Billionaire Republican vs. Billionaire Republican
Divide and Conquer: How the latest GOP propaganda is shaping the Republican agenda.
Fuck, I love the GOP Civil War. It’s like watching reality TV but with oil, guns, and a few sidekicks named Cletus.
In this latest episode of Republican-on-Republican violence, two of the most prominent oligarchs in Texas square off for a head-to-head match. Before we get into it, we need a little context.
Tim Dunn - Net Worth $2.2 billion.
Richard (Dick) Weekley - Net Worth over $1 billion
Tim Dunn - Amount spent on Texas politics since 2015 - $21,476,061
Dick Weekley - Amount spent on Texas politics since 2015 - $15,640,652
Dunn and Weekley are billionaires and have spent millions of dollars in Texas politics over the last decade. They are the same, two fat cows, each thinking they own Texas. They certainly own the Republican Party of Texas and have for many years.
The policies and GOP legislators they have each gotten behind are responsible for some of the most heinous bills that have come from Austin.
The laws that Dick Weekly typically champions, behind his PAC Texans For Lawsuit Reform (TLR), are aimed at taking away worker rights, keeping Texans impoverished, and blocking access to healthcare.
The laws that Tim Dunn typically champions, behind several PACs and organizations, are the laws that are based on racism and bigotry.
Both billionaires are equally bad for Texas.
Texas Scorecard’s latest “documentary” Hubris: The Texas Kingmakers.
Earlier this year, the Texas Scorecard, funded and directed by Tim Dunn, released its first “documentary” leading up to the Republican primary, stating that half of Texas Republicans were secret Democrats. Of course, that was nonsense; it was retribution for the Paxton Impeachment. However, it galvanized far-right Republican primary voters, who account for less than 1 million votes, and these people went scorched earth on their targets.
Finally, some Republicans got to see what it was like to be the target of the domestic terror faction of the Republican Party. It got awful for secret Democrat and Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who had GOP lunatics showing up at his house and sending him death threats.
This week, the Texas Scorecard dropped their latest, “Hubris: The Texas Kingmakers.” Their target this time? Dick Weekley and Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
Here it is, but I’ll save you the hour and give you the full breakdown below.
This video featured Michael Quinn Sullivan (MQS) as the narrator. MQS has been Tim Dunn’s mouthpiece for many years and heads the Texas Scorecard, frequently spreading lies and misinformation.
The video begins with MQS saying TLR is the “biggest political force in the Lone Star State.” However, that’s untrue. So far, in 2024, Tim Dunn has spent nearly twice as much money on Texas politics than Dick Weekley has.
MQS claims that TLR was behind the push to get rid of Ken Paxton, protected the practice of giving committee chairs to Democrats, weakened pro-life laws, undermined protecting children from abuse, and in campaigns, their spending dwarfs everyone else.
First of all, Tim Dunn spends more in Texas politics than TLR and Dick Weekley. In fact, so does George Soros. This lie from MQS about TLR being the most significant financial donor is repeated throughout the “documentary,” but it isn’t true. In most years, the biggest spender is Tim Dunn, who paid big bucks to produce this little film.
The push to ban Democratic chairs and Texas’ strict abortion laws are hurting Republicans in Texas. And these things will continue to hurt them until Republicans eventually lose control of Texas. That day is coming sooner than all of these billionaires seem to realize.
Was Texans for Lawsuit Reform behind the Ken Paxton impeachment?
No. The only thing behind Paxton’s impeachment was the litany of crimes committed by Ken Paxton. The Republican majority in the House voted to impeach. The few GOP members who voted against impeachment were almost all Tim Dunn puppets. And we all know that Tim Dunn orchestrated the outcome in the Senate.
He may have been convicted if it wasn’t for Tim Dunn’s interference in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial. Paxton is Dunn’s pet, his puppet, and entirely under his control. When the Paxton impeachment hearings got underway, Dunn went nuclear and threw his weight and cash around because he wanted Paxton to remain in office.
There is no evidence that Dick Weekley or TLR directly got involved with the impeachment proceedings, directed any Republicans how to vote, or tried to influence how votes were made. There weren’t even any whispers of them acting behind the screens.
So, what is this all REALLY about?
TLR and Dick Weekley have spent a fortune over the last few decades trying to make Texas as “business friendly” as possible. That means anti-union legislation, keeping wages low, blocking access to healthcare, and slashing regulations at the cost of public safety. All of the laws are intended to enrich the wealthy further and keep the working class poor and subservient and are a product of TLR Republicans and Dick Weekley’s money.
