When the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature convenes at noon today, members of the House will select a new speaker. There is an official nominee from the GOP caucus, but some Republicans have said they will instead support someone favored by the Democrats.
Yesterday, we asked if Republicans who oppose the GOP caucus nominee should be punished.
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Here is a sampling of the comments we received from our readers after they voted in the survey.
“All Republicans should stand shoulder to shoulder and vote together or you should remove yourself from the party… period!” – John Morrison
“Censure them! They should not be allowed to run on the Republican Party Primary ballot after years of scheming to tank the Republican Party priorities!” – Lori Gallagher
“Time to start removing Donkeys from the herd of Elephants! Permanently.” – Tom Gavin
“It’s very simple. REPUBLICANS should follow their own rules! If they don’t, they should WITHDRAW from our party. There now – that didn’t hurt a bit, did it?” – Dana Kay
“The real question is: why do voters continue to support RINOs?” – Randy Schroder
“This is Texas, not California. I am sick to death of political manipulation for the personal enrichment of politicians” – Diana Firestone
“We have a partisan, Two-Party System; 99.9% of D’s understand this. It is about time that the R’s got this same message.” – Rowland Greenwade
“Yes, Republicans need to act like Republicans. If I wanted a Democrat, I would have voted for one.” – Pat Hoffman
“My message to Republican House members: What you do affects ALL Texans. I do not live in your district, but trust me, I will do everything possible to help a worthy challenger if you do not stand up to your responsibilities as a Republican. That goes for the Speaker vote and every action during the 89th Session. We’ll be watching!” – Fran Rhodes
“Republican lawmakers should support the Republican speaker voice as an act of representing the people that voted them in.” – Diana Koen
“We desperately need to get a conservative REPUBLICAN to lead the Texas House. There are millions of us who are sick and tired of allowing Democrats to wield the power they have been allowed to wield when they have been soundly defeated at the ballot box. Let’s do what we can to ensure a successful conservative House session.” – Charles Busbey
“The RINO Bonnen/Phelan fiasco MUST BE STOPPED and NEVER BE ALLOWED AGAIN.” – Karen Stinnett
“If you’re a Republican, you should vote like a Republican. If you don’t, then you are not a Republican.” – Chuck Breedlove
“I would love to see my RINO representative denied access to the ballot should she choose to run again. She continues to support the Phelan cabal and she ran unopposed in the primary this last election. I didn’t vote for her.” – Kimery McKaskle