District 21 State Rep Race

[TxHoops]

My apologies if there is already a thread on this but I didn’t see one. Genuinely interested in what you guys think about this race.  
 

1) who would you like to win?
 

2) is Dade Phelan in danger of losing his seat?

[AggiesAreWe]

14 minutes ago, TxHoops said:

My apologies if there is already a thread on this but I didn’t see one. Genuinely interested in what you guys think about this race.  
 

1) who would you like to win?
 

2) is Dade Phelan in danger of losing his seat?

I have a question too.

Why is Phelan crying foul on campaign integrity when he is the only one throwing mud in his TV ads? At least from the ads I have seen.

[TxHoops]

1 hour ago, AggiesAreWe said:

I have a question too.

Why is Phelan crying foul on campaign integrity when he is the only one throwing mud in his TV ads? At least from the ads I have seen.

Excellent question.  Not that it’s unusual I guess.  Amazing how often a politician cries about dirty politics while holding a handful of mud. 

[SmashMouth]

I hope Dade Phelan gets voted out. Enough Rino’s in the political scene already. 

[Chester86]

I personally don’t think he’s in trouble.  I think he’s done the best he can and generally put forth a very conservative platform.  The cries about cooperation with the democrats confuse me; shouldn’t politicians from both sides attempt to work together?  Shouldn’t politicians from both sides be at least congenial and vote for what is best for the state / country?  What happened to common sense?  Close the border, cut back on taxes - across the board.  City tax, county tax, water board tax, port tax, sales tax, income tax, school district tax - Jiminy crickets - enough is enough.

[TxHoops]

1 hour ago, Chester86 said:

I personally don’t think he’s in trouble.  I think he’s done the best he can and generally put forth a very conservative platform.  The cries about cooperation with the democrats confuse me; shouldn’t politicians from both sides attempt to work together?  Shouldn’t politicians from both sides be at least congenial and vote for what is best for the state / country?  What happened to common sense?  Close the border, cut back on taxes - across the board.  City tax, county tax, water board tax, port tax, sales tax, income tax, school district tax - Jiminy crickets - enough is enough.

Out of likes.  
 

One issue that concerns me is the attempts to reduce funding from public schools to give it to families that home school or send their kids to private school.  I believe that is one issue Dade has butted heads with the conservative platform and that is one where I happen to agree with him.  And it’s nice to have the speaker from our area obviously.  I struggle though because I know his main opponent personally and he’s a very good man that I believe most of this board would really like.  

[Reagan]

6 hours ago, TxHoops said:

My apologies if there is already a thread on this but I didn’t see one. Genuinely interested in what you guys think about this race.  
 

1) who would you like to win?
 

2) is Dade Phelan in danger of losing his seat?

Phelan would show up drunk when doing his official duty as Speaker.  AG Paxton called him out on it.  Phelan retaliated by garnering enough Dem votes to impeach Paxton.  Paxton was eventually acquitted.  I watched a lot of the impeachment trial.  And it became clear Phelan really didn't have anything on Paxton.  This led LT Gov Patrick to say how much taxpayer dollars Phelan had wasted.  This also led to the censure of Phelan by the Texas Republican Party.  Also, Trump, Cruz, Paxton and Patrick has endorsed Covey.  So, I'm not getting a warm cozy feeling concerning Phelan.

[5GallonBucket]

I lean covey

 

[Ty Cobb]

I'm voting for Covey.

[AggiesAreWe]

Because Phelan is doing most of the mud slinging that tells me he is trying to get out in front of somethings of his own. Trying to throw shade from the shade, so to speak.

Covey seems like the right choice.

[tvc184]

I will vote for Covey but I really don’t think that Phelan, as an incumbent and with name recognition, is in any trouble.

I would venture that in a normal year an incumbent being challenged in a primary would win by about 85%-15%. With this race and Phelan getting so much attention and much of it negative, it might go to Phelan 60/40 or maybe a little less than 40 for Covey.

I would love to be wrong but…..

[TxHoops]

On 2/22/2024 at 5:52 PM, tvc184 said:

I will vote for Covey but I really don’t think that Phelan, as an incumbent and with name recognition, is in any trouble.

I would venture that in a normal year an incumbent being challenged in a primary would win by about 85%-15%. With this race and Phelan getting so much attention and much of it negative, it might go to Phelan 60/40 or maybe a little less than 40 for Covey.

I would love to be wrong but…..

Apparently according to last reporting, Phelan had spent over $9m and Covey $500k.  But the rhetoric I’ve seen is that West Texas is trying to buy this seat supporting Covey.  And all these years I thought I was good at math…

[SmashMouth]

I didn't early vote because I haven't studied all of the candidates for ALL seats well enough to make an informed decision. It's hard to cut through all the BS to make an informed decision.

