Good morning!

Readers sound off on House Speaker Dade Phelan using Nancy Pelosi as precedent in silencing a conservative lawmaker.

But first, this is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Lawmakers Call for Suspension of Democrat Parliamentarian

• A group of lawmakers are calling for Texas House parliamentarian Hugh Brady to be suspended, following what they have referred to as an “appearance of impropriety” surrounding his association with a law firm hired to help kill conservative priorities.  Brandon Waltens has the details.
       

• Hugh Brady served as general counsel for the White House Office of Administration under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017. He was appointed as parliamentarian by former Speaker Dennis Bonnen in 2019. When Phelan became Speaker in 2021, he retained Brady in his parliamentarian position.

      
•  In a letter sent to House Speaker Dade Phelan and the House General Investigating Committee, Republican State Reps. Steve Toth (The Woodlands), Brian Harrison (Midlothian), and Tony Tinderholt (Arlington) point towards Brady’s partnership with the law firm Brady & Peavey PC. The firm was hired by Harris County "to dig up parliamentary errors to kill conservative legislation."
        
• The lawmakers argue, “Since Mr. Brady’s role is similar to that of an umpire on the House Floor, his firm’s financial incentive appears to create a conflict of interest.”

Phelan Underwater in Popularity With Voters Back Home

• A new poll shows embattled House Speaker Dade Phelan is hemorrhaging support among likely Republican voters in his own House district.
       
• A poll commissioned by the Defend Texas Liberty PAC reveals 49 percent of voters in Phelan’s district have an unfavorable opinion of him compared to just 35 percent having a favorable opinion.
       
• In January, the same poll found Phelan had 66 percent favorability to 10 percent unfavorability. By May, that had slid to 36 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable.

Paxton Blasts House Impeachment Managers

• During an interview with Chis Salcedo on The Salcedo Storm podcast, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blasted the Texas House. Paxton described the chamber's impeachment managers as having “no respect for the law.”

    
• Earlier this month, following Paxton's exoneration by the Senate, the impeachment managers released unredacted documents that included the Paxton family's address to the Internet. It is a crime to maliciously release anyone's physical address on the internet. 
      
• “They ran a sham impeachment process which was done secretly with the purpose of basically forcing me out without letting the public know what the actual charges were or who the witnesses were… they thought I would quit,” said Paxton. “They’re just really bad losers and they’re continuing to attack me. So they decided to go ahead and release all this information, which serves no purpose.”
       
• The Salcedo Storm is a Texas Scorecard podcast. It can be found on all major podcasting platforms.

Mother Accuses McKinney ISD of Retaliation

• After a case of bullying ended with a student in the hospital, the victim's mom says the school is attempting to send her son to an alternative school to silence her grievances against McKinney ISD. Sydnie Henry has the story.
      

• Following multiple instances of physical bullying, the mother filed a formal grievance with the district. While the district admits the woman's son was assaulted earlier this month, they also claim that—during the altercation—her son hit a teacher. 
     

• As a result, the boy is being sent to an alternative school, and the district attempted to charge him with assault. The mother has said she believes the district is retaliating for her public condemnation of the district mishandling the case.

Keller ISD Teaching Assistant Arrested for Sex with Student

• Keli Borish, a teaching assistant in the Keller Independent School District, has been arrested and charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact and improper relationship between educator and student. As Erin Anderson reports, both crimes are second-degree felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
       
• Borish is the latest in a long list of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and children, including some who also worked in Keller.

Spring Branch ISD Employee Charged: Inappropriate Relationship With Student

• A Spring Branch Independent School District employee has been arrested and charged with an inappropriate relationship with a student.  As Emily Medeiros reports, the teacher's relationship was first exposed at an LGBTQ "pride" event in Houston.
        
• Sonia Heredia, a 33-year-old paraprofessional, was employed at Northbrook High School in Spring Branch ISD. The district has removed Heredia from her position. "This type of behavior will never be tolerated in Spring Branch ISD."

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Y'All Answered

Late last week, House Speaker Dade Phelan took the extraordinary step of forbidding State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) from asking questions of the chair during legislative business. Phelan has never stripped Democrats of their ability to use parlimentary rules to suit their own purposes. In issuing his ruling, Phelan cited as precedent former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi using her authority to silence Republican members of Congress.

