Crusaders on Right Demand an End
to Bipartisan Texas House Tradition
Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition Letter
Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside
November 23, 2020
More than 200 activists on the hard right called on Texas House Republicans to declare full-scale partisan warfare on the Democrats in the lower chamber in 2021 based on the claim that the general election produced a mandate for conservative reforms in the Lone Star State.
The Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition for starters wants the GOP to have a monopoly on committee chairs with Republican majorities on every standing panel in the west wing of the statehouse in Austin.
The conservatives also want a guarantee that every piece of legislation that the Texas Republican Party has designated as an official priority will get a vote on the House floor. The coalition is also seeking assurances that bills with support from a majority of the state's 150 representatives will be called up for votes by the full House.
The House will have 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats again after both sides won and lost a seat at the polls early this month. GOP State Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont appears to have locked down the leadership post that current Republican Speaker Dennis Bonnen will be giving up in January.
Phelan has been under attack from Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, who's associated with the far right that the Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition represents. But Phelan's power would be weakened dramatically if the conservatives get this wishes on partisan domination and priority treatment.
They won't though. The Texas House has been a showcase for effectiveness as a direct consequence of bipartisan history and tradition in a chamber that's always been controlled my moderates. Phelan won the race to replace Bonnen with a significant number of Democrats and Republicans. The conservatives have to know the Republican speaker is going to appoint Democrats to a fair share of committee chairmanships - like it or not. But they are doing their best in the meantime to hold their fellow Republicans feet to the fire.
"Voters did not elect you to wear purple ties," the coalition declared. "They did not elect you to compromise liberty principles and yield to the Democrats. They did not elect you to pander to corporate media. Voters hired you at the ballot box to the do the job of legislator because you wear the Texas Republican label.
"We expect you to do the job you were hired to do by adhering to Texas Republican principles as you fight to advance liberty and save Texas from anti-liberty, Big Government zealots." |