LeftOut

Elephants Stampede RINOs
A battle for control of the Texas Republican Party
by Daryl Moore

Last month, Texas Republicans met and passed their new state-party platform. After looking at what came out of their convention, it's clearer now than ever that the Texas Republican Party is run by religious extremists who are looking for ways to force all Republican candidates to tow the party's fundamentalist line or move over for someone who will.

After days of heated debate, Republican Party delegates approved a party platform that declared the United States a "Christian nation," favored posting the Ten Commandments on public property (such as courthouses and libraries), and called for the repeal of the Texas lottery. The new platform also expresses the party's belief that Americans need to "dispel the myth of the separation of church and state." In other words, the platform expresses the delegates' desire to do away with government altogether and let the religious zealots run the state.

Having taken control of the party and passing a platform that should scare anyone who is not straight, white, and married with 2.2 children (and many of those who are), the zealots now want to make sure that all Republican office-holders and candidates promote the platform. Specifically, the zealots attempted to pass a rule change that would have denied party financing to any Republican candidate who refused to answer a survey and demonstrate that they agree with various planks in the platform, e.g., abortion rights and same-sex marriage. By pushing the rule change, the zealots hoped to search and destroy the "RINOs" in the party. (RINO is an acronym for those in the party the zealots refer to as "Republicans In Name Only" or, in other words, those who run as Republicans but are pro-choice or favor gay rights.)

After an ugly debate within the party, the proposed rule change failed. And at least for another election cycle, moderate Republicans will still be able to run as Republicans. But the Republicans will meet again in two more years‹and the zealots will try again to make sure that all Republican candidates are nothing more than pawns of the religious right.

The zealots have many in the Republican Party more than a little worried. The non-zealots realize that the Republican Party did not take control of the governorship, the lieutenant governorship, the Senate, the State Board of Education, and all nine seats on the Texas Supreme Court by positioning itself out of the mainstream.

The RINOs know that if the zealots garner enough support to pass their proposed rule change, only fellow zealots will be permitted to run as Republicans. This will drive soccer moms, moderates, and independents back to the Democratic Party. It happened in 1992 when Pat Buchanan was permitted to hate-monger during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention at the expense of George Bush (the senior).

Now actually, as a yellow-dog Democrat, the prospect of the Republicans driving large numbers of people out of their party and to the Democratic Party is more than a little exciting. But I have to admit that the thought of them doing so also makes me just a little nervous. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. They have an incredible ability to do a significant amount of harm in a short period of time. Just ask any RINO.