#TXLEGE: News and notes from Bryan Slaton

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
Hebrews 12:1

There been a decent amount of keyboard strokes spilled over Bryan Slaton's recent interview over his discussion of Greg Abbott's negative coattails. That's fine. It's certainly an important topic. And we largely agree with the conclusions.

That being said, there's a lot more there that's worthy of consideration.



Highlights:

• Running the third time is VERY rare.

• Incumbents tend to have accumulated loyalty.

• Decided to run for the third time after the Bonnen/Chris McNutt incident.
• The Bonnen/Sullivan recording confirmed it.

• Dan Flynn was apparently, quite literally, spitting mad in defense of Bonnen.

• Over the course of multiple campaigns, Slaton got know his community MUCH better.

• By the third run, he'd built relationships in the community that hadn't exists five years earlier.

• "The things that helped me most were out of my control."
• Third candidate.
• Delayed runoff due to COVID.
• Abbott's self-immolation.

• Appraisals should come out before the primary.

• Re: next session -- Need a speaker who's "a leader" and "fair."
• "Let the vote happen."
• "Don't try to manipulate everything."

#TXLEGE: Cruz calls state government a "Swamp"

"They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;"
2 Peter 2:15

New ad in the Jon Francis race:



This is fascinating on all sortsa levels.

As we discussed the other day, for Cruz to stick with Francis despite the recent caterwauling of the phony outrage crowd speaks volumes.

Keep in mind: Cruz worked in state government for a stretch in the mid-2000's, so he's seen it up close.

Then again, lo those many years ago, Ted Cruz was the guy whose original claim to fame was having beaten a sitting Lite Guv in a statewide race.

Bottom Line: The accuracy of the message is obvious, but for this particular messenger to deliver it has all sorts of implications.

Abbott (kinda sorta) Declares (half-assed) War

"The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.
Proverbs 15:14

Abbott makes it official:

Gov. Greg Abbott was on the receiving end recently of some jokes about his use of a wheelchair — and his alleged kowtowing to liberal Texas cities on COVID-19.

Now, he’s going on offense.

In a two-week early voting period for the July GOP runoffs beginning Monday, Abbott’s using his broad popularity among Republican voters, lists of likely voters and elaborate campaign organization to try to propel three state or county-level candidates past rivals associated with Empower Texans.

And?!?

This is expected.

Greg Abbott has been taking on water because of his own indecisive, weak, "leadership." Greg Abbott, and Greg Abbott alone, made the decision to hire Mike Toomey. Greg Abbott, and Greg Abbott alone, made the decision to giveaway a no-bid contract...allegedly for so-called "contract tracing." Greg Abbott, and Greg Abbott alone, did these things.

But Greg Abbott, being notoriously thin-skinned, can't abide discussion of Greg Abbott's job performance.  Greg Abbott has to play Mr. Burns to a revolving cast of legislative Smithers'.  The Empower Texas kerfuffle just gave Greg Abbott a pretext to do what Greg Abbott always wanted to do.

But here's the thing: Abbott's not actually doing much.

(Which is, of course, typical for Abbott.)

Last three paragraphs of the DMN piece:

The governor’s political operation, conceded “endorsements are not the silver bullet or anything.”

In all of the races, Texans for Greg Abbott will deploy “digital advertising to our universe, texting to our folks and emails” — but not radio or cable-TV ads, Carney said. Turnout is likely to be low, he added.

“Hopefully, they’ll get out there and vote and support the governor’s candidates,” Carney said.

Soo...they're going to send a bunch of spam text messages. People hate those.  But keep on keeping on Dave Carney.

Speaking of Dave Carney, that quote is astonishingly weak. "Hopefully?!?"   Hopefully, lots of stuff happens.  But it usually helps to have a plan beyond spam text messages.

Then there's this: Why run your mouth in the first place?!?

A mob boss who knows how to keep his mouth shut only needs to whack one enemy from time to time to be feared.  But a mob boss who says he's going to whack four specific people on a specific timeline...better whack all four (on time).   Anything less looks weak.

In other words, Abbott better run the table.

Anything short of that is a loss.

A bad one.

Bottom Line: This is an awfully high-stakes fight to pick to not have a plan beyond Dave Carney, spam text messages, and the word "hopefully."

