Texas Republicans must save party from conspiracy swamp. Step 1: Springer for Senate
Texas Republicans turned back a major Democratic push in November’s elections. They held legislative and congressional seats amid huge voter turnout, a strong indication that Texans rejected the progressive agenda Democrats promised.
But some Republicans seem determined to test the bounds of voters’ patience. Members of the party’s far right embrace conspiracy theories and attack the governor who will probably lead their statewide ticket in 2022.
Sensible Republicans need to stand up and say that this isn’t where they want their party to go. Many in North Texas have an opportunity to do so in a runoff election between two Republicans to fill a state Senate seat.
Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster, a House veteran, represents the type of conservative leadership that has given Republicans more than two decades of dominance in Texas. He’s the right choice in District 30, which wraps around Tarrant County and includes Parker, Wise and Palo Pinto counties, along with parts of Denton and Collin. (Early voting is under way through Dec. 15, and Election Day is Dec. 19.)
Springer’s legislative experience and knowledge of the district, which overlaps with much of his House territory, will give him a head start in the Senate. He is positioned to represent both the rural and fast-growing exurban parts of the sprawling District 30.
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His opponent, Shelley Luther of Pilot Point, is the salon owner who rocketed to fame by defying business shutdown orders early in the coronavirus pandemic. For a political neophyte, her ability to tap into populist fervor around that and other issues has been impressive.
But for a glimpse of the problems associated with that viewpoint, look no further than the Dallas rally at which Luther spoke Saturday. Promoted by the state GOP, it featured the usual grievances about the supposedly stolen election, immigration and “RINOs.”
One of the prominent speakers was from Alex Jones’ Infowars, the nutty conspiracist network. Jones is famous for, among other shameful episodes, declaring the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut a hoax.
The Infowars host at the rally, Owen Shroyer, didn’t stoop to quite that level. But he made a crass joke at the expense of Gov. Greg Abbott’s wheelchair use. It’s not the first time critics on Abbott’s right have gone there, indicating the level of intelligence and tact involved.
Abbott’s decisions during the pandemic were by no means perfect. But it was a challenge unlike any political leaders have faced in decades, and he has been steady in marshaling resources and warning of the ongoing risk to public health. Unlike leaders in some states, he has sought a balance between virus mitigation and economic devastation.
It’s ironic, of course, that Luther is among his critics after Abbott, along with other Texas Republican leaders, bent over backwards to exonerate her violation of his orders. Now, Luther says it’s time he faces a primary challenge. Abbott has endorsed Springer in the runoff, prompting the salon owner to say Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, is “not even smart enough to know that him endorsing my opponent is better for me.”
In the heat of an intra-party campaign, such battles are not uncommon. But it’s bizarre to see official party figures such as chairman Allen West agitating against Abbott and other leaders more than they target Democrats.
West has been in the thick of protests against the governor, even within weeks of Election Day, when you’d think the party chairman would have other, more urgent tasks. While West did that and led important efforts such as shouting at a Joe Biden campaign bus, Abbott, the two-term Republican stalwart elected statewide several times, used his own political capital to help the GOP keep its state House majority.
Leaders like Abbott and Springer understand that governing — delivering actual results, not just red-meat rhetoric for the furthest fringe of the base — will help Texas Republicans keep control for years to come.
Republican voters who care about that should stand up and make sure their party represents them, too, starting with the District 30 Senate election.
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 11:08 AM.