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Texas Republican primary: The rich push the party farther right Texas Republican primary: The rich push the party farther right

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Texas Republicans voted for orthodoxy and oligarchy -- and, no, that's not what most Texans want

By Chris Tomlinson, ColumnistMarch 8, 2024

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott, right, talk during a swearing in ceremony on the first day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.Eric Gay/Associated Press

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the north steps of the State Capitol to supporters at a Texas Public Policy Foundation Parent Empowerment rally on March 21, 2023 in Austin. Abbott and his supporters were pushing to have a voucher system, also known as school choice. Ricardo B. Brazziell/Associated Press

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 23.Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press

Texas oil tycoons Tim Dunn, left, and Farris Wilks, right, have financed conservative candidates for years, donating the bulk of the money for Ted Cruz's 2016 bid for the GOP nomination for president.""Dunn photo: Tim Fischer / Midland Reporter-Telegram; Wilks photo: Ronald W. Erdrich / Abilene Repo

The Republican Party activists are ready to test their brand's limit in Texas.

For decades, they have pushed Republican elected officials to move further to the right. They have largely succeeded in changing conservative orthodoxy and how the public perceives politicians.

Not long ago, Republicans could support abortion rights, oppose the open carry of handguns, support local schools and demand ethical behavior. Not anymore. The most dedicated 20% of Republican voters bagged a dozen RINOs, and they are targeting more.

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I miss the old-school conservatives that today's crowd calls Republican in Name Only. I hope the reasonable wing will take their party back, but they may need to abandon it for a while to succeed.

Party leaders historically do not interfere when an incumbent is running for reelection. However, this year, Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick decided to purge their ranks of anyone questioning their agenda. Obedience to the leaders is paramount.

Tomlinson's Take

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The governor targeted 15 GOP state representatives. He defeated seven, while four others survived. Four face runoff races in May.

Paxton campaigned against state representatives who impeached him on corruption charges last year. He was less successful than Abbott but knocked out three top criminal court judges who defied his attempts to expand his powers.

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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan achieved a hat-trick by angering Abbott, Paxton and Patrick. Now he's in a runoff to keep his seat, the first speaker to face such a challenge since 1972.

Many people mistake politicians for leaders, but most are approval seekers who, like everyone else, want to keep their jobs. In a functioning democracy, they stay in office by representing the people who elected them. Not in Texas.

Democracy tends to break down when one party dominates, and patronage becomes more important than votes. When districts are drawn to guarantee victory for a party in the general election, and only the most extreme 20% of party members participate in the primaries, broad public approval is unimportant.

Pleasing your party's patrons becomes critical, lest they turn against you.

Oil billionaire Tim Dunn has led the financing of Texas' most right-wing political activists for over 20 years. The groups have gone by many names: Empower Texans, Texas Scorecard, Defend Texas Liberty, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Hexagon Partners, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and others.

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Dunn and his allies are unabashed Christian nationalists who believe the United States should follow the Bible and that only Christians should hold leadership positions. They oppose secular public schools, which they consider immoral, and they want to stop renewable energy, which challenges the source of their wealth.

Dunn's operatives are the conservative movement's knee-cappers, according to in-depth reporting by CNN and most recently by Texas Monthly. If a Republican politician does not march in lockstep with their agenda, these groups recruit a subservient candidate and launch a well-financed primary challenge.

Dunn financed Paxton's longshot yet successful campaign to become attorney general against two more established but moderate candidates. When Abbott wouldn't play ball, Dunn-backed groups financed Don Huffines, who forced Abbott to shift to the right.

When the Texas House impeached Paxton, Dunn gave $3 million to Patrick, who oversaw Paxton's acquittal. Dunn's donations have since helped Paxton and Patrick campaign against Republicans who impeached the attorney general, including Phelan.

Wall Street billionaire Jeff Yass gave Abbott $6 million to oust rural Republican lawmakers who opposed using taxpayer money to finance private schools. Those lawmakers instead represented their constituents' desire for greater investment in public schools. But only a fifth of voters show up for the primaries.

