The impeachment of thrice-elected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by the Texas House of Representatives in May drew national attention to the internecine quarrels between conservatives and moderates within the Republican Party in the Lone Star State.
Even The Wall Street Journal took sides, erroneously predicting Paxton’s demise (in an intemperate column by Karl Rove titled “The End Is Near for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton”). Paxton’s resounding acquittal of all 16 articles of impeachment by the Texas Senate in September, following a costly nine-day trial presided over by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, after just eight hours of deliberation, only exacerbated the intra-party feud that began in 2014 when Paxton — a Tea Party favorite — disrupted the AG race by defeating an establishment rival endorsed by George W. Bush.
Paxton’s exoneration (risibly reported by the WSJ as “Paxton Avoids Conviction”) did not diminish the hubris of his establishment opponents. The WSJ, which had devoted considerable ink to attacking Paxton and advocating his removal from office, proved to be a sore loser, accusing Patrick and the Texas Senate of corruption, without citing any evidence.
“It’s now obvious the fix was in from the start,” the WSJ opined, eliciting a blistering rebuttal from Patrick, who pointed out the obvious: The House’s impeachment case against Paxton was slipshod and full of holes. Paxton’s superb lawyers methodically tore the meritless case to shreds.
[READ: The Case Against Ken Paxton Is All Hat, No Cattle]
Conservatives vs. ‘Establishment’ Republicans
For decades, Texas
