Birch’n at the Texas GOP Convention
by Paul Dragu, JBS Director of Communications
Birch’n ain’t easy — but boy can it be fun!
Early in June, the Texas GOP held its biennial convention, and according to the propagators at the New York Times, what emerged out of that event “was the latest sign of Texas conservatives moving further to the right.” “Texas Republicans Approve Far-Right Platform Declaring Biden’s Election Illegitimate” the Times’ headline shrieked.
But the long-standing, unofficial Deep State PR department was not the only publication to alarm its readers about extremists. NPR virtuously announced that the “Texas GOP platform embraces far-right and anti-gay rhetoric,” while Vanity Fair warned that “Texas Republicans are Sewing Extremism into the Fabric of their Party.” And these are just a small sample of the media hysteria regarding the convention.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear the term “far right” I get a little excited. Butterflies began swirling in my belly. Because, more often than not, I learn that something good is happening, as “far right” has come to mean anything right of Bernie Sanders.
Birchers attended the convention in full force. For starters, we set up a booth, operated by a steady rotation of wonderful volunteers who converged on Houston from across the state. We sold books, gave out reprints and pamphlets, and introduced people to our Congressional Scorecard. We also gave many a crash course on the JBS, some of whom joined as members. Thank you to everyone who volunteered at the booth, and thank you to the organizers.
Birchers also exerted influence over the platform planks.
The 2022 Texas GOP platform is loaded with JBS staples. It rebukes the concept of world government, says the U.S. needs to get out of the United Nations, lists several unconstitutional federal agencies that need to be abolished, and endorses election integrity and medical freedom.
Regarding election integrity, Birchers led the charge to implement the toughest plank on the issue in the nation. Some highlights under plank 242 include allowing public access to forensic imaging of all electronic devices, including servers, at Central Counting immediately before and after each election; supporting a voter ID requirement; requiring mail-in ballots to only be requested by and granted to those who can’t appear in-person; prohibiting Internet voting for public office and any ballot measure; and repealing all motor-voter laws.
The planks related to medical freedom also bear much resemblance to JBS stances. That is no accident, since the leader of the Conroe-Woodlands JBS chapter testified to that plank. “We call for an addition to the Texas Bill of Rights that explicitly states that Texans have the natural, inalienable right to refuse vaccination or other medical treatment,” Plank 137 starts. It also calls for the prohibition of any medical mandates (no matter the emergency), isolation and quarantine, holding people in a medical facility against their will, and using a citizen’s vaccination status as a condition to affect employment or other services, to name just a few.
Sadly, there was one major harmful issue that prevailed, despite valiant efforts. Our members were not able to get rid of the “repeal the statutory sunset provision for Texas’s application for an Article V Convention” plank. Fortunately, that plank did not make it all the way into the primary category of Legislative Priorities.
The battle continues. Keep up the good fight, Birchers. You’re making a difference.