Social Security, the Grid, and the Phelan Primary: A Coffee Talk on What TEXIT Actually Means

Daniel Miller poured another cup and took questions live for this Late Night Coffee Talk, and the through line was practical rather than theoretical. Viewers did not want slogans. They wanted to know what independence does to the money they have paid in, the power that keeps their lights on, and the legislature that keeps telling Texans no.

The grid came up first, and Miller’s answer was blunt. Every new transmission line tying Texas into the eastern and western interconnects is a line Washington can use to siphon power and regulate the Texas grid. He pointed back to the 2021 winter storm, when Texas had to beg the federal government for a waiver to buy power and was told it could only buy green energy from other states during a once-in-a-century freeze. His prescription was to drop the green agenda and build resilient core generation instead. Nuclear, clean coal, winterized natural gas.

The most personal question came from Ralph, retired and nearly 70, afraid of losing the Social Security he paid into his whole life. Miller’s answer was the good news of the night. Federal law already lets pension recipients keep benefits when they move abroad as long as they retain citizenship, totalization agreements protect work credits earned across borders, and stripping citizenship is far harder than the opposition pretends. Then he flipped the fear around. Washington itself projects the system going broke around 2030, so the real question is whether staying protects that money at all.

A long stretch went to the 2024 primary and the war over Speaker Dade Phelan’s seat. Miller would not predict a winner but called the spending unlike anything he has seen in Texas politics, with Phelan’s own campaign reporting roughly 1.3 million dollars and shadowy PACs piling on more. His read was simple. Incumbents do not spend like that unless their own polling says they are in trouble, so the cash against challengers is a confession. March 5th would tell you everything.

Questions answered in this episode

• Should Texans worry that connecting the power grid to the eastern and western interconnects erodes our independence?
• Will Texans ever actually come together and separate from the United States, and what does that process really look like?
• What happens to my Social Security after independence if I am retired and have paid in my entire life?
• Will the TNM have a booth at the Republican convention in May, and what are its goals there?
• Will Dade Phelan be Speaker again, and what is the money in the primary races actually telling us?
• Does the Texas legislature have a one-vote motion to vacate the chair like the U.S. Congress?
• Would an independent Texas support other states such as Louisiana leaving the union, and should they then form a new union?
• Now that the Texas Supreme Court declined the case, do we just try the primary-ballot petition again in two years?
• Is the Texas political establishment actively working to block the movement?
• Has there been any response from Governor Abbott on the petition?
• I attend an out-of-state university where about 30 percent of my classmates are Texans. How can I help grow the movement?
• What advice would you give someone who wants to start an independence movement in their own state?