[CardinalBacker]

On 2/17/2024 at 4:24 PM, Reagan said:

Phelan would show up drunk when doing his official duty as Speaker.  AG Paxton called him out on it.  Phelan retaliated by garnering enough Dem votes to impeach Paxton.  Paxton was eventually acquitted.  I watched a lot of the impeachment trial.  And it became clear Phelan really didn't have anything on Paxton.  This led LT Gov Patrick to say how much taxpayer dollars Phelan had wasted.  This also led to the censure of Phelan by the Texas Republican Party.  Also, Trump, Cruz, Paxton and Patrick has endorsed Covey.  So, I'm not getting a warm cozy feeling concerning Phelan.

FWIW, there are other versions of the events.  The investigation of AG Paxton was already underway when the "Drunk" episode occurred.  There's no evidence of said drunkeness, by the way.  The bad blood goes further back than the May of 2023.  It goes back to when Paxton wanted to use state funds to pay settlements to whistleblower staffers who Paxton had wronged.  Long story made short is that Paxton supposedly broke the law, people in his staff reported it, then Paxton retaliated against those staffers.  When the full House of Reps reviewed the evidence, Paxon was impeached by a majority of the Republican-controlled house.  When the impeachment made it to the Senate, they acquitted Paxton.  The feds are still investigating, supposedly.  Phelan had the audacity to NOT look the other way for a crooked fellow Republican, and therefore he must go according to the powers that be.  Long story made short is you can break all of the laws that you want, but you'd better stay true to the Far Right or they'll turn on you. 

If you look deep, you'll see that every hotly contested race for a House Seat in Texas has an incumbent that disagreed with the Abbott/Paxton Cabal and now finds themselves facing a heavily funded "yes man" or "yes woman."  FWIW, Phelan didn't need any help getting Dem votes to impeach Paxton... it's the Republicans that voted to impeach Paxton that required the heavy lifting, and it got done.  

I know it's hard to find unbiased sources regarding politics, but this one seems to give facts without embellishment or opinion.

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The long story short is that Phelan didn't go along with the radical right and now he's paying the price.  What are the five articles that they used as a basis for censure?  1.  He went along with the impeachment of Paxton (who was under federal investigation and paid settlements to people as a result of his behaviors that led to the impeachment.  He is against "educational freedom" because he doesn't support vouchers that would take money from public schools and give it to the parents of dropouts and for-profit private schools. He appointed Democratic Committee Chairs, which breaks no rule, ever, anywhere, and has been a long-standing tradition in the House... he's bad on border security, since, you know... we have a border patrol, detention facilities, etc... 

They neglect to mention that he also passed the largest property tax cut in history, kept DPS troopers on the border non-stop, and on and on and on.  I don't care if you like the guy or not, just admit what it is... He wasn't radical enough for the Republicans that run things. 

FWIW, only four House members have ever been censured.  The first was in 2018, and the rest have come since. What else happened in the same time frame that we started censuring our own for inner-party disagreements?  It's almost like some seismic shift in politics occurred around 2016, but I just can't put my tiny orange finger on it.  At first it was just a Rep here or there, then the Rs got big enough stones to go after the Speaker himself. 

 

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[myrecordwashorrible]

Michael Berry has spent a substantial amount of time on his radio show going after Phelan.  It's been quite the show.

Covey for me. 

 

[TxHoops]

On 2/22/2024 at 5:52 PM, tvc184 said:

I will vote for Covey but I really don’t think that Phelan, as an incumbent and with name recognition, is in any trouble.

I would venture that in a normal year an incumbent being challenged in a primary would win by about 85%-15%. With this race and Phelan getting so much attention and much of it negative, it might go to Phelan 60/40 or maybe a little less than 40 for Covey.

I would love to be wrong but…..

Supposedly the numbers said otherwise.  It is doubtful anyone gets 50% though so likely heading to a runoff.  You would think Covey would get most of Davis’ supporters’ votes.  But will they vote in a runoff?  And apparently Phelan is spending about a million a week right now and can he overcome any deficit by outspending if he is indeed trailing?

[tvc184]

1 hour ago, TxHoops said:

Supposedly the numbers said otherwise.  It is doubtful anyone gets 50% though so likely heading to a runoff.  You would think Covey would get most of Davis’ supporters’ votes.  But will they vote in a runoff?  And apparently Phelan is spending about a million a week right now and can he overcome any deficit by outspending if he is indeed trailing?

I know it’s not his money but it makes you wonder why someone is spending about $10 million for a job that pays about $22,000 a year. 

