With a nearly open border, crushing property taxes amid a historic $33 BILLION surplus, and overwhelming support amongst Texas Republicans for real legislation ensuring educational freedom, Texans were depending upon their Legislature to stand up. And yet, the 88th Legislature gaveled out yesterday accomplishing NOTHING on any of these fronts, spending the final hours impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a rare and rushed Saturday meeting, the Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach conservative Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite major opposition from conservative voices like you and me.
This likely unconstitutional impeachment was carried out with absolute bias, as House Speaker Dade Phelan registered an affirmative vote following Paxton’s call for his resignation.
The vote was also Democrat-led (with more Democrats voting in favor than Republicans in a Republican-led chamber) showcasing a concerning alliance between RINOs and Democrats that puts party politics above the will of the people.
This impeachment, the first of a statewide official in over 100 years, was centered around a settlement reached with four former employees of the Office of the Attorney General, who claimed unfair termination.
However, the rushed and flawed process did not provide sufficient opportunity for due diligence or a fair assessment of the allegations. It is an affront to justice and disregards the principle of innocent until proven guilty.
Furthermore, at a time when our state legislature should be focused on responsible governance, they approved the largest spending increase in 20 years.
This budget, now approved by both the House and Senate, amounts to a staggering $321 BILLION, marking a 21.3 percent surge from the previous biennium’s appropriations. This excessive spending is a betrayal of conservative fiscal values and demonstrates a lack of accountability to the taxpayers who elected them.
It is disheartening to see that the legislature failed to address the following critical priorities set forth by the Republican Party of Texas:
Protect Our Elections
Secure the Border and Protect Texans
Ban Democrat Chairs
Abolish Abortion in Texas
Defend Our Gun Rights
Parental Rights and Educational Freedom
The lack of progress on issues such as border security, parental rights in education, restoring integrity in our elections, and protecting life is deeply concerning. Instead, our representatives have diverted their attention to issues that do not align with our conservative principles.
Republicans — including our very own representative — have chosen to pass corporate welfare and expand Obamacare, even extending benefits to women seeking abortions:
In addition, while Texas teachers cannot expect no additional compensation, Texas lawmakers found time to give their staff historic budget increases.
In response to the lack of progress, Governor Abbott called a special session to address property tax relief and increasing the penalty for human trafficking and operating a stash house to begin only hours after the regular session ended. In an act of defiance, the Texas House passed two bills and adjourned just a few short hours after the special session started, daring Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to either pass the house versions without change or declare the session a failure (since the House would no longer be in session to resolve any differences).
It is worth noting that the special session property tax relief plan only provided about $12.4B in relief, whereas the property tax plan from the regular session provided $16.3B. Both plans fall significantly short of Gov. Abbott’s stated goal of the “largest property tax cut in history” which would need to exceed $20B to match the 2009 tax cut (which itself was not big enough for you to likely remember).
We cannot let these actions go unnoticed or unchallenged. I urge you to join me in demanding accountability from our elected officials. Contact your representatives, express your disappointment, and let them know that their actions are not representative of our values and priorities.
Share this information with friends, family, and fellow conservatives, and encourage them to join us in this fight for true conservative leadership.
Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to our conservative principles. Let us stand strong and united as we work towards a better Texas.