Good morning, 

What’s the right kind of “stimulus” for the economy? A friend of mine has a wacky idea...

But first, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, October 14, 2020
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• As noted in yesterday’s Texas Minute, the protest at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday was addressed by Republican Party of Texas Chairman Allen West. His comments consisted mainly of reading a resolution passed by the State Republican Executive Committee to “Open Texas Now.”  
     
• Since then, Allen West has come under attack from GOP establishment politicians – like State Rep. Justin Holland (R-Heath) and Gov. Greg Abbott’s political advisor Dave Carney. They are complaining West shouldn’t be advocating for Republican principles but instead just singing the praises of Republican officeholders ahead of the election.
     
• Jumping to Lt. Col. West’s defense has been State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), writing on Twitter: “I don’t have a problem w/ the chairman of the Republican Party protesting at the Tx governor’s mansion against exec orders that have hurt thousands of families/small businesses. I’m with checks & balances and the families/businesses on this one.”

• Speaking from personal experience, it seems that with the GOP establishment there is never an acceptable time to criticize Republican officials who carry water for the Austin lobby, break faith with conservative voters, or even enable the Democrats.
    
• Discussions in odd-numbered years about how lawmakers vote during a legislative session are treated with cries of “disloyalty” and accusations that citizens just don’t “understand” the “process.” But then any criticism of  the final results of a legislative session are rebuked as “helping recruit opposition.”
     
• When I broke the story in 2019 about disgraced House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) offering official government favors to our reporters in exchange for me going after his GOP political opponents, there were those in the Austin-centric political circles who said it was unconscionable to “attack” a statewide Republican officeholder ahead of an election year. They didn’t care that he lied, acted unethically, or promoted public corruption. 
     
• And clearly none of the Austin lobby cronies want a discussion about the governing actions of a Republican (who isn’t even on the ballot) to be discussed in an even numbered year. Never mind that Texas is second in the nation in government-mandated business-closures.
     
• Since there is an election every even-numbered year, and we cannot talk about bad-acting officeholders in odd-numbered years, apparently the only acceptable time to do so is... never?
     
• In truth, candidates and political parties exist to serve the citizens, and not the other way around. We make idols of politicians and political parties to our own detriment. As citizens, we must demand the practical application of principles, without excuses. If politicians don’t want to be held publicly accountable for their actions, they shouldn’t be in public office.

• As if a government-ordered shutdown of the economy wasn’t bad enough, local governments around the state are looking to make life more expensive through higher taxes.
   
• Elected officials in Arlington might be the most aggressive. After hiking property taxes, the Arlington City Council is now asking citizens to raise the prices of goods and services by increasing the city’s sales tax. Meanwhile, the Arlington Independent School District is also asking citizens to push their school tax bill higher. Robert Montoya has the details.
   
• As is always the case, taxes are levied to fuel spending or to deal with debt.
   
• All of this comes on the heels of a recent report finding Texas’ statewide debt is so large that an additional $11,000 is needed from each taxpayer—on top of what they already pay—in order to clear it.

• As early voting continues, Texas Scorecard will be highlighting the endorsements made by grassroots organizations around the state. Starting off this series, Jacob Asmussen reviews the endorsements of Grassroots America We The People. 
   
• GAWTP says that while they do suggest voting for Republicans over Democrats in this election, they “cannot and will not endorse all of them,” explaining that many Republicans “have badly fallen down on the job” by doing things such as ignoring the party platform principles, voting for harmful liberal policies, ignoring their constituents, and “turn[ing] a blind eye to corruption.”

• The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Gov. Greg Abbott was allowed to restrict counties to having just one ballot drop-off location for ballots that were mailed to the voter. This, of course, was the law before the coronavirus pandemic set in and officials started grabbing power.
   
• Our friends at The Texan wrote about the decision.

• One interesting note in the 5th Circuit’s ruling came in a concurrence opinion, written by Judge James Ho. In it, he takes very specific aim at Gov. Greg Abbott’s use of power during the pandemic.
       
• “The district court was wrong to rewrite Texas law. But the distinguished judge who did so was simply following in the Governor’s footsteps. It is surely just as offensive to the Constitution to rewrite Texas election law by executive fiat as it is to do so by judicial fiat. Yet that is what occurred here. Respected legislators and public leaders called on the Governor to call a special session so that legislators in both parties could consider and debate amendments to the state’s election rules to accommodate voter concerns arising out of the pandemic. But the Governor rejected those calls, and instead issued a series of executive proclamations purporting to unilaterally ‘suspend’ various Texas election laws.” – Judge Ho

• The real problem with Cliff’s plan is that there isn’t a way for Washington lobbyists to make money from it or bureaucrats to expand their power... Which is why it’s a good idea, and why the D.C. establishment will ignore it.

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