House Speaker Bonnen suffers key GOP defections.

Good morning!

Last week I had the opportunity to attend President Trump’s rally in Dallas, and have put together a couple thoughts from that experience.

But first, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

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Grassroots activists around the state reacted negatively to the “soft” condemnation of House Speaker Dennis Bonnen issued by the House Republican Caucus on Friday. Brandon Waltens reviews the feedback [[link removed]].

Speaking of the Bonnen controversy, following the caucus statement an increasing number of House GOP members are now saying they can no longer support him— including quite a few on Monday, cascading into the night. (See the current list as of 11:55pm at the bottom of this morning’s Texas Minute.)

Of special note from Monday evening’s parade of departures were four powerful Bonnen allies, lawmakers he had appointed as committee chairmen: Amarillo’s Four Price at the powerful Calendars committee, Houston’s Dan Huberty helming Public Education, San Antonio’s Lyle Larson at Natural Resources, and Marshall’s Chris Paddie heading up Energy Resources.

Demonstrating the power of constituent phone calls, late Friday saw State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) tweet about his complete support of Bonnen’s continuing speakership. On Monday evening, however, Flynn changed his tune: “After hearing the concerns expressed by my constituents... I cannot continue my support for Speaker Bonnen.”

The Capitol switchboard number is (512) 463-4630.

While most Republican lawmakers have been mute on the embarrassing Bonnen scandal, Plano State Rep Jeff Leach – who rose to a committee chairmanship under the disgraced speaker – has been demanding that activists and local officials allow everyone to move on from the scandal [[link removed]]. Leach recently issued a statement apologizing to local officials for Bonnen’s “hurtful and offensive words” but has not addressed the unethical behavior and lies the speaker has been caught in.

An increasingly small number of legislators are clinging to the Bonnen speakership. Either at the behest of their political consultants or lobby cronies, they will go down as corruption-enabling establishmentarians, too enthused with preserving their insider posts within the Austin sewer to embrace the cleansing power of the light on the duplicitous dealings of the Texas Capitol. For too many people in politics, having a “seat at the table” is more important than doing what is morally right.

“Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s reign is all but over as of tonight. Never forget who stood against lies and corruption before today. More importantly, remember who stood silent. This entire ordeal has forever changed the way I look at many of my colleagues, some good, some heartbreaking.” – State Rep. Jonathan Stickland on Facebook (10/21/2019)

Though lack of funding is often a cited reason for poor performance, Robert Montoya reports [[link removed]] a North Texas school district’s superintendent and a chief financial officer claim some districts are having trouble spending all the extra taxpayer funds they received from House Bill 3.

After the Austin City Council caused four months of alarming public safety risks, Jacob Asmussen reports [[link removed]] they finally changed their controversial homeless camping law—but only parts of it.

Austin’s homeless population will no longer be allowed to camp on sidewalks—but they will still be allowed to sit and lie down on them, as long they are 15 feet away from a door to a business or home. Additionally, camping will be prohibited in wildfire-risk zones or within a quarter-mile of the city’s downtown homeless shelter, but the issue of camping near highways, street medians, handicap-accessibility ramps, or creeks and river banks was left unaddressed.

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​ As I noted above, last week I had the opportunity to attend President Trump’s Dallas rally. Yes, it was fun; the mood was electric and the optimism contagious.

But what I realized is that these rallies symbolize why the political elite want Trump gone: he connects with the hopes and aspirations of Americans—running contrary to the self-serving cronyism that has become the hallmark of most politicians.

The rallies are less about Trump the man and more about people uniting behind a shared passion for the American dream our Founding Fathers presented. People rally with Trump because he unabashedly stands with them. The rallies are full of people who see in Trump someone who fights alongside them. Yes, Donald Trump may be the “brand name,” but he is the brand because people see in him someone who doesn’t lecture them, but speaks with them; someone who is serving them, not pandering.

In very really ways, the rallies really aren’t about Trump.

Yes, the rallies have Trump as the highlight – but at the center is something deeper, something more lasting. It’s the optimistic hope that America’s best days are ahead of her, that the promise of the American Revolution is alive, that we will be an ever more brightly shining city on a hill.

The political elite probably think that by overthrowing President Trump, they can shut the people up. If the rally in Dallas is any indication, that isn’t happening. We must tell the political elite—the swamp-dwellers and cronies of both parties—that we are not giving up; not on Trump, not on America. Not now, not ever.

Number of the Day

4,685,047

Total votes Donald Trump received from Texans in 2016, out of 8,969,226 votes cast.

[Source: Texas Secretary of State]

Team Spotlight

Tony McDonald, General Counsel

Q: What three people – dead or alive – would you want to have dinner with?

A: P.J. O’Rourke. Donald Trump. I don’t really have a third.

Q: What’s your favorite Texas destination?

A: The Guadalupe River in Gruene.

Quote-Unquote

“Socialists cry ‘Power to the people,’ and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean - power over people, power to the State.”

– Margaret Thatcher​

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Update / Manage Your Email Preferences [[link removed]] Request A Speaker [[link removed]] Contribute [[link removed]] Texas Republican Lawmakers Saying Bonnen Needs To Go

As of 11:55pm, 10/21/2019.

Matt Schaefer (Tyler)

Travis Clardy (Nacogdoches)

Kyle Kacal (College Station)

John Raney (Bryan)

Steve Toth (The Woodlands)

Ernest Bailes (Shepherd)

Charles Anderson (Waco)

Trent Ashby (Lufkin)

Tan Parker (Flower Mound)

Stan Lambert (Abilene)

Drew Darby (San Angelo)

Kyle Biedermann (Fredericksburg)

Phil Stephenson (Wharton)

John T. Smithee (Amarillo)

Jonathan Stickland (Bedford)

Tony Tinderholt (Arlington)

DeWayne Burns (Cleburne)

Lynn Stucky (Sanger)

Steve Allison (San Antonio)

Four Price (Amarillo)

Dan Huberty (Houston)

Lyle Larson (San Antonio)

Chris Paddie (Marshall)

John Frullo (Lubbock)

Phil King (Weatherford)

Sarah Davis (West University Place)

Dan Flynn (Van), who strongly supported Bonnen following the caucus meeting

Jay Dean (Longview)

Hugh Shine (Temple)

Michael Quinn Sullivan

CEO, Empower Texans

Texas Scorecard & Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

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PO Box 49730 | Austin, TX 78765

PO Box 700981 | Dallas, TX 75370

PO Box 36875 | Houston, TX 77236 The Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day that we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is produced on week days and distributed at 6 a.m. (though I'll probably take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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