Chip Roy stops in Bandera
U.S. Representative Chip Roy (TX-21), who recently secured the Republican Primary nomination for his U.S. House seat in District 21 with 83 percent of the vote, made a stop in at the Cracked Mug Coffee House and Kitchen last month, speaking with his constituents for a little over an hour.
Roy began by pointing out three issues he supports. The first was “fighting to have a stronger Texas.” One of Roy’s main talking points was the issue of border security. He recounted his trips to the border to observe the situation and speak with law enforcement and Border Patrol agents. He vehemently reiterated his stance to “impeach” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.. Roy said he would be leading another visit to the border with state lawmakers soon.
When speaking about the vaccine issue, Roy highlighted the change in stance Democratic politicians were exhibiting, remarking they were looking to “step away from the mandates without forcing a fight for funding.” He also mentioned his efforts to introduce legislation that would reinstate service members who refused to take the vaccine.
Roy’s final talking point had to do with “winning the culture wars.” He referenced the “fight against tyranny” when speaking about the call from the National School Boards Association to the current administration to investigate aggrieved parents as “domestic terrorists.”
Roy said that the Freedom Caucus was meeting in Florida to strategize activities to bolster their stance against “everyday attacks on our freedoms.” Big tech companies were mentioned for their efforts to combat misinformation by sanctioning free speech on their platforms.
To wind up, Roy spoke about Critical Race Theory and its prevalence in public school curriculum, stating it was embedded in textbooks and in other areas of education. He said his goal was to put parents in control of the curriculum taught in public schools. Roy stated that his staff was collecting “examples of CRT” for use later.
Roy entertained questions from the almost 30 people crowded into the dining room of the Cracked Mug. He spoke at length on the makeup of the Congress and plans to shift the majority back to GOP predominance. He spoke about the possibility of who would be elected as Speaker of the house if the GOP won back the majority. He did not support the selection of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker but mentioned Jim Jordan as a possibility he would support. He did make the disclaimer that Jordan had not yet decided if he wanted to vie for that position. Roy stated that “we need someone who represents the heart of the country, not California.”
Legislative redistricting was also a topic of conversation. Roy said although Texas gained two more seats in Congress, some Republican majority states lost seats as well, and Texas would have to live with a 36 to 38 split for the next ten years till the new census.
Roy maintained that the first actions Republicans would take after retaking the majority in the legislature would be to commit to hearings on the issues he had listed. As a former prosecutor, Roy said he would always support the rule of law.
After a question about January 6, Roy made an impassioned plea about the charges made against the people who had been arrested. He said he felt state defenders were not competent to adequately assist in the defense of those defendants. Roy said election fraud was always a factor in elections and supports the Texas bill to make voting more secure.
Roy’s current term will end on January 3, 2023. He has spent four years in the House of Representative representing Central Texas. He has served on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – Health, the Committee on Judiciary – Civil Rights and Immigration and Citizenship as well as on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and on the House Committee on Budget.
Roy will face off against either Claudia Zapata or Ricardo Villarreal, who will compete in a runoff election on Tuesday, May 24.