“The behavior we tolerate, becomes the standard we set.”

[Elderberry]

Texas Scorecard By Luke Macias December 12, 2019

Commentary: The Concerning Standard of Texas Republicans

“The behavior we tolerate, becomes the standard we set.”

State Rep. Rick Miller (Sugar Land) is a Republican lawmaker with a subpar voting record. He’s someone who originally ran on a conservative platform, decided to play by the rules of a corrupt system, governed as a moderate, made an idiotic statement to a reporter about the motivations of his primary opponents, and was then forced by Governor Abbott, Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey and others in the GOP to pull his name from the ballot.

First off, I suspect that Miller’s likely replacement, Jacey Jetton, will have a more conservative voting record than Miller. This makes his transition a net positive for small government Republicans. However, the obscure standard of what conduct is appropriate for Republicans, or simply lawmakers in general, doesn’t seem to be a useful longterm barometer.

Texas just finished dealing with a speaker scandal in which the most powerful legislator in Texas offered an official favor in an attempt to bribe Michael Quinn Sullivan, one of the most powerful conservatives in our state. He then lied repeatedly about this, actions that eventually led to his demise. These actions have still yet to be directly criticized by our Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or James Dickey. State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), the current chairman of Ways and Means, participated in this bribery attempt and is still, evidently, in the good graces of the Republican elite.

More: https://texasscorecard.com/commentary/commentary-the-concerning-standard-of-texas-republicans/