Daniel opens this week fresh off taping an interview with Chad Prather and with the TEXIT petition drive front of mind. The physical signature campaign is now two months from its deadline, and he spends the first stretch making the case that the count does not move itself. There is no lamp to rub, no online shortcut. Every signature requires a certified circulator reading the statement, collecting the information, getting the page notarized, and sending it in. His message to the impatient crowd asking “what’s the count” is blunt: the people demanding numbers are often the ones who have neither signed nor volunteered to collect. Thirty signatures, he argues, can be gathered almost by accident in an hour at a Walmart parking lot or a farmers market.
The heart of the episode is Congressman Chip Roy’s speech on the floor of the U.S. House. Daniel plays three clips and walks through them line by line. Roy warns of authoritarian actions by the president, the administration, and Congress, says Texas will be forced into a constitutional showdown over the border, and openly questions the “efficacy of union” when the people he represents are being trampled. Daniel’s read is that this is a warning shot, that Texas is no longer the only voice saying the federal system is irreparably broken, and that the only honest end to Roy’s logic is TEXIT. He pairs that with a sharp critique of Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick, an absentee 140-day regular session, and a special session he says only materialized because primary challengers spooked an unpopular governor.
From there he turns to what he calls the direct attack on the Texas economy: Biden’s 3.5 trillion dollar “Build Back Better” bill, a proposed methane fee that he says would tax ranchers roughly 6,500 dollars per dairy cow and 2,600 dollars per head of cattle, and a reported penalty on businesses for unvaccinated employees. His through-line is consistent. Stop hacking at the branches and strike the root. Get the federal government out of the equation by making Texas a self-governing nation again, and then have the real policy debates.
Questions answered in this episode
- Is the CDC trying to treat gun control as a public health issue under the banner of “gun violence,” and where do red flag laws aimed at veterans fit in?
- How does Texas independence play out internationally when the federal government has spent decades influencing other countries, and could Washington organize an embargo against an independent Texas?
- Where can supporters find the list of Texas senators and representatives who are non-committed or opposed to TEXIT?
- Since Texas has no state income tax, isn’t the property tax the main way the state pays for services, and could it really be abolished?
- What about Republican Party of Texas chairman Matt Rinaldi’s comments suggesting the executive committee might keep the independence referendum off the primary ballot?
- Would Daniel consider appearing on other independent shows to spread the message, and how do those bookings actually happen?
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