Good morning,

We had an overwhelming response to yesterday’s One Click Survey – both the “clicks” and the response emails. Find those results below.

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

DEMs Defend Republican for Supporting Democrat Committee Chairs

• Democrats in Collin County are rushing to the defense of beleaguered Republican State Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano. As Brandon Waltens reports, the Texas GOP and grassroots activists are urging Leach and other Republican lawmakers to support a ban on Democrat committee chairs in the Texas House.
      
• Despite Republicans controlling state government, and further growing their House majority, Democrats are allowed by GOP lawmakers to control nearly 40 percent of House committees and one Senate committee.
       
• Leach, who is staunchly supporting incumbent House Speaker Dade Phelan for re-election, has refused to commit to a ban. He told Texas Scorecard that he is “confident” he will be a political target for Democrats.
     
• 🤔 Giving more power to people who want to remove you and defeat your allies… Yeah, that’s the kind of winning political strategy that only a multi-term politician can offer with a straight face…

Abbott Promotes Busing of Illegals as Answer to Border Invasion

• As Texas’ border towns prepare for the possible removal of Title 42, Gov. Greg Abbott took to social media to tout his push to bus illegal aliens to other states. Sydnie Henry has the details.
      
• “Texas is providing much-needed relief to communities overwhelmed by President Biden’s open border policies,” wrote Abbott.
     
• Abbott’s busing scheme has delivered more than 15,000 illegal aliens to cities such as D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Critics say that is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousands who have entered Texas illegally in the past two years.
      
• “This crisis is about to blow wide open,” said Chris Russo, president of Texans for Strong Borders.
     
• Border security activists, like Alliance for a Safe Texas’ Sheena Rodriguez, are calling for bolder action from the governor.
     
• More than 40 Texas counties have declared an invasion on the Texas-Mexico border and urged the governor to take stronger measures. Those counties include: Kinney, Goliad, Terrell, Parker, Wise, Edwards, Atascosa, Presidio, Tyler, Live Oak, Rockwall, Johnson, Wilson, Hardin, Chambers, Ellis, Orange, Liberty, Throckmorton, Madison, Jasper, Van Zandt, Wichita, Clay, Jack, Hunt, Montague, Hood, Wharton, Burnet, Collin, McMullen, Hamilton, Lavaca, Ector, Leon, Navarro, Waller, Fannin, Harrison, and Shackelford.

“Remain In Mexico”… For Now

• A federal judge in Texas has ordered the Biden administration to keep former President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy in place for now. As Darrell Frost reports, the policy requires immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their request is being processed.

Slaton: No Kill Switches

• Legislation filed by State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) would preemptively block federal requirements for cars to be eqipped with remote “kill switches.” Soli Rice has the story.
   
• Slaton’s legislation comes as a response to a federal requirement, signed into law last year by President Biden, mandating that “all vehicles produced after 2026 be fitted with a remote kill switch.”
     
• Biden’s kill switch law presupposes an onboard computer system would “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.” The system would also be “open,” meaning there would be backdoors for third parties to access the kill switch and vehicle information remotely at any time.

School District Surveys Students On Their Gender Fluidity and Sexual Activity

• While some Texas school districts protect students from inappropriate content, Fort Worth’s school district is exposing students to radical gender ideology. Katy Drollinger has the story.
      
• Grassroots activist Carlos Turcios received screenshots of a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that FWISD administered to high school students. The survey asked students for personal details about their level of sexual activity and questions about their gender identity.
      
• “Gender fluidity surveys are inappropriate and [are] an action against parents’ rights,” said Turcios. “Austin needs to work on passing bills that [punish] these districts by withholding state funding.”
      

• Letting school districts ask kids about their “orientation” and “sexual activity” is a great way to ensure groomers, predators, and pedophiles don’t have to work hard. If your kid is in a government school, get them out.

Find Your Legislators

• At the bottom of most Texas Minute deliveries, our system auto-fills your state and federal lawmakers based on the contact information we have for you. Since the November election, we’ve updated those records with the new district lines and names.
     
• Take a look to see if the information listed for you is correct. If your district-level information (SBOE, Congress, legislature) is wrong or missing, take a moment to update your info. This way, we can keep you current on the actions and activities of those specific politicians.
     
• Of course, in our online directory you can always find more information about your lawmakers – ranging from mentions in news articles to ratings from various activist groups.

Support Texas Scorecard?

Will you make a special, tax-deductible contribution to support the mission and work of Texas Scorecard? We don’t take government grants or corporate sponsorships, and we don’t put our content behind a paywall. Your support makes Texas Scorecard possible!

