Posts Tagged ‘Tan Parker’

Texas Aims To Rein In Rogue DAs

Thursday, January 19th, 2023

As George Soros-backed leftwing Democrats started capturing District Attorney offices across the country, a dangerous soft-on-crime ethos has taken hold in many blue-controlled cities. Prosecutors are letting violent felons back on the streets for minimal bond, no bond, or even failing to charge them entirely. Just this week comes news that Harris County Democratic Judge Josh Hill let a convicted felon accused of kidnapping, beating, and choking a woman out on $2 bail.

The Texas Republican majority in the statehouse has had enough.

In his victory speech on the first day of the Legislative session, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) said that “rogue district attorneys” who refuse to prosecute certain criminal offenses must be “rein[ed] in.” Legislation filed this week provides an initial glimpse at Texas Republicans’ plan to do that.

“Carte blanche public pronouncements by district attorneys that laws we have on the books will be ignored renders the authority of the Legislature to determine what is and isn’t a crime, moot,” state Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield) said in a statement provided to The Texan. “It is my intention to rein in renegade district attorneys and ensure the rule of law is respected in Texas.”

Cook’s House Bill (HB) 1350 — with an identical version filed in the Senate by Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) — would forbid district or county attorneys with criminal jurisdiction to “adopt or enforce a policy under which the prosecuting attorney prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of any criminal offense … [or] as demonstrated by pattern or practice, prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of any criminal offense.”

Enforcement of the law would be granted to the Office of the Attorney General, and violators may face civil penalties up to $1,500 for an initial offense and then up to $25,500 for ensuing ones. Offending prosecutors may also be removed from office and their replacement would be appointed by the governor.

Prosecutors and judges have a certain amount of discretion on when and what crimes to charge suspects with. But by ignoring the law entirely for far-left ideological reasons, Soros-backed DAs and judges are violating the equal protection rights of Texas citizens who are victimized by soaring crime. Securing the life, liberty and property of its citizens is the most basic and essential function of government.

If they can’t do their job, they need to be removed from office.

Bonnen/Sullivan Controversy Takes Down Burrows

Saturday, August 17th, 2019

I haven’t been following the Texas Speaker Dennis Bonnen/Empower Texans head Michael Quinn Sullivan meeting controversy due to lack of time (like I’ve said, the past weeks have been a bear), but this Texas Monthly piece provides an overview of the meeting, which took place June 12. “Bonnen appears to have offered to take an official action if Sullivan would use his political organization to go after ten legislators whom Bonnen found objectionable while avoiding attacks on Bonnen.” Depending on the applicability of various statutes, that’s very possibly illegal.

Here’s Sullivan’s description of the meeting:

I was surprised when I got to Bonnen’s office to also be greeted by the GOP Caucus chairman, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock).

The meeting started off pleasantly enough. And, indeed, there was a little tongue-lashing. The notoriously thin-skinned Burrows didn’t like a tweet from the session in which I wrote he was “moronic” for floating a proposal that would have gutted property tax reform. For his part, Bonnen said he wants to fight the Democrats—offering amusing (if slightly vulgar) comments about Reps. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton) and Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston).

But the thrust of the meeting took me by surprise. Bonnen invited me there to make me an offer.

A little context: Given my news background, Empower Texans has long operated as a news-media entity. Our focus on providing information that empowers citizens to exercise their rights as a self-governing people has taken the form of reporting on the actions of lawmakers—especially in exposing the difference between what they say and what they do.

For the past two sessions, our Texas Scorecard Capitol bureau has applied for House media credentials. Despite falling clearly inside the boundaries of the House’s criteria, and despite being granted credentials by the Texas Senate, those applications have been repeatedly denied. The 2019 session was no exception. We filed a federal lawsuit on the matter, which is going up before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sitting in his Capitol office on June 12, Speaker Bonnen was adamant he wanted to do something for me. I told him I didn’t need anything from him or Burrows. But he really wanted me to listen to what he “wanted to do for me.”

Bonnen insisted: He would ensure Texas Scorecard reporters received House floor access in 2021 if we would lay off our criticism of the legislative session, not spend money from our affiliated PACs against certain Republicans, and—most shockingly—go after a list of other Republicans in the 2020 primary elections.