A Teachable Moment re: Who's Allowed to say Mean Things about Abbott

"Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.' "
1 Corinthians 15:33

For those who aren't aware, last week Empower Texans accidentally released an outtake from their podcast that included some R-rated (although factually accurate) comments about Governor Abbott's recent job performance.  The comments were certainly in poor taste.  Regrettable, tacky, etc.  That being said, the comments in question aren't anything anyone wearing big boy pants hasn't heard before.

Of course, this hasn't stopped the caterwauling banshees of insincere outrage from taking advantage of the situation.

That's fine, you can't really blame them for exploiting an opportunity that fell into their lap.

This morning, however, a certain columnist from the Houston Chronicle got in on the act:

Grieder: Texas GOP needs to separate itself from heavy-handed activists at Empower Texans

Erica GriederJune 24, 2020 Updated: June 24, 2020 6:44 a.m.

Grieder's column is a fairly boring act of concern trolling. You're welcome to read it for yourself. But, Greider's claims to have engaged in original reporting over a meeting that's been public knowledge for almost a year notwithstanding, her column contains nothing new.

Here's what's so gobsmacking about the situation: Erica Greider, in the not very distant past, has done the exact same thing.

Erica Greider used to be one of the higher-ups at Texas Monthly. In 2016, she left that position under bizarre circumstances. Whether she was fired or she quit has never truly been resolved. Either way, the details of who initiated her departure aren't relevant except to the degree to which they highlight the oddness of the whole situation.

Once she departed from Texas Monthly, you'll never believe who Erica Greider went after while using some grown up language:

[Note: This tweet log is in reverse chronological order.]

There you have it.  Two situations.  Both involving irritation with Abbott.  Both, probably regrettably, producing some strong language.

The difference, of course, is that only one of these incidents begot howls of phony outrage.

It's almost like the issue has nothing to with saying mean things about Greg Abbott and everything to do with who opposes bidness as usual.

Or is that too cynical?!?

Bottom Line:  Last week's comments were obviously not good, but for someone who's done the exact same thing to condescendingly lecture the rest of us speaks volumes about how government in this state operates.

Texas Federation of Republican Women Rebukes Abbott

"A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity."
Proverbs 17:17 

Via. Empower Texans:

Even staunch supporters are taking issue with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s stance on mask orders.

Calling it “an overreach of power by our elected officials,” the Texas Federation of Republican Women—the most powerful women’s political organization in Texas—joined a host of Republican lawmakers and voters who are speaking out against local mask orders that were given the green light by Abbott.

On Thursday morning, TFRW sent an “action alert” asking members to “Tell Governor Abbott ‘No’ to Face Mask Mandates.” 

Crazy. For those who aren't aware, TFRW are the mother of all establishment R organizations. It's not so much what's being said as it is who's saying it.

Kudos to Empower Texans for catching this.

Bottom Line: The long term fallout remains unknown, but this can't be a good sign.

#TXLEGE: Chapter 313 should be the FIRST Thing To Go

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight."
Proverbs 11:1

Interesting thought from Empower Texans this morning:

 

This is actually a really interesting proposal.  Because schools are still going to be clamoring for more money.  But nobody's going to want to raise taxes on individuals or homeowners.

The truth is that Chapter 313  carve outs don't serve any economic purpose.  They simply reward the people who hire the best lobbyists.  Bonus point: Eliminating chapter 313 would also make the school finance system more efficient over the long term.

Furthermore, it's absolutely true that there's widespread agreement between the left and the right on this subject.  We actually first learned about Chapter 313 from the Texas Observer.  UT professor Nathan Jensen has also done some fantastic work on the subject.

Chapter 313 is a subject that basically lines up all of the honest people across the political spectrum vs. all of the dishonest ones (aka. the overwhelming majority of legislators).

Bottom Line: Even in good times, special interest carve outs are bad policy...but in the coming crunch, there really isn't any excuse.

#TXLEGE: Bettencourt calls Legislators' Bluff re: TRS

"Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes;
But by a man of understanding and knowledge
Right will be prolonged."
Proverbs 28:2

A couple weeks ago, we wrote a commentary for Texas Scorecard about the TRS scandal.  We still recommend reading the whole thing.  But the TL,DR version is that legislators who were howling in alleged outrage were a bunch of liars who've never lifted a finger to prevent this sort of scandal in the first place.