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Hence, a test is coming in November. The Republican brand is strong with Texans, many of whom have never voted for a Democrat, but polls show the party is farther to the right than voters.

Most Texans support some gambling, marijuana and abortions. Most oppose book bans and support clean energy and some gun restrictions. Yet they vote based on their party identity.

I miss the Bush dynasty, former Gov. Rick Perry, retired state Sen. Kel Seliger and others who wanted to make Texas a better place to live, not a theocracy. Democracy is at its best when Republicans and Democrats debate and find common ground, not when they try to annihilate one another.

I expect most Republicans will stay true to their party in November. But when they do, they'll vote for the oligarchs' vision for the future, not their own.

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Award-winning opinion writer Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his "Tomlinson's Take" newsletter at houstonhchronicle.com/tomlinsonnewsletter or expressnews.com/tomlinsonnewsletter.

March 8, 2024

Chris Tomlinson

Business Columnist

Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas for Hearst Newspapers. He can be reached at chris.tomlinson@houstonchronicle.com.

The Texas Association of Managing Editors awarded him columnist of the year in 2021, and the Headliners Foundation named him Texas's Star Opinion Writer. He's authored two New York Times Bestsellers, "Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth" and "Tomlinson Hill: The Remarkable Story of Two Families Who Share the Tomlinson Name - One White, One Black."

Before joining the Houston Chronicle, he spent 20 years with The Associated Press reporting on politics, economics, conflicts and natural disasters from more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

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analysis of article text

prohibitionist	prohibition_agency	drugwar_propaganda	legalization	drug_reformer
reform_referenda	cannabis	stimulant	narcotic	hallucinogen

incarceration/prison mentioned? yes .

propaganda analysis

EXP - explicit prohibition propaganda (explicit_propaganda)	GRP - hated group (propaganda_theme1)	MAD - madness, violence, illness (propaganda_theme2)
SOC - survival of society (propaganda_theme3)	USE - gateway, use is abuse (propaganda_theme4)	KID - children (propaganda_theme5)
WAR - demonize, war, epidemic (propaganda_theme6)	TOT - total prohibition (propaganda_theme7)	DIS - dissent opposed (propaganda_theme8)

