{"id":2085017,"date":"2023-10-31T08:10:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T12:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-failed-impeachment-of-ken-paxton-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-gops-intra-party-feuds\/"},"modified":"2023-10-31T08:16:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T12:16:59","slug":"texas-failed-impeachment-of-ken-paxton-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-gops-intra-party-feuds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-failed-impeachment-of-ken-paxton-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-gops-intra-party-feuds\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas&#8217; unsuccessful impeachment of Ken Paxton reveals the GOP&#8217;s internal conflicts."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-failed-impeachment-of-ken-paxton-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-gops-intra-party-feuds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2085017&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Impeachment of Ken Paxton: A Battle Within the\u200c Republican Party<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The impeachment\u200d of thrice-elected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by\u200d the Texas House of Representatives in May drew national\u2063 attention to\u2062 the internecine quarrels between conservatives and moderates within the Republican Party in the Lone Star\u200b State.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Even The Wall\u200c Street Journal took sides, erroneously \u2064predicting Paxton\u2019s demise (in an intemperate \u200ccolumn\u2063 by\u2062 Karl Rove titled \u200d\u201cThe End Is Near for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u201d). Paxton\u2019s \u2062resounding acquittal of all 16 articles of\u200d impeachment by the \u200cTexas Senate\u2062 in September, following a costly nine-day \u2062trial presided over by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, after \u2062just eight hours of deliberation, \u2064only exacerbated the intra-party feud that\u2062 began in 2014 when Paxton\u2062 \u2014 a Tea Party favorite \u2014\u200d disrupted the AG race by defeating an establishment rival endorsed by George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-986018111\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b30d385eba84799e8d7aa639e95113b8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b30d385eba84799e8d7aa639e95113b8\"><\/div>\n<p>Paxton\u2019s exoneration (risibly reported by the WSJ as \u201cPaxton\u2062 Avoids\u200b Conviction\u201d) did not\u200c diminish the hubris of his establishment opponents. The WSJ, which had devoted considerable ink\u200c to attacking Paxton and advocating his removal from office, proved to be a sore loser, accusing Patrick and the Texas Senate of corruption, without citing any evidence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s now obvious the fix \u2062was in from the start,\u201d the\u200c WSJ opined, eliciting a blistering rebuttal from Patrick, who pointed out the obvious: The House\u2019s \u200cimpeachment case against Paxton was slipshod and full of holes. Paxton\u2019s\u2062 superb lawyers methodically tore \u2064the meritless case to shreds.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/11\/the-case-against-ken-paxton-is-all-hat-no-cattle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">[READ: The Case Against Ken Paxton Is All Hat, No Cattle]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conservatives vs. \u2018Establishment\u2019 Republicans<\/h2>\n<p>For decades, Texas has been\u200b a\u2064 Republican state, and both houses of the\u2064 Texas legislature are\u2064 majority Republican. All\u2063 of the players (Paxton, Patrick, and impeachment proponent \u200cHouse\u200c Speaker\u200c Dade Phelan) are technically on the same team \u2014 the GOP. Why, \u2063then, would one faction of the\u2063 GOP commence an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anheuser-busch-heir-says-bud-light-ad-campaign-would-make-ancestors-rolled-in-their-graves\/\" title=\"Anheuser-Busch heir disapproves of Bud Light ad campaign, claims ancestors would be appalled.\">ill-conceived campaign<\/a> of political lawfare against a popular statewide elected official who was\u2064 just reelected with more \u200bthan \u200b4 million votes and enjoyed the unwavering support of the Texas Republican Party?<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3440650ac2120080379b16d4fd31f8bd fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3440650ac2120080379b16d4fd31f8bd\"><\/div>\n<p>The schism results from a struggle for \u200bcontrol, between the state\u2019s conservatives (who view Paxton as their champion) and \u201cestablishment\u201d Republicans who despise the grassroots. As I wrote in \u20622017, \u201cIntra-party\u2062 grudges can be even \u2063more rancorous [than partisan disputes],\u2064 especially in a one-party state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The establishment represents the interests of the state\u2019s dynamic business community, which \u2014 thanks\u200d to GOP policies \u2014 has become a powerful juggernaut in Texas. \u2063Due \u2062to the leadership of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a well-funded statewide group \u200dfounded in the 1990s \u200bwhen the state\u2019s legal system \u2063was hijacked by the plaintiffs\u2019 bar and Texas earned the unsavory \u200cmoniker \u201clawsuit capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, Texas\u2019s civil justice \u2064system is a model of sensible reform. TLR took back the Texas legislature and judiciary (which \u2064is \u2062elected) from trial lawyers \u2014 a remarkable\u2063 accomplishment. Disclosure: I have spoken, \u2062written, \u200cand donated in support of TLR.