I hear that a State Rep “reformer” chose to call me out by name Tuesday night on the RPT’s X Live because of our public call for bold Republican leadership on accountability — accountability for Democrats who broke quorum and for Republicans who put politicians over the people.  LOL! I. Do. Not. Care. It’s the best advertising we never had to buy!

Hang in here with me as I tell you about three YUGE issues:

1. the dangerous redistricting political theater that hasn’t punished one single Democrat;
2. our call for Republicans to send maximum reinforcements to Trump;
3. 89th Legislative Session Priorities “FAIL/Success” stats to remind you what is at stake.

Texas is at stake! The Trump Agenda is at stake!

The US is in imminent peril if we lose the 2026 mid-terms!

The Republican Party of Texas leadership must not allow the hard work of the conservative grassroots to be undermined by Republican elected officials. We cannot support unifying around leadership that puts politicians’ priorities ahead of those of Republican voters.  At the end of this message, you will find a link to RPT Chairman George’s letter to Republican legislators and the draft Legislative Task Force Report.

Dangerous Redistricting Political Theater – Our Call to Maximize Trump Support

Enough is enough! What in the world is the Republican Party of Texas leadership waiting for? We can see a post-Trump America from here! 

Right now – in this 2^nd Special Legislative Session, we need to do what it takes to send Trump as many Republican fighters as possible! 

The conservative grassroots movement has demanded punishment for cowardly Democrats who fled their duty, abandoning TX to break quorum. Their betrayal should not go unanswered!  The Texans who overwhelmingly voted for Trump deserve better!

Republican Party of Texas, you have a voice – use it and lead! We urge you to:

• Carve Out at least 9 New Republican Strongholds: Redistrict congressional maps to secure nine unassailable GOP seats, cementing Republican dominance in Washington. Trump’s EOs must be codified into law or the Uni-party will destroy his successes! Here’s Gov. Greg Abbott August 12 on Fox Business declaring Texas could eliminate 10 Democrat Congressional Districts! Why isn’t Republican leadership pushing for 10 instead of 5?

https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6376838318112

• Overhaul the Texas House: Redraw House Districts to reduce Democrat footholds, ensuring super-majority Republican control and then – for the love of God – use that super majority to put Texas families and small businesses ahead of corporate welfare and big spending!  

• Erase Democrat Seniority: Wipe out their years of tenure, stripping them of any power in committees or leadership.

• Block Every Democrat Bill: House Speaker Burrows is currently pushing forward bills from Democrats who broke quorum! Stop with the chummy photo ops!  Take a stand NOW and call on Burrows to reject every single bill authored by Democrats, sending a clear message – their agenda is dead on arrival.
• Expel the Democrat deserters: Republican leaders should STOP making promises they don’t intend to deliver!  For all the grandstanding by Republican leaders, not one Democrat has been punished.

This is a war – fight to win! The grassroots all over Texas are outraged.  If the Texas GOP refuses to act decisively with the full might and support of Texas conservatives, they will render themselves meaningless.

RPT – Seize the advantage for Texas while the advantage may be captured; and in so doing, deliver Texans from a future of great misfortune!

Sincerely, Grassroots America – We the People

Republican Party of Texas, you have a voice – use it and lead! We urge you to:

Lest you think we are too harsh on GOP politicians, please review the following summary “report card” on the 89^th Regular Legislative Session.  To see sourced evidence of violations of Republican values, principles, and platform, click here.

Why do we emphasize accountability?  Because the Republican Majority we already have in the legislature once again failed to pass priorities Texas Republicans designated as critical – both at the convention and on the March 2024 GOP Primary ballot! They also failed on eliminating property taxes, while spending the surplus on growing government programs, corporate welfare, and handouts for Hollywood.

Here are the Republican Majority’s results on legislative priorities – (thanks to Legislative Priorities committee member Tom Glass).

No Democrat Chairs – FAIL; Republican House leadership empowered  Democrats by handing all committee vice chair positions to Democrats; Republican Committee Chairs then installed Democrats as subcommittee chairs and granted them extra funding to run those subcommittees. Notably, Appropriations Chair Greg Bonnen-R assigned half his subcommittee chair positions to Democrats. What Republican puts Democrats in charge of deciding how to spend our tax dollars?

Border Enforcement – FAIL; Not a single border-related bill that the SREC Legislative Priorities Committee endorsed passed; bills were killed in committee by GOP Senate Border Committee Chair Sen. Brian Birdwell and in the House by GOP State Affairs Committee Chair Ken King. 

Border Enforcement FAIL Facts:  Priority to repel invasion/deter illegal immigration:

Creating a Texas Department of Homeland Security to prevent illegal entry and trafficking, and to deport illegal aliens to Mexico or to their nations of origin. FAIL

Prohibiting, with mandatory fines and jail time, individuals, corporations, non-profits, governments, and social media entities from assisting or inciting illegal entry. FAIL

Requiring the use of E-Verify by all employers in Texas with significant penalties for business owners who violate this requirement. FAIL

Ending all subsidies and public services, including in-state college tuition and enrollment in public schools, for illegal aliens, except for emergency medical care. FAIL

End Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying – FAIL; killed in the House by GOP Committee Chair Ken King, installed by Republican Speaker Burrows.

Secure Texas Elections – 10% passed; 90% of all RPT-endorsed reform bills failed due to the House Elections Committee Chaired by GOP State Rep. Matt Shaheen and GOP Calendars Committee Chair Todd Hunter; the TX Senate – under the duress of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – gutted a major elections bill that would have stopped the Secretary of State from issuing unconstitutional election law waivers). Why?

