Good morning,

Lots of chatter about conservatives leaving the GOP. That’s the subject of our One Click Survey.

But first, here is today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Modify your email preferences [[link removed]].

Calling them “unlawful” and “perilous,” a federal judge in Texas has halted President Joe Biden’s plans to stop deportations, one of Biden’s first executive actions.

The lawsuit was led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who argued that Biden had failed to provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations. Jacob Asmussen has the details [[link removed]].

“Texas is the FIRST state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden Admin. AND WE WON. Within 6 days of Biden’s inauguration, Texas has HALTED his illegal deportation freeze.” – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton [[link removed]] Texas’ U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have both condemned the new impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump, with both calling the proceedings “vindictive.” Joshua Pierce has the details [[link removed]].

Sen. Cornyn has said he will “reserve judgment” until the case is presented but noted the proceedings are “unprecedented,” as “there is no constitutional provision permitting the impeachment for the sole purpose of removing them from running for office in the future, somebody who is no longer president, who is a private citizen.”

For his part, Sen. Cruz has referred to the proceedings as “vindictive and punitive,” stating that “congressional Democrats seem obsessed with their hatred for Donald Trump” and “they need to put their partisan hatred aside.” Legislation filed yesterday in the Texas House would allow Texans to discuss, debate, and vote on Texas independence. Iris Poole reports [[link removed]] House Bill 1359 was put forward by State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg).

Biedermann went on to say that the federal government continues to fail working-class families, seniors, taxpayers, veterans, and small-business owners and has eroded individual liberties for decades.

“This act simply lets Texans vote. This decision is too big to be monopolized solely by the power brokers in our Capitol.” – State Rep. Kyle Biedermann

Not everyone is impressed. State Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Allen) blasted the proposal as a “wheels-off, nutty proposal” and the “most anti-American bill” he had seen in his time in the Legislature. Speaking of Rep. Leach, he and State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills) have filed companion measures proposing a constitutional amendment that would prohibit state and local government officials from banning or limiting “religious services.” Robert Montoya has the details [[link removed]] of what Leach and Hancock call the Texas Essential Church Act.

Last year, Fort Worth, Dallas County [[link removed]], and Tarrant County [[link removed]] were among the local governments that issued in-person worship bans as part of their response to the Chinese coronavirus. Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton reacted by issuing guidelines to strictly forbid [[link removed]] local governments from banning in-person worship.

“Religious liberty and the freedom ‘peaceably to assemble’ are concepts so fundamental to the foundations of our nation that they are explicitly, indelibly, enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Texas will continue to protect and defend those rights, no matter the circumstances.” – State Sen. Kelly Hankcock

Not everyone agrees this is necessary.

“This feels a lot like virtue signaling to me,” wrote Fran Rhodes [[link removed]] of the True Texas Project. “We have the right from God to worship and the guarantee that the government will not interfere with worship in the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution, so why do we need an amendment to say the same thing?” The 87th Legislative Session may have just started, but a plethora of cannabis-related proposals have already been filed. With the exception of a bill to require welfare applicants to pass a marijuana drug test, everything filed thus far would loosen the state’s restrictions on the controversial substance.

Michael Swirsky examines [[link removed]] Democrats’ legislative push for “medical marijuana” – and what might be next. The Austin City Council is set to consider purchasing two properties at a cost of more than $16 million, to use as homeless shelters. Adam Cahn reports [[link removed]] this is in addition to the $8 million spent by the city in 2019 to buy hotel properties providing housing for 81 homeless people.

Austin’s hotel proposal mirrors a policy by New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, which begat national derision, as well as similar failed projects in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It’s unclear why Austin’s Democrat city officials expect different results in Texas’ capital. ONE CLICK SURVEY

There has been growing talk recently about the possible formation of a third party (maybe aligned with former President Trump) to compete against the swamp-dwelling establishmentarians in the GOP.

Would you join a new third party?

YES [[link removed]]

... or ...

NO [[link removed]] Number of the Day

27

Number of bills filed in the Texas House and Senate addressing marijuana – or “marihuana” as it is called in state law.

[Source: Texas Legislature [[link removed]], as of 8:00 pm 1/26/2021]

Quote-Unquote

“Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances.”

– Lord Acton​

Your State & Federal Lawmakers

​U.S. Senator

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

Attorney General

Ken Paxton – R

(512) 463-2100

Comptroller

Glen Hegar – R

(512) 463-4600

Land Commissioner

George Bush – R

(512) 463-5001

Commissioner of Agriculture

Sid Miller – R

(512) 463-7476

Railroad Commissioners

Wayne Christian – R

Christy Craddick – R

Jim Wright – R

(512) 463-7158

U.S. House, District

Update your address so we can display your congressman -



Texas Senate, District

Update your address so we can display your state senator -



Texas House, District

Update your address so we can display your state rep -

Something not right?

Make sure your contact information is correct [[link removed]]!

Update / Manage Your Email Preferences [[link removed]] Request A Speaker [[link removed]] Contribute [[link removed]] ​

Find me on Instagram [[link removed]], Facebook [[link removed]], Twitter [[link removed]], and LinkedIn [[link removed]].

​ ​

Make an investment [[link removed]] in a stronger Texas.

​ A product of Texas Scorecard

www.TexasScorecard.com

(888) 410-1836

PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646

PO Box 700981, Dallas, TX 75370

PO Box 12862, Odessa TX 79768 Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

This message was originally sent to:

John xxxxxx |

If you ever stop receiving our emails, it might be because someone unintentionally removed you from the list. No worries; it is easy enough to reactivate your subscription immediately on our website.

[link removed]

Before you click the link below... If someone forwarded this email to you, clicking the link will end the subscription of [email protected]. Unsubscribe [link removed]