Spending political money was the issue, Bonnen said. Not just refraining from spending it against his pals. He wanted us to spend it against Republicans he saw as not being helpful.

What strikes me most about this, beyond the rank impropriety, is what a shoddy deal Bonnen is offering. Spend time and money attacking Bonnen’s preferred targets in exchange for…media credentials to the Texas House? That’s it? It’s not only underhanded and unethical, it’s insultingly tacky. “Hey, if you help me whack this guy, I promise there’s a six-pack of Bud Light in it for you!”

Yesterday, meeting participant Burrows reigned as House Republican Chair. “Following Burrows’ resignation as Chairman, Fort Worth Republican State Rep. Stephanie Klick has confirmed with a North Texas news outlet she has assumed the role of Chairman of the caucus and expects the members to fill her, now vacant, role as vice chair according to House Republican Caucus rules.”

Cahnman also has some pungent commentary, such as:

  • The hardest part to wrap your head around is that the substance of Bonnen’s ask isn’t necessarily crazy. While he’s doing it for the wrong reasons, Bonnen basically asks Sullivan to focus on rural members instead of suburban ones. There’s a certain logic to that strategy. Unfortunately, there’s no logic that suggests one make oneself a party to a felony in the process.
  • The most surprising part is the degree to which Bonnen’s talking out of both sides of his mouth on his alleged “no campaigning” edict. Bonnen spends nearly a quarter of the meeting telling Sullivan how he plans to vigorously enforce the edict against Democrats, but casually look the other way with Republicans. At this point, the Democrats have every right to tell Bonnen to pound sand.
  • Snip.

    Bonnen, and especially Dustin Burrows, are super thin-skinned about criticisms of the session. They spend a quarter of the discussion trying to spin the results to Sullivan. At one point, Burrows laughably accuses Sullivan of gaslighting the members.

    Snip.

  • Burrows claims the list is about members who voted against the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying, but Ken King and Gary van Deaver also voted against the ban and didn’t make the list.
  • The list: Steve Allison, Trent Ashby, Dirty Ernie (Bailes), Travis Clardy (“the ringleader of all opposition” according to Burrows), Drew Darby, Kyle Kacal, Stan Lambert, Tan Parker, John Raney, Phil Stephenson.
  • Cahnman also thinks that Burrows is a dead speaker walking.

    There was widespread belief that Bonnen would be easier to work with than former speaker Joe Straus (even by Sullivan), but this year’s legislative session seemed to have just as many conservative bills die in the process as they had under Straus.

    With Burrows down, it’s hard to see how Bonnen survives the scandal as Speaker.

    Who Is Behind “Texas Citizens Coalition”?

    Monday, February 2nd, 2015

    Back in the middle of January I got a four-page flyer form an outfit calling itself the “Texas Citizens Coalition.” The group is headed up by Rosenberg realtor Gary Gates.

    Their ostensible goals sound conservative enough:

    1. A smaller role for government at all levels

    2. The elimination of over-reach and reduced regulation

    3. A pro-business, pro-capitalism environment

    4. Personal responsibility

    All well and good. But why drop a flyer two months after the election?

    My working theory is that Texas Citizens Coalition is another group created with the express purpose of supporting Speaker Joe Straus against his conservative critics.

    Supporting evidence for the theory:

  • One of their first news blurbs is from Straus himself. (The fact that the most recent bit of “Latest News” is from January ninth suggests lack of follow-through on TCC’s part…)
  • Note that every single legislator singled out for praise in page 2 of the flyer was not among those backing Scott Turner for Speaker.
  • Note that many of those praised legislators (Giovanni Capriglione, Tan Parker, Drew Springer and Jason Villalba) were all notable for declaring themselves Straus supporters in November.
  • The only groups that have been dropping flyers to my mailbox post-election have been pro-Straus groups.
  • Finally, I sent an email through their contact address asking if they were formed explicitly to support Straus, and received no reply.
  • If anyone has an alternate explanation, I’d be happy to hear it. Here’s the flyer itself:

    TCC1

    TCC2

    TCC3

    TCC4