Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Friday Night Open Thread: *Everything* in Texas Is Bigger, Including Ken Paxton’s Corruption

Friday Night Open Thread: *Everything* in Texas Is Bigger, Including Ken Paxton’s Corruption

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Why Texas’ GOP-controlled House wants to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — After years of legal and ethical scandals swirling around Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s GOP-controlled House of Representatives has moved toward a Saturday impeachment vote that could quickly throw him from office.

The extraordinary and rarely used maneuver comes in the final days of the state’s legislative session and sets up a bruising political fight. It pits Paxton, who has aligned himself closely with former President Donald Trump and the state’s hard-right conservatives, against House Republican leadership, who appear to have suddenly had enough of the allegations of wrongdoing that have long dogged Texas’ top lawyer…

Paxton faces grim legislative math. A simple majority is needed to impeach. That means only a fraction of the House’s 85 Republican members would need to vote against Paxton, if all 64 Democrats did.

The House can call witnesses to testify, but the investigating committee already did that prior to recommending impeachment. Over several hours Wednesday, investigators delivered an extraordinary public airing of Paxton’s years of scandal and alleged lawbreaking.

Saturday’s floor debate and vote is expected to last about five hours.

If the full House impeaches Paxton, everything shifts to the state Senate for a “trial” to decide whether to permanently remove Paxton from office, or acquit him. Removal requires a two-thirds majority vote.

But there is a major difference between Texas and the federal system: If the House votes to impeach, Paxton is immediately suspended from office until the outcome of the Senate trial. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would appoint an interim replacement.

The GOP in Texas controls every branch of state government. Republican lawmakers and leaders alike have until this week taken a muted posture toward the the myriad examples of Paxton’s misconduct and alleged law breaking that emerged in legal filings and news reports over the years…

A few hours before the impeachment vote, Gov. Abbott, who has stayed quiet about it, is scheduled to make a Memorial Day address to lawmakers in the House chamber.

The Capitol and the House gallery have been the site of boisterous demonstrations over gun and LGBTQ+ rights legislation in recent weeks. Hundreds of state police troopers cleared the gallery and Capitol rotunda after protests erupted over a bill to ban transgender medical care for minors.


The crucial political difference between ‘powerful’ and ‘popular’…

On Tuesday, indicted Attorney General Ken Paxton called on Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign.

The assertion was rich because if there is one public official in Texas who should resign, it is Paxton. Not only has he been indicted for felony securities fraud in a case that has dragged on since 2015, but he has been under FBI investigation since 2020 for alleged favors to a donor, Nate Paul, an Austin developer.

As so often is the case with Paxton’s words and actions, the question isn’t so much what he says or does, but why. Why would he suddenly call on Phelan to resign, citing without evidence, that he was drunk while presiding over the House? Paxton pointed to a short video clip in which Phelan was slurring his words, but his speech was fine before and after that moment.

The question of why was quickly answered when it was made clear a Texas House committee investigating Paxton for alleged misconduct would hold a public hearing. Over the course of three hours Wednesday, the House General Investigating Committee heard explosive and damning testimony. The GOP-led committee then voted unanimously to recommend impeachment…

Even without the weight of impeachment, Paxton is unfit for office. This is an attorney general who spent $2.2 million in 2021 to prosecute three voter fraud cases. This is an attorney general, drunk with power, who asked the public to “target” the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after an 8-1 decision that found Paxton’s office does not have the authority to prosecute election fraud cases.

He requested a rehearing, and then, appearing on a podcast with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, called on the public to “target the Court of Criminal Appeals to take those people out that voted the wrong way.”

Given the ethical, legal and moral issues that have defined Paxton’s tenure, his potential defenestration is hardly surprising, even as it comes from his fellow Republicans. But what is surprising is that it has taken so long to arrive at this moment and that Paxton has maintained such robust support.

This should be a nadir, but lacking principles upon which to stand, Paxton is in a constant free fall.

Hoping for better luck tomorrow, maybe?

