A Bitter Divide ~ Grassroots vs Establishment Republicans

One does not have to look very closely to see that there is a clear and distinct divide in the Republican Party.  You have the establishment or moderate Republicans, and you have the grassroots or conservative Republicans. This divide unfortunately has turned bitter at both the local and national level.  This divide has been escalating.

This assault on the grassroots was highlighted at the end of the regular legislative session by the unprecedented impeachment of conservative Attorney General Ken Paxton by the Texas House of Representatives.  This was nothing more than an attempt to overturn the will of the voters and get rid of a conservative fighter.  However, when all the cards were laid on the table, there wasn’t much in the way of tangible evidence to support this impeachment.  Fortunately, the Texas Senate saw through this and did not support this impeachment due to lack of real evidence.  But this unjustified impeachment shows just how far the establishment will go to silence the grassroots.  The term cutting off your nose to spite your face comes to mind.

A Bitter Antagonist ~ Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan

The latest attack on the grassroots comes from none other than Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan who recently referred to the grassroots as a “rot” to the party.  He specifically mentioned two West Texas billionaires who were buying political influence.  I am not defending billionaires; however, this statement is fundamentally false.  Unfortunately, truth doesn’t seem to matter; the only thing that seems to matter is the narrative.  If you say something that doesn’t fit the narrative, you are attacked, and cancelled.  However, the real “rot” to the republic is those like Dade Phelan.

Who Are the Real, Big-Money Influencers?

I would invite you to go to www.grassrootspriorities.com where you can see who is influencing Texas politics.  If you look there you will see that the Defend Liberty PAC, which is funded in part by the West Texas billionaires, was not one of the top donors in the State of Texas.  So who is?  Dade Phelan.  The only lobby group that spends more money in Texas political contributions than Dade Phelan is Texans for Lawsuit Reform who spent an astounding $7,235,707 in donations to legislators.  Dade Phelan donated $4,152,637 to political campaigns.  But the West Texas Billionaires must be close. They have to be in the top 5, right?  Top 10?  Top 15?  Nope, the Defend Liberty PAC spent a total of $237,509 on political campaigns which ranks 16th on the donations list for the last election cycle.

This brings up the question as to where does Dade Phelan get this kind of money to donate?  This is all public knowledge and available on the Texas Ethics Commission’s website.  Every special interest PAC in Texas has contributed to Dade Phelan’s campaign, and he has his own share of millionaires and billionaires on his contributors list.  His contributions also come from several legislators, including liberal democrats.

What Does Dade Phelan Hate? Grassroots Values

So who is “buying” legislators?  It is not the West Texas billionaires, but rather Drunk Dade and his wealthy corporate donors.  Why does Dade Phelan have such a problem with this group?  The reality is that the West Texas billionaires share many of the same views and values with the conservative grassroots, and that is what Drunk Dade really hates.  He can’t come right out and say that he hates the values of grassroots, so he creates the false narrative that it is the West Texas billionaires that are buying legislators, when he looks the culprit in the mirror every morning.

I have found that when you take the voice away from a group, they get motivated and work harder.  That is what has happened to the grassroots in Texas.  The establishment has done everything they can to to minimize and silence the grassroots.  We get a crumb or two during the legislative session and are essentially expected to go away.  Note to the establishment:  give the grassroots the same voice as you give the lobbyists, and this divide would go away.