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Thousands of Republican activists gather in Houston this weekend for the state party convention he agreed to a resolution rejecting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and refers to Joe Biden as the illegitimate president.
Delegates also called for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was passed to end discrimination against black Americans at the polls.
Separately, a party platform presented to convention delegates called homosexuality “an abnormal lifestyle choice.” According to the Texas Tribune, the platform also advocates for children to learn in school about “the humanity of the imprisoned child,” promoting new messages after the state has taken steps to severely restrict abortion.
And less than a month after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead in a Texas elementary school, convention delegates adopted a formal “rebuke” from Sen. John Cornyn (R) for engaging in bipartisan talks on weapons control. Attendees also out loud he booed when he delivered a convention speech on Friday when he tried to explain potential legislation.
The resolutions of the agreement and platform have no force of law however they are intended to serve as a mission statement for GOP activities in the state for the next two years. It also offers a window on how Republican roots have gone further to the right and how rejection of Biden’s 2020 election victory has become a key principle for the party.
Gay rights rhetoric in particular represents an investment after years of growing comfort within the Republican Party with equal rights for gay Americans and polls show that a large majority of voters now support marriage between people of the same sex while opposing discrimination.
It comes amid rising hate speech and violence against LGBTQ people and a new push among staunch conservative circles to attack even the mere mention of sexuality as children in some way. “.
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The Texas Tribune reported that party delegates rejected an effort to soften the language about the homosexuality of a delegate who said he would not help the party.
“We are the Republican Party of Texas, not the Westboro Baptist Church,” the Tribune delegate said, referring to the extremist church whose members travel the country to hold anti-gay demonstrations at public events. The Tribune said other delegates to the convention, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, laughed and booed at the comment.
The votes of more than 5,000 delegates in attendance on whether to formally accept the language on the platform have not yet been counted, but party chairman James Wesolek said the boards presented to delegates were generally accepted.
The party also blocked the Log Cabin Republicans, a long-standing group representing gay Republicans, from having a stand at the convention, a decision that sparked a rebuke from Donald Trump Jr., who said in a statement to Breitbart which was “canceling a group of gay conservatives who are in the gap with us.”
Intrapartisan divisions were also shown a video released by right-wing personality Alex Stein showing Stein and his followers approaching Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) in a hotel hallway, calling him a traitor and a “McCain eye-catcher.” an insult coined by Fox News character Tucker Carlson. For months, Crenshaw, who has been wearing an eye patch due to an injury while serving as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan, has been questioned. as a name-only Republican, or RINO, as the late former Senator John McCain.
In response, Crenshaw tweeted, “This is what happens when angry little kids like @ alexstein99 don’t grow up and can’t have girlfriends.”
While a wide range of Republican figures have come forward this weekend to denounce the treatment of the elected and military veteran, the confrontation it was a reminder of the internal divisions within the Republican Party and of how activists reject even previously popular and loyal figures.
Meanwhile, the party passed a resolution stating that the 2020 election violated the U.S. Constitution and that “substantial electoral fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results.”
“We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election and hold that incumbent President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States,” the resolution continued.
The move comes days after the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6 presented evidence that Donald Trump’s top campaign collaborators and other members of his inner circle were repeatedly telling the former president that the allegations of fraud were false. But the Texas resolution shows the extent to which Trump’s obsession with elections has taken root as his party’s core belief.
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“It’s like these people live in a kind of parallel universe full of hatred and conspiracy and have a twisted view of our democracy and constitution,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, president of the Texas Democratic Party. “It’s almost like these people are on a drug-induced psychotic journey.”
Texas faces key gubernatorial elections in November that will pit incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott against Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke. When the convention opened on Thursday, party chairman Matt Rinaldi predicted that the GOP would make a profit in the fall.
“A red wave will sweep Texas and this nation and usher in a new era,” he said, urging the party “to take the fight directly to the left and move on to the attack.”
“It simply came to our notice then. That means influencing public opinion instead of following the polls, ”he said.
The disapproval of Cornyn, a popular figure among Texas Republicans who won a nomination for re-election in 2020 with 76 percent of the vote, shows the reluctance of party members to offer any concessions on the rights of weapons, although polls show that a large majority of Americans support Congress. action.
Cornyn is part of a bipartisan group of senators that includes 10 Republicans who have advanced a framework for new gun provisions, including closing the so-called boyfriend gap, federal subsidies to urge states to pass red-flag laws that allow authorities to keep weapons away from people considered to pose a threat to themselves or others and extended background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. Senators have yet to translate the broad agreement into legislative language.
Assistants involved in the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe his condition frankly, said talks continued to be productive over the weekend and that there was no indication that Texas’ reaction had changed. his career. Senate leaders are expected to hold votes on the deal later this week.
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The state GOP resolution provides an idea of the pressure on Cornyn from the right as he tries to navigate the negotiations. It rejects red flag laws, waiting periods and restrictions on younger arms buyers, saying that “those under the age of 21 are more likely to be victims of violent crime and therefore more likely to need to defend themselves.” se “.
After being booed on Friday, Cornyn retweeted journalist Scott Braddock, who reported that Cornyn had been telling fans, “I’ve never given in to the mobs and I’m not starting today.”
Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.