… Paxton, a 60-year-old Republican, decried the impeachment proceedings as “political theater” that will “inflict lasting damage on the Texas House,” adding to his earlier claims that it’s an effort to disenfranchise the voters who returned him to office in November.

“I want to invite my fellow citizens and friends to peacefully come let their voices be heard at the Capitol tomorrow,” he said at a news conference, without taking any questions. “Exercise your right to petition your government.”

The request echoes former President Donald Trump’s call for people to protest his electoral defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Paxton, who spoke at the rally in Washington that proceed the insurrection, called his supporters to the Texas Capitol on a day when the governor is supposed to deliver a Memorial Day address to lawmakers there…

I’m sure the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and related miscreants are now scrambling around, working the phone trees and trying to find rental buses, but recent TFG rallies seem to indicate a certain Fool me once… wariness, so I for one would not get my hopes up.

Reader Interactions

94Comments

  1. 1.

    Poe Larity

    The thing about TX is the assumption that this would be progress.

    It can always get worse.

    As further evidence, LinkedIn just recommended I follow Kevin McCarthy.

  2. 2.

    Michael Bersin

    The 2023 Warrenburg, Missouri Pride Festival scheduled for June 3, 2023 has restored its original family friendly format after addressing security concerns.

    “…This year, hate and safety concerns became too much for our initial team to handle. However, thanks to Free Mom Hugs, our sponsors, and many others Pridefest has been able to secure additional security, volunteers, vendors, and are able to return the festival to its original plan…”

    Warrensburg Pride Festival – June 3, 2023 – Returning to Family Friendly Format

  4. 4.

    Jackie

    I’m hoping Paxton’s call for protesters is as successful as TFG’s NYC protest during his indictment. Maybe Santos and MTG will show up.

  5. 5.

    bbleh

    So the obvious question is WHY the Texas Lege would vote to impeach the AG, especially this AG, who has long been not just one of their own but a leader.

    They obviously don’t care about corruption, even to the level of overt criminality, except insofar as they can use that as an excuse.  And all the remarks about drunkenness are long after the die was cast.

    Is it pure factional politics, and therefore incomprehensible to outsiders? Or … what?

    Oh well. [insert Watanabe meme here]

  6. 6.

    Nukular Biskits

    I suppose I could look this up but did Paxton have any opposition last November?

    A LOT of Republicans here in the South practically walk into office unopposed.

  8. 8.

    Nukular Biskits

    The other question, one a lot of other folks have been asking, is “Why now?”.

    Paxton has long been ethically, morally and legally challenged so why did the TX GOP suddenly become “concerned”?

  10. 10.

    Josie

    @Nukular Biskits: ​
    I suspect it might have to do with the fact that he wants the legislature to pick up the tab for his recent settlement with the aides who charged him with retaliation. I don’t recall the amount, but it was substantial.
    ETA: Looked it up–$3.3 million

  11. 11.

    Viva BrisVegas

    This is dangerous precedent. A slippery slope.

    If Paxton can be targeted merely for committing crimes, what Republican politician is safe?

  13. 13.

    Another Scott

    @bbleh:

    JuanitaJean.com – What finally tipped the scales?:

    What Finally Tipped the Scales?
    May 26, 2023 By: El Jefe Category: Abbott, Corruption, Criminal, Impeachment, Paxton

    After yesterday’s news that Ken Paxton has been referred to the full Texas House for impeachment, my only question was, which crime was finally bad enough to finally tip the scales of justice against him? Did Republicans finally awake from an 8 year coma? Did they finally turn on the news?

    […]

    What kicked off this entire episode this session was a request by Paxton that WE, the taxpayers, pay $3.3 million to settle one of the lawsuits against him that had been filed by his former employees for abuse and retaliation. House speaker Dade Phelan had opposed the payment and the investigation into this settlement was begun. That investigation then turned into an impeachment inquiry as the evidence against Paxton became so mountainous that not even Republicans could ignore it.

    […]

    Worth a click.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  16. 16.

    sdhays

    @Baud: Not only that, I recall he was challenged in the primary by some Bush spawn, but Republican primary voters were pleased with his criming and nominated him anyway.

