The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: corbe on June 18, 2018, 03:03:41 pm
-
Ideological Purity Runs Rampant At The Texas GOP Convention
In America’s reddest state, moderation and prudence are increasingly seen as a betrayal of conservatism and a reason to purge the GOP.
By John Daniel Davidson
June 18, 2018
SAN ANTONIO — “God doesn’t change, he’s the same yesterday today, and forever,†said a young man in a white cowboy hat and a long-sleeve Texas state flag shirt. His voice rose as he spoke. “If you look up at the sky and see that God has moved, he hasn’t moved—you have. God doesn’t move or change, and we shouldn’t either!â€
The man was not a preacher and this was not a church service. He was a delegate and this was a meeting of the Permanent Platform Committee at the Texas Republican Party’s convention, which concluded its biannual meeting this weekend in San Antonio—a gathering of nearly 10,000 delegates, lawmakers, party activists, and merchants hawking MAGA hats and Trump T-shirts.
The young man ended his biblically inspired testimony by saying, “I strongly urge this committee to retain the current language in the plank about homosexuality.â€
He was referring to the 2016 party platform, which included a plank condemning homosexuality as “a chosen behavior†that is contrary to “fundamental unchanging truths.†But at this year’s convention, the language was softened. Instead of passing judgement on homosexuality as such, the plank calls on the State Legislature “to pass religious liberty protections†for those who disagree with gay marriage.
The idea was to send the message that the Texas GOP is a big tent and that protecting religious liberty is more important to Republicans than excluding gay Texans from the party. The debate over the plank’s language was nevertheless protracted and at times fierce. Gay marriage, like abortion and the Second Amendment, are no-compromise issues for many Texas Republicans, especially the hard-core grassroots activists who attend the state convention, like the young man in the white cowboy hat.
What Does Conservatism Mean to Its Activists?
<..snip..>
http://thefederalist.com/2018/06/18/ideological-purity-runs-rampant-texas-gop-convention/ (http://thefederalist.com/2018/06/18/ideological-purity-runs-rampant-texas-gop-convention/)
-
Sort of a snarky article. Yes, Texans are involved and interested in the politics of their state. Not sure how that transfers to "tribalism".
In a battle over the GOP chair, challenger Cindy Asche attacked incumbent Chairman James Dickey, who easily won reelection, for not being supportive enough of President Trump. In a convention full of red MAGA hats, where any mention of Trump brought cheers from the crowd, Asche’s strategy was to impugn Dickey’s conservative credentials by out-Trumping him.
Yes, still a lot of anger over the Trump campaign tactics.
Earlier in the week, Sen. John Cornyn escaped a formal censure by the party for backing federal spending bills. In January, the State Republican Executive Committee formally censured outgoing Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, a moderate Republican whom Texas conservatives have long derided as a RINO. At the convention, the committee censured outgoing State Rep. Byron Cook, a Straus ally....
A good argument can be made that they all deserve censure.
Of course, we’re a long way from guillotines or a modern-day Reign of Terror in Texas. But the tenor of the Texas GOP convention bears an unsettling resemblance to the National Convention of Robespierre and the authors of the French Revolution, who failed to resist the ever-increasing demands of ideological purity they imposed on one another in turn.
What happens at the Texas Republican convention matters to the rest of the country because right now Texas is the nation’s best hope for reviving the spirit of the American Revolution—as long as it can avoid foundering on the spirit of the French one....
Silliness.
-
Just another liberal hyperventilating!
-
If you like your tribe you can keep your tribe.
It all boils down to one fact and one fact only...We are at this point today because it is Obama's fault. Most divisive President evar.
-
Yes, still a lot of anger over the Trump campaign tactics.
Do tell, what Trump tactics are you referring to? Fighting back against Cruz's lies?
-
Do tell, what Trump tactics are you referring to? Fighting back against Cruz's lies?
Don't be a twit. Your own unique version of events has been corrected by evidence many, many times. Take it somewhere else.
-
If you like your tribe you can keep your tribe.
It all boils down to one fact and one fact only...We are at this point today because it is Obama's fault. Most divisive President evar.
No... As always with liberalism, Obama succeeded because he had no opposition.
Obama is what he is. The problem is that people let him.
-
No... As always with liberalism, Obama succeeded because he had no opposition.
Obama is what he is. The problem is that people let him.
That is true. But they took their cues from the "Chosen One"
-
Odd, I thought 'ideological purity' was what usually was needed when creating a party platform. It is the political version of a mathematical equation.
-
Odd, I thought 'ideological purity' was what usually was needed when creating a party platform. It is the political version of a mathematical equation.
Right.
'These are the things we kinda care about sometimes, sorta'
... That's not a banner I can stand under.
-
Don't be a twit. Your own unique version of events has been corrected by evidence many, many times. Take it somewhere else.
:headbang:
-
Don't be a twit. Your own unique version of events has been corrected by evidence many, many times. Take it somewhere else.
:cool:
-
Don't be a twit. Your own unique version of events has been corrected by evidence many, many times. Take it somewhere else.
😃👍