Republican on Republican violence and the perils of special sessions

Abbott vs Patrick vs Phelan  ͏  ͏  ͏ [expressnews.com]( [View in Browser]( [Tomlinson's Take]( MEMORIAL DAY SALE EXTENDED! Only 25¢ For a limited time, save on unlimited digital access. [Subscribe Today.](   --------------------------------------------------------------- [No such thing as a one-party state]( Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1998, and Republicans have controlled both chambers of the Legislature for almost as long. The GOP brand is powerful, and Democrats are in disarray. After covering many nations with one-party rule in Africa and the Middle East, I returned home in 2007 prepared for how Texas politics work. Despite appearances of unity, factionalism is fundamental to the human condition. Every time a group makes a split decision, people take sides. Every time someone is promoted, and another is passed over, a cabal forms. When resentment rises, insurgencies emerge. The 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature was one of the most extreme and conservative in our state’s history. But the battle over divisive, intolerant and corrupt legislation has also exposed the Republican Party’s divisions. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is the most powerful Texas politician in generations. He purged the Senate over which he presides of GOP dissidents by backing primary challenges and redrawing districts. The 19 GOP senators vote as a block and implement Patrick’s Christian nationalist agenda lest their legislation die or their careers end in 2026. [Patrick spent most of this year’s session bullying the Texas House](. But Speaker Dade Phelan is elected by House members, not a statewide electorate. He cannot impose steely discipline on his chamber, and if he tried, [they’d oust him as they have past speakers]( who got too big for their britches. The Texas House, therefore, leans toward the chaotic middle while Patrick’s Senate adheres to a Spartan extreme. House members are also willing to stand up to Patrick and his ilk. Moderate Republicans in the House [did not hesitate to expel Rep. Bryan Slaton]( for allegedly taking the virginity of a 19-year-old intern he’d gotten drunk. House members dutifully [impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton]( after their investigators uncovered 20 alleged criminal acts. Patrick’s religious-right faction is apoplectic. [They had financed Slaton’s election and wanted him to remain in office](. Led by [right-wing activist Michael Quinn Sullivan](, the [culture warriors now want the Senate to acquit Paxton](, not because he’s innocent but because they say his November reelection absolves him of any crimes committed before Nov. 8. [Paxton’s conviction in the Senate is far from assured.]( Until then, Patrick and Phelan are warring over property taxes. The Senate wants to limit [relief to homeowners through an expanded homestead exemption](. The House wants to lower rates for everyone, [including businesses and renters](. The business and religious factions of the Republican Party of Texas are at war; the next six months will reveal who comes out on top.   [Photo of Chris Tomlinson] Chris Tomlinson, Business Columnist   --------------------------------------------------------------- What Else I'm Writing [Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan oversees debate over a voting bill in the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)]( Photo by: Eric Gay/Associated Press [Texas lawmakers delivered for big business and bigots]( Republican-dominated Texas Legislature boosted fossil fuels and passed bigoted bills.   [Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown with other lawmakers hold a press conference to discuss Texas energy bills in the works in the senate at the Texas State Capitol, Austin, TX Wednesday March 9, 2023.]( Photo by: Nell Carroll/special Contributor, San Antonio Express-News [Texas’s oil empire strikes back against clean energy]( Proposed laws to kneecap the wind and solar power industries have been resurrected in the Texas Senate.   --------------------------------------------------------------- What I'm Reading Must Read: [Gov. Greg Abbott's power grows as Texas Legislature fumbles tax cuts]( Texas Constitution gives the governor vastly more power over Legislature in a special session. (Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News) Should Read: [Texas House adjourns special session, handing fate of historic property tax bill to dueling Senate]( (Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News) Interesting Read: [Beyond the ‘Matrix’ Theory of the Mind]( Hat tip to reader Kathleen Weber for the recommendation. (The New York Times) Technical Read: [Spending 30% of income on rent is the new normal in many US metros]( The housing crisis is extending to the rental market. (Moody’s) Fun Read: [Charlatans, False Prophets and Flimflammers]( “Please Jesus, protect me from your followers.” Former NPR reporter John Burnett reflects.   --------------------------------------------------------------- Question of the Week What kind of tax break do you want, a higher homestead exemption, a limit on appraisal increases or lower rates? Reply directly to this email and tell me your thoughts.   --------------------------------------------------------------- Mailbag Last Week’s Question: When does free speech become hate speech? “Sometimes we only know what is in a person’s heart by what comes out of their mouth. To me, the boundary of free speech is when that speech is deliberately focused on ending the rights of others. ‘Those people are lazy, and we would be better off if they weren’t around’ vs. ‘Let’s go shoot all those people.’ The anonymity and creation of user groups on social media make hate speech easier and more acceptable. Individuals become more willing to express hate openly in public as a result.” – Joe Diana, San Antonio “Free speech becomes hate speech when it defames, degrades or denigrates those of a different social, economic, ethnic or religious group.” – Rosalind Wilkins Haith, Houston “When I was a soccer referee, I had to discipline players on multiple occasions for ‘Dissent.’ Dissent, under the Laws of the Game, was any action that interfered with, brought disrepute to, or insulted the referee. The primary difference between an ‘Aww ref' and dissent was the use of the word you or the implication that the decision was influenced by anything other than the Laws of the Game. ‘Come on, ref, that's a foul,’ vs. ‘You idiot, how did you miss that one?’ Threats of extra-legal retribution or action are always hate speech.” – Jim Babb, Friendswood   --------------------------------------------------------------- The Takeaway Special legislative sessions in Texas are nothing like the regular sessions held for 140 days every two years. The latter is a chess game; the former is a bare-knuckle brawl. When the governor calls a special session, [he or she sets the agenda](. For what Gov. Greg Abbott is calling his first special session, he wants the Legislature to pass a property tax break. He will call another special session later for teacher pay and a voucher system so parents can use taxpayer money to send their kids to parochial schools. The call is a rebuff to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who wanted a dozen of his priorities on the agenda. [Abbott then rubbed salt in Patrick’s wound]( by rejecting his property tax cuts and siding with the one passed by the House. By limiting what subjects can be considered, Abbott takes control of the legislature and keeps lawmakers from using one measure as leverage to get compromises onto another. He enables his allies to jam through the most extreme versions of his bills that can capture a majority vote. Democrats will have almost no power to do anything. Astute legislative observers say it’s often better to pass a compromise bill in the regular than risk a hardline bill in a special. Abbott is showing Texans, and Patrick, exactly how that works.   --------------------------------------------------------------- Share With Your Friends Do you know someone who would like Tomlinson's Take? 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