Arch-conservative Freedom Caucus pushing to gain clout – ReporterNews.com

Texas House GOP Caucus Chairman Tan Parker talks with Matt Schaefer, who heads the fledgeling House Freedom Caucus.(Photo: John C. Moritz/USA Today Austin Bureau)

AUSTIN On any given day on the floor of the Texas House, one of a handful of the chambers most conservative members will step and ask plaintive questions of Speaker Joe Straus or the member he had designated to preside temporarily.

Invariably, the question from the conservative member at the microphone is brushed aside and the member walks off disappointed.

But those arch conservatives who make up theTexas House Freedom Caucuswon a decisive victory during Wednesday nights marathon debate on the so-called sanctuary cities bill that shifted the trajectory of the controversial legislation sharply to the right.

State Rep. Matt Schaefer, the third-term Tyler Republican who chairs the new organization, forced a vote that would empower local law enforcement officers to begin questioning a suspects immigration even before an arrest was made.

The bills House sponsor, Fort Worth Republican and top Straus lieutenant Charlie Geren, didnt like Schaefers amendment, and said so publicly. But the veteran lawmaker understood that most of the 95 GOP members had to vote for it or risk looking soft on illegal immigration heading into next years primaries.

When we see a bill to advance the cause of conservative policy and principles, we will move on it without fear or hesitation, Schaefer said after catching a few hours sleep following a bruising and emotional floor debate that did not end until around 3 a.m. Thursday.

With only 12 members in the 150-member House, Schaefers caucus is small but vocal. It was formed heading into the 2017 legislative session in part to push back against what its members saw as the Republican-dominated House moving in a moderate direction and away from the partys grassroots activists.

The Freedom Caucus agenda for the session comes straight from the Texas GOP Platform: The freedom to carry handguns without a license, abolishing abortion by all lawful, constitutional means, stopping illegal immigration and limiting taxes so that government only performs its core functions.

We take the platform that was adopted by grassroots Republicans very seriously, Schaefer said. Too often the issues brought forward by the platform are ignored. But these issues are of great interest to our grassroots, the people to become engaged in the process and take the time to go to the conventions.

The caucus is styled after, but not affiliated with, the congressional Freedom Caucus in Washington, D.C., that was credited with forcing then-House Speaker John Boehner from office in part because they found his brand of leadership as straying from conservative principles.

Its not a coincidence that we chose the name we did, Schaefer said.

Perhaps the most vocal member of the Texas group is Jonathan Stickland, a three-term Republican from the Fort Worth suburbs whose political rise was fueled by Tea party activism and the desire to expand gun rights.

Stickland, who made clear that he wasnt speaking for the Freedom Caucus, said he wants one day to be a major force in the House, but that he is not willing to pay the political price to ingratiate himself with Straus leadership team.

My goal is to be a key player in the next regime change, Stickland said. When the time comes, were going to be the kingmakers.

Straus, whose office declined a request for comment, came to power in the House in 2009 when a block of Republicans formed an alliance with some House Democrats to topple then-Speaker Tom Craddick. Straus has not definitively said whether hell seek a record sixth term at the helm of the House.

State Rep. Tan Parker, also a suburban North Texas Republican, leads the House Republican Caucus and was named by Straus to chair the House Investment and Financial Services Committee. He said he works with the Freedom Caucus on a number of fronts, but that his job is to uniteall 95 members whenever possible.

I want all of the members in the (GOP) caucus to be free to represent their constituents as best they see fit, said Parker, a House member since 2006. Matt and I have a good working relationship.

Former Republican state Rep. Warren Chisum, who served in the House from 1989 until 2013, said its healthy for a faction to be something of a pain in the neck to chambers leadership. In the 1990s when Democrats controlled the House, Republicans who wanted influence had to form an alliance with the party in power.

Chisum, an outspoken opponent of same-sex relationships, abortion and hate crimes legislation, formed the Conservative Coalition to push for legislation that Democrats and House Republicans in the leadership circle had pushed to the backburner.

We used the House rules to gain influence to push our issues and our principles, said Chisum, almost echoing the tactics pursued by the Freedom Caucus. Theres nothing wrong with that.

Once the Republicans gain control of the House in 2003, Chisum found himself moving from the back bench to the leadership.

Schaefer, whose political life started as a grassroots organizer for former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, said history often repeats itself.

When youre right on policy, he said, the politics will work itself out.

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