Now, however, it looks like they'll have an opportunity to put our money lobbyists' money their money where their mouth currently resides:

Discussing recent @TRSofTexas office space decisions in Senate Finance Committee. Unfortunately right now we have a system where questions are asked but the public cannot get answers. That must change and I will file legislation to fix in the next #txlege.

— Team Bettencourt (@TeamBettencourt) February 25, 2020

Good for Paul Bettencourt. Somebody has to step up. Not surprising that it's him.

Unfortunately, wish Bettencourt luck...cuz' he's gonna need it.

We can pretty much guarantee one of two things will happen:

• A bill passes the Senate to die in the house.

• The bill gets gutted in the house and is basically toothless in the end.

But the odds of a strong bill surviving the legislative process are basically zero.

Still, kudos to Bettencourt for forcing the issue at all.

Bottom Line: It's LONG past time for legislators to put up or shut up on this topic.

#TXLEGE: "Behind the Scenes" in the Legislature

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Ephesians 5:11

Nothing quite like an former officeholder who's now unshackled.

Don Huffines has been speaking about the reality of his experience in the legislature for some time.  He gave similar remarks at Empower Texans gala in December.  His recent appearance at the True Texas Project is, at least to our knowledge, the first time it's been recorded.



Highlights:

• Decided to run for office because the incumbent (John Carona) became a liberal over his time in office.

• Abolished an obscure quasi-educational agency: "A rats nest of crooks."
• "We uncovered the biggest political corruption scandal in the history of the state of Texas."
• "We discovered these people were stealing a lot of money."
• "Over 3000 employees."
• At least 5 employees are currently in prison, with more potentially coming soon.

• "I didn't get a lot of help in Austin."
• "I didn't get any support of the Governor."
• "I got nothing but opposition from the speaker of the house."
• The Lt. Governor wasn't particularly helpful, but didn't actively work against him either.

• First Republican caucus meeting:
• Took the party platform with him.
• Wanted a vote on Constitutional Carry so that voters could hold Senators accountable.
• 3 Senators left..."it was VERY awkward."
• The next morning, he was told to apologize to the other Senators.
• Republican Senators are willing to be held accountable to the media and lobbyists, but not their own voters.

• "I don't know if you know this or not, but they don't like you...As a matter of fact, they hate you."

• "They belittle you, they laugh at you...they ridicule our state party platform."

• "Have you ever seen our Governor talk about our state party platform?!?"
• Likewise the other statewides.

• "They don't believe in what you want."

• "We have never not had a purple session."

• "Democrats ran this state for 125 years, for the past 20 years you've had Democrat party switchers running it."
• Note: This point CANNOT possibly be emphasized enough.  The only difference today is that all the local Good Ol' Boys run in the R primary instead of the D.  Texas has NEVER been a conservative state.  It's been a deeply corrupt, crony "capitalist" state for 150 years.

• "We've never had a conservative session."

• "If we wanted a secure border, that border would be secure."

• "Did you hear a whisper on education freedom?!?"

• Election integrity: "We know we're being cheated.  We know dead people vote."
• We know thousands of non-citizens are voting, could be significantly higher.
• Abbott was Attorney General for 12 years and never did anything about voter fraud.
• Paxton hasn't been much better.
• "When I lost my election in '18, there was evidence presented to me that we might have a problem."
• The biggest issue is software manipulation: "If they can program a computer to count the votes, they can program a computer to change the votes."
• Yet it was the GOP who killed the election integrity bill.
• His attorney quit because he didn't want to be on the outs with the Governor.

• Socialism: "The Democrats want to get there today, the Republicans want to get there next week."

Cook Children's "Hospital" conforms to WRETCHED Stereotypes

"Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Matthew 5:12

This is astounding:

Lawyers from a Fort Worth hospital are harassing a conservative organization in North Texas as part of their plan to combat a judge’s interference in killing a 9-month-old baby.

Tinslee Lewis was born with congenital heart disease. She is currently at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth and relies on a ventilator to live. On October 31, against the objections of Tinslee’s mother, the hospital announced it would remove the ventilator from Tinslee on November 10, thus killing her. No reasons relating to bodily health were given by the hospital. Instead, only a vague “quality of life” argument was provided.

