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GOP House Members Hold Secret Back-Stabby Meeting As Civil War Heats Up

Texas Republicans play dirty as leadership battle escalates.

Michelle H. Davis's avatar
Michelle H. Davis
Sep 20, 2024
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GOP House Members Hold Secret Back-Stabby Meeting As Civil War Heats Up
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The plot thickens in the Texas GOP Civil War! In a secret meeting that can only be described as “House of Cards” meets “Survivor,” a rogue group of lawmakers gathers to plot, scheme, and throw each other under the bus for the most influential role in the Texas House.

Meanwhile, Speaker Dade Phelan dropped a press release this morning. His message? Less “Game of Thrones,” more “Let’s just do our jobs.” But with the GOP Civil War heating up, who’s got time for governing when there are rules to bend and leadership gavel dreams to chase?

There is no chance in hell that the far-right Republican members will kumbayah with Dade Phelan, even if it is the grown-up thing to do.

What is this gathering he spoke of?

According to the Quorum Report, about 25 Republicans attended an Austin area meeting focused on coalescing behind a challenger to Speaker Phelan. The Republicans who showed up were either GOP members or GOP House candidates. Each signed a letter earlier this year to ban House Democratic Chairs.

This is part of the “Contract on Texas” and a plank in the Republican Party of Texas’s platform.

We’ve discussed the “Contract on Texas” many times in recent months, but to sum it up, it’s the Republican plan to remove all political power from communities of color in Texas. They’ll do that by denying Democrats chairmanships and not allowing their bills to be heard before all GOP priorities are passed.

Further reading:

  • Republican’s Vile Plan To Remove Political Power From People Of Color In Texas

The “Contract on Texas” is a complete fascist takeover of the political process in the Texas House Chamber.

The Republicans who signed the “Contract on Texas” are calling themselves “The Reformers.”

Quick history lesson.

Hitler’s Nazis framed their rise to power as “A restoration of Germany’s former glory and purity.” This narrative relied on reversing the perceived humiliation caused by the Treaty of Versailles and the defeat in World War I. Hitler’s propaganda promised to restore Germany’s strength.

Most of us agree that over the last decade, we’ve seen the rise of fascism within the Republican Party, especially in Texas. Reforming. Restoring. It’s a very similar language that Nazis used in the 1930s. Considering the overarching goal of Texas Republicans is to remove political power from the perceived “others,” we should be alarmed about them using this type of language.

Hitler’s Nazis were far from the only fascist dictator to use “reformer/restorer” language to justify fascist policies.

For example, following his coup in 1973, Augusto Pinochet frequently used rhetoric to justify his dismantling of democratic institutions, replacing them with authoritarian control, but always under the guise of “reforms” that would stabilize and modernize Chile.

The moral of this history lesson is that when would-be fascists start talking about “reforms” or being a “reformer,” it will never lead to anything good.

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

What about this meeting?

According to Scott Braddock, the editor of the Quorum Report, the first announcement made in this meeting was that “no audio or video recordings” were to be made.

It should be noted that Ana-Maria Ramos, the only Democrat who has announced their run for Speaker, immediately took to Twitter and blasted the GOP for their secretive meeting, questioning what they’re trying to hide behind closed doors. She pointed out that the first order of business for these 25+ Republicans was ensuring no audio or video recordings, adding to the suspicion. Her message? Texans deserve transparency, not backroom deals, and we should all be asking: what are they scheming that can’t see the light of day?

Transparency matters, indeed.

Deep in the bowels of right-wing media, we were given some insight into their voting process. They went through several voting rounds to eventually pick their champion.

Representative David Cook was picked as the “fascist champion” to challenge Dade Phelan as a Speaker for the Texas House in January.

Does this mean that the other four Republican hopefuls (Oliverson, Smithee, Slawson, and Frank) will now drop out? Who knows.

Two separate GOP propaganda arms, Texas Scorecard and The Texan, report that 50 GOP members attended that meeting. However, in the Quorum Report, Scott Braddock says this is untrue.

Representative Tony Tinderholt made a statement we should all pay attention to.

While responding to Phelan’s statement this morning, Tinderholt pointed out that the only way Dade Phelan could win was with Democratic support, which was against the Republican Party Platform.

Ideally, Democrats will flip the House in November. But if they don’t, they might consider making deals with Republicans, presumably Dade Phelan, to keep chairmanships and have their bills heard.

However, if it’s against Republican Party rules to work with Democrats, they should avoid making deals with Republicans and put all of their weight behind a Democratic Speaker, even if they don’t have the numbers.

Why should Democrats play nice when Republicans refuse to?

We’ll discuss this topic again after the election. For now, it’s just speculation. The Republican Caucus will vote in December to nominate a speaker candidate. However, the official vote for Speaker will take place on the first day of the legislative session, January 14, 2025.

Until then, the GOP shit show will be Dade Phelan vs. David Cook.

Microsoft Paint skills on fleek.

Let them fight. Let them tear each other to shreds.

While Phelan runs unopposed, David Cook isn’t in a safe seat. Ebony Turner is the Democrat running against Cook. If you can afford it, consider donating, and if you live in Tarrant County, consider volunteering for her campaign. Ebony Turner’s website.

This year, Democrats are closer than ever to flipping the Texas House. Lord, we all pray it happens. But if it doesn’t, we’ve been here before and will manage it when it comes. However, if they don’t flip the House, you can expect them to slim down the margins, giving the GOP an even slimmer majority.

Regardless of what happens, the Republican Party of Texas is completely fractured and in utter chaos. We can expect the 89th Legislative Session to be full of petty drama and Republican infighting. It’ll be one hell of a show.

Ultimately, it’s like watching a slow-motion car wreck you can’t turn away from.

The GOP Civil War is in full swing, and while David Cook gears up to challenge Phelan for Speaker, the rest of us get to sit back and watch the fireworks. Will the Texas GOP rip itself apart before January? Will Democrats finally get a much-needed win and flip the House? Or will the same old “boys club” survive, duct-taped together by backroom deals and anti-democratic power grabs?

Popcorn ready, Texas. This is far from over.

Vote early, vote often, just vote.

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  • November 5: Election day!

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Dr. Fake Smile's avatar
Dr. Fake Smile
Sep 21

I just love your journalism 👊🏼

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1 reply by Michelle H. Davis
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Erwin Cuellar
Sep 22

Has this fractured, party dynamic for them existed before? Was this fracturing inevitable, with the extreme ideologies they have undertaken in the past few years?

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