Y’All Answered

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn will not be up for re-election until 2026. We asked where would readers stand on his re-election if that GOP primary were to be held today. More than 97 percent of readers selected “Cornyn has to go,” while just 2.8 percent want to “re-elect Cornyn.”

Here’s a sampling from the avalanche of replies…

• “John Cornyn is a great argument for repealing the 17th Amendment. Or putting in place term limits.” – Tom Bartel
     

• “Nearly 6,000 GOP delegates booed Cornyn at the last state convention. Cornyn’s reply in the newspaper to this was, ‘I don’t bow to the mob.’ He called his own delegation a ‘mob.’ He clearly doesn’t care what Texans want. He needs to be censored by the GOP immediately. Cornyn definitely has to go.” – Kristen McCarty
      

• “Cornyn can have serious discussions with fence-sitters because he doesn’t start by insulting them. I think our Texas senators are doing a great job.” - David Holden
     

• “I haven't been a fan of John Phony Crony, since he stabbed Ted Cruz in the back, in 2013, over Obamacare. I stopped voting for him after that, and have been warning people against him ever since! He sold his soul to the D.C. swamp.” – Sonya Allison
      

• “Who does he purport to represent any way? It sure isn't Texans!” – Jay Westfall
     

• “I don’t know how he got re-elected last time!  He votes with the Democrats at least 80% of the time!” – Doreen Cardenas
       

• “In the past, Senator Cornyn has served the state of Texas honorably and well. However, the immigration situation is completely out of hand, and is indeed an invasion to our great state! As such, if that is truly what he believes, then a more forceful voice needs to be elected.” – Phyllis N. Peek
       

• “Cornyn may don the garb of a conservative citizen, but by word and deed, he is a liberal socialist to the bone and has been for many years.” – Jan LeBlanc
      

• “I have said this many times: John Cornyn only comes around when he’s up for re-election. He is no friend of Texas or its constituents. We need to encourage someone like Ronny Jackson, Chip Roy, or even Louie Gohmert to primary him.” – Landon Capozzi
     

• “Sadly, like all too many politicians with an R by their name, Cornyn has essentially turned his back on his constituents.” – Ellen Leyrer 
      

• “John Cornyn is just as bad as Mitch McConnell. Why we still allow them to call themselves Republicans is beyond me! We have got to get those two OUT of the Republican Party and out of office.” – Dara Richardson
     

• “Your survey question is meaningless. Who might be running against him? As bad as it is, to label the present situation as an invasion is simply a play on words even though it is descriptive of what is happening. It is also a humanitarian crisis of the highest magnitude and it needs to stop. But for me or anyone else to say that Cornyn must go simply based upon his verbalized assessment is a bit foolish.” – Norman Turner
     

• “I've been voting against Cornyn since 2014!” – Ann Pavalock
      

• “John Cornyn is not a fighter for Texas at all, but rather a politician who has lost the reason he went to DC.” – Betsy Lehnert
     

• “I answered, ‘Cornyn has to go.’  I tell you, I have friends who think Cornyn is great.  Those friends are full-blown Democrats so... What does that tell you about Cornyn?” – Ray Holloway
     

• “I will not vote for Cornyn if his is the only name on the ballot.” – Kathryn Martin 
     

• “He is Texas’ RINO, one step behind McConnell and gets more like him on most critical issues.’ – John Booth
     

• “John Cornyn pays no heed whatsoever to his constituents and their wishes. He doesn’t even pretend to do so. He is a perfect example of a swamp creature overlord who expects compliance and even gratitude. I am disgusted with him. Should he run again, I will campaign for anyone who primaries him.” – Vikie Schwartz
     

• “Anyone who doesn't recognize Cornyn as a huge part of the problem is also part of the problem.” – Norman Planer
     

• “Cornyn has become another two faced politician! TERM LIMITS, PEOPLE!” – Lynn Tannehill
     

• “I've been an ‘anyone but Cornyn’ voter since the end of his first term in Washington. He has RINO written on his forehead!” – O. Machelle Morris
      

• “I have written someone in every time to avoid voting for Cornyn.” – Kevin Bowden
     

• “I did not vote for Cornyn in the last election. To fix this problem the Republican Party of Texas needs to choose a true Republican and not McConnell's Siamese twin!” – John R. Makow
         

• “I haven't voted for Cornyn in the last two senate election cycles. He's a RINO and needs to be primaried.” – Camille Adams
     

• “Cornyn is worse than a RINO. He is a traitor, IMO. He does NOT support the values of  the people of Texas.  And, it would appear that he does not support the values of the American Constitution or the American people either.” – Mary E. Duval

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts and names displayed here should reflect those taking representational effect on January 1, 2023.