The action by Cook Children’s is legal under Texas’ controversial 10-day rule, which allows a hospital committee to end “life-sustaining care” even if the patient, or his or her surrogate, objects; it also overrides a duly executed medical power of attorney or advance directive from the patient.

Tinslee’s life was temporarily spared when Judge Alex Kim of the 323rd District Court approved a temporary restraining order filed by lawyers from Texas Right to Life on her behalf on November 10—the day she was scheduled to die. A hearing originally set for November 22 was postponed until December 10 after the hospital dispatched its lawyers to try and force Judge Kim to be recused.

The lawyers have now issued a subpoena to True Texas Project, the North Texas grassroots activist organization—formerly known as Northeast Tarrant Tea Party—led by Julie White McCarty. The subpoena contains a draconian list of communications to be turned over to them, including:

• All documents and communications related to any endorsement of Judge Alex Kim’s judicial campaign by True Texas Project. 

• All documents and communications related to any contributions True Texas Project made to Judge Alex Kim’s judicial campaign.

A similar subpoena was given to Empower Texans, the publisher of Texas Scorecard. The subpoenas included a deadline for compliance of less than 48 hours during the week of Thanksgiving.

Because nothing screams "everything we're doing is on the up and up" quite like attempting to sue your critics into silence.

Which is a shame.

Here's the secret: This type of care is extraordinarily expensive.  Hospitals frequently eat that cost.  These are some of the most challenging examples of what the industry calls "indigent care."

It's not an objection to which we are entirely unsympathetic.  A conversation about how to pay for this sort of treatment probably should.  There's got to be a better way.

But then they do something like this.

Cook Children's "Hospital" can find the money to sue their critics...but they can't find the money to treat a little girl?!?

It's quite something.

It also makes one wonder what else they're hiding.

Bottom Line: At a minimum, the optics are terrible...and it's probably worse than that.

#TXLEGE: Acute crisis subsides, Toxic Culture Remains

"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
2 Corinthians 7:10

This was always inevitable:

Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) announced this morning he would not seek reelection to the Texas House.

“Since Friday, I have had numerous conversations with Members who care deeply about the Texas House, and I respect the manner in which they have handled the entire situation. After much prayer, consultation, and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear that I can no longer seek re-election as State Representative of District 25, and subsequently, as Speaker of the House,” said Bonnen in a statement.

“I care deeply about this body and the work we have accomplished over the years, namely, the outstanding success we achieved in the 86th Legislature,” he continued.

This announcement comes after Michael Quinn Sullivan, of the conservative grassroots group Empower Texans, released a recording of a closed-door meeting he had with Bonnen, in which Bonnen offered a clear quid pro quo — Texas House media credentials in exchange for Sullivan monetarily targeting 10 select “moderate” Republican House members.

Two and a half cheers.

It's certainly good that Bonnen is gone.  It always serves the public's interest to remove corrupt officials.  Furthermore, Bonnen's departure reduces the odds of a GOP electoral wipeout.

Still, it's hard to get too excited.  It took them three months to make a completely obvious decision.  It should have taken about three days.

Last Saturday we wrote that, given their inability to do that which is completely obvious re: Bonnen, the GOP deserved to lose the Texas house.  Obviously, this morning's announcement renders most of the specifics of that blog post moot.  Still...is anyone confident a new scandal won't soon emerge?!?

Cuz' we ain't.

As we wrote:

It's no longer just about Dennis Bonnen.  Or one act of political funny business.  This specific scandal is the completely predictable result of the toxic culture in the Texas capitol that has prevailed for a long time.

The GOP, meanwhile, has been running the place for a quarter century.

This is the same Republican majority that:

• Five years ago, was running college admissions scandals before it was cool.
• With all due respect to Aunt Becky, she ain't got nothin' on Jim Pitts.

• Two years ago, put a man who had been in a sexual relationship with a lobbyist for over a decade in charge of writing its sexual harassment policy.

• Just elected as vice chair a guy who was taking $56,000 a month from an entity under the jurisdiction of the committee he chaired.

The pattern is obvious...to anyone not under the influence of afore mentioned Egyptian rivers.

Dennis Bonnen (and Joe Straus and Jim Pitts) might be gone, but Charlie Geren and Jim Murphy remain.

