Blog Article
12/6/2024 Update
All eight of our Dallas County SREC Members are in Austin today and tomorrow to attend the 4th Quarter Republican Party of Texas Executive Committee meeting. Of great interest is the hotly contested House of Representatives' Speaker race. With the news of current Speaker Dade Phelan withdrawing his candidacy begins a whole new conversation. The Resolutions Committee, of which SREC Susan Fountain is a member, unanimously passed the following Resolution to encourage the election of a new Speaker who will not appoint Democrats to critical Committee Chairmanships and promote Republican legislative priorities approved at the May State Republican Convention in San Antonio. The Resolution is as follows:
Texas House GOP Caucus Resolution
Whereas: The Texas House Republican Caucus will meet on December 7, 2024 to select a candidate for Speaker of the Texas House, and
Whereas: Plank 213 of the 2024 Republican Party of Texas Platform states:
Texas Speaker of the House, House Committees, and Legislative Quorum: In the Texas Legislature:
a) We oppose the use of pledge cards and call for Republican members to caucus after each November General Election to determine, by secure secret ballot, their candidate for Speaker and Speaker Pro Tempore. We also call for Republican members to vote as a unified body for their selected Speaker and Speaker Pro Tempore candidate when the Legislature convenes in regular session, provided that the individual selected in caucus for speaker publicly pledges to comply with the entirety of this plank.
b) Texas House standing committees shall advance the conservative grassroots agenda, not those of special interests and lobbyists. The chairman and a majority of members of key committees shall support the conservative agenda. All committees shall be chaired by Republicans when in the majority.
c) Any legislator who purposely refuses to attend a legally scheduled session for the purpose of denying a quorum shall lose any chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, and committee membership to which he/she may have been appointed. The individual shall lose any salary for that absence period. Additionally, the individual shall pay back any earnings and cost of living allowances earned during that period; and
Whereas: The “No Democrat Chairs” priorty adopted at the 2024 Republican Party of Texas Convention reads: “The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature shall end the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats and require all committees to be majority Republican,” and
Whereas: Republicans from President Donald J. Trump, to statewide officials, to legislators and local officials, were elected and re-elected across the state of Texas by large margins, even in historically Democratic counties, due to new voters brought to the Republican Party on the strength of our shared commitment to our Platform and Legislative Priorities, including border security, election security, America First economic and foreign policy, and educational reform including school choice, and
Whereas: Our Texas Republican legislators have the opportunity to build unity and confidence in the Texas House for their constituents, for the party, and for their own legacies by uniting behind a leader who will act on the voters’ mandate to bring about the strongest and most conservative legislative session Texas has ever seen, now
Therefore
Be it Resolved: That the Republican Party of Texas calls on the newly elected members of the Texas House Republican Caucus to comply with the platform by selecting a strong, conservative Republican who is committed to these reforms and is committed to the Legislative Priorities adopted by the Republican Party of Texas delegates, and for whom they will vote as a unified body when the Legislature convenes, and
Be it Further
Resolved: That the Republican Party of Texas recognizes that some members may attempt to short-circuit this process through various means including denying a quorum to the Caucus, voting with Democrats for a Speaker who was not selected by the Caucus, or rule changes to allow for secret ballots in the leadership election—the voters of Texas who demand conservative reform will not be fooled by these subversive tactics, and efforts to elect a Speaker who will appoint Democratic committee chairmen, or to initiate or obscure an effort to elect a Speaker with Democratic votes will be considered, and seen and addressed by voters and by the Republican Party of Texas, as violations of the Platform and of the Legislative Priorities.
Respectfully Submitted,Scott Bowen, SREC Senate District 6
Original Blog
On Saturday, December 7th, the Republican House Caucus is meeting at the Capitol in Austin to hold a secret vote and nominate their candidate for House Speaker for the upcoming legislative session. Susan Fountain and I, along with most of the other members of the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC), will be there to encourage ALL of the Republican Representatives to vote for David Cook as the next Speaker, in part because Rep. Cook has pledged NOT to appoint Democrats to chair committees in the House.
The current and past two Speakers have NOT been elected principally by Republican members----rather they have gone first to the Democrat members and cut deals behind the scenes to exchange committee chairs for speaker votes; so the House Speaker is beholden to the Democrats for their power, first & foremost. After securing the Democrats, they then approach select, close friends on the Republican side of the aisle and promise Committee Chairs in exchange for votes. Once those votes are in hand, they come to their Republican colleagues at the caucus meeting and present a fait-au-complet, saying they ‘have the necessary votes to be Speaker—so either fall in line and vote for me or you will be shut out of getting your legislation passed or getting the committee assignments you want’. At that point, most Republican caucus members have historically fallen in line since they all want to get things passed for their districts. But it is political blackmail.
