is rocket science in in texas we believe in freedom we believe in low taxes and low regulations and and to understand the state texas was basically founded by a bunch of wildcatters who were guys with fourth grade educations that began drilling holes in the ground and one after the other became the richest man on earth yeah

And the ethos of Texas, you know, it was interesting. A number of years ago, I was visiting with a CEO and an executive team of a company that had moved from California to Texas. And they didn't have any Texas ties, but they were just fed up with California. They moved to Texas. And so I was asking them, they'd only been in Texas for a couple of months.

And the ethos of Texas, you know, it was interesting. A number of years ago, I was visiting with a CEO and an executive team of a company that had moved from California to Texas. And they didn't have any Texas ties, but they were just fed up with California. They moved to Texas. And so I was asking them, they'd only been in Texas for a couple of months.

I said, all right, what's the biggest difference? And I thought maybe they'd say taxes or maybe regulations or maybe lawsuits. Those were the three things I was gonna guess. Their answer blew me away. They said, the biggest difference is the culture. And what they said is, in California, if you're in business, you're a pariah.

I said, all right, what's the biggest difference? And I thought maybe they'd say taxes or maybe regulations or maybe lawsuits. Those were the three things I was gonna guess. Their answer blew me away. They said, the biggest difference is the culture. And what they said is, in California, if you're in business, you're a pariah.

They said, look, there's an exception for tech and an exception for Hollywood. I need more. Well, that was their view. But they were not in tech or Hollywood. They were in sanitation, which was not a sexy business. And the way they described it, they said, if you're at a party and someone asks, what do you do? And you say, I'm a businessman. They said, people will turn around and walk away.

They said, look, there's an exception for tech and an exception for Hollywood. I need more. Well, that was their view. But they were not in tech or Hollywood. They were in sanitation, which was not a sexy business. And the way they described it, they said, if you're at a party and someone asks, what do you do? And you say, I'm a businessman. They said, people will turn around and walk away.

And I gotta say, as a Texan, that is weird. I mean, we lionize entrepreneurs.

And I gotta say, as a Texan, that is weird. I mean, we lionize entrepreneurs.

Well, there is a cause and effect. And you go back to 1987, and 1987 is when Ronald Reagan signed amnesty into place. And at the time, there were 3 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. And Congress went to the American people and said, all right, we got a deal for you. We're going to secure the border. We're going to fix the problem of illegal immigration forever.

Well, there is a cause and effect. And you go back to 1987, and 1987 is when Ronald Reagan signed amnesty into place. And at the time, there were 3 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. And Congress went to the American people and said, all right, we got a deal for you. We're going to secure the border. We're going to fix the problem of illegal immigration forever.

And in exchange, we're going to give amnesty to the 3 million people who are here illegally now. And in 87, the American people said, OK, that sounds like a reasonable deal. They took the deal. Now we now know what happened, which is the amnesty happened, but the border never got secured. What did that mean for California? The highest concentration of illegal immigrants was in California in 1988.