It's hard to feel confident in a culture that continues to tolerate the likes of Charlie Geren and elevates the likes of Jim Murphy.

Even if they did (very, very, belatedly) throw Dennis Bonnen overboard.

Bottom Line: We're certainly in a better place now than we were twelve hours ago...but that's not saying much.

#TXLEGE: Bonnen's "Cities and Counties" Remark Illustrates Degree to which he's LIAR

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Ephesians 5:11

The media seems to be fixating on an odd little remark Dennis Bonnen made in the Empower Texans recording:

The recording of a conversation between two top Republican state lawmakers and a conservative activist released Tuesday exposed legislators’ intentional political targeting of cities and counties — and their plans to make the 2021 legislative session even more painful for local governments.

“Any mayor, county judge that was dumb ass enough to come meet with me, I told them with great clarity, my goal is for this to be the worst session in the history of the legislature for cities and counties,” Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said in the recording.

“I hope the next session is even worse,” Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock replied.

Bonnen then said he was “all in for that.”

The trib piece explores some political ramifications and is worth reading in full.  Over at Texas Monthly, Chris Hooks has a silly overreaction.  If you're looking for a good laugh, check out the Texas Municipal League's full statement.

There's just one problem: Bonnen was lying.

If Bonnen's goal were really to make the 86th "the worst session in the history of the legislature for cities and counties"...don't you think the sick leave bill would have passed?!?

Instead, we got this:

AUSTIN — As the House heatedly debated a contentious bill late Friday that would prohibit municipalities from contracting with organizations that provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, Democrats in the chamber were preparing for more acrimonious battles in the last week of a legislative session that’s been characterized by its mild-tempered and collaborative tone.

Earlier that day, House committees voted out controversial bills that would make it harder to remove Confederate monuments from public places, prohibit cities from requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave, and stiffen penalties for providing false information on a voter registration application.

All of those bills were still eligible to be placed on the chamber’s agenda before an important procedural deadline Tuesday, as long as they made it through the House Calendars Committee over the weekend. But by Sunday night, when the committee met to set the agenda for Tuesday’s calendar, none of those Republican-authored bills made the list, leaving them all but dead very late in the session.

....

A group of Democrats began talking to House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, offering to withdraw amendments on the abortion-providers bill if he would consider leaving other divisive bills off the House calendar in the final week of the session.

But Bonnen totally hates cities.

Ignore results.

Bottom Line: Honestly, were not sure if Bonnen lying or the media being oblivious to Bonnen's lying is worse.

#TXLEGE: A Good Summary on Where Things Stand re: Bonnen

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

Amen Rich:

Pretty much.

These clowns had the opportunity to put this scandal behind them two months ago.  They chose to stonewall.  Next week will present another opportunity to put this scandal in the rear view mirror.

It's an open question whether they take it (probably not).

At some point, the public will notice.

When that inevitably happens, the GOP will have no one to blame but themselves.

It's their call.

Bottom Line: We suspect pessimism is warranted....

#TXLEGE: Be careful what you wish for (you just might get it)

"He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

Oh fun:

October 10, 2019

Adam,

As has been widely reported, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey have all requested that the recording of my meeting with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen be released despite not listening to it themselves.

They have called for the release of the audio despite knowing: 

• the recording was made for my personal protection and the protection of my family, staff, and organization; 
• certain segments of the recording could cause harm to individuals and their families, and; 
• specific statements by Speaker Bonnen in the recording could be used by Democrats to undermine the GOP. 

Because these Republican leaders continue to call for the recording to be made public and I have been given the green-light to do so by my legal team, I will release the audio next week.

Respectfully,
Michael Quinn Sullivan

To be honest, there's not a lot new we can say.  We said our piece after the scandal broke here.  After we heard the audio, we addressed its contents here.  The reason those two blog posts are so similar is because most conclusions surrounding this scandal are completely obvious.

Still, it's going to be fascinating to see how the R caucus reacts.

If they're smart, they'll use this as an opportunity to make the clean break they should have made months ago.  For as poorly as it's been handled, this scandal remains contained to two people.  Once Dennis Bonnen and Dustin Burrows leave the scene, this discussion goes away permanently.

Or they could gaslight themselves into denying the obvious...in which case they'll own the slow drip from now until election day.