Grassroots activists are increasingly frustrated by this underhanded method, and even President Donald Trump weighed in calling Phelan an "absolute embarrassment" to Texas and the Republican Party.
House Republican Caucus rules require members to vote on the floor for the candidate selected by the caucus. The floor vote is in January, after the session begins. The caucus vote is this weekend, December 7th.
I have included more details about this below from Deborah Fite, my good friend from Houston and Chair of the No Democrat Chairs Committee on SREC.
We are calling for House Republicans to end the practice of appointing Democrats to positions of power.
We did not elect Democrats
Nor did we elect Republicans to give away their power to Democrat
Did you know that the Texas House is the only legislative body in the country that grants powerful positions to the opposing party?
The Republican Party of Texas "No Democrat Chairs" Committee needs your support to end the practice of appointing Democrats to chair committees in the Texas House.
With 150 House members—88 Republicans and 62 Democrats—Lt. Governor Dan Patrick pointed out that if conservative bills aren’t passing, it’s because too many Republicans are siding with Democrats.
The upcoming race for Speaker of the House will play a critical role in addressing this issue. Speaker Dade Phelan has faced widespread criticism for his leadership, which has included killing conservative legislation and attempting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
It’s time that we demand the Texas House reflects the will of its Republican majority and stops empowering Democrats to block conservative priorities.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR ELECTING A TEXAS SPEAKER?
The election of the Speaker is a two-step process:
Step 1: Party Nomination
The Republican House Caucus will meet on December 7, 2024, to select its nominee. Republicans David Cook, Dade Phelan, or a Dade Phelan 2.0 are running for Speaker of the House. Only David Cook has pledged to exclusively appoint Republicans to chair committees.
Currently, 48 Republican House Representatives have pledged to vote for a speaker who will only appoint Republicans to chair committees. Under Republican Caucus rules, David Cook needs five more votes to secure the nomination.
Step 2: Full House Vote
On January 14, 2025, the opening day of the session, the entire Texas House will vote for Speaker. A simple majority of 76 votes is needed to win.
DOES PHELAN HAVE A PATH? YES
Cross-Party Alliance: Phelan could attempt to build a coalition of 62 Democrats and 14 SQUISHY Republican Representatives willing to cross the aisle. However, this scenario would:
Divide the Republican Party: Give Democrats disproportionate influence in selecting the Speaker.
Torpedo conservative reforms in the 89th Legislature
To ensure our Republican legislature stands firm and does what is right, buses from around the state will be chartered to the Capitol on the opening day of session, alongside car caravans and individual supporters.
This is your opportunity to join the movement and make your voice heard. A link with details on how to register and join this effort will be provided at the end of this post. Together, we can hold our elected officials accountable and secure a Speaker who reflects Republican values.
MEANWHILE: PLEASE TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION
The following Republican Representatives of the Texas House signed a pledge stating:
"In a collective effort to respond to Republican voters and reform the Texas House of Representatives, we will only vote for a candidate for speaker pursuant to to the Platform and the Caucus By-Laws who will only appoint Republicans as committee chairs."
STAND WITH THE REFORMERS Thank the 46 Representatives who have signed this pledge to ensure Republican leadership stays true to conservative values. Their commitment to meaningful reform deserves your support.
If you do not know your Representative's contact:
Social Media Sites Most Effective
44 Reps Have NOT Signed the Pledge to Ban Democrat Chairs
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PLEASE CALL THE HOLDOUTS!
Social Media Sites Most Effective
SAVE THE DATE: JANUARY 14
We will be chartering buses across Texas, January 14, to witness the Representatives vote on the floor.
REGISTER TO JOIN A CHARTERED BUS OR CARAVAN
AND
PURCHASE A BAN DEMOCRAT CHAIRS! T-SHIRT
REGISTER NOW
DONATE
GRATITUDE FOR TEXAS LEGISLATORS HELPING TO FUND THE REFORM!
Many Texas Senators and Representatives are working tirelessly to pass conservative legislation, only to see it killed in committees chaired by Democrats. Now is the time to help them fight back.
Special Thanks:
Senator Mayes Middleton
Representative Tom Oliverson
Representative David Cook
These leaders are collecting donations in the Senate and House to help cover the cost of buses, making it easier for grassroots patriots to join this critical effort.
The Texas House has been under de facto Democrat control for years, but the end of Dade Phelan’s reign could be near. Please join us in persuading our Texas House Reps to vote for a speaker who will not relinquish Republican power to Democrats.