  17. 17.

    Anne Laurie

    @Josie: I suspect it might have to do with the fact that he wants the legislature to pick up the tab for his recent settlement with the aides who charged him with retaliation. I don’t recall the amount, but it was substantial.

    You are correct!  Over $3million dollars, to make the evidence against Paxton ‘go away’.

    (These details are covered in the articles included in my post, and in more detail in last night’s post, but there’s only so much I can extract at once.)

  20. 20.

    Wapiti

    @Josie: The settlement is against the AG, not Paxton personally, so I’m not sure why he can’t avoid paying the bill. (Legislators correctly note that he could pay it out his campaign war chest, but why would he?)

  21. 21.

    sdhays

    @Another Scott: I think I’m not alone in still not understanding/believing this line:

    That investigation then turned into an impeachment inquiry as the evidence against Paxton became so mountainous that not even Republicans could ignore it.

    Voters re-elected this scumbag last year knowing this shit. Republican leaders endorsed and campaigned with him knowing this shit. Texass Republicans probably light $3.3m in taxpayer money on fire every other day.
    So just what about all this became impossible to ignore?

  24. 24.

    Mike in NC

    Spent three weeks at Fort Hood (since renamed) in Texas in 2005 and still wake up with cold sweats about it.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @sdhays:

    Statesman.com:

    What are Republicans thinking?

    Whether there’s enough Republican support in the House to approve the impeachment articles is uncertain, but Thursday was not a good sign for Paxton. Three members on the investigative committee are Republicans, including the chair, Rep. Andrew Murr of Junction. So is Speaker Dade Phelan, who says the committee must get to the bottom of the allegations in weighing whether to approve a $3.3 million payment with public money to settle a lawsuit against Paxton filed by four former aides in his office. The aides filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2020 saying they were improperly fired after they made criminal allegations against Paxton to federal investigators.

    [image]

    Paxton remains under federal investigation.

    In the House, Republicans outnumber Democrats 85 to 64. Assuming all Democrats vote to impeach Paxton — which is hardly a lock — a total of 11 Republicans must do the same to advance the impeachment to the Senate.

    What are the whistleblowers thinking?

    Austin lawyer Tom Nesbitt, who represents former AG employee Blake Brickman in the whistleblower lawsuit, said the evidence against Paxton is overwhelming.

    “The committee brought in investigators with unimpeachable credentials — former state and federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials with vast experience prosecuting public integrity crimes,” he said. “Those investigators’ findings were overwhelming in showing that what the whistleblowers reported to law enforcement was true, that it constituted evidence of crimes within OAG, that the OAG’s formal response to the allegations was a pack of lies, and that the whistleblowers sacrificed their careers for the good of all Texans. I hope Texas has their back like they had ours.”

    Paxton called for the Speaker to resign.

    I think there’s plenty there to not have to look for anything else. He’s going now because the legislature is pissed off about the settlement, and the settlement deadline apparently is in May. Him going after the Speaker probably just strengthened their resolve.

    Just my impression, FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    At first I thought the whole thing would be for show: an impeachment that fails, a Senate that doesn’t convict; Paxton declares himself exonerated and stays in office; and the GOP opens up lucrative new frontiers in political corruption they can all enjoy.

    But then it occurred to me is, if the Lege does somehow fail – either the impeachment vote fails or the Senate doesn’t convict – anyone who voted for impeachment or conviction will have made Paxton a dire enemy who will do whatever he can to ruin them. (And he can do quite a lot.)

    I wonder if that has occurred to them, as well.

    If so, there is a possibility that no one will vote in favor of even impeaching him.

    Paxton can call it a landslide exoneration.

  28. 28.

    Scout211

    So what is happening with Paxton’s 7 years-long corruption case? This was reported in February:

     Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who’d long been leading the probe.

     
    The move was disclosed in a statement by state prosecutors handling their own case against Paxton. It’s the latest development in the federal investigation into the attorney general, who came under FBI scrutiny in 2020 after his own top deputies accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having had an extramarital affair.
     