We're not a gambling man; if we were, betting AGAINST the Republican caucus being smart is probably easy money.

Only time will tell.

Bottom Line: Regardless of how things play out, next week is going to be fun.

#TXLEGE: Patrick falls deeper into denial, rationalization

"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."
Proverbs 15:2

Earlier this morning, Michael Quinn Sullivan wrote a short Twitter thread about constitution day.  Ok fine, whatever.   During the thread, Sullivan took a relatively tame jab at Dan Patrick's recent turn against the Second Amendment.

Which caused Lt. Dan's notoriously thin skin to return with a vengeance:

You know my plan exempts family and friends, so apparently you are fine with selling your guns to total strangers who can’t pass a background check because they could be a violent felon or someone bent on mass violence. BTW, release the tape. You are destroying our party.

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) September 17, 2019

Guilty conscience, Lt. Dan?!?

Lt. Dan's supposition is, of course, preposterous.  Whatever one thinks about Sullivan's strategy re: the Bonnen audio, the notion that it's "destroying our party" has no basis in fact.  Jonathan Stickland explains:

No @DanPatrick you sir are destroying our party. You are the politician who has forgotten who brought you to the dance. You’ve publicly been taking a dump on our party platform & our long held support of the #2A. You will own the election results not the grassroots! #txlege

— Jonathan Stickland (@RepStickland) September 17, 2019

Bottom Line: This farce would be entertaining if it weren't so serious.

#TXLEGE: Abbott being Abbott (Burrows Endorsement Edition)

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

Of course he did:

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday endorsed state Rep. Dustin Burrows for reelection, giving the Lubbock lawmaker a vote of confidence as he deals with accusations that he and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen schemed to target fellow Republicans in the 2020 primaries.

"I am proud to endorse Representative Dustin Burrows for re-election, and I am grateful for his strong leadership in the Texas House," Abbott said in a statement. "Representative Burrows is a servant leader who puts the needs of his constituents first, and I look forward to continuing our important work together as we create an even brighter future for the state of Texas."

Abbott's endorsement comes days after Burrows resigned as chairman of the House Republican Caucus amid the ongoing fallout from the scandal with Bonnen, which the Texas Rangers are now investigating.

Yet they wonder why they're in political trouble (send money!!!).

This won't age well.

Bottom Line: Slow drip gonna keep drippin'....

#TXLEGE: Thoughts on the Sullivan/Bonnen audio

"The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools."
Proverbs 3:35

Yesterday, we listened to the recording of the infamous meeting between Michael Quinn Sullivan and Dennis Bonnen.  For the most part, it reinforced our initial impression of this story.  If you've been following it, the recording doesn't contain a ton of "new" information.  But there's a lot of additional context.

Thoughts:

• Bonnen's arrogance, and Bonnen's stupidity, are...something.

• On multiple occasions, Bonnen offers Sullivan official actions in exchange for political activity.
• Each time, Sullivan instantly says no.

• Bonnen also offers to allow Sullivan to stay in a property in New Mexico that his in-laws apparently own.

• Bonnen has the demeanor of a frat boy who's trying waaaaaaaaaaaaay too hard to be your friend.

• The hardest part to wrap your head around is that the substance of Bonnen's ask isn't necessarily crazy.  While he's doing it for the wrong reasons, Bonnen basically asks Sullivan to focus on rural members instead of suburban ones.  There's a certain logic to that strategy.  Unfortunately, there's no logic that suggests one make oneself a party to a felony in the process.

• The most surprising part is the degree to which Bonnen's talking out of both sides of his mouth on his alleged "no campaigning" edict.  Bonnen spends nearly a quarter of the meeting telling Sullivan how he plans to vigorously enforce the edict against Democrats, but casually look the other way with Republicans.  At this point, the Democrats have every right to tell Bonnen to pound sand.
• It's in this part of this discussion that Bonnen makes his causally vulgar remarks about Michelle Beckley and Jon Rosenthal.  The remarks themselves are not particularly bad.  That being said, we don't ever want to hear a lecture from Dennis Bonnen about "civility" or "respectful dialogue" ever again.

• Speaking of the Democrats: If they're smart, they'll make this a gigantic campaign issue.  That being said, it's an open question whether the Democrats will be smart.  But they should....

