Texas Scorecard By Daniel Greer | December 13, 2024
He’s toxic now, but that toxicity will only grow.It usually takes a minute for sell-out Republicans to be hated by a critical mass of Texans. If he hasn’t already, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) will soon achieve that distinction and become so noxious he’ll imperil colleagues in the process.
When I wrote a month ago that the Texas House would mimic the U.S. Senate by holding a secret ballot vote for speaker, the parallels were more numerous than initially conceived.
What’s about to happen to Burrows and his cabal of AWOL Republicans was previewed in D.C. shortly after the Senate majority leader selection was made in secret.
As soon as they achieved their end, the U.S. Senate’s establishment members began chipping away at Donald Trump’s nominees. That din of undermining rhetoric—or, in some cases, outright opposition—looked like it wouldn’t end until U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst was identified as the ringleader of opposition to Pete Hegseth’s nomination. The ensuing MAGA firestorm had Ernst waving a white flag in less than a week. Since then, she has been busy posting glowing reviews of her time with Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel.
The same unwanted and career-endangering attention visited upon Ernst is what’s coming for Burrows and each of his compatriots.
How predictable is the outcome in this case? Quite.
First, let’s review some background.
After being speaker for two sessions, Dade Phelan withdrew from the race a day before the GOP caucus was set to select a speaker from its ranks. Caucus rules state that Republicans will choose a speaker candidate and that the entire caucus will back that member on the floor of the House on the first day of the legislative session.
Nothing else matters.
Phelan had done nothing but take on water during his tenuous reign over the House. In 2021, he allowed Democrats to walk out on an election integrity measure, a priority item for Gov. Greg Abbott. This led to a sub-optimal compromise measure in a subsequent special session.
He and his leadership team deployed the same tactic again in 2023 on multiple occasions to kill school choice, another piece of Abbott’s priority legislation. Then, in the middle of that multi-month effort, Phelan tried and failed to take out the duly-elected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/analysis/analysis-dustin-burrows-headed-toward-most-reviled-republican-in-texas-status/
