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A test for more than Paxton
After eight days of testimony in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, we still don't know how the Texas Senate will ultimately vote.
But we do know the whole effort is testing the political clout of Texas' most prominent far-right power brokers, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, at a time when their grasp on state politics may be more tenuous than ever, Jasper Scherer reports.
Since he was impeached in late May, Paxton has received tireless support from groups funded by the West Texas oil magnates. Their main political arm, Defend Texas Liberty PAC, has threatened to target pro-impeachment Republicans in next year's primary elections and pumped $3 million into the campaign coffers of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is overseeing the trial.
Known for unseating GOP lawmakers they consider insufficiently conservative, Dunn and Wilks have stumbled in recent cycles, losing all 19 head-to-head battles last year against their archnemesis, House Speaker Dade Phelan. And their claims that the Legislature is run by "Republicans in name only," or RINOs, have fallen increasingly flat as GOP lawmakers push through conservative policies allowing the "permitless carry" of handguns and banning transition care for transgender minors.
Nearly three out of four House Republicans voted to impeach Paxton in May, bucking a threat from Defend Texas Liberty PAC leaders that a vote against the attorney general would be "a decision to have a primary." If Paxton is removed by the more conservative Senate, political observers said, it would be a major black eye for the Dunn-Wilks network.
"It would say that there's still influence, but also that when you're talking about so many conservatives in the House and Senate voting their conscience, that they don't fear Defend Texas Liberty, they don't fear Wilks and Dunn, as much as they once did," said Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
More from Scherer here.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's up, who's down
Up: Ken Paxton.
Former President Donald Trump came to his Paxton's defense on social media this week, calling the impeachment trial "shameful" and blamed "establishment RINOs" for what he called a "SAD day in the Great State of Texas!" It's not unexpected given Paxton filed - unsuccessfully - legal challenges to the 2020 election results on Trump's behalf and was among the speakers at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021, just before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Down: Rusty Hardin.
Oops. The lead attorney arguing for the impeachment of Paxton accidentally said on Wednesday he rested his case, which would mean his team had no more witnesses to call to make their argument for Paxton's impeachment. Just moments later Hardin tried to undo that and said he didn't mean to rest his case and he "messed up." But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is the judge for the case, told him it was too late and he already rested. It's unclear if Hardin and his team had more witnesses to call but his misspeak ended any chance of it.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Jeremy Wallace
Fighting with members of his own party, the AP reports that the California Republican dared his critics to file a motion to remove him from his post as he tries to avert a government shutdown.
What else I'm reading
GOP presidential contender Ron DeSantis is on his way back to Texas. Our friends at the Midland Reporter-Telegraph say he plans to unveil a major proposal for energy policy there next week. It will be DeSantis' second public campaign stop in Texas since he got in the race.
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