• On the other hand, if Bonnen departs soon, the impact on any future election should be minimal.

• Apparently, Dennis Bonnen really hates Phil Stephenson.
• Note: Stephenson's got a pretty mediocre record, but he's a nice guy.

• Likewise Travis Clardy.
• Note: This one's understandable.

• Bonnen, and especially Dustin Burrows, are super thin-skinned about criticisms of the session.  They spend a quarter of the discussion trying to spin the results to Sullivan.  At one point, Burrows laughably accuses Sullivan of gaslighting the members.

• According to Dustin Burrows, Allan Blakemore told Mike Schofield not to campaign last fall.
• Note: It's not really relevant to this discussion...but why does anyone hire Allan Blakemore anymore?!?

• Burrows claims the list is about members who voted against the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying, but Ken King and Gary van Deaver also voted against the ban and didn't make the list.

• The list: Steve Allison, Trent Ashby, Dirty Ernie (Bailes), Travis Clardy ("the ringleader of all opposition" according to Burrows), Drew Darby, Kyle Kacal, Stan Lambert, Tan Parker, John Raney, Phil Stephenson.
• Note: While they didn't make the list, Burrows also made disparaging remarks about Doc Anderson, Keith Bell, and John Smithee.

• We don't know if 12 jurors vote to convict, but neither would it surprise us.

• This author is not a lawyer, and we don't know the legal intricacies of this case, but there's no political reason not to release the recording publicly.

Bottom Line: Like it or not, this story will stick around as long as Dennis Bonnen sticks around....

#TXLEGE: Oh, Dennis

"The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools."
Proverbs 3:35

Even from 1500 miles away, it was pretty difficult to miss to continued devolution of the Bonnen saga.

To write a full analysis of the past week would require more time than we have interest, but some thoughts:

• When we've been saying, for years, that state government in Texas is astonishingly corrupt...this is a pretty good example.

• The members defending Bonnen are a bunch of dickless chodes.
• aka. Mayes Middleton, Matt Shaheen, Drew Springer, Craig Goldman, and...especially...Jeff Leach.
• Update: Add James White, Scott Sanford, Brad Buckley, and Cole Hefner to the list.
• Update II: Add Tom Oliverson.

• We haven't seen this level of willful blindness to serious misconduct since Wallace Hall.

• Whether or not Bonnen survives as speaker is irrelevant.  Anyone who can get to 76 votes will be a scumbag.  Gib Lewis, Pete Laney, Tom Craddick, Joe Straus, and Dennis Bonnen have all sucked.

• This is the same Texas house that, nearly two years into the scandal, has yet to say a word about Jim Murphy.

• Does the Travis County DA have jurisdiction?!?

• This is FUN!!!

Bottom Line: These people brought this on themselves and deserve everything that's coming....

#TXLEGE: Bonnen forgets first rule of holes

"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16:18

[Note: We'll be travelling out of state the rest of this week and into next.  Cahnman's Musings will resume publication on Wednesday, August 6.  That being said, we will be available in the event of MAJOR breaking news.]

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Update II: The DMN has A LOT more, including a statement from Ernest Bailes, here.

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Update: Bonnen keeps digging....

Here's Bonnen's full statement. Bonnen also says he asked @Burrows4TX, who was present at that June 12 meeting w/ Sullivan, "not to comment on this matter." #txlege pic.twitter.com/xbpdBilP2U

— Cassi Pollock (@cassi_pollock) July 29, 2019

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O.K.:

Bonnen Letter by Cahnman on Scribd

A few thoughts:

• It really is astonishing the degree to which house members believe their own BS.
• Note: You could say that about a lot of people/institutions in politics, but we still find the Texas house's groupthink to be a sight to behold.

• Bonnen never denies targeting the legislators in question, which shows the hollowness of his earlier "no campaigning edict."
• From a member's perspective: Even if you weren't on Bonnen's list, for Bonnen to talk out of both sides of his mouth in the way that he did means you could easily end up there in the future.

• Media credentials may or may not be a nice thing to have, but to suggest they're anybody's "long term goal" is silly.

• Reading between the lines, it appears that Bonnen's real frustration is that Sullivan seems to expect Republicans to actually do something with their majorities.

Bottom Line: In the short-term, Bonnen remains overwhelmingly likely to ride out this storm.  But the short term will inevitably pass.  What happens next has become a much more interesting question....

