So much for family values, moral high ground: Paxton acquittal will hurt Texas GOP | Opinion

The outcome of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial and the events that provoked it have made a mockery of the Republican Party.

The Senate sent a clear message: To be fit to serve as a Republican, you don’t have to be ethical, honest, or faithful to your spouse. You just have to be conservative and politically powerful.

Which of us would teach this ethic to our children?

House leaders may have rushed their impeachment vote, but now the only thing that matters is whether we believe the people who testified.

The former Paxton lieutenants who spoke about his abuse of power, including several whistleblowers, are conservative Republicans with excellent credentials, so there is no reason for them to fabricate.

I believe them.

And so does almost every Republican I’ve visited with since the trial ended.

This political trial’s purpose was to determine whether or not Paxton was fit for office, and the testimony against his fitness was powerful.

According to the whistleblowers’ testimony, the woman with whom he had an affair was granted a job with Nate Paul — a Paxton friend and donor — whom Paxton offered to represent in a Travis County District Court.

Mr. Paxton directed his office to hire an outside attorney, acting as a proxy of the Attorney General’s Office, to represent Paul against the FBI, which was investigating him for making false statements on loan applications.

If that behavior doesn’t disqualify someone from serious public office — an office responsible for upholding the law, no less — what will? The office shouldn’t be for sale or used to do favors for hucksters.

The outcome won’t be what the short-sighted Paxton squad believes.

Do we think that independents are more or less likely to back Republican candidates in November 2024? Less, of course.

That means the party of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris just gained more than a few percentage points in every state contest next year. The only victors were the Democrats, and, unfortunately, they will prove it when they gain seats in 2024.

Meanwhile, energized Paxton supporters, now thumping their chests, are enterprising to cleanse the party of “impure” Republicans.

That’s sanctimonious nonsense.

There is a place for party discipline, but the extent of it has become ridiculous. Targeting conservative stalwart Senator Kelly Hancock for his impeachment votes is an example.

Paxton’s protectors don’t love freedom more than the rest of the party. They don’t believe in small government, lower taxes, a secure border, or the rights of the unborn with more fervor or action.

Surely the Paxton crowd is no longer going to promote family values. They have lost that moral standing.

Too many Republicans believe that the best way to push our agenda is with unchecked belligerence. And they are willing to overlook serious moral failures in our leaders so long as they behave like bullies.

That won’t work. We will lose the votes of independents and drive Democratic turnout.

How do we get back on track? The way forward is to regain our moral footing, articulate our guiding principles, and unify around them as Republicans.

Ronald Reagan took down the Soviet Union with tough talk about the ravages of communism, but he always held open the right hand of friendship to Mikhail Gorbachev. He remained faithful to his wife and cordial to Democratic leaders.

We need that kind of leader again. One who rallies us toward noble ends and whose sound words and demeanor cause moderate Democrats to switch parties.

Reagan built a big-tent party. What we have now is a Paxton pup tent.

If more leaders don’t step up, we will become the minority party in Texas.

This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 5:32 AM.