Tim Dunn and his various PACs and organizations have spent a fortune over the last few decades trying to turn Texas into a Christian Nationalist hellscape, one where white supremacy reigns king. It’s all about the “Culture Wars” for this faction. The abortion ban, the racist laws inflicted under the guise of CRT and DEI, and the government attacks on border communities have Dunn’s name written all over them.
So, while both of these factions are Republican and have been behind some of the worst legislation in Texas, it’s all been done for different reasons.
TLR = pro-business, anti-worker
Dunn’s network = pro-fascism, anti-democracy
At the end of the day, all Republicans are assholes, but they happen to be assholes for different reasons. But this is where the problem lies.
Tim Dunn is a billionaire pastor who thinks God is telling him to strip away rights from women and people of color, and he’s going to lead Texas into a Christian Theocracy.
As it turns out, racism, bigotry, and the loss of civil rights are bad for businesses. All of these corporations in Texas came here for law taxes and fewer regulations, and with Texas regulating the bodies and lives of their employees, they’ve started to grow concerned.
TLR is rightfully worried that businesses will start fleeing Texas because of the restrictive measures being put on women and the LGBTQ community. I don’t think that TLR cares about harming one demographic group over another. They are purely driven by profit motives, which is why they are pro-wealthy and anti-worker.
TLR believes that the only way the Texas government continues to work in favor of the millionaires and billionaires is by maintaining Republican control.
Republicans are going to lose Texas sooner or later, primarily because of the rapid Demographic changes, but the Culture War issue will accelerate that process and make it happen sooner.
In Hubris, MQS painted a picture of corruption in the 1980s under Democratic control.
He even showed a short clip from a 1987 episode of 60 Minutes that discussed how justice was for sale in Texas. Of course, in the 1980s, many Texas Democrats were Conservative. But as we all know, the right likes to pretend the Souther Strategy never happened and Conservative Democrats never existed.
The point he wanted to make was that Democrats = corrupt and Republicans = not corrupt. But that’s wrong. Conservatives = corrupt, plain and simple. So whether they were Conservative Democrats or Conservative Republicans matters not.
To prove that, here is a news piece from 1997, when Conservative Republican Supreme Court Justices were selling political favors. The same thing MQS accused Conservative Democrats of doing in the 1980s.
There never was a turning point in Texas politics when the tide moved from Conservative Democrats to Conservative Republicans. The corruption moved right along to the majority party.
Another one of MQS’ targets in the video was Dick Trabulsi, the co-founder and Chairman of TLR. MQS accuses him of working on the Jimmy Carter campaign 50 years ago, which I guess somehow is supposed to prove he’s a hardcore Democrat. However, I couldn’t find evidence of that being true other than what is said in several Texas Scorecard articles.
One of the Texas Scorecard articles that says Trabulsi worked on the Carter campaign also noted that TLR donated $40 million since 2015 and linked the the same source I used above, which only shows the PAC has spent $28 million. It’s, at the very least, an exaggeration; at most, a flat-out lie.
MQS played a clip of Dick Weekley saying they support pro-business Democrats.
This is absolutely true. I have written about this before and endorsed Democratic candidates running against Democratic incumbents who take TLR’s money. These are not pro-business Democrats who take TLR’s money. They are Democrats willing to vote in favor of the wealthy and against workers for money.
However, according to the Tim Dunn faction of the Republican Party, “Democrats bad.” Any hint of bipartisanship, even when it’s Democrats crossing the aisle to vote on shit Republican bills, is bad. Remember, it’s all about the Culture War.
At one point, MQS notes how TLR calls themselves “pro-business” and says, “That’s a curious descriptor. Most Conservatives will talk about being in favor of a free market or Capitalism.”
It’s funny because he tries to portray these things as different as if they don’t all belong in the same category.
Pro-business: Policies that support the interests of businesses to foster economic growth. “Pro-business” can imply favoring tax cuts for corporations and reducing regulations.
Free market: This is an economic system in which prices for goods and services are determined by open competition in a market essentially free from government intervention. A free market philosophy advocates minimal regulation, allowing supply and demand to dictate outcomes.
Capitalism: An economic system in which private individuals rather than the state own and control property and businesses. It is characterized by the accumulation of capital and the production of goods and services for profit in a competitive market.
You can’t say I’m pro-business but anti-free market.
You can’t say I’m pro-Capitalism but anti-business.
It’s all one and the same. But this video tries to depict TLR as “Crony Capitalists” rather than regular Capitalists. However, in 2024, America and much of the world live in a late-stage Capitalism economy. The characteristics of late-stage Capitalism include:
Intensified wealth inequality.
Exploitation of labor.
