Far-right Texas group can’t sink much lower than spending a day with a hatemonger | Opinion

We shouldn’t have to say that no player in mainstream Texas politics should meet with a known antisemite.

But apparently we do. Jonathan Stickland who leads an influential far-right political committee, hosted national hatemonger Nick Fuentes for hours at the west Tarrant County office of his Pale Horse Strategies conulting firm, according to the Texas Tribune. Fuentes is most readily known for meeting with former President Donald Trump and the rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West). But his record of spewing white supremacist rhetoric and his “groyper” followers agitating for hate-filled causes extends back several years.

If it were only about Stickland, a former state House member from Bedford who now lives in Willow Park, it would hardly matter. He was known almost entirely for his mouth during three unaccomplished terms in the House. But now, he leads a well-funded political action committee, Defend Texas Liberty, that is at the heart of battles among Texas Republicans over the party’s direction — and thus the state’s.

The main patrons for Stickland’s multi-million dollar group are Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have steadily built influence with generous political donations to staunch conservatives. Their chosen candidates lose much more often than they win, but a well-funded primary challenge is the main political fear for Texas Republicans. So, many have moved toward the West Texas billionaires without much prompting.

Now, the group is the driving force behind efforts to get revenge on some House Republicans who impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton, the defining moment in current Texas GOP politics.

The timing of the meeting Friday with Fuentes, while surely coincidental, couldn’t have been worse. Hours later, the world learned of the outrageous terrorist attacks in Israel. And in the U.S., white supremacists feel increasingly emboldened to express their hateful views. Just this weekend, cosplaying Nazis casually ate at a Fort Worth Torchy’s Tacos.

Responsible leaders cannot feed this monster in any way. Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi, a staunch conservative, was seen at Stickland’s office but said he did not meet with Fuentes — and, importantly, denounced him and his rhetoric. More of that, please.

The Stickland incident has become a political weapon in the escalating battle between Texas legislative leaders. House Speaker Dade Phelan called on elected officials to donate Defend Texas Liberty contributions to charity, noting that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took $3 million in donations and loans from the political committee. That donation is already a sore spot for those who believe it influenced Patrick’s handling of Paxton’s Senate trial, which Patrick denies.

The lieutenant governor then called on Phelan to resign as speaker because he dared to invoke the Israel attacks in denouncing Stickland and the donations.

Both would be better off directing their venom against Fuentes and those like him. The more that conservatives let this kind of behavior sink in, whether the real or dress-up kind, the more it will damage their cause — and the state of Texas.