Posted on 05/31/2014 6:42:51 AM PDT by cotton1706
Tuesday marked the Tea Party’s graduation from an insurgent, grassroots movement touting a populist and anti-establishment message to actually becoming the establishment itself. With the dust settled from the Republican primary run-offs it is now plain to see: the Tea Party isn’t just a growing faction of the Texas Republican Party, it IS the Texas Republican Party establishment. Senator Ted Cruz and State Senator Dan Patrick, both Houston natives, are most certainly enjoying their graduation party; their leadership roles mean that they will now be the ones calling the shots.
The Texas Republican establishment received an absolute shellacking on Tuesday night. The losses among the establishment include many of the most powerful and influential elected offices in Texas: Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Agriculture Commissioner. Where the GOP establishment touted the qualifications and experience of its candidates, the rank-and-file voters favored the Tea Party candidates for their ideological purity, conservative bona fides and willingness to ‘shake things up.’
The former Republican establishment has lost its grip on these offices and we need to understand just how important this is. The Texas Lieutenant Governor is the most powerful elected position in the state. The Lieutenant Governor controls the legislative agenda, makes committee appointments, and has the leading role in the state budgeting process. The Attorney General is the highest law enforcement office in the state, and is intimately involved in the enforcement and practical impact of Texas law. The Agriculture Commissioner deals not only with agricultural issues, but also food inspection and disease and pest control, in addition to its historical importance in the rural areas of our state.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...
WOOO HOOO!! Way to go, Texas! Will the rest of the states stand tall with you?
Time for a few YEEHAWS
willing to compromise = 'it's ok to kill babies'.
/johnny
Right. I’m patiently waiting for the Haley Barbour types to EVER criticize the democrats for ideological purity.
Not super fond of the term “ideological purity”, but am happy for the wins.
Their last presidential candidate didn't even match their own party platform, unless the pubs have added 'abortion on demand', banning guns and socialized medicine to their platform.
/johnny
Don’t ya love the smell of fear in the morning? Yes in deedy the Tea Party is dead once again. Just keep telling yourself that MSM. A little gloating justified here - hee, hee, hee, hee!
Nothing succeeds like success. You can bet the other red states will be casting a watchful eye on Texas for political innovation that pays off.
Already doing very well because of its conservatism, Texas is now the laboratory for better government. What everyone will be watching for are legislative ‘home runs’, doing something that can be emulated, like slashing unnecessary government, enabling acts to stimulate entrepreneurship, laws that promulgate liberty and freedom.
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