[SmashMouth]

1 hour ago, tvc184 said:

I know it’s not his money but it makes you wonder why someone is spending about $10 million for a job that pays about $22,000 a year. 

I say the same thing about the US House &  Senate

The “smart” ones leave with way more than they could make in the private sector. 

[CardinalBacker]

You know, Orange County is fortunate to have the most powerful man in the Texas House representing their district… whenever I think “there’s no possible way that OC Republicans would fire that dude and send a first timer”, I think out loud….
 

“That’s like having a hall of fame, multi state champion head coach and running him off so you can hire a rookie HC that’s more your type.”

I guess i shouldn’t be surprised. 

[tvc184]

23 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

You know, Orange County is fortunate to have the most powerful man in the Texas House representing their district… whenever I think “there’s no possible way that OC Republicans would fire that dude and send a first timer”, I think out loud….
 

“That’s like having a hall of fame, multi state champion head coach and running him off so you can hire a rookie HC that’s more your type.”

I guess i shouldn’t be surprised. 

The Speaker cannot pass laws. The Speaker can control chair and co-chair positions and I believe deny any bill to come up for a vote.

 The Speaker cannot submit bills any different than any other member. 

The Speaker cannot give money to his district or declare an emergency.

So what has Phelan done (since he was the rookie in 2021) that any other Republican would have done? Appoint committee chairman? Oh wait, when the Republicans had complete control, Phelan has appointed a total of 30 Democrats to committee chairman positions. Those committee chairmen can control what bills are allowed to be voted on in committee, thereby allowing them to come to the floor of the actual House of Representatives. The committee chairman are therefore in a fairly powerful position and Phelan gave a substantial percentage to Democrats.

So, what has this Hall of Fame, multi-state champion head coach done that the theoretical rookie head coach will not do? Appoint more Democrats instead of from his own party? I am almost positive the claimed rookie head coach would not do worse.

Your analogy is worse than weak, it is silly. If he wins election to the House again, so be it. If the Republicans again elect him as Speaker, then they get what they deserve. Hall of Fame? Multi-state champion? You’ve got to be kidding….

Again, I will ask, name what accomplishments that Phelan has done that another Republican would not have done in order to get conservative issues past?

 Oh yeah, his district isn’t Orange County only. It is most of Beaumont, all of Port Arthur, part of Nederland, most of Groves and Port Neches, Taylor’s Landing, Kirbyville, Jasper and so on. 

[CardinalBacker]

13 hours ago, tvc184 said:

The Speaker cannot pass laws. The Speaker can control chair and co-chair positions and I believe deny any bill to come up for a vote.

 The Speaker cannot submit bills any different than any other member. 

The Speaker cannot give money to his district or declare an emergency.

So what has Phelan done (since he was the rookie in 2021) that any other Republican would have done? Appoint committee chairman? Oh wait, when the Republicans had complete control, Phelan has appointed a total of 30 Democrats to committee chairman positions. Those committee chairmen can control what bills are allowed to be voted on in committee, thereby allowing them to come to the floor of the actual House of Representatives. The committee chairman are therefore in a fairly powerful position and Phelan gave a substantial percentage to Democrats.

So, what has this Hall of Fame, multi-state champion head coach done that the theoretical rookie head coach will not do? Appoint more Democrats instead of from his own party? I am almost positive the claimed rookie head coach would not do worse.

Your analogy is worse than weak, it is silly. If he wins election to the House again, so be it. If the Republicans again elect him as Speaker, then they get what they deserve. Hall of Fame? Multi-state champion? You’ve got to be kidding….

Again, I will ask, name what accomplishments that Phelan has done that another Republican would not have done in order to get conservative issues past?

 Oh yeah, his district isn’t Orange County only. It is most of Beaumont, all of Port Arthur, part of Nederland, most of Groves and Port Neches, Taylor’s Landing, Kirbyville, Jasper and so on. 

Okay… you realize that if Phelan neglected to appoint dem chairs, he’d be the first to break that long-standing tradition, right? You’re smarter than this, bro. 
 

Orange County was the first county party to censure Phelan. Closely followed by Jasper County, which allowed the state censure. Where could Phelan’s opponents be coming  from? Orange abd Jasper. 
 

The radical right has seized control of the Republican Party. What Phelan did was allow the whole house to investigate and impeach “Our General.” 
 

The problem that the right has with Phelan is that he works with. It’s sides to get things like the largest property tax relief bill ever passed. By any estimation, he’s the most conservative speaker that’s ever held the gavel in Texas, but now he’s a dirty Rino because he’s not radical enough for the morons who have seized control. 

[tvc184]

5 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

Okay… you realize that if Phelan neglected to appoint dem chairs, he’d be the first to break that long-standing tradition, right? You’re smarter than this, bro. 
 

