Phelan Invites Patrick Ire with New TV Ad
that Paints Speaker as Champ on Border
Capitol Inside April 6, 2024
After hearing Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick portray himself for weeks as the co-author of a new state immigration law that may never take effect, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan aired a new campaign advertisement on Friday that claimed credit for the measure and other border security initiatives that lawmakers approved here last year.
Phelan used the release of the new 30-second spot as a stage for a shot at President Joe Biden and the discrediting of assertions by critics that he's been soft on the border. Phelan is fighting to stay alive in a fight with primary runoff foe David Covey of Orange in the House District 21 race that the challenger led by 3 points in the first vote.
“Our southern border is a Biden created disaster," a narrator contends in the speaker's new commercial. "But Texas has stepped up. Dade Phelan passed the strongest border security bill in Texas history. He led the passage of over $6 billion for constructing a border wall and made illegal entry into our state of criminal offense and designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations to hold them accountable for poisoning our kids with fentanyl. And he's not done.
"Dade Phelan - making Southeast Texas safer by securing our border," the ad says in closing.
The speaker's spot seeks to reclaim control of a narrative that Covey and supporters like the lieutenant governor have tried to rewrite with a mix of deceptive innuendos about Phelan's stance on SB 4 and criticism that revolves on legislation that died in the House in 2023.
The Citizens for Renewing America - a conservative group that's based in Washington D.C. - spells out the basic case that Phelan detractors are using in a web site piece that was published in February under the headline Primer: How the Texas Speaker Killed Border Security.
The report blames the Phelan team for the unceremonious demise of House Bill 20 by GOP State Rep. Matt Schaefer of Tyler in the regular session last year. HB 20 would have created a border protection unit within the Texas Department of Public Safety along with other objectives that the far right favored. The CRA notes how Phelan effectively disabled HB 20 when he upheld a point of order by a Democrat on the grounds that the caption did not provide sufficient notice of the bill's contents.
This falls neatly into efforts to disparage Phelan for sharing power with Democrats by appointing some to committee chairmanships. Phelan's foes argue that he's indebted to Democrats for making it possible for him to win the gavel in 2021 initially before his re-election as speaker in 2023. The CRA alleges that Phelan hatched a scheme to cover up the death of HB 20 with legislation that was just for show.
"In the immediate aftermath of HB 20’s demise, Speaker Phelan had one of his close liberal allies, Rep. Ryan Guillen (R-Rio Grande City), substitute a nearly identical piece of legislation (HB 7) but with all of the most important provisions stripped out," the report says. "Specifically, the Guillen bill removed Texas Title 42 public health authority, eliminated all references to the state’s Article I self-defense powers, and severely watered down the powers of the border protection unit.
"Curiously, Rep. Guillen’s bill was miraculously crafted in a short span of minutes, in the middle of the night, and ready to go. This suggests that the replacement bill had been in the works well in advance and that the defeat of HB 20 was orchestrated by Speaker Phelan and his team to advance toothless border bills that were “less controversial” in the eyes of his progressive Democrat allies and corporate press outlets in Texas."
Phelan can expect more of Patrick's wrath with the attempt to depict the House as the genesis for the border security measures that did survive in regular and special session last year. Patrick has reminded hosts on Fox News in recent weeks that he had the lead role in the composure of SB 4 along with State Senator Charles Perry of Lubbock.
Neither Patrick or Phelan have acknowledged that SB 4 could be worthless beyond its value as red meat for the party base. The new law was set to take effect on March 5 before its sandbagging by a series of adverse judicial rulings in the courts where state lawyers have conceded that the measure went too far.
more to come ...
Desperate Dade Phelan tried to rig a debate in his favor. Is anyone surprised? pic.twitter.com/sVCysWspZ1
It’s been 19 days since Ducking David Covey started hiding from SETX voters by REFUSING a local televised debate and for 19 days, Ducking David has neglected to accept the invitation, negotiate, or answer to House District 21 voters. Instead, he is making up excuse after excuse…
Wait, Dade Phelan has known about this debate for 19 days even though an official invite didn’t go out until 5 days ago? And he still decided to use a liberal, pro-reparations moderator?
Tell me more about how he tried (and failed) to stack a fake debate in his favor. https://t.co/LQuxdylOnT
