As Texas Gov. Greg. Abbott faces competition in the upcoming Republican primary election, one county’s Republican Party could be kickstarting a movement to censure him.
In the summer of 2020, Abbott closed Texas businesses leaving Texans unsure of their next paycheck, instituted state-wide mask mandates, and utilized overreaching executive authority to handle pandemic affairs.
County GOP’s, including Montgomery, Denton, Hood, Ector, Harrison, and Llano reacted by formally censuring Abbott for violating republican principles of government.
Last night, the Wise County GOP also voted to censure Abbott in a unanimous vote of 17-0, declaring that he has once again violated the principles of the Republican Party of Texas, potentially paving the way for more counties to follow suit.
They cited first Abbott’s failure to call a fourth special session to protect Texans from vaccine mandates. Abbott has ignored the repeated requests for legislative intercession by the Republican Party of Texas, 30 Republican lawmakers, and conservative grassroots leaders as Texans throughout the state face loss of employment.
Next, Abbott’s failure to protect children from chemical castration and genital mutilation procedures was cited as a “violation of RPT Principle 1, which supports adherence to “The laws of nature and nature’s God.”
Despite three special sessions in which the governor controls the agenda items for the legislature, Abbott never placed protecting children from gender mutilation on his agenda.
The Wise County GOP listed multiple other failures on the part of Abbott including his failure to defend Texas’ southern border from the invasion of illegal border crossers, his failure to protect the Texas Military from federal “extremism” training, his decision to legislate from executive order rather than observe the separation of powers, and his overreaching executive intervention in mandating masks and shutdowns.
A censure is a tool for local activists frustrated with their elected Republican representatives to formally reprimand them for decisions made that violate principles of the party. It was adopted in 2016 at the Texas GOP convention and considered a win by the activists who elect Republican representatives and then send them to Austin where they renege on their campaign promises.
The full Wise County resolution can be read below:
WHEREAS, the preamble to the Platform of the Republican Party of Texas declares, ‘We strive to preserve the freedom given to us by God, implemented by our Founding Fathers, and embodied in the Constitution’; and
WHEREAS, Rule 44 of the Republican Party of Texas allows the party to censure a Republican office holder who takes three or more actions during a biennium in opposition to the core principles of the Republican Party of Texas platform; and
WHEREAS, Texans are being fired due to federal vaccine mandates, and the Texas GOP has called for a special session, Governor Greg Abbott has refused to call one and allow for legislative protections, in violation of RPT Principle 9 which supports, ‘A free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies, ‘and
Whereas, Governor Greg Abbott has blocked legislation banning the sexual transitioning of Texas minors through genital mutilation surgery, chemical castration, and brainwashing by refusing to place the issue on the call during the special session even after a majority of legislators in both chambers supported the legislation, and has withheld his support from such legislation on multiple occasions, while then trying to cover up his lack of support, with executive action that doesn’t fully protect children, in violation of RPT Principle 1, which supports adherence to “The laws of nature and nature’s God”, and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott has failed to adequately protect the southern border of Texas from foreign invasion as allowed in Article 1, Section 10 of the US Constitution which calls out the rights of the states to protect themselves against an invasion, in violation of RPT Principle 3, which supports preserving American and Texas sovereignty, and
WHEAREAS, Article 1, Section 24 of Texas Bill of Rights affirms that the military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil authority, and that Governor Greg Abbott, as commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces, has failed to stop the indoctrination of our Texas troops via federally mandated “extremism” training, which designates anyone on the right side of the political aisle (including Texas citizens), as a threat to our country, in violation of RPT Principle 3, which supports preserving Texas sovereignty, and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott acted in disregard of the Texas Constitution Art. II, Sec 1, and the constitutional separation of powers when he exceeded his constitutional authority as governor by repeatedly creating law via executive order, bypassing the legislature in violation of RPT Principle 1, which supports, ‘strict adherence to the original language and intent of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States and of Texas,’ and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott, closed courts in violation of Article 1, Sec 13 of the TX Bill of Rights; closed beaches in violation of Article 1, Sec 33, expanded the authority to close churches to county and municipal authorities in violation of Article 1, Section 6, in violation of RPT Principle 4, which supports limiting government power to those items enumerated in the United States and Texas Constitutions, and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott exceeded his constitutional authority as governor by repeatedly creating law via executive order and awarding a $295 million contract for contact tracing without legislative approval or oversight, in violation of RPT Principle 4, which supports, ‘Limiting government power to those items enumerated in the United States and Texas Constitutions,’ and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott mandated masks, limited gatherings, closed businesses, and mandated how people should conduct their personal interactions against their will under threat of fines, in violation of RPT Principle 5 which supports, ‘Personal accountability and responsibility,’ and
WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott, in violation of Article 1, Sec 17 of the TX Bill of rights, shut down private businesses causing millions of Texans to face unemployment, treating certain people as ‘unessential,’ further harassing small business owners with bureaucratic regulations, picked winners and losers, and devastated the Texas economy in violation of RPT Principle 9 which supports, ‘A free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies,’
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, In accordance with Rule 44 of the Rules of the Republican Party of Texas, the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Wise County, meeting January_____, 2022, a quorum being present, by a vote of at least two-thirds present and voting, hereby censures Governor Greg Abbott, a public office holder representing the entirety of Wise County, for actions violating more than three of the core principles of the RPT platform;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, We request this censure be considered and sustained by the delegates of the Republican Party State Convention assembled, and that the penalties provided in RPT Rule 44 be imposed.
