Tesla mogul Elon Musk might be a vocal newcomer in politics, but the richest man in the world is far from the first billionaire to meddle in politics. Long before Musk started swaying voters with million dollar prizes, two Texas billionaires were buying votes and shaping the Lone Star State into the conservative political hellscape it is today.
Texas Representative James Talarico, who represents Americans in one of the state’s few blue- tinged bastions, is tired of playing by the rules of wealthy elite — especially those set by Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. According to Talarico, the evangelical Christian business tycoons have bought up much of the state’s legislative bodies, and without some serious help, the Texas House is next.
In the minute-long call to action, Talarico lays out the true extent of the existential threat. According to the former teacher, a small bipartisan group is working “to stop two West Texas billionaires from taking over [the] state government,” but it’s a fight they are losing.
“They’ve already bought our governor. They’ve bought our lieutenant governor. They’ve bought our attorney general. They’ve bought our state senate. And now to complete their takeover, they’re trying to buy the Texas House.”
The Texas takeover might sound like a bad movie concept, but billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks’ ascent has been clearly documented, with millions they’ve spent backing politicians that can push their agenda. Make no mistake, the two men are much more insidious than any Disney caricature, and they blow distasteful toads like Steve Bannon right out of the running for skin-crawling maniacs.
Homophobia is the lowest hanging fruit for any right-wing bigot, and Dunn is no exception. He’s anti-gay marriage, and while helping to foster a forced-birth environment in Texas, he’s against letting gay couples adopt. He’s donated millions to ensure that candidates who agree with this conservative mindset were elected, and is one of Donald Trump‘s biggest donors. He owns and operates a Texas megachurch, and is known to associate with white nationalists like Nick Fuentes.
Farris Wilks and, to a lesser extent, his brother Dan, are much less opinionated about their ideals, but their donations do plenty of talking. Wilks has donated millions to various Texas politicians, including Ted Cruz, and funds multiple conservative PACs. His primary focus seems to be conservative “educational” (read: propaganda) material, like PragerU, and conservative media like The Daily Wire. He’s also a megachurch fundamentalist and a member of a congregation that, rumor has it, forbids women from speaking within its walls.
The contentious Texas race might not seem like much to outsiders with its two Republican front runners, but the House represents a bastion of legacy Republicans, like George W. Bush and Rick Perry, amid a sea of Republicans seemingly aligned with the radically religious and conservative West Texas billionaires. The feud boiled over last year after Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House for corruption and abuse of office, only to be acquitted by the Texas Senate months later.
This isn’t the first time Talarico has gone to bat against the policies Dunn and Wilks are paying for. The representative went viral in 2023 after questioning proposed changes to Texas educational curriculum, which included whitewashing history by removing sections on Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Native Americans. The Tuesday vote won’t help Texas shift even marginally to the center, but it at least gives moderate Republicans and Democrats a voice.
If there is one piece of solace to take from this whole debacle, it’s that even when Republicans have the majority control, the infighting never stops. The party is so unwilling to compromise that even when two candidates stand for roughly the same thing, it’s still not enough. In this race for GOP purity, there are no winners, but Texas Republicans will make sure plenty of Americans will end up losers.
Published: Jan 14, 2025 02:39 pm