The GOP is hacking away at our autonomy by controlling our uteruses, our identities, and our access to healthcare, as if the ability to control our own bodies isnt intrinsic to the idea of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness that they ceaselessly invoke. The most recent Republican National Committee platform which was enacted in 2016 and renewed in 2020 includes at least five references to marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. And Texas Republicans wont stop there. But he duly participates.Other extreme planks werent all that different from those voted on in prior conventions. Christopher Hooks writes mostly about Texas politics and occasionally about more serious subjects. ), The platform, meanwhile, always contains ludicrously extreme planks and is mostly irrelevant when it comes to actually passing bills. The 2022 platform adopted all planks presented in the Committee Report at the statewide convention, plus 2 planks presented on the floor of the convention. The Texas GOP is the most successful state party in the country, judging by length of rule and its ability to pass right-wing legislation, and Abbott is its standard-bearer. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to God and endorsed "reparative therapy" to reverse it. As the convention closed, two separate sets of ballots one allowing delegates to choose eight of 15 legislative priorities and another allowing delegates to vote on the 275 platform planks were gathered. Considering the Jan. 6th attack and the harmful rhetoric theyve been spreading, making access to guns easier for QAnon, far-right Trump cronies is the last thing this country needs. Buy tickets. b. "We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin, and we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.". Observers cite the party's convention as evidence that state Republicans have gone "full MAGA." But if anything, MAGA. The platform also calls for lawmakers to remove an exemption in the Texas Penal Code that allows children access to harmful, explicit or pornographic materials under the guise of educational materials., Castilla said the exemption allows schools to use educational materials she considers to be obscene pornography.. His current home, in suburban Houston, is more accustomed to the Escalade.But no matter. Critics say that booklet, written by the state, includes scientifically unsupported claims and shames women seeking abortion care. including by many of his own former aides, treated COVID patients with unapproved drug therapies. Chip in $10. We, the 2022 Republican Party of Texas, believe in this platform and expect our elected leaders to uphold these truths through acknowledgment and action. 433. By this measure, the 2022 convention of the Republican Party of Texas in Houston was a stunning success. Greg Abbott's anti-refugee policies on November 22, 2015 in Austin, Texas. . The Texas Republicans are trying to rewrite history with a party platform that calls for the restoration of any confederate monuments that have been removed anywhere in Texas. Ricardo Martinez, the CEO of Equality Texas, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, called the platform "extreme, but not necessarily new. It demands repealing the Affordable Care Act, which the platform calls in the proposal unconstitutional.. While there are already legislative moves underway across the US to curtail what children can be taught about sex, sexual orientation and gender, the Texas GOP platform goes much further instead calling for these subjects to be eradicated from schools altogether: We demand the State Legislature pass a law prohibiting the teaching of sex education, sexual health, or sexual choice or identity in any public school in any grade whatsoever, or disseminating or permitting the dissemination by any party of any material regarding the same. In addition to the platform, the delegates voted to choose 8 among 15 legislative priorities to be shared with Republican lawmakers ahead of the legislative session that starts in January. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. 1) Arrest the members of the Jan. 6 Committee for daring to investigate the insurrection. ", "President Trump, who historically expanded the GOPs coalition, made clear that LGBT conservatives are welcome in the America First movement and the Republican Party," the organization said in a statement last week. Join us Sept. 22-24 in person in downtown Austin for The Texas Tribune Festival and experience 100+ conversation events featuring big names you know and others you should from the worlds of politics, public policy, the media and tech all curated by The Texas Tribunes award-winning journalists. Those arrested came to the event with gas masks and shields. Dan Patrick, who effectively controls the state Senate, addressed the convention, but House Speaker Dade Phelan only spoke at a luncheon, not to the main body of delegates. Finally, the platform committee presents a draft document to the entire State Convention, and delegates are given the opportunity to vote yes or no on each individual plank. Votes on the platform were collected at the end of the party's three-day convention in which party activists moved to add multiple items to the official Texas GOP platform. Party platforms are often used as a cudgel in party primaries. Texas Republicans, who hold a majority of both chambers, want to do the exact opposite. (To take one particularly dark example, Pennsylvanias GOP nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano, attended the 6 January riot.). It's a backward-looking agenda of prim moralizing, anti . But it would be tough for even the most ideological legislators to adopt the planks wholesale: they are always a jumble of often-contradictory messages. 