Someone asked me to remark upon the status of the Republican Party in Texas. There are two ways to go on this – a party public relations direction or a responsible warts and all direction. As you’d expect, I’ll take the realist, warts and all brutally honest route.
The Republican Party in Texas has never been larger, stronger, and better – if you measure by counting officials with an “R” by their name on a general election ballot. But, if you measure by the strength of Republicanism – the set of ideas and philosophy the party exists to promote – the party isn’t so well.
One county chairman put it well, saying something like my whole courthouse is now Republican but none of them are Republicans. We see the same in our primary elections with candidates. Many of them are not only not conservative, they are not even adherents of the most traditional ideas of Republicanism.
…when you become super-dominant, you don’t just get all the candidates, you get all the voters…
Texas Democrats held one party state status for a century but their party was split into the growing far left urban, full-out welfare state Dems opposed to the more rural anti-communist, pro-strong America, pro-segregation traditionalist Democrats. Both sides were for big government too.
As the dominant party, the Texas GOP now has most running in its primary – the double-edge sword of dominance. This leads to courthouses full of officials who are often indistinguishable from the Democrats they replace; taxes and spending always up; a love of more inter-governmental associations, and; lobbying for more power over citizens.
We see the same in the Legislature which is a vicious circle of self-enabling from local office to Austin. Among the biggest lobbies in Austin? Texas Association of Counties, Several public school organizations such as TASB, Texas Municipal Leagues and many other groups of folks in local government such as police chiefs, county judges, JP’s, etc. You name it, it has a lobby group.
The term RINO may make many uncomfortable, some in this room do doubt, but it’s the perfect term for half or more of our officeholders – Republican In Name Only.
Republican for Electoral Convenience, or REC, might work too but, it’s not as fun to say, even if it is more descriptive because it sounds like wreck – and that’s exactly what they will eventually do to our party’s ideals.
When the public begins to believe, rightly or wrongly, that there is little substantive difference between the parties, they revolt and throw out the political baby with the political bath water if you will.
A political party is an inherently ideological entity – that is a party’s reason to exist – to promote a political ideology. Those who don’t support and understand such don’t belong in a political party but, they stay anyway to use a party and its members to gain political office and power.
The bigger and more dominant the party – the harder to elect those who represent that party’s platform to the ideological level.
For this reason, it is up to primary voters to ensure that candidates they elect carry their party’s base philosophy – such was the reason behind having a primary election.
However, when you become super-dominant, you don’t just get all the candidates, you get all the voters – that includes many who are not slightly conservative and certainly unaware of what Republicanism is.
The bigger and more dominant the party – the harder to elect those who represent that party’s platform to the ideological level.
Texas Republicans are strong, Texas is a now Republican state – thanks in-part to many in this room and those who attended these events before us. But, their work only has value if Texans insist on governance with Republican values. Short of that, what’s the point?
The state of the Republican Party in Texas
Robert Pratt
Someone asked me to remark upon the status of the Republican Party in Texas. There are two ways to go on this – a party public relations direction or a responsible warts and all direction. As you’d expect, I’ll take the realist, warts and all brutally honest route.
The Republican Party in Texas has never been larger, stronger, and better – if you measure by counting officials with an “R” by their name on a general election ballot. But, if you measure by the strength of Republicanism – the set of ideas and philosophy the party exists to promote – the party isn’t so well.
One county chairman put it well, saying something like my whole courthouse is now Republican but none of them are Republicans. We see the same in our primary elections with candidates. Many of them are not only not conservative, they are not even adherents of the most traditional ideas of Republicanism.
…when you become super-dominant, you don’t just get all the candidates, you get all the voters…
Texas Democrats held one party state status for a century but their party was split into the growing far left urban, full-out welfare state Dems opposed to the more rural anti-communist, pro-strong America, pro-segregation traditionalist Democrats. Both sides were for big government too.
As the dominant party, the Texas GOP now has most running in its primary – the double-edge sword of dominance. This leads to courthouses full of officials who are often indistinguishable from the Democrats they replace; taxes and spending always up; a love of more inter-governmental associations, and; lobbying for more power over citizens.
We see the same in the Legislature which is a vicious circle of self-enabling from local office to Austin. Among the biggest lobbies in Austin? Texas Association of Counties, Several public school organizations such as TASB, Texas Municipal Leagues and many other groups of folks in local government such as police chiefs, county judges, JP’s, etc. You name it, it has a lobby group.
The term RINO may make many uncomfortable, some in this room do doubt, but it’s the perfect term for half or more of our officeholders – Republican In Name Only.
Republican for Electoral Convenience, or REC, might work too but, it’s not as fun to say, even if it is more descriptive because it sounds like wreck – and that’s exactly what they will eventually do to our party’s ideals.
When the public begins to believe, rightly or wrongly, that there is little substantive difference between the parties, they revolt and throw out the political baby with the political bath water if you will.
A political party is an inherently ideological entity – that is a party’s reason to exist – to promote a political ideology. Those who don’t support and understand such don’t belong in a political party but, they stay anyway to use a party and its members to gain political office and power.
The bigger and more dominant the party – the harder to elect those who represent that party’s platform to the ideological level.
For this reason, it is up to primary voters to ensure that candidates they elect carry their party’s base philosophy – such was the reason behind having a primary election.
However, when you become super-dominant, you don’t just get all the candidates, you get all the voters – that includes many who are not slightly conservative and certainly unaware of what Republicanism is.
The bigger and more dominant the party – the harder to elect those who represent that party’s platform to the ideological level.
Texas Republicans are strong, Texas is a now Republican state – thanks in-part to many in this room and those who attended these events before us. But, their work only has value if Texans insist on governance with Republican values. Short of that, what’s the point?