In 2014, for example, there was a big fight over whether the platform should include a guest-worker programa Texas Solution to the immigration crisis that would allow workers to come from Mexico legally for months at a time. Moreover, inflation, the risk of a recession, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and growing acrimony over race, gender and sexuality make it seem increasingly likely that Democrats will lose the U.S. House in the November midterm elections. Those delegates said Saturday they prefer such conversations happen at home. Oher platform priorities include limiting how much a citizen can donate to their favorite politicians. While many of the platforms demands and recommendations are targeted at specific state-level regulations and policies, one section sticks out for its scope: a wishlist of edits the party would like to see made to the US Constitution itself. 433. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term in the November election, only appeared at a reception on Thursday on the sidelines of the convention. Texas Democratic Party 2022-2024 Platform ADOPTED BY STATE DEMOCRATIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AUGUST 6, 2022 NOTE: GRAMMATICAL AND TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS WILL BE MADE TO THIS DOCUMENT IN A TIMELY MANNER. A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues. Enter your email address * Resources. On Saturday, thousands of Texas Republicans approved a new platform at the 2022 party convention in Houston, and it immediately caused a furor. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Many of the Christian-right niche issues the party platform carves out space for, such as ending no-fault divorce, are dead letters in Trump world. A more aggressive party platform sends a clear message to politicians about where the base is going, Rottinghaus said. June 20, 2022. Texas secession. To save you the queasiness that comes from reading all 40 pages of hateful text, heres a brief rundown of their 2022 platform: 1. However, Republican leaders said repeatedly on Saturday that it was the other side that was a threat to fair elections. Nearly 90% support a vote on TEXIT. We urge that the Voting Rights Act of 1965, codified and updated in 1973, be repealed and not reauthorized. Gov. Before a student may be provided with human sexuality or family planning instruction, the district must obtain the written consent of the students parent or guardian. Texas GOP goes full MAGA at 2022 convention. The themes ran dark, and activists spoke in apocalyptic, even cataclysmic, terms about the state of the country. In June 2022 the state Republican Party adopted a platform espousing anti-LGBTQ views, claiming President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election, and calling for an end to abortion care. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Party platforms are mission statements rather than legal doctrines and, in Texas, they have long reflected the opinions of the most activist wings of the parties. Ensuring freedom to travel by opposing Bidens Clean Energy Plan and California-style, anti-driver policies, including efforts to turn traffic lanes over for use by pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit. They. The Texas Republican Party spent Juneteenth weekend, ironically, finalizing one of the most racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and ageist platforms weve seen in recent years. The Log Cabin Republicans, a group that backs LGBTQ rights, had been banned from placing a booth in the convention hall. June 20 (UPI) -- Republicans in Texas adopted a party platform over the weekend that rejects the results of the 2020 presidential election, calls homosexuality "an abnormal lifestyle choice". The proceedingsclarified how party grandees feel about the platform. Mark P. Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston, said the 2022 platform indicated how emboldened hard-right party activists now feel a far cry from 2020. In addition to the platform, the delegates voted to choose 8 among 15 legislative priorities to be shared with Republican lawmakers ahead of the legislative session that starts in January. Paid for by the Republican Party of Texas and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Typically, the event, in which thousands of activists gather to rub shoulders while elected officials give speeches, can be a dry business. Official Twitter account for the Republican Party of Texas. HOUSTON Meeting at their first in-person convention since 2018, Texas Republicans on Saturday acted on a raft of resolutions and proposed platform changes to move their party even further. The platform also calls for Congress to change the Communications Decency Act and limit online platforms from censoring certain users, a policy initiative Republicans also pushed in the 2022 legislative session. Austin, TX, Release: July 6, 2022 For Immediate Release. I would like to thank the delegates and platform committee members who have put in countless hours to produce this platform. The only thing impairing Texas is our Republican leadership. Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. There simply arent limits now on what the base might ask for.. The Texas GOP argues in their platform that hate crime laws should be repealed because there are already plenty of other laws covering crimes against other persons on the books. Encourage the building and operation of nuclear power plants. The party chair, Matt Rinaldi, ruled that a motion to defend the due process rights of those who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and to reject the narrative that the riot was an insurrection was out of order and could not be voted on. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. The Democratic Party are now a party of chaos. Greg Abbott's anti-refugee policies on November 22, 2015 in Austin, Texas. The Texas Republican Party's new platform also counters President Joe Biden's recent efforts to expand LGBTQ rights through the executive branch. In fact, gender and sexuality are one of the topics most prevalent in the 2022 Texas Republican platform. Donald Trump radicalized the party and accelerated the demands from the base. They even go so far as to refer to Biden as acting president, with some delegates subscribing to the Qanon theory that Trump will be re-installed as president , has gotten out of control amongst the Republican Party. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. They also voted on a platform that declares homosexuality an abnormal lifestyle choice and calls for Texas schoolchildren to learn about the humanity of the preborn child.. Support term limits of twelve years for federal and state offices. Sen. John Cornyn addressing the Texas Republican Convention in Houston, Texas, June 17, 2022. Austin, TX, June 13, 2022 Stump speeches, platform fights, and rules maneuvers are customary at the nation's largest state party convention but it's the more discreet intra-party jostling that makes the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) convention a fascinating event.. Two years removed from the virtual blunder that was the 2020 Texas GOP Convention a makeshift online event after . Their next step is to criminalize abortion, go after Plan B, and restrict birth control. (Current chair Matt Rinaldi, who presided over the convention, called Abbott a petty tyrant two years ago.) The state GOPhas called for the VRAs repeal in every platform in the past decade, well predating Trumps appearance on the scene. Tensions within the party at times got personal. In the platform voted on by . I believe that in the sovereignty of God, you and I were purposely born into this moment, into this confusing time that we face, Campbell said. LGBTQ+ advocates rally at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on May 4, 2021. https://texassignal.com/author/kennedysessions/, Texas lawmaker proposes age-appropriate book bill, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wins re-election race. Before delegates voted on the platform, party activists delivered fiery speeches attacking Democrats. Its free. In case there was any doubt where Texass organised Republicans stand, they have included in their platform the following resolution: We believe that the 2020 election violated Article 1 and 2 of the US Constitution, that various secretaries of state illegally circumvented their state legislatures in conducting their elections in multiple ways, including by allowing ballots to be received after November 3, 2020. Texas lawmakers have not enacted anti-LGBTQ legislation into law this year but have pushed headline-generating anti-LGBTQ policies in other ways. What we put in the standards is factual and balanced, Patricia Hardy, a Republican board member from Fort Worth, told the Tribune Saturday after the platform vote. The, Texas GOP argues in their platform that hate crime laws should be repealed. He promised . Thank you for subscribing - we will be in touch soon! At a convention where several of its more prominent lawmakers were harassed and booed, the Texas Republican Party has passed the latest version of its official platform and it makes for shocking reading. Thats a huge drop from our current two-week early voting periods. b. The platform committee reviews every passed plank, hears public testimony, and further amends the platform. The platform is not a specific programme of legislation, and just because the party has passed it does not mean all or even most of its provisions will be passed into state law, regardless of the fact that Texas currently has a Republican governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state legislature. Linda Coffee Argued Roe v. Wade. Show us with your support. Illustrated | iStock. What this weekend's festivities in Texas make clear is that there is an active and ongoing effort to purge the Republican Party of anyone and everyone who a) criticizes Donald Trump or his. For many right-wingers, this is the highlight of their year. Another indication of dysfunction was who didnt speak. We, the 2022 Republican Party of Texas, believe in this platform and expect our elected leaders to 82 uphold these truths through acknowledgment and action. The Republican Party of Texas has finally released its 2022 platform and the vote totals for each plank. Even worse, they urge the Voting Rights Act of 1965, codified and updated in 1973, be repealed and not reauthorized. Its disappearance would make their attempts as voter disenfranchisement all the easier. 93 - The State Of Police Reform, Part 2 - San Antonio City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, Events celebrating Black History Month across Texas in 2023, Ep. Sen. John Cornyn. