Tony, Pretty MuchMay 27, 2023

Republicans should be nervous if this is happening in places like Texas. Sure, Paxton’s extra corrupt and it’s been ignored by the Texas legislature for too long, but accountability is what matters. And those who enabled him won’t be forgotten.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached, suspended from duties |
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/ken-paxton-impeached-texas-attorney-general/

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached, suspended from duties

The House voted 121-23 to suspend the attorney general and refer him to the Senate for trial on charges of bribery, abuse of office and obstruction. It was the first such impeachment since 1975.

The Texas Tribune
Show threadStacey CampbellMay 28, 2023

@TonyStark A lot of media is tiptoeing around identifying the Paxton impeachment as a manifestation of the inevitable GOP schism we all saw coming years ago.

Lindsay Graham said it out loud in 2016 with "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it."

Show threadTony, Pretty MuchMay 28, 2023
@stacey_campbell Great point. I’m not surprised to see it underplayed. It’s a bigger deal than many want to admit.
Show threadDerek KompareMay 28, 2023
@TonyStark @stacey_campbell There’s been a long-simmering war here in TX between the old-school GWB-type country club GOPers and the true-believing culture warriors, going back at least a decade. This is a state gov’t where those true-believers currently hold the reins while the former, dwindling group accedes to them. The turn against Paxton (a textbook corrupt culture warrior) is a pretty unprecedented public spillover of this rift.
Show threadDerek KompareMay 28, 2023
@TonyStark @stacey_campbell Unfortunately, there’s not much Democrats can do here to capitalize on it enough in the short term to flip the state, due to gerrymandering and suppression, and the GOP’s all-out war against blue cities (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso in particular).
Show threadFemme Malheureuse
@dkompare @TonyStark @stacey_campbell Should be a subject of discussion right now anyhow though — how to optimize fragmentation within the right to the benefit of opposition. You can be the right-wing has been having the same conversation and trying to rally all behind conservative touchstones.
May 28, 2023 at 6:41pmWeb