Texans need to be asking all candidates during election season what reforms they plan on passing in 2021. We should not be satisfied with pats on the head.
Politicians always want something from you during election season: your vote, money, time, contacts. They want you to support them.
Republicans will usually say, “I’m a Christian conservative, a Reagan Republican. I’m pro-life, pro-family, support the Second Amendment, and I’ll cut regulations and your property taxes.”
But then they don’t do any of it. Despite being a Republican-majority state, the notorious 2019 “purple” legislative session of Democrat appeasement resulted in only one of the GOP’s official priorities being enacted into law.
That isn’t good enough.
As an example, let’s examine the pro-life issue, which has bi-partisan support among Texas voters. While Republican politicians tout Texas as a leader in protecting life, the state now trails many others in protecting the unborn and vulnerable.
Recent years have seen many states pass laws to strictly limit abortion, but not Texas.
For example, State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) chaired the committee that ultimately killed an “abolition of abortion” bill over disagreements with his colleagues. But why didn’t any version make it to the floor for a vote? He claims to be a pro-life champion but ended up treating pro-life priorities like easily discarded party favors.
Nearly a third of the Texas House was signed on as co-authors to Rep. Briscoe Cain’s “heartbeat bill,” but it was killed by disgraced Speaker Dennis Bonnen when he sent it to a Democrat-run committee.
Of course, neither a “heartbeat” nor an “abolition” bill was never even filed in the GOP-run Senate overseen by “pro-life” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Is “pro-life” just a campaign talking point for the Republican majority? That’s what the results indicate.
Has Lt. Gov. Patrick, Mr. Leach, or anyone else in legislative leadership made any public commitment on what pro-life measures they will push in 2021? Or is the plan yet again to demand Texans “vote red” because “we aren’t as bad as the Democrats”?
Pro-life voters can be forgiven for no longer seeing much practical difference.
As citizens, right now, ahead of the November election, we should demand specific commitments. Not happy words, not pats on the head, or rhetorical generalities about beliefs. Right now, Texans deserve real answers and real plans from Republicans.