<\/p>\n<p>Having vanquished the plaintiffs\u2019 bar, TLR, instead\u200b of disbanding, <em>expanded<\/em> its agenda beyond civil justice reform \u2064per \u2062se,\u200d advocating \u2064things like a\u2062 Delaware-style specialized business court, education reforms, \u2064and other \u201cgood government\u201d measures. Call it mission \u200dcreep. TLR, one of the most influential PACs in Texas, became a\u200d utility infielder for the state\u2019s flourishing business community. TLR supports both Democrat and Republican candidates, so long as they hew to TLR\u2019s evolving agenda. Woke corporate America, however, increasingly favors leftist policies.\u200d The chamber of commerce, \u2062once a Republican mainstay, is now often aligned <em>against<\/em> \u2062 conservatives.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-be99f7fab24d41bd624de40752ab5b59 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-be99f7fab24d41bd624de40752ab5b59\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paxton vs. Texans for Lawsuit Reform<\/h2>\n<p>In 2022, TLR decided to oppose\u2063 Paxton\u2019s reelection as AG, not because he crossed the aisle \u2063on civil justice issues, but because TLR\u2019s corporate donors tired of his populist, evangelical-friendly, and Trump-endorsed \u200crecord, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-failed-impeachment-of-ken-paxton-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-gops-intra-party-feuds\/\" title=\"Texas' unsuccessful impeachment of Ken Paxton reveals the GOP's internal conflicts.\">included taking legal positions \u200bdisfavored<\/a> by Big Tech and Big Pharma. Eva Guzman, a popular TLR-backed justice on the Texas Supreme Court, resigned from the bench to\u2062 run against Paxton for AG in the March 2022\u200c Republican\u200b primary, \u2063and TLR quickly \u200cendorsed her. TLR\u2019s stated rationale for switching its support (having previously backed Paxton in the\u2064 2014 and 2018\u200c general \u200celections) was that Paxton \u200dwas \u201cdamaged goods\u201d and, if nominated, was likely to\u200b be defeated by the Democratic candidate for AG.<\/p>\n<p>Despite running a well-funded campaign, with generous \u200csupport from \u2062TLR\u200c donors, Guzman finished third\u200d in a four-person field, with\u200d 17.7 percent of the vote, barely out-polling late-entrant Louis Gohmert. \u200dThis\u2062 was an\u200b embarrassment for TLR.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton, with 42.7 percent of the vote, faced a runoff against second-place finisher George P. Bush, who drew 22.8 percent. Bush, son of Jeb and nephew \u200bof George\u2063 W., had previously served two tumultuous terms \u200das Texas Land Commissioner. \u2063The May \u20642022 runoff was a blowout, with Paxton beating Bush by more than a two-to-one margin: 68 percent to 32 percent. Paxton handily won\u200b the\u200c general election in November, drawing 4.2 million votes and beating \u200chis Democrat opponent by 10 points. \u2064Contrary to\u2064 TLR\u2019s stated rationale, Paxton was not vulnerable after all, despite all the money TLR spent attacking \u200chim\u2063 in the primary.<\/p>\n<p>The invincible TLR had egg on its \u2062face. Perhaps \u200choping that Bush would be appointed to replace Paxton in the event of an impeachment, documents \u2064and emails obtained via subpoena \u200cby the \u2062Paxton legal team suggest that TLR \u200cmobilized its\u200c loyal minions in the Texas House, led by Phelan, to orchestrate a\u200b baseless impeachment vote, and then worked behind the scenes to undermine Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>Emails reveal that Dick Trabulsi, TLR\u2019s co-founder and longstanding chairman, coordinated with\u200c Bush family consiglieri \u2063and TLR-ally Karl Rove\u2062 to place an anti-Paxton op-ed in the WSJ, \u200dpurportedly written by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The column, titled \u201cKen Paxton and the Constitution,\u201d\u200c ran on \u2063Aug. 24. The actual submission\u200d was made by TLR\u2019s\u200c comms director, not Perry himself or his \u2062staff. Internal emails (with Rove \u2064noting that \u201cHennessey liked it. Hence the quick \u200bapproval and edit.\u201d) indicate that Rove was also in contact with the WSJ\u2019s editors regarding the submission.<\/p>\n<p>After \u200cthe \u201cPerry\u201d\u2062 column ran, Trabulsi congratulated \u200bRove with an email stating, \u201cYou delivered a good, succinct history lesson today.\u201d Rove responded, \u201cGlad you liked it.\u201d Perry does not appear as an addressee on the entire thread. It would appear that the column was ghostwritten by Rove and placed by TLR in a last-ditch \u2062attempt to\u200c remove Paxton from \u2064office.<\/p>\n<p>In its mean-spirited post-acquittal editorial, WSJ scoffed at the notion that Paxton \u2062was the subject\u200b of a coup attempt by the Bush \u2062faction of the \u2063Texas GOP: \u201cWhat a joke. There is no longer a Bush-era in Texas or anywhere else. George P. Bush, Jeb Bush\u2019s son, lost to Mr. Paxton in the 2022 primary for\u2062 AG.