7,860 delegates attended the Texas GOP Convention in Houston, TX to give a view of what Republicans expect state legislators to prioritize as they return for the 88th Legislature. There were a total of 275 planks for delegates to vote whether they are for or against. Including the following resolution that received a thunderous vocal support.
1. Signs of The 2024 Red Wave
2020 Election Resolution: We believe that the 2020 election violated Article 1 and 2 of the US Constitution, that various secretaries of state illegally circumvented their state legislatures in conducting their elections in multiple ways, including by allowing ballots to be received after November 3, 2020. We believe that substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results in five key states in favor of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States. We strongly urge all Republicans to work to ensure election integrity and to show up to vote in November of 2022, bring your friends and family, volunteer for your local Republicans, and overwhelm any possible fraud.
2. Narrowing Down 15 Legislative Priorities To 8
31 Senatorial Districts (SD) had a member participate in the Platform Committee that reviewed 450 submissions that led to the list of 15 items that were voted on by the delegates to determine the Texas Republican Party’s Top 8 Priorities.
Legislative Priorities for the 88th Session (2023-2024)
1. Protect our Elections
2. Ban Democrat Chairs
3. Abolish Abortion in Texas
4. Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids
5. Ban Gender Modification of Children
6. Secure the Border and Protect Texans
7. Educational Freedom and Parental Rights
8. Defend Our Gun Rights
How Does This Platform Process Start?
The platform process actually starts at the Precinct Convention level, with the resolutions that were voted on by the delegates at each of these conventions. These work their way up through the County/Senatorial Conventions to the State Convention and will be considered by the members of the Platform Committee. The Temporary Platform Committee begins meeting from Monday – Wednesday the week of the convention. They are open for delegates, alternates and guests to attend and/or testify. The Permanent Platform Committee will convene and finalize the report to present to the delegates to be reviewed at the General Sessions.
It is a motion to try to incentivize officeholders to stay in the corral. – Jim Pikl
3. Minority Report Rule No. 44 Amendment
At one of the SD2 delegate meetings prior to attending the Texas State Convention I heard of an amendment proposed for Rule 44 which was asked by the author that he hoped to have support so that the amendment will add more teeth to censuring public officeholders. However, it was not read nor was it read in full at our state caucus meeting on Thursday, June 16. Our caucus vocally supported the Rule 44 amendment without it being read aloud. It was not until late Thursday night did I receive notifications that the committee reports were available to review online including the amendment of Rule 44.
Any County Chairman who applies the provisions of Section (a)(1) or rejects an application for a place on the ballot under Section (a)(2) and thereby becomes the subject of a lawsuit for doing so shall be indemnified by the Republican Party of Texas, who shall provide counsel to the county chairman or pay for any expenses incurred related to any suit. The State Party Chairman shall defend in court any suit against the Party arising from the application of Rule 44.
So instead of doing the actual steps of censuring an officeholder this author wants the County Chair to reject the officeholders application for election and if they were the subject of a lawsuit to have the Republican Party of Texas to provide counsel or pay lawsuit expenses. Along with having the Republican Party Chairman to defend their lawsuit.
Mr. Jim Pikl spoke to the delegates at the General Session in favor of the amendment of Rule 44. Pikl served on the Permanent Rules Committee that they heard a lot of testimony about Rule 44 the Censor Process needed to have more teeth, “This amendment does not take away the current censure ability of the party. Rather it gives additional strength to our ability as Republicans to make sure that our elected officials follow our principals if they want to continue to run for office as Republicans. You will hear people oppose to this say, the Texas Election Code allows people to run for office if they pay their fee and fill out the application. But the Texas Election Code does not allow people to run for office in the Republican Party. We decide who is Republicans. The ‘R’ brand that is behind somebody’s name on a ballot belongs to us. We decide who gets the ‘R’ by their name. The language that is in red and blue is the amendment. If you read what it says right now that is the strike through language. If an officeholder violates our principals enough times to get a censure we now have two options we can issue a mere censure. Or we can vote to make them not eligible to run for office in the Republican Party Primary following the censure passage for one cycle. It is a motion to try to incentivize officeholders to stay in the corral.”
