Texas Democrats keep smiling when they talk about their political future. Good for them. Better to smile than to grimace from all the hair-pulling they’re doing over their inability to win any statewide office.

Brent Budowsky, writing a blog for The Hill, thinks the time is at hand for Lone Star Democrats to make their long-hoped-for breakthrough. I’m not yet so sure about that.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/campaign/291161-why-texas-democrats-can-win-

I would love to see the state become a competitive place once again. It was for a time in the 1980s as the state was undergoing a transition from Yellow Dog Democrat to Rock-Ribbed Republican. Then the GOP took command after the 1994 mid-term election. It’s been downhill ever since for Texas Democrats.

Even when presented with inferior Republican candidates to run against statewide, Democrats can’t break the GOP vise grip.

My favorite example of how Republicans take advantage of their brand in Texas was the 2012 election for presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Republican incumbent, Sharon “Killer” Keller defeated Democratic challenger Keith Hampton, even though Keller has been under an ethics probe and has been criticized heavily for her ham-handed approach to death-penalty appeals.

The most infamous case involved an appeal by a Death Row inmate that didn’t get to the CCA’s office until after 5 p.m., when the office closed for the day. Sorry about that, Keller’s office said. You gotta get here on time or else you’re toast.

My feeling then was that if Democrats couldn’t win that race, they will be consigned to the wilderness a good while longer.

The rule of thumb in Texas has been if you’re a Republican, you’re in the driver’s seat, no matter your actual credentials. The state is no longer competitive in presidential contests, even with its 38-electoral vote treasure trove. Republicans take the state for granted; Democrats don’t care.

I cannot predict when the state will become competitive once again. The smart money says the state’s changing population and its burgeoning Latino census will start to tilt the scale. But as the 2012 presidential election demonstrated, even with growing Latino numbers and President Obama swamping Mitt Romney among those voters, the president still collected a smaller percentage of the total vote here than he did in 2008.

Keep trying, Democrats. Sooner or later the state will become competitive. Recall that there once was a time when Republicans were singing the same blues notes Democrats are crooning now.