    The investigation of the three-term Republican is now being led by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which prosecutes allegations of official misconduct against elected leaders at the local, state and federal level. The U.S. attorney’s office in Texas was recently recused from the complex case after working on it for years — an abrupt change that came within days of Paxton agreeing to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four of the former staffers who reported him to the FBI.

  29. 29.

    Maxim

    @sdhays: I like the suggestion upthread that they’re afraid of somehow being implicated. Pure self-interest makes a lot more sense than any sudden sense of ethics.

  32. 32.

    Suzanne

    @Poe Larity:

    LinkedIn just recommended I follow Kevin McCarthy. 

    So some years back, SuzMom, a lifelong super-bleeding-heart liberal Dem, somehow got on a GOP mailing list. She got a certificate in the mail, suitable for framing, which said that she “embodied the highest Republican values”. It was signed by Bill Frist.

    She hung it over the shitter.

  33. 33.

    piratedan

    @Maxim: same feeling here, it’s suddenly a big deal when they themselves could be considered to be aiding and abetting.  There’s a new DOJ in town and all of the under the table shit that was condoned by the 45 group is now no longer in place to provide cover.

  36. 36.

    geg6

    TX and FL are neck and neck in the race to see who hits the lowest possible bottom.  I don’t expect much from MS and WY and AL, but I don’t get what has happened in FL and TX.  I don’t know how anyone lives in these places.  It’s bad enough living in a light blue to purple battleground state, but living under and around so many MAGATs and dominionists would crush my soul.

  37. 37.

    Fake Irishman

    @sdhays:

    @Baud:

    The Dems came within 4 points of knocking Paxton off in 2018. Beto took up the headlines, but Dems came close in several statewide races that year, including the LG and Ag commissioner, both of whom are ass clowns even by TX GOP standards.

    Fun fact: The old joke is that the Texas Dems could have run Sam Houston and still lost a statewide race. Well, in 2014, the Dems did run a well-respected attorney named Sam Houston and he lost to Ken Paxton.

  41. 41.

    geg6

    Oh and OT and by the way, ABC is running a 3 hour special on the 1619 Project on Wednesday if anyone is interested.  Bob Iger strikes again.

  42. 42.

    Ken

    @Maxim: @piratedan: The flipside of that is, if impeached and removed from office, he’ll reveal whatever evidence he’s got against the legislators to drag them down with him.  Sort of a Samson option.

  44. 44.

    Fake Irishman

    @bbleh:

    There is also a huge fight going on between the House and the Senate. There is, believe it or not, a sizeable rural GOP contingent in the House the hates school vouchers and blocked a Senate bill— backed by Abbott —to introduce them.

    The legislative session ends on Monday and Abbott has threatened a special session for vouchers. This might be the House’s way of playing hardball with Abbott — “Call a special session and we’ll hang a party member who we hate out to dry and dare you and the iditot LG Dan Patrick to defend this clown”

  45. 45.

    Fake Irishman

    @different-church-lady:

    not sure what you’re implying…

    But  it was a 16-point improvement over 2014. That’s a gigantic shift that gave Dems in Texas real hope for the first time in more than a decade.

  46. 46.

    Cameron

    Has Ronald Puddinghands offered Lone Star Ken a gravy job in Florida yet?  The clock’s ticking….

  50. 50.

    piratedan

    @Ken: if that’s the case, fine by me.  I would just as soon have those stables cleaned one way or another and if there is no honor between thieves, then perhaps the State of Texas will be better for it.

    There are plenty of great people in Texas and the more publicity this brings to light about how they are taken advantage of by the GOP who treats everyone with contempt, the better.

  51. 51.

    Cameron

    @geg6: I wish I had a coherent, logical, etc., etc., answer for you.  My parents were both from Allegheny County and I lived in Philadelphia most of my adult life, so I mos def have a soft spot for Pennsylvania.  There are some horrible people in Florida (many of them transplanted from PA), but lots of not-horrible ones, too. The non-political (so far) aspects of Florida are wonderful – nature, archaeology, arts.