In opposition, Rachel Hooper another member of the Rules Committee that spent over 50 hours asked, “what is the practical effect of this minority report on the Republican Party of Texas? Can the Republican Party of Texas afford the litigation that is outlined in this Minority Report?”
Chairman Matt Rinaldi gave a short answer, “No. The longer answer is what this would effect of doing is taking the Rule 44 that allows the Republican Party of Texas, County Parties, SREC to sanction Republican officials who deviate from the platform and impose penalties. Currently the Republican Party of Texas could oppose people publicly who are sanctioned. We can spend monies against those people. What this will do is change it to deny ballot access. That will undoubtedly trigger litigation which could potentially bankrupt the party or because we are not prepared for it could trigger litigation which we do not defend properly and then we would have a court opinion that we don’t want. The short answer is we would have monetary issues and we would have issues with possibly creating bad law that would make it harder to apply Rule 44 in the future.”
There was much debate that it would be in direct conflict of the Texas Election Code 141.1.001 and the minority report is out of order. Overall, it was just a bad idea. Of course we have delegates right in our own Senate District huffing that we need more teeth to stop those they don’t want as public officials for whatever their reasons are because they have failed to do their part of Rule No. 44 – Censure Process and Penalties.
Remember 15 Counties Censured Texas Governor Greg Abbott Before
Long before the 2022 March Primary, the only counties that actually made the appropriate effort of censuring Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott was Delta, Denton, Eastland, Ector, Fisher, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, Hood, Llano, Montgomery, Polk, Real, Reeves and Wise.
For those that don’t know, a “censure” means a formal action taken to call out an elected official for doing something against the constitution, party rules and/or oath of office.
The counties that censured the governor lists reasons, in most cases they declare that Abbott violated the “Separation of Powers” in the Texas Constitution Article 2, a paragraph that says in essence that one man cannot write the law, enforce the law and tell judges how to rule on the law.
Among the 17 or so violations it may include closing or limiting churches, businesses and public gatherings.
So when I hear statements like that “we need more teeth with Rule 44,” I wholeheartedly disagree. Either do the work as an appointed/elected chair or support someone that has a spine that can.
Across Texas there are many county committees that have become social clubs. County chairs and some precinct chairs have forgotten that there are people outside of their County Executive Committee (CEC) that they are to represent. Active precinct chairs can increase the voter turnout by 10% and it takes leaders to lead those efforts. And not blame the registered voters that it’s their fault for not coming out to vote when the numbers are low. In the Republican Party Precinct Chair handbook, the number one job for a precinct chair is to maximize the Republican vote in your precinct. By getting people in your precinct involved, identifying voters, registering voters, informing voters and turning out voters.
4. No Speaker Said His Name
Whose name was not mentioned? Not the Harry Potter character, “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”. I’m talking about Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Throughout the entire RPT Convention General Sessions the speakers that took the stage did not mention Governor Abbott‘s name. After Lt. Governor Dan Patrick came to the stage to give his speech he eluded that for us all to come together to support our Republicans this November all the way down the ballot. Lt. Governor Patrick sure did mention Beto’s name and other names to stir the audience to get the vote out to support our Republican Primary Winner. Without stepping in the possibility that the crowd would express themselves negatively towards our Governor he mindfully avoided it–tactically.
Gov. Abbott did host a Welcome Reception at the Rustic which was ridiculously overcrowded and did not make any efforts to visit the Convention. Guests simply RSVP’d prior to the event and checked in despite there were over capacity for approximately a 10 minute campaign speech. Abbott expressed this was the most successful turnout he has had. Not sure if he meant campaigning event or meet and greets. It’s remotely possible people probably came for the free food that was advertised in the digital invitation instead of genuinely to meet the Texas Governor. At the Rustic, Gov. Abbott stated that there is negotiations taking place with landowners on the border to add an additional 30 miles of the wall. Which was met with applause. He continued to slam the President’s policy of an open border and what would be worse is to have Beto’s Open Border Policy. Which followed by boos. He campaigned, “I’m running for re-election to ensure that Texas will remain the number one state for border security.” He continued to remind people of the what-if scenarios if his opponent were to be elected would destroy oil and gas with the green new deal.