5. Find a complete list of them here. End of sentence. Axioss write-up concurred: Texas GOP goes full MAGA.. . I would like to thank the delegates and platform committee members who have put in countless hours to produce this platform. They booed Senator John Cornyn when he took the floor for even proposing it. Thank you for subscribing - we will be in touch soon! Patrick is from Baltimore, of course, and his childhood home probably saw more delivery vans than pickup trucks. Even worse, they urge the Voting Rights Act of 1965, codified and updated in 1973, be repealed and not reauthorized. Its disappearance would make their attempts as voter disenfranchisement all the easier. Texas Republicans recently inserted homophobic and transphobic language into the state party's platform. Before delegates voted on the platform, party activists delivered fiery speeches attacking Democrats. June 18, 2022 We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. July 6, 2022, 6:13 PM. In the words of Progress Texas President Ed Espinoza: Normally what happens is, when theres crazy in a party, people try to soften it. Paid for by the Republican Party of Texas and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition. Whats right is wrong and whats wrong is right, said state Sen. Donna Campbell, an emergency room doctor in New Braunfels, reflecting a state of uncertainty that is shared by Americans of many political backgrounds, even if they dont agree on the causes. The Republican Party of Texas released its 2022 platform today. They make clear they want marijuana to remain illegal in Texas. If it has a heartbeat, it's a human, right?. The convention indeed showed a state party moving back to the right after a brief period, in 2018 and 2020, in which it inched ever so slightly to the center over concerns that Democrats might be getting more competitive in elections here. Advocates have beenurging public officialsagainst using the charged rhetoric, warning that it could cause violence directed at LGBTQ Americans. Have fun, kids! Donald Trumps Big Lie of a stolen election in 2020 is still widely believed among the conservative grassroots. The book bans often have targeted young adult literature with racial and LGBTQ+ themes. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term in the November election, only appeared at a reception on Thursday on the sidelines of the convention. They are again voted on by that body, and if passed, continue up the chain to the platform committee at the state convention. If not for the rise of Trump , some of the discriminatory language used by the Republican Party may have receded. Consider donating today to help us stay in this fight. Our Republican-led state legislature has done nothing but tear Texas to shreds in the last two years and the federal government has done little to help. Taken together, the events of the convention had one message, he continued. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. June 20, 2022 at 6:36 p.m. EDT A Donald Trump cutout stands at Patriot Mobile display at the Republican Party of Texas convention at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, June 16,. The mood of this convention was not hopeful. HOUSTON The Texas GOP wrapped up its state convention on Saturday by releasing a list of principles, constitutional issues and resolutions, some of which . They. by Sewell Chan and Eric Neugeboren Thats a huge drop from our current two-week early voting periods. A difference of degrees is still a difference, however, and those degrees can add up over the years. Paid for by the Republican Party of Texas and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. After labeling homosexuality an abnormal lifestyle choice, they also call for the nullification of Obergefell v. Hodges (the landmark case making marriage equality the law of the land) with the goal of outlawing LGBTQ+ marriage regardless of state of origin.. The newly approved Texas GOP party platform broadly places the culture wars at its core, as the party adopted a slew of new platforms that shift the party further to the right on Saturday. The platform plank also states that students should witness a live ultrasound and watch a Miracle of Life type video. The 1982 film documents the human reproductive process from conception to birth. They want in-person voting condensed to three days, with no gap between the first day of Early Voting and Election Day. Declaring all businesses and jobs as essential and a fundamental right, a response to COVID-19 mandates by Texas cities that required customers to wear masks and limited business hours. Abbott has long been loathed by conservative activists, and both the current and former chair of the state GOP are among his enemies. Before a student may be provided with human sexuality or family planning instruction, the district must obtain the written consent of the students parent or guardian. More broadly, the platform is another salvo in the anti-permissive battle being waged by the right across the country. We are here to break down the latest news from the Texas Legislative session in Austin. The Republicans' 2022 platform is outlined in a 40-page document that addresses state issues but also much broader priorities such as calling for the U.S. to leave the United Nations.. In the Washington Post, Greg Sargent wrote that the 2022 platform lays bare some ugly truths about how radical the abandonment of democracy among some Republicans has truly become, singling out one plank in particular that calls for the repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. https://texassignal.com/author/kennedysessions/, Texas lawmaker proposes age-appropriate book bill, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wins re-election race. (The 2022 platform, for instance, opposes decriminalization of drugs but also calls for marijuana to be moved from the federal Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would lessen legal penalties.). The only thing impairing Texas is our Republican leadership. In 2022, the Texas GOP still says President Joe Biden didnt legitimately win the 2020 election, and the new platform supports the Texas Attorney Generals continued investigation of voter fraud claims. That platform threatened to embarrass telecom giant AT&T, which had spent a good number of dollars to sponsor the convention. The misery, the crime, the drug abuse, the high gas prices are all by design, so that the Democratic Party can permanently transform society. Rejecting the LGBTQ+ community is nothing new for the Republican Party, but Texas recent streak of translating harmful rhetoric into law brings cause for worry. The final platform is the culmination of work by grassroots delegates who are the lifeblood of the Texas Republican Party. Its like they havent been on the same plane of reality as the rest of us. Somewhere between four thousand and five thousand showed up, which is not unimpressive. Which 8 were selected will not be known for several days. President Biden has ceded control of our borders to paramilitary, narco-terrorist cartels, Arrington told delegates. The new platform follows a series of headline-generating anti-LGBTQ policies proposed by Texas lawmakers. My thought is to leave well enough alone. The Texas GOP got way out of hand with this years stance on voting rights. In the, Ep. 92 - The State Of Police Reform, Part 1 - John Fullinwider of Mothers Against Police Brutality, Ep. The proceedingsclarified how party grandees feel about the platform. Encourage the building and operation of nuclear power plants. What happened on January 6, 2021 is evidence enough of that. Oh, and why not regress even further by repealing all hate crime laws? Tweets. There simply arent limits now on what the base might ask for.. Amending the Texas Constitution to remove the Legislatures power to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.. The second the planks threatened the money, the delegates were corrected. Bylaws; . ", Your donation supports our media and helps us keep it free of ads and paywalls. As a result, the 2022 GOP feels free to veer to the right to its hearts content, confident that it wont come back to haunt the party in November, except perhaps in a half dozen races, Jones said. Republicans made border security a "dominant" issueand it worked. Two themes are clear this year: From formally rejecting President Bidens 2020 win to outlawing LGBTQ+ marriage, the Texas GOP has unabashedly solidified their swing to the far-right. From formally rejecting President Bidens 2020 win to outlawing LGBTQ+ marriage, the Texas GOP has unabashedly solidified their swing to the far-right. If Texas 6-week abortion ban, without exception for rape or incest, wasnt enough, the Texas GOP wants abortion outlawed and criminalized from the moment of conception. Likes. Republican elected officials are not bound to adhere to the platform, and party activists at times have expressed frustration that some parts of their platform and legislative priorities have not become law, despite complete Republican control of the state Legislature. Eleanor Dearman. Ensuring freedom to travel by opposing Bidens Clean Energy Plan and California-style, anti-driver policies, including efforts to turn traffic lanes over for use by pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit. Two themes are clear this year: conspiracy and regression. Throughout the document, Republicans emphasized the importance of Western Civilization and supported Biblical texts like the Bible, Ten Commandments and prayers mandated in public schools and state facilities. e. Support a change to the 14th Amendment to eliminate birth tourism or anchor babies by granting citizenship only to those with at least one biological parent who is a US citizen. Texas lawmakers have not enacted anti-LGBTQ legislation into law this year but have pushed headline-generating anti-LGBTQ policies in other ways. Why it matters: The revised platform is likely to preview some of the GOP's . The Log Cabin Republicans have never been allowed to participate in the convention. The platform plank does not specify which grades should get these lessons, except to say that high school students should read the Womans Right to Know booklet. (1) "The laws of nature and nature's God," and we support the strict adherence to the original On Saturday, thousands of Texas Republicans approved a new platform at the 2022 party convention in Houston, and it immediately caused a furor. Updated: 10:26 PM CDT June 20, 2022. U.S. Rep. Tony . By WILL WEISSERT June 21, 2022 WASHINGTON (AP) Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. So they require legal protections, criminal protection, constitutional protections. Nevertheless, the Texas GOP platform also supports repealing the 16th amendment or the Federal Income Tax, which gives Congress the power to collect taxes from states. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? Video posted online showed far-right activists physically accosting U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, calling the conservative Republican eye-patch McCain over his criticism of Russia. Immigration continued to be a major theme, with delegates lamenting Bidens reversal of Trump-era border policies. Now, whats left of our reproductive rights are slowly trickling away. 90 - Texas Rep. Salman Bhojani and Nicole Golden of Texas Gun Sense. What happened on, Secession is ridiculous, never going to happen, and. It seems hard to believe that Trump, a veteran of the New York nightclub scene in the seventies and eighties, cares about tormenting transgender children and their families nearly as much as many Texas Republican officials do. A previous version of this story reported the percentage as 90.08% for Plank 225 based on information provided by the Republican Party of Texas. The Log House Republicans of Houston released a statement in response to their partys platform calling it disappointing and infuriating., Through efforts of a vocal and organized minority, inflammatory, hurtful and unnecessary language was added to our partys platform, the organization wrote. June 18, 20228 PM Central. The display at the Texas Alliance for Life booth illustrates the development of a fetus during the Texas State Republican Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday. The hall at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston filled with boos on Friday as he tried to explain the legislation, which would allow juvenile records to be incorporated into background checks for gun buyers younger than 21 and encourage red flag laws that would make it easier to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, along with more funding for school safety and mental health. Linda Coffee Argued Roe v. Wade. The State Board of Education recently wrapped up its review of health curriculum standards, which include requirements to teach about fertilization in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. They want to get to the point where we can say, Well, no, this is a person. IE 11 is not supported. HOUSTON Meeting at their first in-person convention since 2018, Texas Republicans on Saturday acted on a raft of resolutions and proposed platform changes to move their party even further to the right. Do you value our journalism? The platform is largely symbolic but important as a measure of ideological drift, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. The delegates this year were a smaller, purer group of like-minded right-wingers, which is why the platform they produced was marginally more hardcore than that of the last convention. In other cases, it is the MAGA folks following the Texas GOP, not the other way around. Enter your email address * Resources. In April 2022 polling, for example, 87% of Texas Republicans said that " the sex listed on a person's original birth certificate should be the only way to define a person's gender," while only 9% said that gays and lesbians face "a lot" of discrimination in America today, compared to 31% who said the same of Christians and 34% who said the same by Kate McGee H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping, West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country. The platform is not a specific programme of legislation, and just because the party has passed it does not mean all or even most of its provisions will be passed into state law, regardless of the fact that Texas currently has a Republican governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state legislature. Leave them blank to get signed up. The Texas GOP argues in their platform that hate crime laws should be repealed because there are already plenty of other laws covering crimes against other persons on the books. Texas Republicans over the weekend wove a tapestry of extremism. The additions to the state GOP platform related to teaching Texas students about sex and sexuality come months after Gov. ), so of course the Republican Party of Texas is overwhelmingly against it. Look up the definition of sore loser in any dictionary and you might find a red elephant. They also voted on a platform that declares homosexuality an abnormal lifestyle choice and calls for Texas schoolchildren to learn about the humanity of the preborn child.. This year, even the absolute worst case scenario has the GOP winning statewide, increasing its number of U.S. House seats, boosting its Texas Senate majority by a seat, and maintaining the 83 seats it held in the 2021 Texas House.. The platforms authors describe homosexuality as an abnormal lifestyle choice and declare that they oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity while also calling for an end to any restriction on people practicing the harmful counselling methods widely referred to as conversion therapy for LGBT+ people. June 20, 2022. Its like they havent been on the same plane of reality as the rest of us. Significant gains by Texas Democrats in state House elections in 2018 raised the prospect of the Republican Party losing its dominant status in Texas, making it moderate its platform in 2020 to focus on bread-and-butter issues. Unfortunately, the ball is already rolling in their direction. The group included self-identified Proud Boys and Alex Stein, a social media activist from North Texas. The Texas Republican Party convention was really, um, something, wrote CNNs Chris Cilizza. Oppose packing (or enlarging) the United States Supreme Court and supports the pending Keep Nine Amendment as filed in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi said Our platform, taken as a whole, shows that the GOP is, above all, a party of parents, families, and working Americans dedicated to preserving the American dream for our children. 3. At a convention where several of its more prominent lawmakers were harassed and booed, the Texas Republican Party has passed the latest version of its official platform and it makes for shocking reading. The party planks specify what the Texas GOP believes students should and should not be taught in the classroom about gender and sex, signaling further shifts to the right. