The GOP establishment is in an uncomfortable spot. On the one hand, they want to give the lobby everything it asks for. On the other, they want lobby legislaotrs reelected. If only those darn constituents would get with the program.
Their current strategy is to put heavy pressure for the grassroots to change their politics – to get with the 21st Century liberal program.
Too bad for this strategy, the Harris County GOP has priorities putting it squarely on the side of the conservative grassroots. Here are some of them:
•Move the Texas primary up to the first Tuesday in February
•Support Toth’s bill to keep the federal government from our guns
•Support the pre-born baby pain bill
•Fight the repeal of definition of marriage being between one man and one woman
•Fight the proposal to have Texans vote on gambling
The Harris County GOP priorities are about the long term health of the state, a turn of mind the establishment likes to mock.
The establishment priorities are about maintaining the health and prosperity of various bureaucracies and crony political contributors. That is the “real business” that they’ll tell you the “real adults” care about. This is a convenient group excuse that gives them moral cover to do everything the lobby wants.
The priorities for the establishment are getting more money spent on infrastructure without having to make a real case for needing it, and without any of the reform taxpayers and parents of schoolchildren badly want. To boot, this is a lobby directive that the grassroots, according to polling, isn’t interested in.
The Chronicle blog piece was written by a Harris County GOP meeting attendee. He was even treated well by his hosts, as he recounts, when they recognized him as a Republican blogger in the county.
In return, he wrote a piece about how depressing it is that the GOP grassroots is still so backward.
Kudos to the Harris County GOP for their steadfastness, and their hospitality.