Texas Republicans' troubles could have national implications A resurfaced confession from the state
Texas is not a red state or a blue state but a non-voting state. Paxton is admitting to suppressing the vote in 2020. The Paxton impeachment is the establishment GOP getting rid of a real asshole to try to slow the change of Texas into a purple state
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/ken-paxton-texas-republicans-impeachment-2020-rcna87510?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma&taid=647cfb6edb776900014a6f58&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
I hesitate to call a situation as messy and embarrassing as this one hopeful, but when it comes to Texas politics, the bar has historically been set lower than the deepest offshore drilling operation. We have to take our wins where we can get them. Whether state Republicans consider Paxton a genuine threat to the remaining shreds of their partys integrity or simply want to end a public relations nightmare, for once theyre actually doing the right thing for all Texans. And the implications for the nation writ large are massive.
The potential for Paxtons impeachment, and the resultant GOP infighting, to shake up the partys stronghold on Texas is real. Following Paxtons impeachment, a 2021 interview he gave to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon began making the rounds anew on social media. In it, Paxton brags that, but for his successful suppression of votes in reliably Democratic Harris County in 2020, Texas would have turned for Biden, and Donald Trump wouldve lost the election.
Texans already know practically better than anyone else the lengths to which Republicans will go and have gone to block left-leaning voters from casting ballots. But Paxtons comments, and his possible departure, make the stakes as clear as could be. Texas size, economic influence and diversifying demographics make the Paxton impeachment one of the highest-impact examples of a national disenfranchisement story thats played out for decades, from convoluted gerrymanders to tighter and tighter voting restrictions. ....
Whats happening in Texas shows us just how thin the line is between the potential for progressive change and more of the same old right-wing repression. Things will almost certainly get worse before they get better, which is why leadership from folks whove seen a hell of a lot of worse is more important than ever.