End Federal Overreach – 30% passed; 70% failed – once again because GOP Committee Chairs in the House and Senate refused to move the bills. What did we lose with this failure?  The Texas Sovereignty Act, Resist FBI Weaponization Against Texans, Refuse to Cooperate With Federal Health Emergencies, Resisting Global Interference, Protection of Intrastate Firearms Manufacture/Sale, seven transportation freedom bills, nine medical freedom bills, the Come and Take It provision won’t be on the November Constitutional Amendment ballot to add to the TX Bill of Rights a ban on the federal gov’t regulating the manufacture, possession, sale, or use of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition in Texas.

Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids – 45% success.  This priority is a prime example of smart, strategic leadership from a group of parents led by SREC Christin Bentley.  Republican House leadership has historically been openly hostile to social issues because the Democrats culturally influence them.  With thousands of you emailing and calling Republican offices, you moved them to protect children. Christin and her team will be back for the 90^th session to get the other 55% passed!

Secure the Electric Grid – 70% success. Another prime example of smart, strategic leadership from many grassroot leaders who have worked for a decade with Sen. Bob Hall to protect our electric grid. We were not successful in beating back the Big Oil lobby’s support for unreliable green renewables. They love those taxpay subsidies.   

Texas is Not for Sale – success!  SB 17 bans the sale of real property in Texas (discontinues taxpayer funding and incentives) to governments, entities, and proxies of China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, and to individuals from these nations who are not legal permanent residents or citizens of the US. SRECs Deborah Fite, Gaylyn DeVine, and Christin Bentley were bulldogs and would not let Republican legislators gut this bill! Together, with the grassroots calling and emailing, these ladies stood strong for Texas and would not waiver! 

Click here to see RPT Chairman George’s letter
to Republican legislators and the draft Legislative Task Force Report.

Fight! Fight! Fight for Texas – without hesitation,

JoAnn Fleming
Executive Director
Grassroots America – We the People PAC
Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition

What Would You Do if Somebody Ran Up a Big Tab on Your Credit Card, Told You to Pay It, and Just Shut Up with the Questions?  

Local Government will eat up any tax relief you thought the Legislature might give you. Here’s an example from our home base in Smith County, Texas.

“There is just an unbelievable lack of public planning, due diligence, transparency and an abject failure to talk about – much less resolve – the extreme backlog of promised County Road Bond Projects.  We’ve been waiting for months for the Commissioners Court to tell the public how they will make good on the promised roads. The public gets the sound of crickets.

“Add to that a lack of orderly planning to address the cost of staffing the new courthouse and ZERO interest in looking for ways to reduce spending – and we’ve got ourselves runaway spending in Smith County.

“There is ZERO consideration of taxpayers. That’s why Grassroots America Opposes Smith County Commissioners Court Approval of $25.6 Million in Downtown Investments with the Tyler Mayor and City Council. They have way too many high priced projects started and none completed. 

“Nobody with any sense would run a household or a business this way. It’s far past unacceptable.”

~ JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director and self-term-limited county commissioner

July 7, 2025 – Tyler, Texas  |  Today, Grassroots America’s Executive Director JoAnn Fleming sent to Smith County Judge Neal Franklin and County Commissioners notification of the organization’s strong objections to a $25.6 Million Downtown Investment scheme slated for a presentation, discussion and a potential vote on Tuesday, July 8, at a 2:00 PM special joint meeting of the Smith County Commissioners Court and the Tyler City Council.

According to the posted agenda, the Tyler City Council is asking the Smith County Commissioners Court to participate in a Capital Improvement Project with a $25.6 Million price tag along with approval of Public Square Lease and Use Agreements.

No drafts or planning documents were posted in the Commissioners Court agenda packet to allow the public an opportunity to review and provide public comments.  Moreover, the policy governing Downtown Square usage is a dedicated County responsibility – a responsibility that should not be abdicated nor rushed without full disclosure to taxpaying citizens, along with an opportunity for those citizens to consent or object.

Funding sources for the $25.6 Million in project costs and project details were not revealed in the agenda packet. 

When the Grassroots America Board of Directors met with County Judge Neal Franklin on May 9 to discuss budgetary concerns, he mentioned not a word about a $25.6 Million Downtown Tyler Investment project.

Grassroots America poses a sobering question:

Is this project in addition to the current massive taxpayer burdens to pay for the following:

• The Court House Bond of approximately $160 Million plus interest,
• The Parking Garage Bond of approximately $19 Million plus interest,
• Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ), dedicating tens of millions of dollars through years 2038 and 2047,
• The UNFINISHED2017 & 2021 Road Bond Projects of approximately $84.5 Million plus interest,
• and the FY2026 Budget and tax rate-setting process currently in progress?

Smith County taxpayers need and deserve better notification and transparency. Commissioners Drewry and Herod took office in January 2025, and these issues have not appeared on any agenda until now.

Why are Commissioners receiving details and being asked to vote the same day?  Why was no special evening public meeting planned to allow the public to see, hear, and ask questions about the project?

Taxpayers have every right to know how and why their tax dollars are being spent. At a minimum, the Commissioners Court should – in advance – fully disclose the content, cost, responsibilities, and contingent liabilities from these agreements and provide the opportunity for public comments on matters affecting every citizen.

Any action considered by the Court should be tabled until these steps have been completed.

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