Call it a refrain or call it a marketing slogan, but we often hear the saying, “Don’t mess with Texas.” It looks like that statement refers to GOP politicians as well because the Texas Republican Party censured Rep. Tony Gonzales over some of his votes in recent months.
The party’s press release doesn’t mince words:
“The Republican Party of Texas officially censured Representative Tony Gonzales today, imposing the full set of penalties allowed by the rules, for lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities,” it begins. “Rule 44 of the Republican Party of Texas [RPT] allows the party to censure elected officials who violate Texas Republican Party principles and priorities three times or more in a given biennium. The censure of Rep. Gonzales details five such instances on issues such as traditional marriage, second amendment protections, preserving freedom, and border security.”
The full resolution goes pretty tough on Gonzales as well. It cites the congressman’s vote — twice — in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act for starters.
“Congressman Tony Gonzales was the only Texas Republican to vote in favor of supporting gay marriage,” the party declares. “This action violated the RPT’s sixth core principle, namely, preserving ‘self-sufficient families, founded on the traditional marriage of a natural man and a natural woman.’”
The resolution goes on to blister Gonzales for voting against the GOP majority’s rules package for the new congressional session.
“Gonzales was the only Republican in the United States to vote with the Democrats against the rules package presented by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his leadership team, thereby endangering the hard-won Republican majority control of Congress and the victories earned by conservative Congressmen, including his colleagues from Texas, through both cooperation and negotiation with the incoming leadership team,” the resolution states.
The RPT goes on to cite four party principles that Gonzales’ vote violated: “Preserving individual, Texan, and American sovereignty and freedom,” “Limiting government power to those items enumerated in the United States and Texas Constitutions,” “Personal accountability and responsibility,” and “A free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies.”
The party also goes after Gonzales for his failure to support H.R. 29, the Border Safety and Security Act of 2023: “To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend the entry of aliens, and for other purposes,” which Gonzales’ fellow member of the Lone Star State GOP delegation, Rep. Chip Roy, sponsored:
Congressman Tony Gonzales’s district encompasses 843 miles of Texas border, the largest of any other district, yet he is the only Texas Republican not supporting this bill. Congressman Tony Gonzales has gone on the record opposing this legislation, in opposition to the Republican Party of Texas #2 Legislative Priority, which is to “secure the border and protect Texans.” While opposing this legislation, Congressman Gonzales has falsely stated that the legislation would ban “all asylum, to include legitimate asylum,” and has repeated the Democratic canard that supporters of border security are “anti-immigrant.”
Finally, the resolution tackles Gonzales’ support for the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” gun-control legislation that President Biden signed into law last summer.
“This bill, which violates our Second Amendment rights, was signed into law by President Biden on June 25, 2022,” the party states. “Congressman Gonzales’s votes in favor of this law violate Principle 1, ‘…and we support the strict adherence to the original language and intent of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States and of Texas,’ and Principle 8, ‘the inalienable right of all people to defend themselves and their property.’”
The resolution goes on to explain that the party has made multiple attempts to speak with Gonzales about his “lack of fidelity” by phone call, email, and certified letter, but all attempts to contact him went unanswered.
The press release succinctly explains the voting process: “The original censure resolution by the Medina County Republican Party was supported by 16 out of the 29 counties in Rep. Gonzales’s district, and required at least a three-fifths vote to pass the 64 member State Republican Executive Committee. The final vote was 57 in favor, 5 opposed and 1 abstention. This is only the second time in history the Republican Party of Texas has utilized the Rule 44 censure option.”
The resolution concludes that the Texas GOP doesn’t have to abide by neutrality rules if Gonzales runs in 2024 and faces a primary opponent. It also authorizes the State Republican Executive Committee to spend up to 12% of the party’s general fund to educate voters in Gonzales’ district about the censure and why it took place. But most brutally, the resolution discourages Gonzales from running in 2024.
As for Gonzales, his team is digging its heels in. The Hill quotes a campaign spokesman from the congressman who sounds unfazed by the censure.
“Today, like every day, Congressman Tony Gonzales went to work on behalf of the people of TX-23. He talked to veterans, visited with Border Patrol agents, and met constituents in a county he flipped from blue to red,” the campaign spokesman said. “The Republican Party of Texas would be wise to follow his lead and do some actual work.”
Here’s the thing: this isn’t some silly internecine GOP squabble that would lead most people to laugh or scoff, and it’s not MAGA vs. establishment Republican. Gonzales has turned his back on some core Republican principles, and he should provide answers for his actions. And until he does, a 2024 reelection bid could come without the support of the state party.
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