Orange County was the first county party to censure Phelan. Closely followed by Jasper County, which allowed the state censure. Where could Phelan’s opponents be coming  from? Orange abd Jasper. 
 

The radical right has seized control of the Republican Party. What Phelan did was allow the whole house to investigate and impeach “Our General.” 
 

The problem that the right has with Phelan is that he works with. It’s sides to get things like the largest property tax relief bill ever passed. By any estimation, he’s the most conservative speaker that’s ever held the gavel in Texas, but now he’s a dirty Rino because he’s not radical enough for the morons who have seized control. 

What is it that this radical right wants done that Phelan is trying to stop? 

[CardinalBacker]

28 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

What is it that this radical right wants done that Phelan is trying to stop? 

Phelan isn’t trying to stop anything…

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This is what makes him a “RINO.” The radical right want to change the rules and do away with committee chairs from the minority party. They’re literally mad that Phelan won’t change the rules to make sure that the wishes of most Texans are ignored. 
 

That’s the problem with politics today. We’re cleanly split left and right… then the radical right squeezes out the simplest of majorities amongst the Republican Party, and you end up in a situation where 25.01% (or less) of the population is dictating what happens for the rest of us. 

It’s funny how you argue that the speaker has no power, then cry that we need to do away with committee chairs from the minority party because a lowly committee chairmanship gives them “too much power.”

You need to retire… you’ve lost your edge. 

[tvc184]

8 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

Phelan isn’t trying to stop anything…

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This is what makes him a “RINO.” The radical right want to change the rules and do away with committee chairs from the minority party. They’re literally mad that Phelan won’t change the rules to make sure that the wishes of most Texans are ignored. 
 

That’s the problem with politics today. We’re cleanly split left and right… then the radical right squeezes out the simplest of majorities amongst the Republican Party, and you end up in a situation where 25.01% (or less) of the population is dictating what happens for the rest of us. 

It’s funny how you argue that the speaker has no power, then cry that we need to do away with committee chairs from the minority party because a lowly committee chairmanship gives them “too much power.”

You need to retire… you’ve lost your edge. 

I haven’t lost anything.

You make up nonsensical arguments that don’t exist.

 There are no rules on the chairman positions for the minority party. It is a tradition to throw the losers a bone. That tradition however can shut down an agenda because the committee chair controls the committee just like the Speaker controls the House. 

I have never said nor implied that the Speaker has no power. He has control over committee chairs and what comes up for a vote. Controlling what can be voted on is huge.

 It is the very reason that the democrats in the US Congress cannot pass a law right now without the consent of the Republicans because the Democrats don’t have the Speaker, who can shut down any bill on a whim. In effect, the Speaker has veto power just like the president or governor because the Speaker can usually stop a bill from being voted on. If it cannot be voted on, it cannot pass into law.

And I don’t use the term rino.

 

[CardinalBacker]

3 hours ago, tvc184 said:

I haven’t lost anything.

You make up nonsensical arguments that don’t exist.

 There are no rules on the chairman positions for the minority party. It is a tradition to throw the losers a bone. That tradition however can shut down an agenda because the committee chair controls the committee just like the Speaker controls the House. 

I have never said nor implied that the Speaker has no power. He has control over committee chairs and what comes up for a vote. Controlling what can be voted on is huge.

 It is the very reason that the democrats in the US Congress cannot pass a law right now without the consent of the Republicans because the Democrats don’t have the Speaker, who can shut down any bill on a whim. In effect, the Speaker has veto power just like the president or governor because the Speaker can usually stop a bill from being voted on. If it cannot be voted on, it cannot pass into law.

And I don’t use the term rino.

 

My point is this… some of us recognize a dangerous takeover of the Republican Party and conservatism in general by the most extreme members. 
 

They want to silence all dissenting opinions and points of view. They’re now opposed to anything from minority chairs, to investigating criminal wrongdoings (but only of members of the most radical group), and on and on… heck, they even stormed the white house when they were unhappy with the results of the last election. They’re trying to take down the Speaker because he had the AUDACITY to not cut the nuts off any Democrat member of the House… I mean, we won, so they need to be silenced, right? That’s how democracies end, my friend.  

The problem is this-people who would normally be fair-minded and not so short-sighted would normally recognize what’s happening, but they don’t because it benefits their side. Let’s fast forward 10 years when more of the white haired Rs have gone on to their reward and more of those young people and Hispanics that the republicans despise are voting… and Texas turns blue for the first time in 50 years- because that’s a mathematical certainty. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some sort of voice in democracy at that point when you are in a minority position?  

But like I said…. Fire the most powerful man in the House because he’s not MAGA enough for you, hire a rookie puppet to replace him and see what happens.