5. Nearly 20 Minutes of Booing From Attendees
Texas Senator John Cornyn‘s speech at the Texas GOP convention on Friday was nearly 20-minutes of booing and shouting. It is believed it is over his involvement in negotiating a bipartisan gun control and gun violence prevention bill with Democrats after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary School on May 24, which left 19 children and 2 adults dead. Last week, the bill framework included measures to implement an enhanced review process for people who want to purchase firearms and are under the age of 21, penalties for straw purchases, more funding for school resource officers, an expansion of mental health programs in schools, and an expansion of mental health services for children and families. Before Cornyn left Washington D.C specific deals are still being ironed out.
Many attendees shouted a number of insults, No Gun Control!, parroted ‘STOP!’ when he gave illustrations when to speak up against those in government wanting to oppress the people. Cornyn finished his speech despite the jeers from the crowd. Many delegates questioned the convention organizers why would they agree to have him on stage at any point? Or was this a grand stand attempt to explain his negotiations with Congressional Democrats? Or was Cornyn trying to legitimately give us peace where his convictions are? Definitely leave me a comment your thoughts below.
We have got to get it right in Texas, because there is not another Texas to move to. – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
6. Rockwall County 53 Strong Delegates Arrived
Senatorial District (SD2) includes: Collin County, Dallas County, Ellis County, Kaufman County, Navarro County, Rockwall County and Van Zandt County. Fortunately, we had the most delegates in attendance at most of our Caucus meetings. Our first SD2 Caucus we voted to elect our Senatorial Caucus Chair and the Permanent Committee Members for Credentials, Rules, Platform, Legislative Priorities. Also we took a vote for the State Committee Member*.
SEE PUBLISHED RULES AND AGENDA (PG 6 & PG 7)
Temporary Convention Platform Committee: John White
Temporary Convention Rules Committee: Bruce Bishop
Temporary Convention Credentials: Cari Gaines
State Legislative: Karl Voigtsberger*
Temporary Legislative Priority: Marty Reid
SREC Committeeman: Bruce Bishop
SREC Committeewoman: Jerry Fisher
Texas State Representative Bryan Slaton stopped by to share a little insight of issues he has encountered while in Austin with the committees that were chaired by Democrats. He hoped to see that our party would support banning Democrats to chair committees.
Texas State Senator Bob Hall took time to invite us to several events he was hosting that included two documentaries: The Mind Polluters and Grid Down, Power Up. He asked engaging questions and encouraged the delegates from a biblical perspective that we are on the right path.
Republican Candidate for Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson shared quite a fiery speech about helping her get the word out that she wants to get Dallas crime under control by being harder on criminals. Faith Johnson served the citizens of Dallas County as District Attorney from January 1, 2017 until December 31, 2018. During her two-year tenure, Ms. Johnson handled several high-profile cases, started the Expunction Expo, created several Community Satellite offices for Family Violence victims, and improved staff morale and unity in the office. She previously served as Judge of the 363rd Criminal District Court for over 17 years and handled thousands of felony cases.
Texas State Representative Brian Harrison gave an inspirational speech to make government irrelevant in our lives. Harrison, a Texas native who served as deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff at HHS and who helped coordinate Operation Warp Speed. If you ever get a chance to listen him sing and play Gospel music–he has a gift!
WATCH TX REP. BRIAN HARRISON:
How many of you are sick and tired of Texas being dictated to how we should live our lives by Washington, DC?
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick spent some time to invite us to an ice cream social, expressed that we were lucky to have Senator Bob Hall that he stands by his principals. Lt. Gov. Patrick shared a story how they were able to pass a bill in 3 minutes by catching the other side asleep in the Senate. The End Child Modification authored by Senator Hall unfortunately did not pass the House of Representatives. Lt. Gov. Patrick explained the value of precinct chairs and their importance in the community to turn out Republicans to vote. We have got to get it right in Texas, because there is not another Texas to move to.
