It’s Time to McCarthy Dade Phelan

Writing a political column for the Dock Line Magazine every month was an opportunity that I mistakenly thought would be an easy task for me. After all, politics is more than just a hobby for me, it really has become a passion. However, the state of American politics has become such an unmitigated disaster with the election of Joe Biden, that one struggles to decide what topic to write about each month. From the Covid measures to the withdrawal from Afghanistan, from overt and obvious corruption of the Biden Crime Family to the weaponization of the Department of Justice against former President Trump, to the worst economy since President Carter to the crumbling power and might of American diplomacy across the world, to the ever emerging police state that the Democratic Party seems to be embracing at all levels of government, the United States is reeling from the Marxist policies of the Left flank. Ukraine has been invaded by an emboldened Russia, we have spent billions of dollars in military aid, China threatens Taiwan, and now Hamas has unleashed the worst terror attack against our friend and ally Israel in its short 75-year history. The Democrats have proven that they are not deserving of any form of leadership in our republic at any level.

So, you can imagine the shock that came with the historic removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives earlier this month. With the economy in shambles, our foreign policy crumbling, and an impeachment inquiry revealing hard evidence of corruption at the highest levels of our government, now was not the time to pull the trigger on this ill planned scheme. It took 15 ballots to elect McCarthy Speaker this last January, and one can only hope that the House Republicans will be able to reconcile their caucus to avoid such an embarrassment once again. The only silver lining is if Republicans were to come together to elect Jim Jordan (R) Ohio as Speaker. But alas, I have long given up hope for politics in the swamp that is Washington DC.

However, there is one more silver lining that can be gleaned from the ill-conceived removal of Speaker McCarthy, it shows that such a thing is indeed possible, and as such, the blue print should be immediately implemented in the Special Session in the Texas Legislature for Speaker Dade Phelan. Dade Phelan is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, and the House members should make a motion to “Vacate the Chair”. Phelan appeared to be intoxicated on May 22 during the regular session. He can be seen slurring his words, forgetting what county other members are from, and struggling to even recognize members, all while conducting the business of the House. Now perhaps there is a reason other intoxication for this, but it certainly causes worry and concern.

He also rammed through a disastrous impeachment of the duly elected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton. No witnesses for the impeachment were placed under oath for their testimony, and the so called evidence that was used to file charges were completely destroyed in the Senate trial. Witnesses in that very trial admitted under testimony in the Senate that “there was no evidence” to bring the case forward. These two facts alone are enough to warrant the motion to vacate the chair, they are far more reason that Matt Gaetz had for making his motion in Congress at the very least. But wait, there is more. Recently Texas Score Card has released a damning documentary entitled  The Texas Heist: Do Democrats Run the Texas House? The documentary makes a compelling case that Dade Phelan along with a handful of other “so called Republicans” in the Texas House have colluded with Democrats to run rough shod over the Conservative agenda that is passed by the grass roots of the Republican Party of Texas.

Every two years the Texas GOP elects delegates for the State convention. Out of that convention comes new rules that govern the party, as well as our legislative priorities. One of the most impassioned priorities was aimed directly at the Texas House. It was to get rid of Democrat Chairs. That’s right, of the 34 different committees in the Texas House, 8 of them are chaired by Democrats. This is unheard of in any other legislative body, could you imagine Nancy Pelosi putting Jim Jordan in charge of the Judiciary Committee if the Democrats had the majority? Yet, Speaker Phelan has done just that, he has kept Democrats in House leadership despite their illegal maneuver in the 87th Legislature to break quorum and flee to Washington, DC.

There is more still. The fact that we are in a Special Session called by Governor Abbott is completely the fault of Texas House leadership. Almost every agenda item is Republican Legislative Priority that was not realized in the regular session. These bills passed the Texas Senate, yet never made it out of committee in the House. The priorities include “Secure the Border and Protect Texas”, and “Parental Rights and Educational Freedom”. It appears that Dade Phelan and his “dirty dozen” as mentioned by Texas Score Card aren’t interested in pursuing the will of the voters in Texas.

The 3rd Special Session started on Monday, October 9th. Within days the Texas Senate had passed bills that addressed the agenda as laid out by Governor Abbott, meanwhile the Texas House squandered literally half of the Special Session by adjourning until Monday, October 23. Not a committee hearing scheduled, nothing on the calendar, and no real work accomplished. The primary duty of the Speaker of the House is to run the agenda of the House, something that is impossible to accomplish if Dade Phelan doesn’t even lift a finger to move in that direction.

Impolite Company is all about having a civil discourse on matters that you “aren’t supposed to talk about in polite company”. This author will never demand that you agree with the opinions expressed here. However, it seems cut and dry that Dade Phelan isn’t interested in getting the job done for Republicans. Republicans have controlled every statewide office since 1994. We control the Governor’s mansion, the State Senate, and I am told that we control the House. Any person paying a modicum of attention can see that the Democratic Party’s policies at every level have led to ruin and disaster as I spelled out in my opening. Still Dade Phelan wants to work with Democrats! Don’t take my word for it, Speaker Phelan can tell you himself.

“The issues facing our great state will require thorough conversations and collaboration inside the Texas House, and our chamber does its best work when lawmakers use their skill sets and strengths to work together and build consensus,” (Dade Phelan, 8 Feb 2023)

Phelan has proven that he cannot accomplish the Legislative Priorities of the grass roots of the Texas GOP, he refuses to allow Republicans to run the Republican led Texas House, he has wasted time and money pursuing an unconscionable impeachment of the Attorney General with no evidence, no sworn testimony under oath, and no due process offered to the accused. If he was in fact intoxicated while wielding the gavel in the House on duty, he should be removed, not only as Speaker, but removed as member of the Texas House of Representatives. If you agree, call your State Representative today.