#TXLEGE: Bonnen's INSANELY ARROGANT/INSANELY STUPID gambit

"Talk no more so very proudly;
Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For the Lord is the God of knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed."
1 Samuel 2:3

Late yesterday afternoon, Michael Quinn Sullivan made some INSANE revelations.  You really ought to read the whole thing for yourself.  Here's the main part:

Bonnen insisted: He would ensure Texas Scorecard reporters received House floor access in 2021 if we would lay off our criticism of the legislative session, not spend money from our affiliated PACs against certain Republicans, and—most shockingly—go after a list of other Republicans in the 2020 primary elections.

Spending political money was the issue, Bonnen said. Not just refraining from spending it against his pals. He wanted us to spend it against Republicans he saw as not being helpful.

If we could “make this work,” he would put the Texas Scorecard guys on the floor next session.

....

The list of targets Burrows named off included 10 Republican Reps—Steve Allison, Trent Ashby, Ernest Bailes, Travis Clardy, Drew Darby, Kyle Kacal, Stan Lambert, John Raney, and Phil Stephenson.

There are two noteworthy aspects about this: Bonnen's arrogance AND Bonnen's stupidity.

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Arrogance:

More than anything, one aspect stands out: How much Bonnen wanted Sullivan to give up, and how little Bonnen was offering in return.

It's insane.

Bonnen wanted Sullivan to give up everything.  For...media credentials?!?  NO (obviously).

There is no deal that's worth cutting that involves blanket bans on criticizing elected officials.  None.  Whatsoever.

To accept this sort of an offer would be to permanently forfeit one's credibility, thus Sullivan's response is self-evidently correct.

Here's the really crazy part: If it were presented in a less heavy-handed manner, and if Bonnen were offering more in return, then thepart of Bonnen's request isn't entirely unreasonable.

The members Bonnen wants gone represent mostly safe Republican districts.  Even in a bad national environment, they're unlikely to flip.  Thus, there's a certain logic to focusing on them.

Imagine if, instead, Bonnen had said something like this: "I know you're frustrated.  I know the grassroots are frustrated.  But, in this political climate, I think it's best for everyone involved to focus on rural districts.  BTW, here are the members who were truly problematic...."

We'll say this: If the speaker wants to give us a clean shot at Drew Darby and Dirty Ernie in exchange for going easy on Charlie Geren and Dan Huberty...in isolation, that might be a deal worth taking.

But Dennis Bonnen didn't make that offer.  Dennis Bonnen made a very different offer.  The offer Dennis Bonnen actually made was one no self-respecting human being could accept.

Arrogant...insanely so.

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Stupidity:

Beyond the arrogance, however, is the stupidity.

The speaker serves at the pleasure of the members.  Most members hate Sullivan.  Thus, for Dennis Bonnen to consider even working clandestinely with Sullivan risks the wrath of Dennis Bonnen's electorate.

Ross Ramsey elaborates:

The politics are dangerous for the first-term speaker, no matter which version of the story is right.

Sullivan has been an outspoken critic of the Republican leadership all year, carping about what he saw as a lack of attention to issues he cares about most. Sullivan's Empower Texans also helped fund primary challenges against several House incumbents in past years. It’s fair to say that a number of Republicans have reason not to think kindly of Sullivan, his organizations and his financial patrons as political allies.

They’ll be wanting to know why Bonnen met with him at all, no matter what they were talking about. Up to this point, Bonnen has been outspoken in his defense of the 149 other members of the Texas House.

Pretty much.

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Bottom Line: Bonnen remains overwhelmingly likely to retain the speakership, but nevertheless this interim just became a lot more interesting....

#TXLEGE: The Cheapest Date in the Legislature

"You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them."
Psalm 44:12

Yesterday, we discussed the 2015 Scott Turner supporters who got committee chairmanships and had drastic drop-offs.

Yet one legislator merits special derision: Scott Sanford.

He suffered a dropoff on par with the others...and he didn't even get a chairmanship.

Pathetic.

None of his bills particularly stand out.  Some look ok.  But nothing's anything special.

He gave up everything, and got literally nothing for it.

Bottom Line: It takes a special sprit of passive surrender to receive this haul; way to negotiate buddy....