Justice Scalia used to say that a judge that always happens to discover that the law is what he wants it to be is probably not a very good judge. – Justice Evan Young
Justice Evan Young shared why the people should care who your Supreme Court Justices are and how the Supreme Court does it’s job. He was a former law clerk of Justice Antonin Scalia. He learned from him how to be a judge that understands the difference between making the law what we want and telling the people what the law actually is. He witnessed the results and in some cases he hated it. He knew that his job was not to rule the people of this country and it is not my job to rule the people of this state. Now the people of Texas created a judiciary and sometimes people forget that it is just another part of the government. And the people created a judiciary just like they created the other parts of the government. And the judiciary derives all the power from one source only and that is from the people.
Why should people care about their judiciary? The kind of judiciary you have will determine the kind of state that you live in. The judiciary can do one of two things. Either we can do our jobs faithfully and honorably to facilitate self government by saying what the law is and if you do not like it–YOU CAN CHANGE IT! That’s what the other two branches of government are for. OR we have seen this happen across American history. Judges can undermine self government by taking for themselves the raw power by making the law what they want it to be. Justice Scalia used to say that a judge that always happens to discover that the law is what he wants it to be is probably not a very good judge. I am here to promise you as long as you allow me to serve you on our State Supreme Court I will do my best to ensure that if anyone attempts to use power of the government to take the liberty of any citizen of Texas that the judiciary will be here to say show me where in the Constitution of Texas that authority comes from and show me a valid statute that allows you to do that. As long as I am a justice on the Supreme Court I will work every single day to facilitate the rule of the people of Texas, by the people of Texas to allow the judiciary to serve the people the important but limited job that you the people created to do in the first place.
Candidate Cassy Garcia for Congress Texas District 28 spoke about the red wave is here and that now more than ever Hispanics feel a genuine sense of belonging with the GOP. Garcia endorsed her good friend Hildalgo County Chair Adrienne Pena-Garza for #TxGOP Vice Chair which eventually they both supported the other nominee Dr. Dana Myers! Pena-Garza shared, “We know Hispanics are conservative on education, on social issues. We’re pro-life and pro-gun. We want lower taxes, religious freedom and school choice.”
Mayes Middleton shared that our future can’t be secure when you have a party in charge that thinks it is a good idea for little kids to go to drag queen story time. Liberty can be won and it can be lost in every single level of government. (Federal, State and local level.) For too long, as conservatives we have not paid enough attention at the local level. This very convention was stopped in 2020. City Councils defunded police. Cities and School Districts that sponsored pride week for small kids. It was sanctuary cities that protected illegal immigrants. It’s liberal loving DA’s that are not prosecuting dangerous criminals at the expense of your families safety. Radical left judges have let killers out again and again. It’s local government that is using your hard earned tax dollars on Austin lobbyists to lobby against your conservative values. It must end. Socialist destruction is happening and the question is who is going to stop the radical left? If not us, then who? We are the ones to fight back, but we need the tools to do so. And one of those tools is the Candidate Resource Committee (CRC). Every dollar raised today at the convention Middleton stated that he will match.
We have spent so much time and money on unreliable energy in Texas. – Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian
Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian secured the GOP nomination for another term on the commission regulating Texas’ oil and gas industry against Republican candidate newcomer Sarah Stodger. She is the oil and gas attorney that decided to ride a pump jump for a tik tok political campaign video that certainly didn’t bring enough boys to the polls. SA Express reported, “With no campaign money she wanted to draw attention to contaminated groundwater and misogyny in the oil and gas industry.” Not long after the published video, The San Antonio Express-News rescinded its support and may have caused conservative Texans to not support her but led them to cast their vote for incumbent Commissioner Wayne Christian.
@theunicornlawyer They said I needed at least $1MM to win a state election. #sarah4rrc #dobetter #biggame #govote #texascheck #oilfield #sorrymom #unicorntribe #untamed ♬ Apache – The Sugarhill Gang
Hopefully this sparked your interest to do your research in whom you vote for. You never know that name that sounds nice may be another unicorn attorney. All Texans benefit from oil and natural gas tax and royalty revenue, whether they live in an energy-producing area or not. Every year, oil and natural gas companies contribute billions of dollars in taxes and royalties that directly fund our roads, schools, first responders and essential public services. Wayne Christian is the 50th Texas Railroad Commissioner since November 2016. Throughout his first term, Christian developed a strong record of fighting against frivolous regulations and standing strong for free markets and American energy dominance. He has been a national leader on the forefront of fighting against Biden Administration efforts like the Green New Deal, CLEAN Future Act, and the Paris Climate Agreement.