concept		evidence	hits	links
	drug of abuse implied / mentioned drug related [news] [concept]	illegal drugs
	propaganda drugwar propaganda 80% [news] [concept]	explicit propaganda propaganda theme1 propaganda theme2 propaganda theme3 propaganda theme5 propaganda theme7		•Why Are Americans So Easy to Manipulate? (Bruce E Levine, 2012) •Classic Modern Drug Propaganda •Themes in Chemical Prohibition •Drug War Propaganda (kindle edition)
	explicit prohibition propaganda explicit propaganda 70% [news] [concept]	"spokesman" "rally" "campaign"	5	•SourceWatch: War on Drugs •dare.procon.org •Write What You're Told •Anti-Drug PSAs From the 80s and 90s •Lippmann, Walter; Public Opinion (1921) •Bernays, Edward; Propaganda (1928)
	hated group propaganda theme1 75% [news] [concept]	"extremists"	1	•Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) •drugwarfacts.org/druguse.htm •drugwarfacts.org/racepris.htm •America's Racist Drug laws •narcoterror.org/ •Labeling theory •Transfer (propaganda)
	madness, violence, illness propaganda theme2 80% [news] [concept]	"criminal" "disasters" "lazy"	5	•Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) •drugwarfacts.org/crime.htm •drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm •Distortion 18: Cannabis and Mental Illness •No, marijuana use doesn't lower your IQ (10/2014)
	survival of society propaganda theme3 55% [news] [concept]	"democracy" "American"	4	•Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) •The "Nation" as a Device To Create a Psychological Crowd
	children propaganda theme5 50% [news] [concept]	"Parent"	1	•Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) •drugwarfacts.org/adolesce.htm •Think of the children
	total prohibition propaganda theme7 55% [news] [concept]	"immoral"	1	•Total Prohibition or Access (propaganda theme 7)
	drug of abuse illegal drugs [news] [concept]	cannabis
	oft-mentioned drug warrior mouthpieces prohibitionists other 70% [news] [concept]	"Rick Perry"	1	•Walter Duranty •Axis Sally •Lord Haw-Haw •Tokyo Rose •Joseph Goebbels •Julius Streicher •Roland Freisler
	psychoactive plant plants [news] [concept]	cannabis		•erowid.org/plants/plants.shtml
	intoxicant [news] [concept]	cannabis
	cannabis [news] [concept]	"marijuana"	1	•Cannabis: Religious and Spiritual Uses •Cannabis-Driving Studies •MAPInc.org Cannabis Link DB •medicalmarijuanaprocon.org •cannabisculture.com •Schaffer Library: Marijuana •drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htm •mapinc.org/pot.htm •U.S. Prisons Thriving on Jim Crow Marijuana Arrests (2013)
	incarceration [news] [concept]	"Jailed"	1	•Prison Hell in America (Stephen Lendman, Oct. 2011) •Understanding the U.S. Torture State •this is what a police state looks like •Torture and the United States •drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons and... •aclu.org/combating-mass-incarcer... •november.org •mapinc.org/prison.htm •hermes-press.com/prisons drugs.htm •US Official Prison Policy: Encourage Men's Rape (2014) •Profit Driven Prison Industrial Complex (2012) •The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal •Sing a Little Louder •Prison Rape Widely Ignored by Authorities •thedailysheeple.com/prisons-are-... •Push Back Against Drug War Profiteering with Jury Nullification
	youth 50% [news] [concept]	propaganda theme5		•ssdp.org/ •mapinc.org/youth.htm
	school [news] [concept]	"school" "schools"	6	•ssdp.org/
	aggrandizing government aggrandizement [news] [concept]	"officials"	1	•Statism: the Most Dangerous Religion (2014 video) •What is Statism? •Conservapedia: Statism •Wikipedia: Statolatry •lewrockwell.com/2014/07/thomas-d... •Bought Priesthood •Worship of the U. S. Government (2011) •Bureaucratic Thrust •Tyranny of Experts •The Threat of Authority (2012) •The Media As Enablers of Government Lies •The Statist Mindset (Jacob Hornberger, 2011) •Thinking Critically about Experts and Authority •'Scientific' evidence for FDA-approved drugs isn't so scientific, it turns out (2014) •The Intellectual Gravy Train (2015)
	jury 50% [news] [concept]	"acquittal"	1	•FIJA.org •flexyourrights.org/jury-nullific... •Guerrilla Jurors: Sticking it to Leviathan •This Powerful Jury Tool Can End the Drug War Today (2014) •Jury Nullification - The True Duty of a Jury (2013) •Nullify the War on Drugs •Jury Nullification is a Game Changer (2015)
	mainstream (controlled) media msm [news] [concept]	mockingbird		•Mainstream Media •whowhatwhy.org/2014/04/09/media-... •archive.lewrockwell.com/orig14/a... •Michael Levine, Mainstream Media: The Drug War Shills •beforeitsnews.com/alternative/20... •Mainstream Media: The Most Significant Threat To Freedom •msm.rt.com/ •sputniknews.com/europe/20160225/...
	Mockingbird / Wurlitzer; US intel-controlled media mockingbird [news] [concept]	"New York Times" "Hearst Newspapers" assoc press	2	•Operation Mockingbird - Mighty Wurlitzer •carlbernstein.com/magazine cia a... •US Media Conceals News (2013) •Two of the Largest American Newspapers Opine in Favor of Allowing States to Legalize Marijuana (2012) •reuters.com/article/2014/07/27/u... •https://web.archive.org/web/2013... •Propaganda 101: Operation Mockingbird Continues (2015)
	assoc press [news] [concept]	"Associated Press"	4	•carlbernstein.com/magazine cia a... •Associated Press (AP) - Mockingbird / Wurlitzer

st:0.01 fo:0 s:0.01 d:0 c:0 db:0.213 a:0.66 m:0.22 t:1.31 (f)

text of article used for CRITICAL ANALYSIS, under FAIR USE provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, et al.