After the Convention: The Independence Planks Hold and the Data Center Fight Heats Up

Daniel Miller returns from the Republican Party of Texas state convention with a two-week backlog of news, starting with the headline result for the movement. The planks calling for a public vote on Texas independence, planks 21 and 231, survived the convention floor. Miller notes that TEXIT was far from the most controversial issue in the hall this cycle, and he reads it as a sign of institutional alignment rather than a fringe fight. He also points out that the new party chair, D’rinda Randall, and the new vice chair are both Texas First Pledge signers, and that the TNM booth processed north of a thousand delegate pledges over the weekend.

Before the convention, the organization put two rebuilt sites in front of supporters. The new TNM website at thetnm.org and tnm.me consolidates the case for independence, the plan, a supporter density map, live counters, a newsroom for press, and an FAQ expanded from roughly 100 questions to 322. The companion launch is the relaunched taketexasback.com, home of the Texas First Pledge, where 263 candidates and office holders have now signed, 79 of them sitting office holders. The directory is searchable, tracks who has disavowed or broken the pledge, and lets visitors look up their own representatives and pressure them to sign.

From there Miller takes the night’s questions, ranging from the rural backlash over data centers and water to the harder question of how an independent Texas avoids drifting into the same corporatocracy as Washington. His answer on the latter keeps coming back to the same point. Independence is not a panacea, and a disengaged populace will recreate the problems it escaped. The work is reaching the Texans who already agree and connecting them to the movement.

Questions answered in this episode

• Do the various retired TNM web addresses now permanently redirect to equivalent content on the new sites?
• After Texas wins its independence, how do you keep its government from turning into a corporatocracy like the one in Washington, DC?
• What was the delegate vote count on the two independence planks at the convention?
• When will the new convention field materials, flyers, and vertical displays be available for local teams to download for Independence Day tables?
• With all the data centers being built and the influx of people from California, what is your view on the data center buildout, especially in the Panhandle?
• What do you think of GOP delegates voting no on every plank in protest to force more emphasis on legislative priorities?
• Given how the last online petition push went, will the TNM try another petition signing for the primary ballot?
• What is your favorite kind of question to answer, and what are the most frustrating ones you have to field?