    There is no reason that I can see (other than the influx of my fellow Old Fart Yankees) why this state is becoming redder and redder.  Real Floridians on this blog would have better insight.

    Even if I weren’t in Florida, I’d still want to ride out my remaining years in the Old Country (Slovenia), but, alas, LOML likes it here.  Oh, well….try to get some Dems elected….

  52. 52.

    Anne Laurie

    @Fake Irishman: There is, believe it or not, a sizeable rural GOP contingent in the House the hates school vouchers and blocked a Senate bill— backed by Abbott —to introduce them.

    I am no expert here, but school vouchers bleed money from public schools that can least afford them.  Even here in densely-packed New England, rural schools in voucher communities find themselves cutting down (or eliminating) bus routes, even as they ‘consolidate’ schools so that kids have to travel further every day.

    And, of course, they can’t attract decent teachers, because who wants to commute an hour each way in order to spend the day wrangling too many sleep-deprived kids in a broken-down building for not much more than minimum wage?

    We tell each other, not without reason, that right-wingers would rather keep their kids ignorant than let them find out the ‘wrong’ ideas, but there are some limits.

  53. 53.

    Benw

    Off topic, but I got home at 9:30 pm tonight and found some weird clear goo droppings on my family room floor; then found my dog had a cut right alongside his eye and was being really freaky about his fenced in yard. Then found the electric car I’d parked in the driveway was dead. I’ve finally got antibiotic cream on the cut, plugged in the car, and calmed the household down. My current theory is a Yeti stole my car and drove around until the battery was dead and whacked my dog when he tried to stop him. Yeesh

  54. 54.

    bcw

    @Scout211:  You may have the key to why the Texas Republicans have jumped ship on Paxton – with the Justice Department taking over for the local Fed’s, Paxton’s amazing “luck” in delaying trial for seven years may be about to run out. Presumably the local Federal prosecutors who are almost certainly Republicans themselves have felt no great urgency to embarrass the Texas Republican party.​ This is certainly true of the State prosecutors for his other crimes
    ​
    ​

  55. 55.

    mvr

    When you have one party rule it tends to lead to fighting within that one party.  I live in Nebraska where the Rs rule but even so one part of the Rs (the crazier part) took over the party from the other part (the just as evil but less crazy part that paid the bills). This doesn’t mean the good guy’s win. The bad guys pull together on private school funding, abortion, anti-trans legislation, tax cuts, raiding the environmental truest, etc. But it does make for genuine ill-will within the Rs.

    Similarly, in WY where I regularly visit, with something like less than a dozen elected Ds in the legislature, one faction of Rs (Trumpy folks) ran undercover operations against the other part and the leadership of one of the legislative chambers kept a lot of bad stuff off the agenda pissing off the Trumpy folks.

    No grand conspiracy theories are needed to explain this. I suspect it is the same in TX.

  56. 56.

    mvr

    @Benw: I think the dog took the car for a drive, got in a fight while on the lam, and returned the car just as it ran out of power.

  57. 57.

    lgerard

    @Redshift:

    So if the Lege refuses to pay, does the settlement fall apart, maybe?

    The 4 whistleblowers are urging the legislature to pay the settlement.
    They want the $$$$

  58. 58.

    Cameron

    @Anne Laurie: I try to read Diane Ravitch’s blog as often as possible for ed insights.  I used to work for Children’s Literacy Initiative, which is a great organization but (IMHO) way too tolerant of charter shit.

  59. 59.

    Amir Khalid

    @Benw:

    You need to alert the authorities regarding the Yeti. The last thing you want in your neighbourhood is the arrival of an invasive species from Tibet.

  60. 60.

    KrackenJack

    @Benw: ​
     

    When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

  61. 61.

    Jackie

    @geg6: LOL My grandkiddos LOVE Mickey and Minnie. Thankfully they’re too young to follow politics! I’m a Goofy fan😊 (NOT the Pudd’n Boots *goofy*!)

  62. 62.

    West of the Rockies

    Every photo of Paxton is bad.   Far worse is that he is a corrupt, mean-spirited bully.  F him.

  63. 63.

