Only Republicans should decide who is their candidates are, same as the Democrats. But not if you listen to a RINO like John Cornyn.
Last month I proudly voted to make Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the Republican nominee for Senate. I firmly believe he will wipe the floor with James “Six Genders” Talarico and join another great conservative in the Upper House, Ted Cruz.
Now the Texas Republican Party has been trying to close (i.e., only registered Republicans can vote) the primary elections for years. It sued the Secretary of State in 2024 for an administrative change, and tried to get the law changed during the 2025 legislature. The party base and activists pushed this as two moderate Republicans made it into the 2024 runoff by less than 1, 000 votes.
Implausible? “Former House speaker Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, and Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, both unpopular with the GOP base, won their primary races by less than 800 votes.” Unlikely they would get crossover votes from Democrats or “independents?” Phelan only became Speaker of the House because the Democrats voted lock step for him. Phelan then picked off some moderate Republicans with promises of committee chairs, and he’s the Speaker.
Yes, it’s more likely the Democrats interfered with the Republican primary election than the Russians “colluded” with Donald Trump in 2016. But don’t let facts interfere with your template.
Soon to be former (thank you God!) Texas senator John Cornyn authored a piece in the Austin American-Statesman on his party’s primary process. Shocking, he wants Democrats to be able to vote for Republican nominees. Let’s see what he says:
Closing Texas’ GOP primary would be a costly mistake that would hurt voters
Texas is among a majority of states with open primaries where any eligible registered voter can vote in the primary election, regardless of their party affiliation.
Nevertheless, there has been a recent movement among some Texas Republicans to close our Republican primary to only those who register as a Republican. At best, this would be a mistake that has the potential to harm our party in the long run as we hamper our appeal by narrowing our coalition of voters. At worst, it would limit our voters’ ability to have their voices heard in primary elections and undermine the American system of self-government…
…When fewer people participate in our elections, our very system of self-government is undermined. If only 7% of registered voters choose our nation’s leaders, as was the case in Texas’ recent U.S. Senate run-off election, our government becomes less like a democratic republic and more like an oligarchy, where the leaders are chosen by a select few…
…By closing the primary, we risk taking away the voices of those who are disillusioned with the current government. With 93% of registered voters sitting on the sidelines, we find ourselves in a vicious cycle. Low voter participation means that those nominated represent the views of the few. Then those who are not represented feel neglected and don’t feel the need to turn out and vote in the general election, because they don’t like the options on the table. Closing our primaries would take this trend a step further by actively cutting more Texans out of the electoral process.”
Now Senator Cornyn does have a point on lack of participation in the primaries. Looking at California, New York and Colorado, less than 10% of registered Democrats are nominating radical DSA candidates. The issue on that side of the house is the Democrats have been overtaken by the fanatical wing of their party. What was looked at as crazed college kids are now gaining local, state and national offices. Our largest city has a socialist mayor, Mamdani, who wants to destroy the financial capital of America so he can create a “worker’s paradise.”
I guess Mamdani missed the history lesson of Berlin on 11/9/89. As the wall fell, no one ran to the east to enjoy the warmth of collectivism.
But the solution is not more milquetoast Republican nominees. Candidates like McCain, Romney, or JEB! who’s proposal is “We suck slightly less.” Or “Yes, we know the Democrats are driving the country off the cliff in fifth gear. Elect us, and we’ll do it in first!” We need to give the voters a real choice. As Reagan said at the 1976 GOP Convention, “a banner of bold, unmistakable colors with no pale pastel shades.”
That will not happen when we have Democrats selecting our nominees. Will they do it? Is the Pope Catholic? You may recall during recent presidential nomination, one liberal reporter after another would put out the word, “This candidate is who the Democrats are scared of…” The candidate would be a worthless moderate like John Huntsman or JEB! Guaranteed losers.
I’ll say it, the 4th Estate gave Donald Trump a lot of free airtime in 2016 because he gave them great ratings. And if they helped The Donald win the nomination, there was no way he would win against Mrs. Bill Clinton, right? ☺
So no, we cannot have Democrats picking our local, state or federal nominees. We need to pick conservatives who will give the general public an actual choice. McCain’s, McConnells, Cornyn’s and Graham’s time has passed. We need a rebirth of the bold, unmistakable colors with no pale pastel shades. With that, we’ll never have a James “Six genders” Talarico anywhere near the US Capital.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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