Yesterday, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. The articles of impeachment were introduced by … Republicans!!!
The vote wasn't close. Of 146 House members present, 121 voted to impeach Paxton – more than the majority needed, including all but one Democrat and 60 Republicans. 23 (all Republicans) voted no. Two others were present but abstained. If my arithmetic is right, Republicans outnumber Democrats by 84 to 62.
I've gotten used to the highly partisan politics coming from both parties in this country, especially the in-your-face partisanship coming from Texas Republicans. People such as Gregg Abbott (Governor), Ken Paxton (Attorney General), Ted Cruz (US Senator), among others, have been especially aggressive about shoving their political agenda down everyone else's throats. But since the Paxton impeachment effort suddenly emerged, Gov. Abbott has has been uncharacteristically silent.
Texas is entirely run by Republicans in all 3 branches of it's state government. The legislative districts, both state and national, have been gerrymandered by Republicans for more than a decade. And the sheer amount of dark money coming from wealthy right-wing Texans has shown it's clout over & over on the national scene.
I thought Republicans always protected their own, no matter what. I never expected any inter-party conflict like this to emerge – especially among Texas Republicans. What's going on?
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/greg-abbott-ken-paxton-impreachment/