“For half a century, Texas and Massachusetts have dominated the nation’s politics. Is there something in the water? …(T)he so-called ‘Boston-Austin axis’ (is) a quasi-mythical connection that has defined political power in the United States for half a century. Sometimes in alliance, sometimes at odds, the two states have provided more national candidates and more congressional leaders than any others. And the power generated by the states’ vibrant political cultures has fueled the national debate.

‘Massachusetts and Texas are the two centers of dynastic politics in the United States,’ said James Shannon, former Massachusetts attorney general and congressman. ‘I don’t mean just family dynasties — I mean that people feel when they get elected to higher office they’re part of a larger tradition in national politics.'” (Boston Globe)