Donald Trump changed a lot of things in American politics, including one that's likely to be around for some time to come -- normalizing the practice of a politician not using any "code words" or "dog whistles," but instead just boldly telling you what he really feels. The unvarnished truth, as he sees it, in other words. Why pussyfoot around? Just tell it like it is, and anyone who complains is obviously some sort of liberal weenie, so you can ignore all of them and their complaints as being too "woke," or something.

Thankfully, politicians not named "Donald Trump" still occasionally pay the price for such forthright public admissions. Exhibit A, today, is the former mayor of Colorado City, Texas. And I think his words truly need no introduction because they are pretty self-explanatory. In a now-deleted Facebook post, Mayor Tim Boyd wrote (in response to the ongoing winter disaster in his city):

No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local governments [sic] responsibility to support you during trying times like this [sic]! Sink or swim, it's your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn hand out [sic]! If you don't have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal with out [sic] and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family. If you were sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your [sic] lazy is direct [sic] result of your raising! Only the strong will survive and the week [sic] will perish. Folks, God Has [sic] given us the tools to support ourselves in times like this [sic]. This is sadly a product of a socialist government where they feed people to believe that the FEW work and others will become dependent for handouts. Am I sorry that you have been dealing without electricity and water; yes! But I'll be damned if I'm going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves! We have lost sight of those in need and those that take advantage of the system and mesh them into one group!! Bottom line, quit crying and looking for a handout! Get off your ass and take care of your own family!

Bottom line -- DON'T BE A PART OF A PROBLEM, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!

There it is, folks. The unvarnished Republican/Libertarian theory of how society should work, in all its true glory. Just like Trump, Mayor Boyd just let it all hang out without any filter whatsoever, so people could hear precisely how he thought the world should be in the midst of a life-threatening emergency. Which is, essentially: "dog eat dog."

It seems he got some pushback, though, even though Colorado City isn't a known liberal/socialist hotbed or anything. This isn't exactly Austin, to put it another way. So Boyd removed his original post and posted this by way of an apology (of sorts):

All, I have set back and watched all this escalating and have tried to keep my mouth shut! I won't deny for one minute what I said in my post this morning. Believe me when I say that many of the things I said were taken out of context and some of which were said without putting much thought in to [sic] it. I would never want to hurt the elderly or anyone that is in true need of help to be left to fend for themselves. I was only making the statement that those folks that are too lazy to get up and fend for themselves but are capable should not be dealt a handout. I apologize for the wording and some of the phrases that were used! I had already turned in my resignation and had not signed up to run for mayor again on the deadline that was February 12th! I spoke some of this out of the anger that the city and county was catching for situations which were out of their control. Please understand if I had it to do over again I would have just kept my words to myself and if I did say them I would have used better wording and been more descriptive.

The anger and harassment you have caused my wife and family is so undeserved.... my wife was laid off of her job based off the association people gave to her and the business she worked for. She's a very good person and was only defending me! But her to have to get fired from her job over things I said out of context is so horrible. I admit, there are things that are said all the time that I don't agree with; but I would never harass you or your family to the point that they would lose there [sic] livelihood such as a form of income.

I ask that you each understand I never meant to speak for the city of Colorado City or Mitchell county [sic]! I was speaking as a citizen as I am NOT THE MAYOR anymore. I apologize for the wording and ask that you please not harass myself [sic] or my family anymore!

Threatening our lives with comments and messages is a horrible thing to have to wonder about. I won't share any of those messages from those names as I feel they know who they are and hope after they see this they will retract the hateful things they have said!

Thank you

Tim Boyd (citizen)

In other words, he got "cancelled" -- by his own citizens, most of whom are probably pretty staunchly conservative. Because what he said was so incredibly heartless and insensitive and downright inhumane.

But Boyd was indeed being honest, because this "pull yourself up by your own damn bootstraps" way of thinking is at the heart of pretty much all Republican dogma. True, they usually don't come right out and admit it in such bald terms, but the thought is usually there, even when left unsaid.

So it seems we're likely going to be in a period where such things do get said, at least for the time being. With Donald Trump still being lionized within the Republican Party, and with any Republicans who utter the slightest discouragin' word against him being fiercely retaliated against, it's likely to continue as other GOP politicians decide they also want to be free to say anything they wish -- without ever having to suffer any consequences for doing so.

What's really telling about the entire disaster in Texas is how Republicans have no real answer when their governmental ideology fails. Colorado City residents in dire need are dismissed as "socialists" who are "looking for a handout." Them's fightin' words, in Texas, it's worth pointing out. But their governor is no different. Texas set up its own power grid precisely so it wouldn't have to deal with all those pesky federal interstate regulations, and so they created a free market paradise with nary a regulation in sight. Then when everything froze -- precisely because no regulation forced the power companies to winterize their infrastructure -- it was (naturally) all the fault of the Green New Deal and "frozen windmills," according to the governor. How the hippies managed to secretly take over Texas and force the Green New Deal and all the windmills upon them was not explained, of course. And Twitter responded with a whole bunch of photos of wind turbines spinning merrily away in places like Antarctica and Greenland -- because they had been properly winterized.

It's good that the citizens of Colorado City forced their mayor to resign in disgrace. Doing or saying stupid and hurtful things in response to your own incompetence should indeed have severe consequences for a politician. And the more such consequences happen, the more Republican politicians will (hopefully) begin to think twice about just "telling it like it is" quite so often. Until then, however, what we've got is a real window into the way they do think, and it's pretty much exactly what we suspected all along.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant