Tag Archives: Texas GOP

local news, State news

Paxton wins, integrity loses

On the day that the Texas Senate voted to give suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton a pass on a litany of allegations filed against him, I got a flier in my mailbox that said something quite different.

Texans Against Public Corruption sent it out with brief testimonials from four prominent Texas conservatives who say that Paxton has destroyed public integrity with his willful conduct as the state AG.

Who are these folks? Former Gov. Rick Perry, former U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and former state Sen. Konni Burton. Perry shames the Texas GOP for seeking to “delegitimize the impeachment process”; Roy said Paxton “must resign”; Burton wonders how a man who cheats on his wife can tell the truth to his constituents; Gohmert says bluntly that “the guy is corrupt.”

Sigh …

A two-week impeachment trial ended today with acquittals on 16 impeachment counts, with just two Republicans joining Democrats to convict a guy whom the House impeached in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

The acquittal means Paxton can return to his job as AG, returning to the same sleazy atmosphere from which he was suspended after his impeachment.

I clearly was hoping for a different outcome, given the shame that Paxton has brought to the office he has disgraced since 2015. I won’t surrender totally to the political gods, though. He still has a state charge of securities fraud for which he eventually will stand trial and the federal government is continuing to examine other corruption allegations.

Just maybe there is a semblance of justice to be found. I was hoping it would arrive today in the Texas Senate chamber.

local news

Six candidates seek Slaton’s old seat

Six candidates have filed to run for the Texas House of Representatives seat vacated by the expelled Rep. Bryan Slaton, a Royse City Republican, in one of the more bizarre sex-related scandals in anyone’s recent memory.

The five Republicans who filed are Jill Dutton, former president of Republican Women of Van Zandt; Heath Hyde, a Sulphur Springs attorney; Brent Money, a Greenville lawyer; Doug Roszhart, vice chair of the Hunt County GOP; and Krista Schild, a Hunt County precinct chair. The Democrat is Kristen Washington, a former member of the Greenville City Council.

I’ll rehash briefly what happened to Slaton. The two-term representative took an underage staffer to his Austin apartment, filled her with booze and then had sex with her. This supposedly “devout Christian” never apologized for his action when the House called him on it; he exhibited zero contrition. So the House voted unanimously to oust his sorry a** out of the House.

I notice that three of the five Republican candidates are men.

Hmm. Fine, but let me caution all those fellas about the risk of campaigning for a seat once held by a politician who got caught breaking his most sacred of oaths.

Six file to run in special election to replace Rep. Bryan Slaton | The Texas Tribune

Do not, gentlemen, brag to the Texas House District 2 residents you will meet about “being faithful to my wife.” It is expected that the vow you take is intended to last forever. Marital fidelity is no reason to vote for you.

Got it? Good!

crime news, legal news, local news

Paxton trial about to begin … bring it!

A source I have developed at a major Texas university told me this week — off the record — about what he thinks might happen when Ken Paxton stands trial in the Texas Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors he allegedly committed while serving as Texas attorney general.

My source said it’s a tough call, “but right now I’d say he gets acquitted.” He said the Senate’s partisan makeup, with 18 Republicans and 12 Democrats, likely could save Paxton from being kicked out of office if he is convicted of any of the crimes alleged against him.

“But that could change” once the trial begins,” my friend said.

The Texas House impeached Paxton in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote; many House Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in impeaching Paxton based on the unanimous recommendation of the House committee tasked with examining the myriad complaints against Paxton.

The panel ruled that Paxton took a bribe from a key campaign ally and abused the power of his office to conceal an extramarital affair.

The Senate trial begins Tuesday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate and the trial, imposed a sweeping gag order on senators, a decision I happen to endorse. The bar is set high for conviction, as the Senate needs a two-thirds vote to toss Paxton out of office.

The impeachment managers have brought in some heavy hitters to serve as legal counsel for the prosecution. Paxton’s legal team has asked that all but one of the 30-plus counts in the impeachment articles be dismissed.

I am one Texan who wants the AG tossed out, if only to rid the state of the constant embarrassment this clown brings to the law enforcement office he oversees.

Are there enough Republicans in the Senate who will join their Democratic colleagues in making the same decision, that they are fed up with the conduct of an attorney general who brings shame to the high office he occupies?

Let us hope so.

local news

Slaton’s successor needs to be faithful

Northeast Texas voters will get a chance in November to elect someone to represent them in the Texas House of Representatives.

This isn’t your ordinary election, though. Whoever is chosen to represent House District 2 will succeed a man scorned and eventually expelled from the House for his sexual abuse of an underage staffer.

Former Rep. Brian Slaton of Royse City took office in 2021 after defeating Rep. Dan Flynn, who later died. Slaton distinguished himself mainly by being a fire-breathing, flame-throwing conservative intent on pushing the MAGA-style cultural agenda. Then he decided to consume alcohol with a 19-year-old female staffer in his Austin apartment and then have sex with her.

That disgusting episode caught the attention of ethics watchdogs in the Legislature. They examined the allegations, determined they were true, recommended expulsion and the House followed suit.

Republicans running in the deeply conservative district vow to “restore integrity” to the office. That isn’t a huge hill to climb. All they have to do, in my view, is behave professionally and avoid having sex with anyone other than their spouse. 

Ousted Rep. Bryan Slaton’s tarnished legacy looms over special election | The Texas Tribune

Slaton’s legacy, though, lives on in the support some of the candidates are getting from former Slaton allies. Be careful, folks.

I am one Texan who is glad Slaton is outta there. I talked twice with him while writing stories for KETR-FM and I found him to be obnoxious in his fealty to that MAGA agenda. The guy had nothing constructive to offer.

Let’s hope the next state representative can provide an actual vision for where he or she wants to take the region.

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crime news

Texas GOP: stand tall … OK?

Texas Senate Republicans are going to get a chance to demonstrate that they have the courage lacking in their national colleagues when a Texas attorney general whom the House impeached for a variety of alleged offenses relating to the conduct of his office.

U.S. Capitol Hill Republicans had the same opportunity — twice, in fact — when the House impeached Donald Trump. Both times, the GOP couldn’t muster enough guts to toss the POTUS out of office.

The signs in Austin are demonstrating a potentially different outcome, given the monstrous majority vote in the Texas House to impeach the AG. Many Republicans joined their House Democratic colleagues in endorsing the impeachment articles presented by the GOP-run House Government Investigations Committee.

Now, though, comes the Senate, which has a high bar to clear, just as the U.S. Senate had a high bar. The Texas Senate comprises 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. One of the GOP senators, Angela Paxton, is married to the defendant and she will not take an active part in the deliberations and in the vote.

Still, the Texas Senate has a two-thirds majority requirement for conviction. The Senate well might be able to reach that majority, given the huge body of evidence that has been collected.

That, and the constant drumbeat of criticism that keeps coming from the AG’s office and all the legal difficulty that seems to find Paxton.

For my money, it doesn’t take courage to do the right thing, which would be to examine the evidence and then cast a vote. What’s more, Paxton doesn’t seem to engender the kind of blind and brainless fealty among Texas Republicans that Trump does among the national party.

Let the trial begin.

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local news, State news

Ted Cruz: common foe

Colin Allred and Roland Guiterrez have something — or someone — in common. It is the individual they both want to face in the November 2024 general election.

Except that only one of them will get the chance to face off against Rafael Edward Cruz.

Allred is a Democratic congressman from Dallas; Guiterrez is a Democratic state senator from San Antonio; Cruz is the Republican senator who has (allegedly) represented Texas since 2013.

Allred and Guiterrez are running in the Democratic Senate primary.

This is just a hunch on my part, but I’m betting we aren’t going to hear much from the Democrats about why they are better than the other guy. Their target will be Ted Cruz.

Their task, therefore, will be to persuade Texas Democrats who between them can make the best case to boot Cruz out of office.

I am likely to vote in the 2024 Democratic primary next spring. I am going to wait with bated breath on which individual is suited better to represent my state than the GOP fire-breather who has spent a Senate career making an ass of himself.

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legal news, local news

Paxton support at home is, um, shaky

What do you know about this? The Texas Tribune reports that all the state legislators who represent portions of Collin County — Attorney General Ken Paxton’s home county — voted to impeach him at the end of the Texas Legislature’s session.

The Tribune reports: But a unanimous vote to impeach Paxton by the five Republican representatives from Collin County — Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Jeff Leach of Plano, Matt Shaheen of Plano, Justin Holland of Rockwall and Candy Noble of Lucas — exposed a statewide rift within the GOP that’s apparently also been playing out in Paxton’s backyard.

Not only that, but Rep. Leach is one of the House impeachment managers who will make the case to the state Senate, which is set to begin trying Paxton for an assortment of allegations no later than Aug. 28.

“It has been true that Paxton had the support of Collin County, but that support has been decreasing over the years, and when the crunch came, it was simply no longer there,” according to Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University and a Collin County resident.

This is fascinating stuff for me, given (a) that I, too, live in Collin County and (b) that I want Paxton to be booted out of office.

We all should have smelled that Paxton was in serious jeopardy when so many GOP House members voted with their Democratic colleague in impeaching Paxton, who becomes the first Texas AG ever impeached.

Ken Paxton’s impeachment hints at shaky support in Collin County, his longtime base of power (msn.com)

There might be a reckoning to be had when the Senate convenes its trial. At least one can hope.

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State news

What if senators …

Let us play a brief game of “what if … ” involving the Texas Senate and the pending trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

I will admit readily that this game is the longest of long shots imaginable, but I cannot get past a historical precedent that could — possibly — portend a similar outcome for the embattled AG.

Let us recall what happened to President Richard Nixon when, in 1974, he was facing impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives. The House was set to impeach the president on obstruction of justice over the Watergate scandal.

Then a group of Republican senators went to the White House. They included Sens. Barry Goldwater, Hugh Scott, Bob Dole and other heavyweights. They told Nixon that the jig was up. He would be convicted by the Senate once a trial concluded. They urged him to resign.

So … the president quit.

Fast-forward to the here and now and we have a Texas attorney general already impeached by the state House. The vote was overwhelming. He has been accused in a 20-count impeachment document.

Is it possible that word can leak out prior to the start of a Senate trial that Paxton doesn’t have the votes to survive, in the manner that President Nixon faced in the summer of 1974?

What might the AG do? He doesn’t want to be the first attorney general ever tossed out of office. Plus — and this is critical — he would lose his state pension were he to be convicted and booted out of office; if he quits, he can keep his pension.

I am not concerned about the pension and whether he would keep it. My priority is to get this clown removed from office. He has disgraced the attorney general’s office almost since he became AG in 2015.

My hope, too, is 20 senators of both parties — which is what is required to convict him — are fed up enough to boot him out of office.

If the AG quits prior to the start of a trial, then the state will win no matter what were to happen in a trial.

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legal news

Hoping they’ve had enough

My eternal optimism often gets tested by Texas politicians, so many of whom are motivated by forces with which I disagree vehemently.

But … it is getting a push in the right direction with the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and his pending trial in the Senate on allegations that he is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.

Senators will convene a trial no later than Aug. 28. They’re going to hear a chorus of allegations leveled against the AG: that he took a bribe to help a campaign donor, that he cheated on his wife (one of the senators who might get to decide his guilt or innocence), that he fired whistleblowers for making complaints about his behavior.

The House General Investigating Committee referred the impeachment in the House. It was a unanimous vote. The House impeached the Republican AG by an overwhelming vote of 121-25. House members showed considerable backbone in condemning the AG.

Oh, and then we hear about political threats he made to House Republicans if they voted to impeach him.

And why? My hope — if not yet my sense — is that Republicans are fed up to here with the constant drumbeat of allegations of misbehavior by the state’s top law enforcement officer.

It seems to me that whenever Paxton’s name shows up in the news it has something to do with someone complaining about the manner in which he is doing his job.

We need an attorney general who can make news simply by performing the tasks of his office.

Thus, I will hope that Texas senators can borrow from the spunk shown by the House colleagues. My eternal optimism needs a kick.

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local news

Patrick and Hancock: men in the hot seat

Dan Patrick and Kelly Hancock are the top two officers in the Texas Senate and they both likely face the tasks of their political careers later this summer.

The Senate is going to convene a special session to begin a trial to determine whether Attorney General Ken Paxton should be tossed out of office after being impeached by the House this past week.

Patrick is the state’s lieutenant governor and he presides over the Senate. Hancock represents Senate District 9 in Fort Worth and is the Senate president pro tem. They’re Nos. 1 and 2.

Hancock prides himself on being a strong fiscal “small-government” conservative.” Patrick, well, considers himself to be a fire-breathing social conservative.

According to a political science professor at the University of Houston, Brandon Rottinghaus — an acknowledged expert on Texas government and politics — said in an email that he “isn’t sure exactly how they’ll do it or if they will share duties. But Patrick will decide all of the process/procedural questions.”

I am suspicious of Patrick, given what I know of him and his reputation for hyper-partisanship. He already has declared his support for Paxton, who stands accused of committing a series of serious ethical violations and is under criminal indictment for securities fraud. The House’s overwhelming vote to impeach the attorney general is a clear signal — at least it is to me — that many Republicans in government are fed up with Paxton’s behavior.

How this trial proceeds will depend on the manner that Patrick answers those “procedural questions” mentioned by Rottinghaus.

I hope he walks the straight and narrow path and disallows any bias to creep into these critical decisions.

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