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. But some of the most talked-about policies in the states new platform is the outright rejection of LGBTQ communities, even those who may align with them politically. Texas Republicans ended a three-day convention Saturday with votes on a swath of proposed changes to their platform that would pull the party further right. The Texas Republican Party finished its 2022 platform priorities over the weekend at the Republican National Convention and gave a glimpse into some of the most powerful minds in power. Politics. Texans who get their news from Facebook threads and chain emails gather together, load up a document with their complaints, pass it, and then elected officials throw it in the trash. Privacy Policy. Within a year of Joe Bidens election to the presidency, Texas passed some of the most restrictive election integrity legislation in the US a package of measures empowering partisan poll watchers while making it harder to vote and much harder to cast a mail-in ballot. Think thats being dramatic? It will also curb federal funding for the debunked practice of conversion therapy, whichnearly every leading U.S. medical association has condemned, and ask the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether the practice constitutes an unfair or deceptive act. Thousands of the Texas Republican party faithful voted yesterday on a state GOP platform that calls being gay an "abnormal lifestyle choice," declares the 2020 presidential election results. He was simply booed louder and longer this time, and for a specific reason rather than a general sense among the grassroots that he is a wishy-washy Republican In Name Only. David Faris. In searching for a mythic past that never was, the delegates at the convention promise to take us to places weve never been. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP. Maybe some foreign language and PE. The word grooming has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. The Republican Party in Texas made a series of far-right declarations as part of its official party platform over the weekend, claiming that President Biden was not legitimately elected,. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Politics Texas Republican Party includes anti-LGBT ideology in its new platform The Republican Party of Texas passed its latest platform on Saturday, including two sections of anti-LGBT beliefs. Those will now need to be tallied and certified in Austin, but it is rare for a plank to be rejected, according to party spokesperson James Wesolek. June 24, 2022. They want to destroy the racial progress we have made by saying that we are a racist nation, said Robin Armstrong, a Black doctor in Texas City who treated COVID patients with unapproved drug therapies touted by Trump, including hydroxychloroquine. To save you the queasiness that comes from reading all. The Democratic Party are now a party of chaos. The Texas state Republican Party's 2022 platform is not only hideously anti-LGBTQ, it also calls for the state to hold a referendum in 2023 on a possible secession from the United States. Support term limits of twelve years for federal and state offices. The Texas Republican Party unveiled its official position on LGBTQ issues over the weekend, defining homosexuality as an "abnormal lifestyle choice" and also opposing "all efforts to validate transgender identity.". Show us with your support. The 53-page document covers a range of topics familiar with the national GOP platform, but shows the state party's new strategy to gain political power. Nearly 90% support a vote on TEXIT. But in 2018 and 2020, the platform still called it an abnormal lifestyle choice, just in a polite way, writing that homosexual sex was not part of Gods biblical design and is contrary to the foundation for all great nations in Western Civilization. That softened language was the aberration: prior to 2018, the platform condemned homosexuality as an aberration and insult to God that tears at the fabric of society and spreads communicable diseases.. All school districts, individual schools, or charter schools are prohibited from contracting with or making any payment to any third party for material concerning any of the above topics. The convention reinforced the extent to which former President Donald J. Trumps unfounded claims of a stolen election continue to resound among the party faithful even though his claims have repeatedly been debunked, including by many of his own former aides, and after a week of televised hearings about the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. ESPOUSE A BUNCH OF OTHER EFFED UP SH*T. On top of banning content dealing with LGBTQIA+ issues and racism in schools, they also want to ban sex education. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. But the platforms are broad indicators of the sentiments of the most active Republican voters those who dominate party primaries. The, Texas GOP argues in their platform that hate crime laws should be repealed. Kristen Ylana, executive director of The Texas Womens Health Caucus, said the push to teach public school students that life begins at fertilization represents a broader push by the Texas Republican Party to broadly establish a legal foundation to claim a fetus is a person with constitutional rights. Greg Abbottorderedthe states child welfare agency to investigate child abuse claims filed against parents who might be providing their trans children with gender-affirming medical care. Its daily.