June 11, 2004 | On the first night of the Texas Republican state convention last week, there were plenty of receptions to attend. Instead, almost 200 delegates and visitors chose to file patiently into a room in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio for the meeting of the Permanent Platform Committee. The next two and half hours would be one of their few opportunities to influence the party's ideology.
Earlier that day, the chairwoman of the Republican Party of Texas, Tina Benkiser, had proclaimed to the 11,000 or so delegates assembled for the June 3-5 convention, "This is the true grass-roots center of America." This state party, in fact, is the crucible in which Karl Rove helped craft the presidency of George W. Bush. It is the home of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. The party has seized control of every statewide office in Texas, won majorities in both chambers in the Statehouse for the first time in more than a century, and along with ideological soul mates, captured the U.S. Congress. The grass-roots movement that provided the energy and manpower for the GOP's rise in Texas traces its origin to Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980 and then Pat Robertson's run for the presidential nomination in 1988. The televangelist's campaign birthed an overtly evangelical cadre of revolutionaries with a radical plan for a return to 19th century government, at least as they understand it.
The values and world vision of the movement today can be found enshrined in the 24-page party platform. It's a fearful, twilight looking-glass world, beset by enemies, where the purity of the culture, under constant siege, must be protected from threats both internal and external. The platform makes short work of the federal government, calling for the abolition of everything from the U.S. Department of Education to the Internal Revenue Service, along with most taxes. Aliens without proper identification are to be summarily deported. Illegal immigrants should not be granted drivers' licenses. Voter registration is to be made more difficult. "American English" is the official language of the state, and "the Party supports the termination of bilingual education programs in Texas." A plank titled "equality for all citizens" urges the repeal of hate crimes legislation. Another one states: "We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values." Since the Bible is the literal truth, teachers should have the right to instruct their public school students in "creation science." The Ten Commandments are the foundation of the legal system. And lest anyone forget, "America is a Christian nation."
When asked by reporters for comment, Texas Democratic Party chairman Charles Soechting called the state GOP's platform "the longest political suicide note in modern Texas history." While Soechting flagged the Republicans' extremism, the internal fight in San Antonio over the platform's planks revealed a party still struggling to make the transition from insurgency to leadership. A lack of statewide races on the ballot this year combined with overwhelming support for President Bush, who will certainly carry the Lone Star State, has deprived the party faithful of a unifying electoral challenge. In its absence, divisions and political ambition are moving front and center.
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