my only goal in life is to never have a governmental body draft a list of things i've done wrong that is this thicc https://t.co/etKmjWb8w5
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) May 26, 2023
AUSTIN, Texas (@AP) — GOP-held Texas state House sets Saturday afternoon vote on impeachment of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
— Jake Bleiberg (@JZBleiberg) May 26, 2023
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces impeachment.
The state House math is grim for him.
A simple majority is needed to impeach, so only a fraction of the 85 Republicans would need to join the 64 Democrats in voting for it.
W/@JimVertuno https://t.co/w0FLt5ZukY
— Jake Bleiberg (@JZBleiberg) May 26, 2023
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.
AG Ken Paxton in a Friday press conference said House members were showing “contempt for the electoral process” in the move to impeach him. He accused them of sabotaging his work that challenged the Biden administration. https://t.co/gwEzxLJJVX
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 26, 2023
Ken Paxton's primary argument for why impeaching him is illegal appears to be that he sues Biden a lot.
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) May 26, 2023
"WHY WONT YOU ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS" yells a bored sounding reporter in Texas at Ken Paxton as he leaves his press conference, speaking for us all.
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) May 26, 2023
The Texas House will vote on accusations against Ken Paxton that include bribery, dereliction of duty, disregard of official duty and obstruction of justice.https://t.co/TvRziXTNCB
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 26, 2023
Lacking principles upon which to stand, Paxton, facing impeachment, is in a constant free fall. https://t.co/a1UvLw9Ta4
— San Antonio Express-News (@ExpressNews) May 26, 2023
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.
A left-leaning government watchdog group has called for Sen. Angela Paxton to recuse herself from any proceedings regarding her husband’s impeachment in the Senate.
There were few at the Capitol on Friday visibly in support of Paxton. https://t.co/BamcPK4ctg
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 26, 2023
Hoping for better luck tomorrow, maybe?
Texas AG Ken Paxton invites supporters to rally at state Capitol to protest vote to impeach https://t.co/MtwCVMmTdz
— KTAL NBC 6 News (@NBC6News) May 26, 2023
… 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.
War for Ukraine Day 457: Russia Opens Up on Dnipro, Kyiv, and Other Parts of Ukraine!
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.
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
Jay
U-Hauls,…….
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.
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]
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.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
Nominee
Ken Paxton
Rochelle Mercedes Garza
Party
Republican
Democratic
Popular vote
4,278,986
3,497,267
Percentage
53.4%
43.7%
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”?
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Your Google fu is black belt, sir.
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
Viva BrisVegas
This is dangerous precedent. A slippery slope.
If Paxton can be targeted merely for committing crimes, what Republican politician is safe?
Turgidson
To quote the carriage driver from Ghostbusters: “What an asshole!”
Another Scott
@bbleh:
JuanitaJean.com – What finally tipped the scales?:
Worth a click.
Cheers,
Scott.
Nukular Biskits
@Josie:
I had read that somewhere else and that they fear this might make them accomplices, more or less.
Such noble acts!
/snark
Baud
@Viva BrisVegas:
Looking for work as a pundit?
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.
Anne Laurie
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.)
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
He/She might as well. After all, there are no consequences for being wrong as a pundit.
Nukular Biskits
@Anne Laurie:
THAT’S where I read it!
Thanks for reminding me!
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?)
sdhays
@Another Scott: I think I’m not alone in still not understanding/believing this line:
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?
Redshift
@Wapiti: So if the Lege refuses to pay, does the settlement fall apart, maybe?
Nukular Biskits
@sdhays:
A dead girl or a live boy, perhaps?
Mike in NC
Spent three weeks at Fort Hood (since renamed) in Texas in 2005 and still wake up with cold sweats about it.
Another Scott
@sdhays:
Statesman.com:
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.
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.
Jackie
@Another Scott: It’s ALWAYS the 💰 💰
Hey, my nym and email fields are empty!😢
Scout211
So what is happening with Paxton’s 7 years-long corruption case? This was reported in February:
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.
ellie
I love it when they fight!
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Another Scott:
Is our Republicans thinking?
Suzanne
@Poe Larity:
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.
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.
geg6
@Mr. Bemused Senior:
To paraphrase the immortal words of Jon Lovitz as Michael Dukakis, I can’t believe we lose against this guy.
billcinsd
@bbleh: only 11 Repubs are needed to vote for impeachment to move it on to the TX Senate
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.
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.
different-church-lady
OK, I think we know who Trump’s VP candidate is going to be.
different-church-lady
@Fake Irishman: How close is 4 points in horseshoes?
Jackie
@Suzanne: She should use it as toilet seat protector then flush it.
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.
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.
Jackie
@geg6: Thanks! Just DVR’d it.
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”
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.
Cameron
Has Ronald Puddinghands offered Lone Star Ken a gravy job in Florida yet? The clock’s ticking….
KrackenJack
@geg6:
As the saying goes: Never pick a fight with a rodent who illuminates pixels by the trillion
geg6
@Jackie:
Good. I hope a lot of people watch or record it.
I can’t believe I’m rooting for Disney.
Soprano2
@Michael Bersin: The Springfield Cardinals are having a Pride night complete with a rainbow shirt. I hope there isn’t any fuckery over it.
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.
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….
Anne Laurie
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.
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
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
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.
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.
lgerard
@Redshift:
The 4 whistleblowers are urging the legislature to pay the settlement.
They want the $$$$
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.
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.
KrackenJack
@Benw:
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*!)
West of the Rockies
Every photo of Paxton is bad. Far worse is that he is a corrupt, mean-spirited bully. F him.
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)
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.
Fake Irishman
@Cameron:
I am too a fellow Slovene-American (hence my “fake”)
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.
West of the Rockies
@geg6:
And all the damn stupid-ass cowboy hats. Ugh.
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.
Jackie
@JaySinWA: Should Paxton get impeached, who will Abbott appoint to temporarily replace him?
I think that appointment will be interesting. And possibly telling.
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?
Pennsylvanian
@Jackie: Well it would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Benw
@Amir Khalid: I’ll call the cops asap!
@KrackenJack: Thanks, Sherlock Holmes!
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.
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.
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.
NotMax
Oh, the yellow stain of Texas….
//
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.)
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.
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.
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…
AlaskaReader
Fox just ran a chyron that said: Libs are coming for your baseball hat.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
pluky
@JoyceH: The brims are functional shades in midday sun. Why people wear them backwards befuddles me.
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
Ken
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.
Scout211
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.
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.
Scout211
@crimson pimpernel: Agree. It’s all about “appearances.”
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.