Local politician Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) has issued a strong rebuke of the Democrat Party after returning to the Texas House after an interval of 40 years.
Bryant, 76, began his career in statecraft in 1974 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. He served in this capacity until 1983 when he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that he held until 1997.
He stepped away from politics after an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1996. That same year, his congressional seat turned Republican with the election of Pete Sessions.
Bryant returned to the Texas House this year after winning a seat in the 2022 midterm elections.
The two-time freshman representative recently shared his reflections on the changes from his previous time in office, slamming the way the Democrat Party operates in Texas compared to how it previously operated.
During his last term in the chamber, Democrats enjoyed more than a 75% majority. Now, the Republicans hold nearly 60% of the House and have not lost a state-wide race in decades.
But that’s no excuse for giving up, Bryant suggests.
“The 88th session was a continuation of a lack of strategy, a lack of organization, a lack of willingness to sacrifice personal agendas in favor of working as a voting bloc,” he told Texas Monthly.
“Basically, the Democrats have lost their muscle memory of being a governing majority. And so what’s lacking is a sense of what it was like to win and be in government,” he continued. “So they have, over twenty years, adapted to trying to work around the edges.”
“Hopefully, by virtue of having a smile and a shoeshine every day, they can slip a few bills through,” the seasoned representative added. “So the whole objective has grown to be: How can I pass bills despite my minority status? Well, they don’t oppose the speaker, they don’t nominate a Democratic speaker, they don’t really fight a war; they fight little battles.”
Bryant also lamented that Democrats do not seem energized or equipped for significant debate anymore.
“And you’ve got to be able to go into these sessions prepared,” he said to Texas Monthly. “You’ve got to be willing to stand up every day and educate the public; even if you’re losing on the floor, you’ve gotta be educating the public by carrying on a robust debate, because unless they read about it, they’re not going to see a difference between Democrats and Republicans.”
Pointing to the ongoing battle over property tax relief, Bryant explained, “It’s an argument between the Republican governor, the Republican lieutenant governor, and the Republican speaker. The Democrats are not even in the conversation. There is no Democratic bill out there. … There is no Democratic voice.”
Targeting the members of his party who have been favored by Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) with leadership roles, Bryant added, “The Democrats who are part of the Speaker’s governing structure and who have been rewarded with titles and plum assignments come to the [caucus] meeting to argue for going along to get along.”
Turning his attention to the Democrats in the Texas Senate, Bryant called them “a bunch of sheep.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added. “Now it’s just go along to get along, Democrats included. The Senate voted thirty-one to nothing on the budget. Are there no differences between Democrats and Republicans on the budget? Thirty-one to nothing on the property tax deal, too, and same way with the education funding.”
Since giving that interview, Bryant has taken the reins and led a Democrat coalition to propose a new property tax relief plan in the House alongside local Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Richardson).