30% of the Texas state budget is oil, gas and coal. 1 out of 10 families makes their money directly from oil and gas. What is frightening is we have a president that has gone to war against us and our resources. Wall Street has cut down 90% of the financing alone in our oil and gas industry. We have a president that goes to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and begs on his knees for oil, but we are sitting over here on top of the largest find in history in West Texas. If you are wondering why this is being done…there is a plan. The plan is in the next decade, we will have shortages of food and energy. If oil goes up or gasoline goes up–Over 6,000 products are going up too!
Texas has paid over $6 Billion to wind and solar. We have spent so much time and money on unreliable energy in Texas. Do you know that we are the only state in the US that doesn’t pay the lowest cost for our electricity? Why? Because 20 years ago, we decided to be the wind capitol of the world. We really need to fix this.
This republic is worth saving! – Senator Ted Cruz
7. Ted Cruz Has A New Podcast
Senator Ted Cruz weighs in on the truth about big government at the State Convention. America is in a crisis. Price of everything is going up. Antifa can’t afford bricks. Foreign policy is even worse. Enemies are strong, because we have a weak president. Cruz turns the message that he believes that revival is coming and joy is coming in the morning. It takes a crisis to reveal a person’s character. This republic is worth saving! After quite a number of jokes against Biden and the woke left mob mentality he may just have found the right drum beat to engage people to action. His new podcast you can text to subscribe: Verdict24005. He has a bit of humor that is entertaining, but the Senator should certainly keep his day job in being a representative. There are over 130 episodes with a whopping 34K reviews.
Americans wants leaders with backbone. – AG Ken Paxton
8. Texas AG Ken Paxton Sued Joe Biden 28 Times
Attorney General Paxton sued Biden 28 times in a year and a half. He apologized that he had only won 95% of the cases. We are going to continue to fight for what’s right and fight when others will not. The left is not compromising on their values and neither should we. If you want to know the secret that I have learned over the years. Republican voters rewards guts. Voters remember courage. The media might foam at the month. Other politicians may get weak in the knees. Americans wants leaders with backbone. And if you stand up, they will stand with you.
Davy Crockett once said, “I leave this world for others when I’m dead. Be always sure you’re right—then go ahead.”
I can tell you right now that we are right, the people in this room are right and now we must move to win elections up and down the ballot.
9. Protestors, Signs and Log Cabins
Here is a photo that I took from the second level sky bridge just outside the ballroom for TX State Representative Dan Crenshaw’s delegate luncheon. It was pretty laid back at the Hilton and George R. Brown Convention Center while I was there. Other than Alex Stein‘s alter ego, “Prime Time 99” who went a step further of approaching both Rep. Crenshaw and Senator Cruz while recording his encounters with the public officials. He expressed that they were globalists and selling out America. His accusations include supporting Ukraine, Russia and one Senator being out at a Cancun Resort with an all inclusive buffet while Texans were in the cold during the Winter Storm. Within a minute of the verbal assaults bodyguards just added more separation between the state reps and Mr. Stein while being direct to move along.
There was a male senior citizen with a cowboy hat walking around and waving a sign that stated, “Why is the Log Cabin on the Agenda?” At some point, security did question him after he walked around for several hours and clearly were trying to find a way to enforce him to leave. The Log Cabin Republicans, a national group promoting the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the Republican Party, were denied an exhibit booth spot and he continued to walk around the convention with his sign pleasantly.
The Preamble to the Republican platform is pretty clear on what the party stands for.
“Affirming our belief in God, we still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Throughout the world, people dare to dream of freedom and opportunity. The Republican Party of Texas unequivocally defends that dream. We strive to preserve the freedom given to us by God, implemented by our Founding Fathers, and embodied in the Constitution. We recognize that the traditional family is the strength of our nation. It is our solemn duty to protect innocent life and develop responsible citizens. We understand that our economic success depends upon free market principles. If we fail to maintain our sovereignty, we risk losing the freedom to live these ideals.”
