Good morning –

Happy Constitution Day! Are you zealous for it? As citizens, we should be.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, September 17, 2021
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But first… join Brandon Waltens and Jacob Asmussen at 11 a.m. today for The Headline. They’ll discuss the continuing fallout from the Heartbeat Law taking effect, as well as the response to the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Participate in the show live, or catch the audio and video archive later today.

23 States Pledge Action

• Texas and a coalition of states warned Congress this week they will “aggressively defend” against Democrat-priority legislation to impose federal control over states’ election processes. Erin Anderson has the details.
   
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 22 other Republican attorneys general have issued a challenge to U.S. House and Senate leaders, opposing H.R. 4 and promising a legal fight if the bill becomes law. (H.R. 4 establishes the U.S. Department of Justice as a ‘federal election czar,’ dictating how states must administer their elections.)
   
• “After fighting long and hard to pass Texas’s SB 1, which helps stop voter fraud and increase public trust in our elections, I refuse to sit back and allow voters in the great state of Texas to be silenced.” – Ken Paxton

 Speaking of the Attorney General…

• Incumbent Attorney General Paxton took on yet another challenger for the GOP nomination yesterday. State Rep. Matt Krause (R-Haslet) announced his bid for the position, joining former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Jeramy Kitchen has the details.
   
• “It’s more important than ever that we have an Attorney General who will focus completely on fighting to protect Texas.” – Matt Krause
   
• Rep. Krause was first elected to the House in 2012.
     
• It is interesting that Krause is styling himself as a “fighter” in the race. His tenure in the Legislature has most recently been defined by covering up for establishment politicians killing the conservative legislative priorities he claims to champion. For example, earlier this year he praised – and even defended – Dustin Burrows as the Lubbock Republican was publicly killing legislation designed to protect children from gender mutilation – legislation Krause himself authored!

Local GOP Censures Rep. Paddie

• The Harrison County Republican Party Executive Committee voted this week to censure their hometown state representative, Chris Paddie (R–Marshall). The resolution cites 18 grievances, which include Paddie’s alleged opposition to Republican Party of Texas legislative priorities and lack of consideration of such items in the committee he chairs.
   
• The censure resolution will be sent to the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) for their review, where it might be considered in a future meeting of the SREC. If it passes, it would then enable the state Republican Party to request that Paddie not file for re-election, among other provisions.

Speaker Creates New Position For Quorum-Busting Democrat

• House Speaker Phelan announced yesterday the creation of a new committee, and immediately named a quorum-busting Democrat as the vice-chairman. Jeramy Kitchen has details on what the new Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety will be doing.
   

• The committee is composed of Republican State Rep. J.M. Lozano (Kingsville) as chairman and freshman Democrat State Rep. Ann Johnson (Houston) as vice chairman. State Reps. Steve Allison (R–San Antonio), David Cook (R–Mansfield), Harold Dutton Jr. (D–Houston), James Frank (R–Wichita Falls), Stephanie Klick(R–Ft. Worth), Jeff Leach (R–Allen), Eddie Morales (D–Eagle Pass), Victoria Neave (D–Dallas), and Toni Rose (D–Dallas) are among the committee members.
     

• With the exception of Morales, all of the Democrat lawmakers serving on the committee were also participants in the recent “quorum breaks,” when they fled the Texas Capitol to paralyze the House of Representatives and the entire Texas Legislature for upwards of 37 days. Phelan and the House Republican leadership did not penalize any lawmakers who participated.

Austin Killing Spree

• In the wake of the Austin City Council defunding much of the police department, the city finds itself in the middle of a record-breaking wave of homicides. Jacob Asmussen has the story.

Potter County Hikes Taxes

• Potter County taxpayers will be seeing their taxes go up again, thanks to an approved tax increase by the local commissioners. Residents of Amarillo could get a double-whammy, because of the city council’s decision to also increase taxes – though that question will be set to voters in November. Check out the report by Thomas Warren.

Autopsy Files: Election Law

• A new installment of our limited-run podcast series, the Autopsy Files, will premiere at 2 p.m. today. The focus: election integrity efforts.
     
• Or, as a good friend has come to call it: Election Justice.

Friday Reflection: Be A Zealot

Zealotry has a bad name. It’s acceptable to be zealous about a hobby, or to approach the new day with zeal. But to call someone a zealot? That’s a bit insulting. 

Maybe it is because we have so many bad examples of zealotry, which makes perfect sense. In scripture we find there is a good zealotry and a bad zealotry.

The great theologian R.C. Sproul once wrote, “Zeal without knowledge has wreaked incalculable havoc through history.” 

Are we zealous for what is true and right, or are we zealous for the things of this world?

While we can appreciate the desire for independence from Rome that drove the Jewish Zealots of the first century A.D., their zealotry was ultimately the bad kind. Yes, they were zealous for freedom from Rome, but were pretty hazy about what they wanted to do with that freedom. Perhaps they had a plan when their movement had begun, but after a while they became zealous for… being zealous. Killing Romans simply became something they did.

Eventually, the Zealots separated themselves from their fellow, if less zealous, Jews, and their cause culminated in a mass suicide in 73 A.D. at Masada. In a bit of bitter irony, their zeal effectively ended the Jewish bid for independence.

As it turns out, Jesus appealed to some of the earliest zealots – a number of His disciples and followers appear to have been of the Zealot persuasion. Some scholars believe Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was a zealot consumed with the desire for a military or political coup. And, of course, one of the disciples was referred to as Simon the Zealot – not to be confused with Simon Peter, known as the Rock, who was himself susceptible to zealous impulses.

Jesus directed their zeal, gave it an eternal purpose – shaped from a blunt (and sometimes reckless) instrument into a refined force serving God and others. 

How about us, today? Are we zealous for being zealous? Or are we zealous for the right things and the right reasons?

Isaiah 59:17 reads, “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.”

What makes zeal, and therefore zealotry, good or bad isn’t the zeal itself, but rather its object. The whole of Scripture makes it clear our zeal must be for the Lord, not for ourselves. Our zeal must not be for the applause of those around us, but for Him, His purposes, and His people.