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Defeated Republican calls Texas state government ‘the most corrupt ever’

He calls Gov. Greg Abbott a liar and blames two billionaires who, he says, control the state.
Targeted by the governor and the attorney general for defeat, a vanquished Republican, State... Targeted by the governor and the attorney general for defeat, a vanquished Republican, State Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Graford, blasts Republican leaders and intends to turn his attention to his cattle ranch.

After his stunning defeat in the recent Republican primary, state Rep. Glenn Rogers unloaded on the corruption of Texas government that reaches, he says, to “the highest level.”

In a post-election column he submitted to newspapers in his House district, Rogers, R-Graford, headlined it with an obscure quote from Davy Crockett — “I’ll wear no man’s collar.”

The Republican accused Gov. Greg Abbott of creating and repeating lies about him because Rogers, a former school board member, won’t support school vouchers.

“History will prove Gov. Abbott is a liar,” wrote the man who represents Palo Pinto, Parker and Stephens counties.

Rogers, 68, wrote that he agrees with the statement by others that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is “a corrupt sophisticated criminal.”

He continued, “Our current state government is the most corrupt ever and is bought by a few radical billionaires seeking to destroy public education” and also “create a theocracy.”

Rogers lost to Mike Olcott who has no opponent in the general election. The final tally was 63% to 37%.

The Watchdog talked to Rogers about his tell-it-like-it-is column in a phone interview from his cattle ranch along the Brazos River. Here is our conversation, lightly edited for space.

Watchdog: What was the lie the governor told about you?

Rogers: Criticizing me on the border is criticizing himself because I’ve agreed with him on every border issue.

Q: When you say “corruption at the highest level,” what do you mean?

Rogers: Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks are the two most powerful men in state politics. And they’ve created a compliant Senate for the most part. And they’re seeking to have a compliant House. The election results go a long way to a compliant House. That should be very alarming to Texans. Having a few billionaires have that much control over state government is not the Texas way or the American way. They finally spent enough money and told enough lies to defeat me.

Q: What other lies did they tell about you?

Rogers: Well, they said I was anti-gun when I’m endorsed by the NRA and the Texas State Rifle Association.

Q: You’re a sixth-generation Texan. Your relatives arrived in the 1830s. You’re established in the district. You’re the two-term incumbent. The fact that you lost by such a wide margin shows how powerful the use of media against you was. It could overcome a sixth-generation Texan.
State Rep. Glenn Rogers served two 2-year terms before his defeat. This is his official...
State Rep. Glenn Rogers served two 2-year terms before his defeat. This is his official state photo. (Courtesy)

Rogers: If you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth to some people, right? And that’s what’s happened with the money coming in from billionaires and also outside groups. We couldn’t compete. It was a constant barrage of negative ads. It is particularly disturbing to me to think about all the work I’ve done in the district, particularly in my own home county, and have them turn on me because of lies.

Q: Didn’t you file a campaign finance reform bill?
Related:Lies and dirty tricks: Texas Republicans are eating their own in this year’s primaries

Rogers: I filed a campaign transparency bill last session. [Political action committees can] produce negative mailers, and if they don’t mention the opponent then that’s not considered to be a campaign contribution. Well, that bill was very much needed [to close that loophole]. The governor vetoed it.

Q: In your column, you wrote that current activities would make Gov. Pa Ferguson blush. Pa is considered Texas’ worst governor.

Rogers: It’s not the same corruption that occurred with Pa Ferguson. Now it’s more widespread. This is not targeted at Gov. Abbott. It’s targeted at the level of corruption that exists throughout the Texas state government right now — and with the way leaders, state officials and legislators are manipulated by Dunn and Wilks.

Q: You wrote that aside from privatizing public schools, the billionaires want to turn America into a theocracy.

Rogers: Lord knows we need God today with all the problems we have. But we don’t need these radical Christian nationalists’ beliefs that are really dangerous to democracy and religious freedom.

Q: You wrote that Paxton is a corrupt sophisticated criminal. You voted to impeach him.

Rogers: That’s a quote from State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano. The House was acting as a grand jury. There was compelling evidence that this needed to be moved to the Senate for trial.

Q: Do you subscribe to the finding by State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, that these powerful forces need a bogeyman to raise money and to make money so they painted the false image of a liberal House?

Rogers: He’s definitely spot on. We have consultants on both sides that make their living off of this outrage. Quite frankly, I don’t know that you’re going to have anybody run for office that’s not bought and paid for in the future. Why would they want to go through what I’ve been through and what my colleagues have been through knowing that they’re not going to have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning against that kind of money?

Q. What do you mean when you use the word corruption?

Rogers: I’m not talking about taking a bribe. I’m talking about in general letting billionaires have that much control over how we conduct business in this state and how it influences legislators to vote a certain way through intimidation. That’s the corruption I’m talking about. The fear of a primary. The fear of taking a vote that you know is the right vote but is going to lower your scorecard rating. If it’s taken away that you can’t go to Austin and vote [for] your district – which is what’s happening – that’s a travesty. We’re not elected to go support two billionaire sugar daddies.

Q: How angry are you?

Rogers. I’m really more disappointed than angry. I’m actually personally better off to not be in the cesspool that is Austin.

Louisiana is a contender.

I read yesterday that the state is a clean sweep - all republicans.

It is the state that MAGA Moses Johnson represents.