The casual, isolating, mildly degrading/insulting, negative associations, comments about Texas are cropping up throughout media and popular culture, and in news.
Yes, I've seen it too, but I don't think it's all that new. As a native Californian, I can tell you that there's long been a perception out there that Texas is a somewhat backward, overly conservative, flag waving, hickish place, filled with narrow minded Christians and empty headed yahoos. Not all Californians think of Texas that way, but enough do, that the viewpoint is noticeable.
My own views of Texas only improved because I was regularly in conversation with like-minded patriots and conservatives out here. In time, I came to see that all of those 'negatives' that liberal Californians looked down upon, were actually superior virtues, and that they set Texans far above the degraded and decrepit culture out west.
Maybe it's just me, and maybe it's because I'm just a bit biased toward my adopted state, but I see the cultural stock value of Texas rising in the minds of Americans.
It's an odd thing, but after living in California for half a century, I never experienced any home sickness for the place when we relocated to Texas. On the other hand, I had to make a trip out of state in our first year here, and I was absolutely sick with longing for Texas while I was gone.
Like I said, I might just be a tad biased :-)
I’m a Texan that has been living in California frequently during the time period we are talking about, I think this is different, not in California but in national reporting and writing, where I see the more focused attacks on Texas is in the media culture, and news, and scripts for TV and movies, and comedy, Texas is portrayed as regressive, racist, mean, republican, and as moving backwards.
Texas maintains and grows among the public in fly over country, but the national media left is becoming more hostile.