The commodification of all aspects of life.
Environmental destruction.
Excessive corporate influence over politics.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few.
This is just another piece of irony in this video, funded by oil billionaire Tim Dunn, who has played an enormous part in the destruction of our environment, has a vast influence over Texas politics, and is the concentration of wealth and power.
Again, the only difference between Tim Dunn and Dick Weekley is which oppressive measures they choose to get behind. Both of them control different factions of our government, and both of them have spent massive amounts of money harming Texans.
At one point, Ken Paxton is talking with MQS, and he’s very obviously against TLR. He says TLR hasn’t supported him since he was in the Texas House. However, according to his finance records, TLR has been his #1 supporter since 2015, giving him more money than any other donor, including Tim Dunn.
Paxton seems willing to burn that bridge as retribution for some Republicans trying to hold him accountable for breaking the law.
TLR did respond to this “documentary.”
You can read their complete statement here. Here are some of the highlights:
But this latest campaign by Texas Scorecard and its affiliated entities to smear the successful legacy of this organization, its founders, and its leadership has crossed the line from criticism to reckless vendetta, unhindered by truth or facts.
The only organized conspiracy to destroy good conservative governance in Texas is being waged by this destructive faction, whose business model depends on stoking and maintaining chaos in Republican politics.
When this faction is not outright lying, they are purposefully misleading voters about the conservative wins delivered by Republican legislators, including in their so-called documentary.
But no one should trust people who unapologetically cavorted with a Neo-Nazi, called Gov. Abbott “spineless,” and looked the other way when their hand-picked legislator plied a 19-year-old intern with alcohol so he could have sex with her, then drove her to get the morning after pill.
They aren’t wrong. The Texas Scorecard lies, this “documentary” was full of lies and misinformation. And the Tim Dunn faction is associated with neo-Nazis. They did look the other way when their hand-picked legislator, Bryan Slaton, committed date rape.
But my most favorite line from the TLR response is:
After wreaking havoc with their scorched-earth tactics in Republican primaries year after year, they refuse to defend conservative candidates against liberal Democrats in November.
And this is why I love the Republican Civil War so much. Because at the end of the day, all the Republicans are doing is shooting themselves in the foot, which will only help Democrats in November.
Democrats should be using this against Republicans in their races this year.
Democrats can use the rift to portray the Republican Party as extreme. By focusing on the more radical policies and statements made by Republicans involved in the Civil War, Democrats can appeal to moderate and independent voters who may be alienated by the GOP’s internal conflicts and extreme positions.
By emphasizing the discord and infighting within the Republican Party, Democrats can present themselves as a stable and unified alternative. This contrast can be particularly appealing in uncertain times, as voters may prefer governance that promises consistency and cooperation over chaos and conflict.
In districts where moderate voters are crucial to victory, Democrats can campaign on bipartisanship and pragmatism. They can argue that the GOP, torn by internal strife, cannot govern effectively, whereas Democrats are willing to reach across the aisle to get things done.
Democrats should focus resources on races where the Republican incumbent is embroiled in the Civil War, especially those who may be weakened by primary challenges from more extreme candidates. These incumbents will be vulnerable, having to defend their positions to their base and the general electorate. (I’ll have a full, comprehensive list soon.)
Democrats can use public statements, advertisements, and other communications from the Civil War—in which Republicans criticized each other—to create powerful campaign materials that question the integrity, consistency, and viability of Republican candidates.
As Republicans focus on internal battles, Democrats should emphasize their commitment to governance and delivering results. Highlighting successful Democratic initiatives in areas like healthcare, education, and job creation can contrast starkly with a Republican Party caught up in ideological battles.
Why the GOP Civil War in Texas is good for Democrats:
Republicans are distracted and divided.
The GOP is alienating the moderate voters.
This internal battle is draining the GOP resources on fights against each other.
These public and messy fights are damaging the Republican brand.
The Republican Civil War is a pivotal moment that could redefine the political landscape in Texas.
Amidst the chaos, there lies a significant opportunity for change. This year, it’s imperative for voters to become actively involved in political campaigns and groups.
This year’s elections are a call to action for everyone who believes in a fair, just, and prosperous society. It’s a chance to reject the divisiveness that has hindered progress and to support leaders committed to serving their communities rather than their partisan interests.
Vote early, vote often, just vote.
Important 2024 primary RUNOFF election days:
April 29, 2024: Last day to register to vote.
May 17, 2024: Last day to apply by mail
May 20, 2024: First day of early voting.
May 24, 2024: Last day of early voting.
May 28, 2024: Last day to receive a ballot by mail.
May 28, 2024: Election day.
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