SPECIAL EDITION: Many People Are Saying 1/20/23
Weekly Texas rumors, gossip, and projects we're working on.
Welcome to “Many People Are Saying” our weekly paid-subscriber article where we feature rumors we’re hearing, inside gossip in the political world, and projects and pieces we’re working on that we haven’t published yet.
This week is something special. Something so important we’re not putting it behind our paywall. So strap in and strap on.
Afterwards we’ll have our usual rumor stuff.
All Smiles at Abbott Inauguration as Feds Give Illegal Aliens App
Entirely reader supported, Current Revolt has complete and total independence from being told what to say. This means we will be covering the 88th Session of the Texas Legislature like no one else.
Here at the Texas Newspaper of Record, not only will you find links to source material so you can verify the things we say for yourself, but our network of secret squirrels and Austin insiders fed up with the status quo grows everyday. Besides news and gossip, we provide analysis on the power dynamics of the Austin establishment and big-money interests as they fend off an increasingly restless and unhinged citizenry with their own increasingly arrogant flexing of power.
Since before the 88th Session began, bills filed in the House and Senate have been publicly available using the Texas Legislature Online portal. Similar to recent years, the low bill numbers (about 1-30) are not listed for the first several months after filing is open. These first two dozen or so of these bills in the House and Senate are viewed as legislative priorities of the leadership of the bodies, and will include critical items such as responses to emergencies and the budget.
It’s a big deal to be an author of those low-numbered bills. There is not going to be multiple budget bills filed, so the primary authors of the budget are selected in advance by the leadership, which is reasonable given the time constraints. (Leadership in this context means those with the most power.)
With the open borders, the devaluation of the currency, the drug overdoses, the new died suddenly’s, the collapse of the family, the disaster public schools now filled with drag queens and everything else, it’s clear that our leaders are focused on their own personal scams using their positions of power rather than using the power of our state government to mitigate these issues and protect us from a tyrannical, illegitimate government occupying Washington DC.
The selection of GOP Caucus’ new leadership was the first indicator revealing how the 88th Session is likely to play out. It appears as though power dynamics have changed very little, but in my view those in power have decided to return to a proven strategy of identity politics to protect against criticism.
Joe Straus was the Speaker of the Texas House from 2009 through the 85th session in 2017. It’s more accurate to say he was “selected” more than elected. He slid into the House after a special election in 2005.
In just two sessions he was made Speaker of the House, and immediately any and all attempts to challenge his power was labeled “antisemitic.” It’s a very neat trick that you have Christianity as the base belief of the right wing voters in Texas, and any political organizing on the basis of this identity is de-facto outlawed by saying its hateful to do so.
Back to 2023— it appears the legislature has run out of ideas for obvious scams to trick voters. Safe and effective scams like granting Texans their second amendment back by breaking constitutional carry up into 4 election cycles are starting to become harder to come by. Last Session, the Texas Legislature took credit for a duplicate of the First Amendment with the “Church Closing ban” amendment. This year, there is not as obvious a scam lined up this time to use trick voters into thinking they did something.
Blocking the vote on Democrat Chairs showed a total lack of concern for optics. Saying the vote was preemptively and secretly banned—a vote everyone watching the meeting was waiting for—is even more aggressive than former Rep Byron Cook arresting citizens trying to attend his committee meetings.
A key representative to the Republican Party of Texas in the Texas Legislature is the House Republican Caucus Chair. Since party leadership is in total disagreement with the State Party on fundamental issues of importance, the Republicans in the House have chosen to put someone in between the two that cannot be criticized without being charged with being an evil_hateful_bigot_antisemite.exe. This shield’s name is Craig Goldman.
They actually were trying to put Goldman into leadership immediately after he was elected like Straus, but he proved to be too awkward and inexperienced. It would have just been too obvious.
The Speaker immediately following Joe Straus was Dennis Bonnen. When you look up what Bonnen and current Speaker Dade Phelan do for a living, you will get about 10 different vague answers. “Broker” or “real estate” or some generic thing about business. What they have are little financial fiefdoms, which is fine—get money, get hoes, stack papers, I get it. However, consider their involvement in the banking industry: If someone deposits a large sum of money into Phelan’s bank, money which he then has personal access to invest with, that’s not a “campaign donation” under the law, but the implications of this practice raise huge red flags.
This appears to be a major power axis in Austin—the “I own a bank” loophole.
Last session, Representative Dustin Burrows and Senator Drew Springer were the tip of the spear for the Screw Job Session in 87. A proven hit man for the Bonnen/Phelan family, Burrows was the author of the tyrannical covid bill that, among other things, gave anyone working for the state the same immunity as the military if they kill you for resisting covid orders. However it seems Burrows, being so blatantly involved in targeting fellow Republicans with secret hit lists, did not have the optics of political capitol to deliver the SJ, so there appears to be a new torch bearer for the Screw Job Session—Jeff Leach.
Two years ago in the 87th Session, Jeff Leach had authored or sponsored 16 bills by January 19th. In the 86th, it was 12.
This session, he’s filed none so far. Presumably he’s working on the low number bills.
His Twitter drifts back and forth between extreme passive aggressive and cringe, and recently he has been sucking up to leadership constantly. In an incredible show of bravado last week, he praised the House rules they passed and then posted photos of his constituents in his office begging him to ban Democrat chairmen running the legislative process, which the rules nefariously blocked.
All those red shirts say they are in support of the ban. Leach voted for Democrat chairs two years ago.
Everything is a joke, everything is funny, everything is cute.
Look at these smiles (yes we had to post this twice),
Our State is being invaded by a third world population being brought here as a permanent underclass. This is being coordinated by international NGO’s and the United States government.
The Feds just launched an app for illegal aliens to use to come into our country with their phony asylum claims. Using the app while they are in Mexico, they set up an appointment to enter Texas illegally where they are then given everything they need to engage in other illegal activities like working without authorization and identity theft papers by Democrat-adjacent nonprofits.
You can read about it here, it’s just as insane as it sounds, and Republican like Leach have actually voted to put Democrats in charge of the committee with oversight of the transportation used in the smuggling, all while mocking people against it.
Of course, this is just one issue, but it’s the same with everything. And everything tells me the 88th session is going to be an even greater screw job than the 87th, which has produced the results we see around us today.
If you like this article and want to help Current Revolt produce more content, please consider our new Sponsor a Legislator Program.
Does your state rep need to read this? This will be a monthly series directly targeting the Austin political powerhouse. Donate $8.88 and we’ll make sure this series reaches the desk of your state rep every month. You’re not just making sure politicians in Austin read what matters, you’re also helping support us. As a news org that isn’t bought or owned by big oil, billionaires, or other political or business self-interest groups, this matters.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Many People Are saying.
Evidence of HEB silencing conservatives and is Texas citizen Steven Crowder justified in whining about a $50million dollar contract?
This is a bonus feature for our paid subs, so if you’re interested, please subscribe!
HEB Allegedly Behind Rittenhouse Cancellation, Despite Brewery's Denial
This brewery boondoggle keeps getting more cringeworthy. Our ongoing Kyle Rittenhouse investigation leads us further down a rabbit trail involving regressive Leftist front company H-E-B. Despite whistleblowers proving H-E-B spearheaded Rittenhouse’s cancelling, Southern Star Brewery kept denying it, claiming Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) provoked their decision; this is easily debunked considering said restaurant proudly hosted TNM in the past.
With their willingness to support causes HEB CEO Charles “bottom” Butt likes, just how much “backdoor” activity goes on between Southern Star and HEB? The latter is probably a supplier though.