    Fake Irishman

    @Anne Laurie:

    Yes. The 2006 state elections in Texas were actually fought over vouchers. Dems picked up seats, but the battle then was won in the GOP primaries, where about a half dozen public education challengers wiped the floor with the voucher goons.

    Partisanship is a huge factor, but as Kay has told us over and over and over, you can find creative ways to win (on issues, for certain offices etc)

  64. 64.

    Fake Irishman

    @mvr:

    Kansas is the classic example of this with a dual-wing GOP.  As an evangelical feminist friend of mine in grad school who grew up in the middle of nowhere in the state once told me. “For such a Republican state, we sure have a thing for moderate democratic governors”

    I thought of her fondly each time Laura Kelly won —more than a decade after we had the conversation.

  66. 66.

    JaySinWA

    Put me on team TX Leg doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

    Abbott is supposed to be addressing the House prior to the debate tomorrow after remaining mute up until now. It might give some insight into who’s aligned with whom.

    The lack of vocal support for Paxton inside the Leg makes it more likely than not that they will impeach, i think.

    Given that impeachment sidelines him until trial, who might benefit? Does the Senate adjourn to drag this out (can they?, can the impeachment carry over to the next session or does it die?

    ETA those impeachment books are thick. I wonder if the stuffed most of the evidence inside to have it leak out.

  68. 68.

    Pennsylvanian

    I so hate this fucking guy. He is ALMOST worse than that other fucking guy.

    Obviously rooting for injuries is called for, but JFC I am so exhausted. I wish it could stop. Clearly a low point and I’m going to bed.

    May your blooms be many and your troubles few.

  69. 69.

    Jackie

    @JaySinWA: Should Paxton get impeached, who will Abbott appoint to temporarily replace him?

    I think that appointment will be interesting. And possibly telling.

  70. 70.

    Amir Khalid

    @West of the Rockies:

    I’ve wondered about that since my Dallas-watching days. I know that cowboy hats and boots are traditional and practical workwear if you’re a cowboy, but they look pretty daft with a lawyer/politician’s business suit. So why do these guys wear them in the city?

  73. 73.

    West of the Rockies

    @Amir Khalid:

    I think it’s good, old-fashioned toxic masculinity that makes grown who aren’t cowboys wear those hats and boots and buckles.  Perhaps more kindly, one could just suggest they’re juvenile cosplayers.

  74. 74.

    RaflW

    @Baud: I donated to Garza for her run, because a corrupt jackass like Paxton should be opposed. But Texas is a state with a majority shitty electorate (for now). Still glad she challenged him.

    The next Republican A.G. will just be terrible in related but different ways. Until the voters 1) get tired of it and 2) change over enough in age and demographics.

  75. 75.

    JoyceH

    @Amir Khalid: ​
     

    I have the same baffled reaction to baseball caps. Why are they STILL a thing? They’ve been around forever so it’s not like they’re new, and lord knows they’re not flattering to anybody.

  77. 77.

    Rebel’s Dad

    @Another Scott: Juanita Jean is one of my heroes! And funny as hell, too (of course, she lives in Fort Bend County and you can’t live there without going crazy if you don’t have a sense of humor.)

  78. 78.

    Rebel’s Dad

    @sdhays: IIRC it was George P. Bush, the offspring of JEB! However, George P. is very brown on account of his mother being Latina so that’s probably why he didn’t win the nomination against Paxton.

  79. 79.

    Joey Maloney

    @RaflW: This is your occasional reminder that the electorate in Texas isn’t shitty, it’s supressed. True of Texas, and true of many other red states that aren’t overwhelmingly rural.

  80. 80.

    Anne Laurie

    @Benw: My best guess:  Are the car and the electric fence on the same power circuit?  Some kind of weird power surge might’ve shorted the car battery, caused the electric fence to spark, and freaked out  poor dog, who bashed his head on something trying to get away from it.

    You might want to look at the power panel, just in case…

  81. 81.

    AlaskaReader

    Fox just ran a chyron that said:  Libs are coming for your baseball hat.