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP. As the convention closed, two separate sets of ballots one allowing delegates to choose eight of 15 legislative priorities and another allowing delegates to vote on the 275 platform planks were gathered. Texas Republicans refuse to consider common sense gun laws, even if it means sacrificing the lives . Bylaws; . Heres proof: They want NO gun free zones, unrestricted Constitutional Carry, and entirely, reform agreement thats going through Congress as we speak. This is Donald Trumps party. Think taxpayer money should not fund or subsidize high speed rail. The Texas Republican Party spent Juneteenth weekend, ironically, finalizing one of the most racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and ageist platforms weve seen in recent years. Dan Patrick, who effectively controls the state Senate, addressed the convention, but House Speaker Dade Phelan only spoke at a luncheon, not to the main body of delegates. (The 2022 platform, for instance, opposes decriminalization of drugs but also calls for marijuana to be moved from the federal Schedule 1 to Schedule 2, which would lessen legal penalties.). Within a year of Joe Bidens election to the presidency, Texas passed some of the most restrictive election integrity legislation in the US a package of measures empowering partisan poll watchers while making it harder to vote and much harder to cast a mail-in ballot. Significant gains by Texas Democrats in state House elections in 2018 raised the prospect of the Republican Party losing its dominant status in Texas, making it moderate its platform in 2020 to focus on bread-and-butter issues. WHEREAS, The Medina County Republican Party, at its February 2023 Executive Committee meeting, passed a "Resolution of Censure of United States Congressman Tony Gonzales" which identified, among other grievances, the following five actions taken during the current biennium (which began on June 18, 2022, when the 2022 Republican Party of . In the words of Progress Texas President Ed Espinoza: Normally what happens is, when theres crazy in a party, people try to soften it. 16), the Texas Republican Party victory chairman for 2022. It shouldnt need to be said, but the Confederacy was racist and those who fought for the Confederacy were insurrectionist traitors (much like the current GOP). The newly approved Texas GOP party platform broadly places the culture wars at its core, as the party adopted a slew of new platforms that shift the party further to the right on. They want to get to the point where we can say, Well, no, this is a person. That goes back to biology, back into teaching sex as biology, said Julie Pickren, who told The Texas Tribune that sex education has a place only if it follows state health education standards and is age appropriate. Two themes are clear this year: From formally rejecting President Bidens 2020 win to outlawing LGBTQ+ marriage, the Texas GOP has unabashedly solidified their swing to the far-right. Buy tickets. H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping, West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country. We oppose any identification of citizens by race, origin, creed, sexuality, or lifestyle choices, and oppose use of any such identification for purposes of creating voting districts. While there are already legislative moves underway across the US to curtail what children can be taught about sex, sexual orientation and gender, the Texas GOP platform goes much further instead calling for these subjects to be eradicated from schools altogether: We demand the State Legislature pass a law prohibiting the teaching of sex education, sexual health, or sexual choice or identity in any public school in any grade whatsoever, or disseminating or permitting the dissemination by any party of any material regarding the same. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The Texas Republican Party rejected the results of the 2020 election, labeled being gay as "abnormal" and vowed to protect access to guns in its . The 2022 Platform contains 274 planks, which was streamlined from 337 planks in 2020. By this measure, the 2022 convention of the Republican Party of Texas in Houston was a stunning success. Immigration continued to be a major theme, with delegates lamenting Bidens reversal of Trump-era border policies. Theres An App for That. The Confederacy did not fight for states rights, they fought for the right to hold Black people as property. The new platform follows a series of headline-generating anti-LGBTQ policies proposed by Texas lawmakers. A Federal Judge in Amarillo Could Effectively Ban the Abortion Pill. The Texas Republican Party on Saturday voted on two new party platform planks aimed at barring the teaching of sex and sexuality in schools while simultaneously calling on Texas schools to teach the dignity of the preborn human and that life begins at fertilization. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. KTRK The state party's new platform as posted online as of Sunday states that "homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice" and that, as a party, "We oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity." Abbotts reticence to talk to anyone, including right-wingers, outside of carefully controlled venues isnt news. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Republicans have controlled every statewide elected office in Texas since 1999 and both houses of the Legislature since 2003, so the wishes of the partys populist, pro-Trump base inevitably affect actions taken in Austin. Deeming gender identity disorder a genuine and extremely rare mental health condition, requiring official documents to adhere to biological gender, and allowing civil penalties and monetary compensation to de-transitioners who have received gender-affirming surgery, which the platform calls a form of medical malpractice. Greg Abbottorderedthe states child welfare agency to investigate child abuse claims filed against parents who might be providing their trans children with gender-affirming medical care. The 2022 platform adopted all planks presented in the Committee Report at the statewide convention, plus 2 planks presented on the floor of the convention. 95 - The State Of Abortion Care in Texas with AVOW and Jane's Due Process, Ep. Disclosure: Rice University and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Texas' rightward push was clear in ways beyond the party platform. Five shocking proposals from the Texas GOP's radical new platform Republicans in the US's second-largest state have formulated a political programme that's extreme even by their party's. Unfortunately, the ball is already rolling in their direction. 10. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom. Amending the Texas Constitution to remove the Legislatures power to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.. f. Support a constitutional amendment making English the official language of the United States, and one of no more than two official languages of all US territories and other possessions. The Texas Republican party adopted a new platform on Saturday that refers to homosexuality as "abnormal" and "opposes all efforts to validate transgender . The Republican Party of Texas released its 2022 platform today. (When Cornyn spoke of the pain the families in Uvalde must feel after the school shooting, shouts of No gun control filled the room. Weve previously shot down Republican talking points on guns, yet it seems no matter how many Texans lose their lives, young or old, the GOPs guns will remain more important than life itself. June 24, 2022. It is not a Trumpian idea in Texas, however. It seems hard to believe that Trump, a veteran of the New York nightclub scene in the seventies and eighties, cares about tormenting transgender children and their families nearly as much as many Texas Republican officials do. But it would be tough for even the most ideological legislators to adopt the planks wholesale: they are always a jumble of often-contradictory messages. Sergio Martnez-Beltrn, The Texas Newsroom. by Kennedy Sessions | Jun 20, 2022 | News, Republican Party. Capo said the platform plank banning the teaching of sexual matters appears to violate Title IX, which protects against sex-based discrimination, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Consider, for example, the proceedings in 2014, when convention delegates got ready to pass a platform that endorsed net neutrality, a regulatory measure supported by internet companies and opposed by telecom companies. However, the hardline nature of the platform is nonetheless indicative of where the states Republican base stands. HOUSTON The Republican Party of Texas has controlled every lever of state government since 2003, and notched major victories last year on voting, redistricting, abortion, school curriculums. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. CALL FOR TEXAS TO SECEDE FROM THE U.S. Yeah, theyre on this bullshit again. It demands repealing the Affordable Care Act, which the platform calls in the proposal unconstitutional.. The mood of this convention was not hopeful. Critics say that booklet, written by the state, includes scientifically unsupported claims and shames women seeking abortion care. It shouldn't need to be said, but the Confederacy was racist and those who fought for the Confederacy were insurrectionist traitors (much like the current GOP). Welcome to the Texas Legislative Round-up! Declaring all businesses and jobs as essential and a fundamental right, a response to COVID-19 mandates by Texas cities that required customers to wear masks and limited business hours. Texas Republicans did well in the 2020 elections even though Biden won 46.5% of the Texas vote, the highest proportion for a Democrat since 1976 and this year, culture-war issues were once again at front and center. Everything is topsy-turvy. Throughout the years there were also libertarians and chamber of commerce types and tea party activists all fighting for their priorities. The misery, the crime, the drug abuse, the high gas prices are all by design, so that the Democratic Party can permanently transform society. President of the United States since 2021, restrictive election integrity legislation. End of sentence. Axioss write-up concurred: Texas GOP goes full MAGA.. Vote. Oppose packing (or enlarging) the United States Supreme Court and supports the pending Keep Nine Amendment as filed in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. We believe that substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results in five key states in favor of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.