Good morning,

In politics, Republican consultants, strategists, and politicians have found there is really good money to be made in almost delivering for conservatives. They won't do better until we demand better. I reflect on that at the conclusion of today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 
May 5, 2023

UPFRONT: We correct our errors first. In yesterday's edition, the party affiliation of the author of HB 3418 was incorrect. State Rep. Terry Canales is a Democrat from Edinburg. I apologize for the mistake!

TODAY: Texas House (Again) Scheduled To Debate Ban on Mutilating, Sterilizing Children

• After failing to even get started earlier this week, the Texas House is scheduled to try again today to ban procedures leading to gender mutilation and sterilization of children. 
    
• Senate Bill 14 is a priority of the Republican Party of Texas and family-rights activists. Opposing the measure are left-wing transsexuals, pedophiles, and their enablers.

House Overwhelmingly Passes New Corporate Welfare Scheme

• More than two-thirds of the Texas House voted yesterday in favor of a new corporate welfare scheme operating on the backs of taxpayers. As Sydnie Henry reports from the Capitol, only 11 Republicans voted against the measure that has been criticized as “picking winners and losers.”
         
• House Bill 5 by State Rep. Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi)—one of Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan’s legislative priorities—gives corporations taxpayer-funded property tax breaks ostensibly in exchange for the creation of local jobs.
      
• The new giveaway is the successor to what had been known as the "Chapter 313"  program, named for its section in the state's tax code. That section expired last year. It had been widely criticized for its heavy subsidization of unreliable energy producers, such as wind and solar plants.
      
• Although Hunter says that HB 5 includes no explicit provisions for those energy producers to access the funds, critics note that there is no explicit prohibition, either. State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) tried to strengthen that language with an amendment but was rebuffed by his colleagues.
      

• HB 5’s future in the Senate is uncertain. While Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he is open to a plan that doesn’t subsidize unreliable energy, it remains to be seen whether he will be eager to pass one of Phelan’s priorities while Senate priorities languish in the House.

TV Ad Calls on Speaker Phelan to Move Anti-grooming Legislation

• As the fight continues to ban “family-friendly” drag shows in Texas, Texas Family Project has announced plans to place $30,000 in television ads to demand that House Speaker Dade Phelan and the Texas House move legislation designed to protect children. Emily Wilkerson has the details.

         
• The legislation (Senate Bill 12) was passed by the upper chamber last month with bipartisan support but has yet to receive a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee. 

Zombie Bills Haunt the Texas Legislature

• As the legislative session enters its final weeks, Brandon Waltens explains the perplexing problem of how legislation in the Texas House can come back to life after being soundly defeated.
    

• Take, for example, House Bill 78 by Democrat State Rep. Lina Ortega (El Paso), which would allow El Paso County to impose an additional $10 fee on annual vehicle registrations. The bill originally failed to pass on a vote of 63-81. But just moments after the measure was voted down, State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) gave notice of a motion to reconsider the vote. When the measure was brought up again later, it passed by a vote of 84-57.
      

•  Meanwhile, conservative priorities – like banning sexually explicit drag shows from targeting children, ending critical race theory and DEI programs in Texas universities, and protecting women’s sports – have yet to be scheduled for a debate in the Texas House.
      

• "The main point to remember is this: When an issue is a priority for House leadership, they almost always have a way to move fast to get it done." – Brandon Waltens

Whistleblower Claims Boerne ISD Principal Is Lying 

• Things keep getting worse in Boerne ISD. 
    

• Emails between a whistleblower and the principal of Champion High School in Boerne Independent School District suggest the principal was not entirely honest in his statement regarding an LGBTQ+ activist being invited to address students in the campus library. Soli Rice has the details.
      

• The principal had claimed neither he nor other school officials knew the school's Gay-Straight Alliance had invited the activist to speak. Yet emails sent to investigative journalist Sarah Fields seemed to demonstrate the principal was in fact aware of the situation.
      