\u201d Knowing that the \u2062WSJ was colluding with TLR and Rove to influence the Texas Senate to \u200boust Paxton, the WSJ\u2019s sanctimonious\u200c claim of neutrality is particularly disingenuous.<\/p>\n<p>What have \u2062we\u2064 learned from the Paxton impeachment? The Trump-inspired animus of establishment \u201cmoderates\u201d (or\u200d RINOs)\u2062 toward conservatives is stronger than\u2064 ever, the woke business community\u2064 is hostile to the\u2062 grassroots, and tort reform groups \u2014 once a \u200dreliable Republican bulwark \u2014 are now mercenaries pursuing their own path \u2064to power.\u2062 And also\u2062 this: In Texas, conservatives still rule the GOP.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72338521937db93fbf36ee340e4a0264 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-72338521937db93fbf36ee340e4a0264\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How did the impeachment proceedings against Ken Paxton highlight the divisions within\u200b the\u2062 Republican \u200bParty in Texas?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ystem like \u200cTexas, where the\u200b fights are not so much between Republicans\u2063 and Democrats, \u200dbut between Republicans themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The impeachment case against Paxton was initiated by his fellow Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. It was driven by a small group of establishment Republicans who have long been at odds with Paxton and his conservative allies. These establishment Republicans, often \u2062referred to\u2064 as the &#8220;moderate&#8221; faction, have been critical of Paxton&#8217;s \u200bconservative agenda and his close\u2062 ties to the Tea Party movement.<\/p>\n<p>The impeachment\u200b proceedings against Paxton were widely seen\u2064 as a political vendetta, with\u200b little evidence of any actual \u2063wrongdoing on his part. The articles of impeachment were \u2062vague and lacked substance, \u200bleading many to believe that they were nothing more than \u2062a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-left-never-wants-you-freed-from-politics\/\" title=\"The Left Never Wants You Freed From Politics\">thinly veiled attempt<\/a> to remove Paxton from office for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton&#8217;s acquittal only served\u2064 to further expose the divisions within\u2062 the\u2064 Republican Party in Texas. The establishment Republicans who initiated the impeachment proceedings were left looking foolish and vindictive, while Paxton emerged as a hero to the conservative base.<\/p>\n<p>This episode highlights the ongoing power struggle within the Republican Party \u2063between the conservative grassroots and the more moderate establishment. In recent years, conservatives have gained significant influence within the party, with many establishment\u200b Republicans \u200dfalling\u200c out of favor.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200cbattle between the two factions is not\u200d unique to Texas. It \u200dis playing out across the country, as conservatives assert themselves and challenge\u200d the traditional party establishment. This struggle has been fueled by a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and a desire for bold, conservative leadership.<\/p>\n<p>In Texas, the\u2063 impeachment of Ken Paxton has become a flashpoint in this larger battle. It has exposed the fault \u2062lines within the party \u200band forced Republicans to confront the question of what it \u200dmeans to be a Republican in the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p>As the conservative grassroots continue to gain strength, it is likely that we will \u2062see more clashes \u200cbetween conservatives\u2062 and establishment Republicans. The outcome of these battles will shape the future of the Republican Party and determine \u200dits\u2062 direction in the years to come.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of Ken Paxton, his\u2063 acquittal\u200c has solidified his standing within the conservative movement and made him an even more formidable \u2062force within the Republican Party. As the fight for control of the party continues, it is clear that Paxton and his\u200d allies\u200c will not be easily\u2064 silenced or sidelined.<\/p>\n<p>The impeachment of Ken\u2063 Paxton may have \u2063been a battle within the Republican Party, but its repercussions extend far beyond Texas.\u2063 It serves as a\u2063 warning to establishment Republicans everywhere \u2064that the conservative grassroots are a force \u2062to be reckoned with. The question now is \u200bwhether the party establishment will\u2064 listen to the\u200b concerns and demands of the\u2063 grassroots or \u200dcontinue to ignore them at their own peril.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Texas House of Representatives impeached Ken Paxton, a thrice-elected Attorney General, in May. This event gained national attention, highlighting the ongoing conflicts between conservatives and moderates within the Republican Party in Texas. Even The Wall Street Journal, through an intemperate column by Karl Rove, wrongly anticipated Paxton&#8217;s downfall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2224,"featured_media":2085018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2085017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2085018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}