#RickPerrysTexasMiracle is DEAD

Not just Tricky Ricky's Texas miracle, but the "Texas miracle" in general, the one fueled by migration from the north along with legal and illegal immigration.

First, the National Weather Service is confirming drought is likely well into 2012. And conditions favorable to drought will last until 2020.

This isn't Texas of the 1950s, where such drought hurts just farming. East Texas' metropolitan areas have triple the population of then, Northerners expecting water amenities such as suburban lawns, etc. Business/industrial water users at East Texas manufacturing sites will also be crimped. So, this affects legal immigrations and U.S. citizens; they, too, not just illegals, won't be coming here so much.

The AP story still doesn't directly discuss global warming issues under the "favorable to drought" portion, but, folks, that's there, and neither Rick Perry's prayers nor his science denialism can obscure that.

Second issue? Migration from the Rustbelt to the Sunbelt in general has come almost to a halt. And probably won't recover any time soon. That migration, not so much in Texas as in Arizona, Florida and Nevada, but still somewhat here, fueled a housing boom, a retail boom, a restaurant chain boom and more. Well, now, Texas is going to have to live within its means more. And Tricky Ricky's going to have to fix the franchise tax and other things to pay for teachers, or eventually, his small town supporters are eventually going to wisen up enough to rebel.

Back to the bottom line, though. It's not just Rick Perry's Texas miracle that's dead. The whole GOP (and conservative Democrat) idea of poaching Northern union-heavier states for companies to move to right-to-work Texas is going to be on life support for a while. So, too will be the "multiplier effects" of new stores and restaurants.