Good riddance
Secret audio of Bonnen made it clear there’s nowhere else for legislator to go but away.
When future generations of Texas political wonks gather ’round the campfire to hear the tale of state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and how he was taken down by hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, some will probably be reminded of the fable of the scorpion and the frog.
In the traditional telling, a scorpion asks a frog to ferry him across a river on its back. The frog is leery, worried that the scorpion will sting it. “If I sting you, we will both drown,” the scorpion says. The frog, understanding the concept of mutually assured destruction, lets the scorpion climb aboard. Halfway across the river, the frog feels the scorpion’s sting.
As they both drown, the frog asks “why?” and the scorpion replies: “I can’t help it. It’s in my nature.”
There are some differences, of course. Sullivan is not a scorpion, he is the head of Empower Texans, a group known for targeting moderate Republicans and pushing right-wing legislation. And the speaker, well, he turned out to be more snake than frog.
Bonnen, who announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election, brought this on himself.
The Angleton Republican and then-GOP caucus chair Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, met with Sullivan in June, riding high from a legislative session that saw lawmakers mostly steer clear of the culture war issues that had tripped them up in 2017, instead focusing on property tax relief and more money for schools.
Sullivan — who was unhappy with the sidelining of his group and farright priorities — taped their meeting. Initially, he played the recording to a few lawmakers and conservative media, before finally releasing the audio last week.
That the sit-down took place at all was surprising. A month earlier, Bonnen had called out Empower Texans and other similar groups, claiming their disgruntled rants didn’t merit a response. The speaker also vowed reprisals against lawmakers — of either party — who campaigned against each other.
These strides toward bipartisan comity and his performance during the Legislature led many — including us — to praise the speaker.
But in the recording, Bonnen is heard suggesting that Empower Texans go after 10 House Republicans and that Sullivan’s group could have long-sought media access to the House floor during the 2021 session. He also belittled multiple Democrats, including one Houston lawmaker whom he described as “a piece of shit” that made his “skin crawl,” and boasted that next session would be the worst “in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties.”
Listening to the audio, it’s clear there was nowhere else for Bonnen to go but away.
That he continued to dissemble for months after Sullivan’s allegations first came to light in July, hoping that Republicans would give him a pass, speaks volumes. The speaker betrayed his own party members and those who saw him as a pragmatic leader who was willing to work across the aisle. His outrageous comments showed disdain not only for moderate Republicans, Democrats, and city and county government leaders, but for all Texans.
The GOP Caucus did the right thing by asking him to step down.
Although the political toll has been paid, that doesn’t mean Bonnen can just fade into ignominy. There is still the investigation by the Texas Rangers into whether there was a quid pro quo with Sullivan that amounted to bribery, an inquiry that should continue. If charges are warranted, they should be pursued.
As to who will replace the speaker when the Legislature convenes in 2021, a lot depends on who controls the lower chamber. Polling suggests that Democrats are right to be optimistic they can build on their gains during the midterms — a possibility that is improved by Bonnen’s misdeeds.
Regardless of who is named, Texas needs a leader with integrity — a leader in the mold of the fellow Republican Bonnen so ineptly replaced: Joe Straus.
The speaker has shattered our trust, but Bonnen leaves a cautionary tale for lawmakers that can best be summed up by an adage making fine use of another animal metaphor: Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.