Yesterday, we asked readers if the speaker of the Texas House should be allowed to silence a lawmaker. Just 2.1 percent of readers thought this was an appropriate power for the speaker to wield, while 97.9 disagree.

Here is a sample of the responses we received...

• “Time for Phelan to be silenced!” – Arthur McLean 
      

• “Phelan shouldn't be allowed to do anything. He's done enough damage. He needs to be removed.” – Mary Philio 
      

• “Small minded tyrants like Phelan always shoot the messenger.” – Spencer Siino
     

• “Tony Tinderholt IS my representative in the House. This is yet another retaliation against another official for going against him.” – Dianna Allen
     

• “Not only being a cowardly act, silencing a fellow Republican using Nancy Pelosi's acts as precedent removes all doubt about Mr. Phelan's party loyalty—he is truly a Democrat.” – Arthur Potter
     

• “When is Phelan going to be booted out of the legislature? He isn’t there for any constructive reasons!” – Ann Cole
     

• “When I confronted my own representative last year about the issue of giving chairmanships to Democrats, he responded that he and speaker Phelan didn't want to follow the Washington, D.C., model of partisan gridlock. Now, on this issue he wants to invoke Pelosi's precedent. How desperate must one be to want to follow the example of Nancy Pelosi?” – Charlie Crowell
      

• “How much longer will Texas voters put up with the actions of Phelan and others that go along with his actions?” – Carol Knight
      

• “Phelan has silenced every voter in Texas by not putting the Texas House to work on the special session. Not only should he be fired, they need to dock the pay of every House member. A complete waste of tax payer money.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “Wondering why the Texas Lawmakers CANNOT seem to get rid of the Speaker of the House?  There seems to never be any consequences for any actions.  Where's the TEETH? " – Manuel Blanco
      

• “It is very telling that Dade Phelan says he doesn’t want the Texas House run like the U.S. house when it benefits Democrats who want chairmanships, but he does want to run the Texas House like the U.S. House, when it comes to shutting up conservative Republicans.” – Erika Metzger
      

• “Drunk Dade needs to resign. He is not an effective leader if all he can do in the special session is silence a duly elected representative. This just shows what lengths he'll go to just to avoid passing Republican priorities.” – Rick Perry
      

• “Phelan did not like the questions Tinderholt was going to ask, so he silenced him.” – Joy Kunkel
      

• “The only boss these representatives should be worried about are the voters of their district.” – Steve Abernathy
      

• “We need to remove Dade Phelan and replace him with a conservative speaker who respects the rights and values of Texas citizens.” – Sandra Crawford
      

• “Call me crazy but didn’t he say in January he didn’t want the Texas House to be like Congress?  Up until now his defiance has been covert. Now he’s just moonin’ all of us.” – Rick Goncher
      

• “By silencing Mr. Tinderholt, it makes one wonder what Phelan is afraid might be asked. Silencing a fellow legislator speaks volumes about his failure as Speaker of the House.” – Hamila Hobson
      

• “(Rino) Phelan is using typical democrat tactics, silencing the opposition. Hopefully his district voters will silence his political career!” – David Roberts
      

• “Phelan is power hungry and acting more and more like a dictator.  He needs to go!” – George McClure 
       

• “Republicans still don’t get it. A majority of Texas Republicans want Phelan gone and he’s still there! Why haven’t Republicans started removing him as Speaker?” – Judy Henson
      

• “Democrat Dade does not want debate he only wants compliance.” – Jim Hughes
      

• “Phelan continues to follow Pelosi's despicable actions. His actions continue to show his contempt for the Republican Party and his Republican fellow House members. He is an embarrassment to Texas and I will certainly campaign against his return to the House.” – Pamela Millisor
      

• “Phelan needs to be kicked out of office along with his minion lieutenants.” – Lane Burgess
       

• “Phelan has no right to silence those with opposing views to his own. These communists tactics are merely confirmation that Phelan is a RINO and not working for the citizens of Texas.” – Steve Crevier

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