Three-Point Shots, Vol. 2, No. 2: April 14, 2024
In which we examine three peculiar psychopathies of the Republican Party of Texas.
Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. If you enjoy reading it, please 1) hit the Like button, 2) subscribe to the Life Its Ownself, and 3) share it with others in the link below. Comments are welcome and encouraged.
But first, your moment of Zen … a 30-second time-lapse movie of last week’s solar eclipse. It was taken on a ranch in the Llano River valley near London, Texas, and covers a three-hour period before and after the eclipse. Watch the winds shift and the clouds scud out of the way of the approaching totality (which briefly appears as darkness in the middle of the time-lapse).
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Troy Nehls
In the kerfuffle over Russian Useful Idiot Marjorie Taylor Greene’s outfit at last month’s State of the Union address, many people missed out on non-original Texan (he’s from Wisconsin) Troy Nehls’ sartorial silliness that evening.
(This outfit screams “I want you to take me seriously.”)
Once upon a time, dressing like a doofus would have earned you a rebuke, or at least a lot of side-eye. Neither happened to Nehls, but later last month, the House Ethics Committee announced it had launched an investigation into Nehls’s campaign finances. He has denied all wrongdoing and says he is cooperating with the investigation.
Nehls represents the Sugar Land/Richmond-area district once represented by that paragon of virtue, Tom DeLay. He’s a former Fort Bend County sheriff and has mostly distinguished himself in Congress by suggesting last fall the House could do worse than to select Donald Trump as its Speaker – which it did in Mike Johnson.
My take: Nehls personifies that malignant subset of the GOP Conference that is completely uninterested in governing and instead busies itself with performative, lib-owning nonsense. One of the mysteries of modern politics for me is the constituents who want nothing more from their representatives than gumming up the works.
Ken Paxton Sues To Block Harris County Basic Income Pilot
Speaking of the Houston metro area, Harris County – where the commissioners court occasionally tries to make life better for its residents – is trying something new. Earlier this year, it announced a pilot project to provide modest $500 payments for 18 months to some 1,900 families living below 200% of the poverty level (about $60,000 for a family of four). Grant recipients would be chosen at random.
The program is funded by a $20.5 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act that explicitly permits such uses. Applications were due by March 22. Over 82,000 families applied, the vast majority black or Hispanic.
Just as Uplift Harris, the non-profit administering the program, was set to announce the winners, in rode Disgraced Attorney General Ken Paxton on his horse’s ass to sue the county on the grounds that the whole program was unconstitutional. He’d been spurred to action by Houston-area state senator and Foghorn Leghorn impersonator Paul Bettencourt, who is revolted by the possibility that some non-rich person, somewhere, is having a better life.
Similar pilot projects already operate in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. These other cities have yet to attract the attention and ire of the Attorney General. Jinx!!
My take: Paxton may be the most effective politician in Texas. His hold on his base is impressive: the defenestrated three members of the Court of Criminal Appeals in last month’s primary. He loves to sue the Biden Administration and all manner of “woke” people and entities. He doesn’t often win, but his base loves him for it.
Washed-Up Rodeo Clown in Line to Become Ag Secretary in Trump Administration
(Obligatory but superfluous historical background) You may recall Reagan Brown, who was the Democratic Agriculture Commissioner in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Reagan Brown was a dull, if modestly competent, man in keeping with his ambitions. He was defeated in the 1982 Democratic primary after … well, you just have to see this video to believe it.
The man who beat him, a liberal journalist named Jim Hightower, was himself cast out by voters in 1990, this time by a swaggering Democrat-turned-Republican named Rick Perry, who went on to become the longest-serving Governor of Texas and an avatar of the combative, hard-edged Tea Party takeover of Texas politics. For his part, Perry was overtaken by the changes he helped wrought in the Texas GOP, and has most recently worn the mantle of elder statesman in support of Dade Phelan’s come-from-behind effort to keep his own House seat and, maybe, the Speakership.
(We now resume our regular story, already in progress) His successor Sid Miller, a former rodeo cowboy/clown who parlayed carrying a vicious sonogram bill in the Texas House in 2011 into statewide office, has outdone Reagan Brown in boorishness (in 2016, he called Hillary Clinton the “c” word in a quickly-deleted tweet) and the taint of corruption.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that Sid Miller is under consideration for a top job in the next Trump Administration, should that nightmare come to pass. Politico reports:
Former President Donald Trump is considering naming a former rodeo cowboy turned bomb-throwing Texas agriculture commissioner to lead the Agriculture Department if he wins the White House.
Sid Miller, a MAGA loyalist, has warred with agriculture interests and threatened to “hunt” moderate “RINO” Republicans back home, including those who won reelection in 2024 or, as Miller put it, “ slipped the noose.” And he has been investigated, but not charged, for misusing state funds for travel to a rodeo. His former political consultant is also set to face trial this summer on theft and bribery charges in a scheme involving hemp licenses from Miller’s department.
My take: If anyone is flogging this story to the media, it is probably Sid Miller himself. He has enemies in the Texas GOP. His best shield is to wrap himself in the security blanket of being a Trump sycophant. Trump considered him for Ag Secretary in 2017, but Miller was considered too much of a clown then. And now?
Recommended Reading
I plan to write and publish regularly now, but here are some superb Texas-themed Substacks if you’re looking for even more of the insight, analysis and wisdom I provide:
Texas to the World — by former Capitol journalist and TV reporter James Moore. Elegant writing and trenchant analysis of Texas history and politics.
Texas Rural Reporter — by former Senate staffer and current Panhandle resident Suzanne Bellsnyder, this Substack does essential reporting on how issues play out in Texas’s rural ranges.
The Border Chronicle — For years, I’ve thought the best reporting about la frontera was coming from Melissa del Bosque, whether through the McAllen Monitor, the Texas Observer, or Pro Publica. Now she writes (with Todd Miller) this Substack.
LoneStarLeft’s Newsletter — Helmed by Michelle H. Davis, this Substack is always well-researched and -reported. It provides invaluable insights into electoral battles around the state. It is explicitly partisan and activist in nature and tone.
On Texas Nature — by Misti Little. Good reporting on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and its stewardship, for better or worse, of Texas’ natural beauty.
Readers, colleagues — what am I missing?
Happy Tax Day!
Glad you're back callin' the game
Excellent reporting as usual, Deece, on the buffoonery that is the modern Texas Republican Party. I do find it amusing and ironic that Rick Perry, who was the darling of the Texas Tea Party and a cabinet member in Trump's first regime, is now considered any level of sane in comparison to today's clown car inhabitants. Oh well, George W. used to be considered the nadir of the party, and now, in comparison, he's almost viewed as an elder statesman compared to the Orange One.
BTW, I assume you're still West of the Pecos, but next time you're in Austin, let's try and arrange a get-together. OK?