"DINO" LUCIO FETE PAID BY LAMANTIA CHALLENGER HINOJOSA

By Juan Montoya

If there was any dispute that former Texas State Senator Eddie "Sucio" Lucio has been a chaquetero and a political charlatan for the 32 years he served as a Democrat as a state legislator – four years as a state rep and 30 in District 27 of the Texas Senate – tonight's banquet sponsored by a Republican candidate for his old state district should set aside all doubt.

Tonight, a right-wing Republican state group, the Life Ambassadors of Texas, will honor Lucio "as he prepares to enter retirement" two years after he left office with a banquet sponsored by GOP challenger to Democrat incumbent Morgan LaMantia. 

And the sponsors are none other than Adam Hinojosa, from Corpus Christi, conservative Mayes Middleton, an oil-and-gas operator from Galveston, and marketeer David and wife Rebecca Boston, of Rancho Viejo. 

The banquet to honor Sucio will be held tonight, September 24, at the Brownsville Events Center from 6 to 9 p.m. Since he retired, he has made no secret that he has been a Democrat In Name Only, openly supporting and endorsing Republican candidates like Hinojosa and Mayra Flores, who was beaten by incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez for the U.S. House of Representatives District 34. 

Lucio, a former school teacher and county commissioner, ran for office all his life claiming to be  a Democrat, only to go to Austin and betray the trust of his constituents for his own benefit and used the position to push his religious beliefs, not all of his constituents'.

"We’re excited to host Abby Johnson as our keynote speaker as we celebrate LIFE and the achievements of Senator Lucio as he prepares to enter retirement," an announcement from the group states.

This is not the first time Lucio has sided with

Republicans. During this year's Charro Days, he ran interference for Flores and Hinojosa and introduced them to his old constituents. It didn't seem to matter to Lucio that all of them had believed him that he, as a Democrat, represented their interests, only to find out that he represented no one else but his self-interest. 

Be prepared Democrats for Sucio to openly come out and endorse Hinojosa and Flores under the pious rhetoric that he is guided by this religious principles, and not by party affiliation. So if Lucio retired in 2022, why is the recognition now sponsored by Republicans in close races held two years after? No tiene

verguenza.

The Republican-controlled doors to Austin influence – since he became a lobbyist two years ago – apparently require him to carry water for Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's candidates  to remain open. 

Eddie – and then his son Eddie III (the Turd) – milked their Democratic roots to the hilt to rub elbows with the Republican elite in Austin and to beg them for scraps off their table. He parlayed those scraps for his constituency into a personal industry and retired as a millionaire. The Turd was the legal counsel for IES and it's officers Ruben Gallegos Sr. and Jr. When they fleeced the federal government for $17 million in misapplied funds paying themselves yearly salaries of more than $600,000 each in the non-profit, Lucio III pocketed his $125,000 salary for his "40 hour job" and looked the other way 

Treason and fraud do pay, apparently. 

Like Esau, Sr. traded his constituents' birthright to representative government for a passel of lentils. Or was it cold, hard, green cash on the barrelhead?

It was Lucio who cast his vote with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to overthrow the two-thirds senate rule that had the practical effect of forcing Republicans to earn the support of one or two Democrats to get a bill through the chamber — and of shielding moderates in both parties from difficult votes. It also protected minority interests in situations where the divide is not partisan, such as on issues where regional rather than political allegiances come into play.

With Lucio's vote, the Republican majority merely barrels their legislation through without consulting with the Democrats or even considering the impact on minority representation. 

With that vote, Lucio opened the way for minority voter suppression, laws that ban abortions without exceptions for rape or incest victims, book banning, and gun laws that do not require background checks and leave the road wide open for just about everyone over 18 to purchase assault weapons. Uvalde again, anyone?

The two-thirds rule, a long-standing agreement that meant a bill would only move to a second senate vote if two-thirds of senators felt it deserved a hearing, died, replaced by the new, lower, three-fifths threshold.

Patrick had been an outspoken critic of the old rule since his first day as a freshman senator, and had pledged on the campaign trail to get rid of it. Then, when he became president of the senate, he got his wish as the chamber voted 20-10 to dump the operational restriction in favor of the lower target. Slightly surprisingly, the measure did not pass on purely partisan lines. Lucio Jr. joined 19 Republicans to back the changes. In fact, he openly endorsed Patrick over his last Democratic challenger.

The rule was always seen as the spirit of collegiate agreement and measured deliberation that the senate was supposed to be known for. Per the Legislative Reference Library of Texas, "It is generally acknowledged that the Senate's two-thirds rule fosters civility, a willingness to compromise, and a spirit of bipartisanship."

Lucio was responsible for handing control of the senate to Republicans which he hopes will place him in the catbird seat and that his "advertising and consulting" firm will continue to get a lobbying scrap here and there from his "friends" up there to keep him in beer money and pay for his golf fees for a while.