10. Elections Will Remain The Same
Paper ballot advocates came prepared with detailing how elections are stolen, highlighting the 2,000 Mules documentary and stated specific election equipment was not certified. The author of the resolution made a motion for all elections to return to paper ballots to ensure election integrity. County Chairs, election judges and other poll workers spoke against the motion that it would be challenging and much slower to count ballots by hand. When it came to the vote the majority of the delegates disagreed with the motion to return to paper ballots.
11. Chair Upgrades
Republicans have made promises for years, but many believe they have not delivered. With the new unopposed Chairman who has a reputation to be a warrior and for being friendly to work with. Matt Rinaldi, who has been critical of Gov. Greg Abbott. Rinaldi believes we are truly fighting for the America we want our children to live in. He is absolutely right that the fight is happening here in Texas. Most Americans if not the world, looks to Texas to set an example of liberty and freedom. He desires for us all to work together. His performance of the Convention was well done from the stage. There was much less combativeness from delegates at the microphone than years prior. He shared light humor and gave matter-of-fact explanations to address delegates when needed at various times. I certainly look forward to seeing how well he will work with the newly elected Vice Chair and how he will advocate for our platform with the State Legislature. Rinaldi was consistently rated among the top two most conservative members of the House of Representatives so I doubt he will have trouble finding his way around the Capitol.
Cat Parks chose to not run for re-election for Vice Chair. There was certainly a difference in leadership style while under Allen West and it wasn’t raving reviews. Parks was not entirely new to politics when she became chair of the Hamilton County party. A horse trainer who owns property with her husband in both Hamilton County and New Mexico, she previously led the Santa Fe Horse Coalition, a grassroots group of more than 800 members that fought a proposed rewrite of the county’s land development code. In more than 30 Texas counties she has organized programs and resources to empower thousands of conservative candidates. She has implemented strategic recruitment of the highest number of female and minority candidates in Texas Republican Party history.
MEANWHILE DURING OUR CAUCUS MEETING…
Quite a number of delegates received text messages from the Texans For Strong Borders PAC to not vote for Adrienne Pena-Garza. This particular PAC filed on May 3, 2022 with the Texas Ethics Commission. There are no previous filings, barely a FB page and no website. However, they did have a booth in the exhibit hall. Not that the PAC had any impact in Garza’s decision to support Dr. Dana Myers. Pena-Garza’s Facebook post was very graceful.
Newly elected Vice Chair Dr. Myers brings extensive executive and volunteer experience. The Harris County Republican GOP has had a major turn around under her leadership from finances to rebranding. She sounds like she will amplify conservative voices and to see a much younger generation coming to grow the Republican Party of Texas. Hopefully she will be able to teach and share her methods with other County GOPs.
12. So What’s Next?
Now the ground work begins, hopefully all delegates got the message of what the Republican Party is all about. As well as, what our goals are to achieve in the 88th State Legislature. Just so that it is clear…delegates don’t make laws. Our elected State Legislators do. I have some personal goals to submit ideas for bills to a number of Representatives (150) and Senators (31). Hopefully, mine will be picked up and supported by a Representative to author a bill. Last session there was over 1,000 bills introduced. And a total of 1,177 became law!
Charlie Kirk launched a new political action committee called Turning Point PAC (TPPAC). They will officially endorse and support conservative candidates. Turning Point PAC will launch with a multi-million dollar “war chest” which it plans to deploy heading into the 2022 midterms, including independent expenditures supporting candidates and max PAC contributions to designated candidates endorsed by the PAC. “Conservatives often wonder why their elected officials stab them in the back once they take office. Turning Point PAC has been created to fix that problem. We will work to elect candidates who will courageously defend the values of grassroots voters, and we will work to replace the frauds who consistently betray us.”
Special thanks to Bunker Bob for broadcasting live all week and setting up the mobile unit. Glad to see we had former Senator Don Huffines come say hello, as well as, SREC members share some report highlights.
Comment below what you liked about attending the state party conventions that is most helpful to you.