Good morning, 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, August 9, 2019
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• A  Republican lawmaker from North Texas is bragging about being the Democrats’ “favorite freshman” due to his “relationships” with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s leadership team. During an event hosted by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, freshman State Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) said that despite representing a conservative area he was receiving high praise from liberal Democrats. Brandon Waltens has the story and the video.
     
• “When the Democrats [were asked] who their favorite freshman was in the Texas House, I had a chairman tell me that they said it was me,” Patterson told the audience. He said the comment was made by State Rep. Mary Gonzales (D–El Paso), who he referred to as “one of my best friends in the Texas House.”
      
• Midland City Councilman J. Ross Lacy announced his Republican primary bid for Texas’ sprawling 11th Congressional District – a seat currently held by retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway. Matt Stringer reports Lacy has served on the city council since 2012 and been actively involved in the county GOP.
       
• Keller Independent School District’s board of trustees will decide next week whether to call an election in November asking their taxpayers to approve more debt and the property taxes needed to repay it, with interest. Robert Montoya has the details.
     
• In a new commentary, Republican activist Brent Lawson writes that House Speaker Dennis Bonnen should resign for the good of the GOP. “What began as an embarrassingly bad attempt at cloak-and-dagger political maneuvering has left Bonnen’s insubstantial credibility in a smoldering heap. Doubling down on his scandalous breach of ethics to orchestrate an apologist parade of GOP House members will only serve to add their credibility to the pile.”

Friday Reflection

It’s in the Gospel of Matthew where we find Jesus’ wise admonition that “No one can serve two masters.” Practical experiences shows us that no matter how hard we try, it is always true. And it is especially true in politics.

I find very few instances in which someone ran for office for the sake of being corrupt and self-serving. That usually happens over time as elected officials start seeking the approval of lobbyists and their fellow elected officials, rather than the voters for whom they work. It happens when they worship the master of governing power rather than serve the citizens.

Not a day goes by, it seems, in which I don’t hear a legislator tell me that they have to do such-and-such – or, more often, cannot do a thing – because they “have to work with these people.” Those people, of course, being their fellow lawmakers. They don’t want to upset the legislative apple cart or disrupt the congeniality of the process or risk being unpopular in Austin or Washington.

Remember, Texas’ legislative session runs for just 140 days out of 730 days, and lawmakers are actively working with other lawmakers for even less time that that. Definitionally, none of the other members of their chamber can vote for them. Yet for many of them, being loved and respected by their fellow lawmakers is more important than keeping the promises they made to their actual constituents – to the people they serve.

Politicians cannot seek both your approval and the approval of the political establishment. The tension of even trying will always result in the citizens losing precious liberties at the altar of contrived congeniality in the religion of self-promotion. 

For our system of government to work, for liberty to be preserved, politicians must remember they are the citizens’ servants. We must expect them to serve the citizens first and only. 

And the citizens should remember it as well.