The late Texas state Sen. Teel Bivins of Amarillo once lamented how Republicans have this way of “eating their own.”
I didn’t quite understand what he meant when he said that to me. Now I am beginning to get it.
The Texas Republican Party has sanctioned a radio ad lambasting GOP Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan for continuing a longstanding Texas legislative tradition, which is to appoint legislators of the minority party to committee chairmanships.
What the hell?
Phelan is a Beaumont Republican serving his second term as the Man of the Texas House. Is he doing something radical? Something so completely out of the ordinary? Is he capitulating to those dreaded Democrats on policy? No, no and hell no!
He is doing what speakers of both parties have done for a lot longer than any of the whippersnappers who oppose this concept have been alive.
The Texas Tribune reports: In the minute-long ad, a narrator says the speaker is “teaming up with Democrats to kill our Republican priorities.”
What in the name of good government is that narrator talking about?
I spoke this week with one of the GOP insurgents, state Rep. Bryan Slaton of Royse City, about his vote against Phelan’s bid to retain the speakership. He said Phelan is rewarding Democrats unduly with legislative power they didn’t earn at the ballot box. Slaton is one of the fiery members of the Texas Freedom Caucus who seemingly doesn’t understand the longstanding Texas political culture.
Republican Gov. George W. Bush forged a tremendous relationship with Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and Democratic House Speaker Pete Laney when he took office in January 1995. Their cooperation with the governor continued a hallowed Texas tradition of good-government compromise between the parties. Laney made sure to appoint Republican legislators to committee chairs, as did his GOP successors appoint Democrats to chairmanships.
The current GOP caucus seemingly wants to change all that. Many of them believe Democrats should be ostracized. Not all of them share that view, according to the Texas Tribune, which reported:
Phelan’s office declined to comment on the ad. But by Friday, at least two of his allies in the House had fired back on Twitter.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, tweeted a screenshot of a recent fundraising email from the Texas GOP and wrote, “Wow! [Texas GOP]’s hypocrisy knows no boundaries! They are fundraising off the passage of the Heartbeat and Trigger Bills — to fund their attacks on the Speaker who helped make them law!”
Texas GOP launches radio attack ads against Republican state House speaker | The Texas Tribune
That takes me back to an earlier point, which is that Phelan isn’t a closet progressive masquerading as a conservative Republican.
The Texas Republican Party has lost its mind.
Wherever he is, Teel Bivins is laughing out loud.