• Unlike other events and student organizations, school officials did not seek parents’ permission for students to participate in the event.

Athletic Director For Arlington Charter School Arrested

• Another Texas teacher has been accused of having an “improper” relationship with a student—this time, the athletics director of the Newman International Academy. Erin Anderson has the story.
      

• The Newman International Academy is a public charter school with seven campuses in the DFW area.

    
• Alberto De La Cruz, 34, has been arrested and charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. He has taught at the academy’s Gibbins secondary school in Arlington for seven years.
      
• Arlington police reportedly led the criminal investigation after campus officials received a report last week that De La Cruz was involved with a student. The charter school issued a statement saying De La Cruz “will not be returning to Newman International Academy and the conduct will be reported to the State Board for Educator Certification. The district has also reported the incident to Child Protective Services.”

📺 WATCH: The Headline with Brandon Waltens

• On this week's episode of The Headline, Brandon Waltens addresses the Texas "Transurrection" and zombies in the Capitol. (I make a special guest appearance, for what it is worth.)
      
• You can watch The Headline on the Apple TV or Roku apps, on an iOS or Android phone, or on the Texas Scorecard YouTube channel.

Friday Reflection:
Shackled To Low Expectations

As the end of Texas’ legislative session draws near, and conservative activists see too little of their agenda getting accomplished, I am reminded that there is good money to be made by Republican strategists in “almost” winning. That is to say, politicians and their cronies find it advantageous for the citizens to lose.

The activists, lobbyists, and politicians on the left have their own sorts of internal issues and strife, none of which concern me that greatly.

In Texas, Democrats and leftists cannot advance their priorities (or kill conservatives’) without the explicit permission of Republicans.

When the priorities of conservatives die, it is because Republican lawmakers allowed it – every single time.

I have spent most of my adult life observing and participating in the operations of the political right. Here is what disgusts me most: In “conservative” politics, there is really good money to be made in “almost” solving a problem. Republican strategists and lobbyists make their careers on “near wins.” Legislators win re-election with the promise of “next time.”

Sure, when all else fails, they might deliver a minor victory or two. Some table scraps will be tossed to the grassroots, but the insiders reserve the substantive efforts for ensuring big paydays for their cronies and themselves. This is why you have been denied, again, substantive and lasting property tax relief even though corporate welfare is growing.

At the risk of offending you, my readers, let me be blunt: This is our fault. We have succumbed to the tyranny of low expectations.

Conservative activists have too often adopted a participation-trophy mentality when it comes to political engagement. We let the politicians, strategists, and consultants define our expectations and set the measures of success.

They preen as experts when they are, in fact, charlatans.

We should not be surprised that their standard is a loss which keeps them employed for another term to fight an issue that should have already been won. They give us paper-thin excuses and hope we’re too busy with our families, businesses, or other interests to realize they are part of the problem.

Frankly, conservatives could be getting this same record of losses for a lot less money. Texas is slouching towards California not because of Californian refugees, but because native-born Texans are cashing big checks without delivering on their promises.

Despite complete GOP control of Texas’ executive, legislative, and judicial branches for more than 20 years, the state’s policy landscape is littered with the refuse of unkept campaign promises. By this point, conservative activists should be making up priorities rather than still waiting for substantive action on Republican-defining issues. Government is bigger, and the tax burdens are heavier.

Lawmakers are already bragging about making “some” progress on the GOP’s eight priorities. Eight, out of thousands of pieces of legislation filed, and the hundreds that will pass. Forgive me for not being overwhelmed with amazement.

And, yet, the voters – that would be you and me – keep rewarding them by returning them and their co-conspirators to office.

Until we raise our expectations as citizens, they will continue to serve mediocre results. They will not deliver better until we demand better.

Now Available: 'Reflections on Life & Liberty'

The book comes in three formats: hardcover, paperback, and digital download. For now, "Reflections on Life & Liberty" is only available at Amazon.