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    @https://balloon-juice.com/2023/05/26/friday-night-open-thread-everything-in-texas-is-bigger-including-ken-paxtons-corruption/#comment-8852992“>Rebel’s Dad

    He may have been listed on the ballot a just George P. but it’s George P. G.

    George Prescott Garnica Bush. Ashamed of his own name/heritage (Garnica is his mother’s maiden name). Scrubbed tons of references to his real name from the web just prior to when he first announced for office (land commissioner?). Have posted screenshots of some before and after pages here in the past.

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    Whoopsie, my bad. Fix.

    @Rebel’s Dad

    He may have been listed on the ballot a just George P. but it’s George P. G.

    George Prescott Garnica Bush. Ashamed of his own name/heritage (Garnica is his mother’s maiden name). Scrubbed tons of references to his real name from the web just prior to when he first announced for office (land commissioner?). Have posted screenshots of some before and after pages here in the past.

  84. 84.

    Maxim

    @West of the Rockies: I don’t mind the cowboy hats and boots. Why do Californians so often wear tropical-themed shirts? It’s a local subculture, and those often seem silly to others. Of course Dubya was a cosplaying New England blueblood, but that doesn’t mean everyone who likes the hats and/or boots is toxic. One of my brothers had cowboy boots when he lived in Denver.

  85. 85.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I know zero details, but one of the articles in the last Paxton post said there are factional fights going on in the Texas Republican Party.  That would make sense to me.  He finally made himself too many enemies in personal government politics, rather than any public malfeasance.  They lowered the boom with evidence they used to protect him from.

    Remember, against libs it’s total war and Democrats must never be given even a small victory, but if it’s Republican against Republican?  Yeah, they knife each other all the time.

    @geg6:

    I figure it’s the same as North Carolina, and the US as a whole.  When the bigoted majority thinks they’re in danger of becoming a minority, they freak out and catapult into extremism.

  86. 86.

    Barry

    @bcw: “You may have the key to why the Texas Republicans have jumped ship on Paxton – with the Justice Department taking over for the local Fed’s, Paxton’s amazing “luck” in delaying trial for seven years may be about to run out. ”

     

    To me, that’s an argument to not impeach, and let the Feds clean up a tiny bit of Texas.

  87. 87.

    Cameron

    Didn’t Bush the Elder refer to his un-white descendents as “the little brown ones?”  I don’t think it’s healthy to call your grandkids/great-grandkids rabbit shit, but what do I know?

  89. 89.

    kalakal

    I’m wondering if Paxton’s corrupt manouverings finally got him into a position whereby he found himself in the equivalent of a ‘fork’ in chess. Do an illegal favour for powerful person(s) A, piss off powerful person(s) B sort of thing* ( may even be zero sum where A directly gains at Bs expense) and this is payback from B.

    A sleazy version of the judgement of Paris .

    *He may not even have known that B would be affected

  90. 90.

    Ken

    @JoyceH: I have the same baffled reaction to baseball caps. Why are they STILL a thing?

    In my case it’s because my bald spot will sunburn if I don’t wear a hat, and I can’t pull off a trilby. The bill also shades my eyes, which makes my optometrist happy.

  91. 91.

    Scout211

    @Barry: To me, that’s an argument to not impeach, and let the Feds clean up a tiny bit of Texas.

    IANAL, impeachment won’t stop the corruption investigation by the DOJ. Both can happen, IMHO.

    But what many commenters mentioned here, now that the DC DOJ is taking over from the Texas team, the legislature suddenly has to separate itself from Paxton’s corruption.  They are now taking a stand against his corruption.  Or at least appearing do so so.

  92. 92.

    crimson pimpernel

    @Scout211:  I don’t know about DOJ, but Texas Republicans  would have to do a lot more than impeach Paxton to persuade me that they have suddenly turned against wholesale corruption and criminality.

  94. 94.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Cameron: I think people underestimate the impact of right wing latin radio. Also, while older Cubans have always been super right wing, there was hope for the younger generation. I think the influx of migrants from Venezuela (an imploded socialist country) has tacked them right.

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