Why can’t Communists openly run for public office in Texas?
Why can’t Communists openly run for public office in Texas? This question has haunted me since the first time I was told, matter-of-factly, that we cannot. When I looked it up, and found very little on the subject, a deeper dive became necessary.
Initial digging found a very vague and seemingly stealthy amendment to older laws. This was GOVERNMENT CODE. TITLE 5. OPEN GOVERNMENT; ETHICS. SUBTITLE A. OPEN GOVERNMENT. CHAPTER 557. SEDITION, SABOTAGE, AND COMMUNISM. SUBCHAPTER C. COMMUNISM. This defines a “communist”, lists restrictions put upon “communists”, and how to enforce these restrictions. The official definition of a “communist” is a person who commits an act reasonably calculated to further the overthrow of the government: (A) by force or violence; or (B) by unlawful or unconstitutional means and replace it with a communist government. (2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas. (3) "Government" means the government of this state or any of its political subdivisions. The most important part to this law is Sec. 557.022. RESTRICTIONS. (a) The name of a communist may not be printed on the ballot for any primary or general election in this state or a political subdivision of this state. This is the law, clear as day, but it doesn’t make any sense. In a note, it says Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
I quickly learned that this wasn’t just updated in ‘93, but as recently as 2021! Ok, let’s time travel and figure out how this all got started. It seems pretty obvious that this has to have some connective tissue to McCarthy era Red Scare anti-communism laws, but this actually goes all the way back to the oft-forgotten First Red Scare in the late 1910s following the rise of the Bolsheviks. Lesser, mostly unseen, legislation laid the foundation for what would become the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1938. If the HUAC sounds familiar, that’s because it was the committee that carried out anti-communist investigations for the US House while McCarthy ran things in the Senate.
As the Cold War began, Texas Legislation stood against the coming Red Menace with a plethora of harsh anti-communist laws passed from 1947 to 1954. Meanwhile, two successive Texas Governors (Buford H. Jester and Allan Shivers - 1946-1957) championed anti-radical laws and groups, such as the HUAC, throughout Texas. This was followed by anti-communist legislation aimed at tying a “world communist movement” to a threat to the US and Texas’ “constitutional government”. These fears permeated the hearts and minds of Texans and our attempts at organizing our party. It also allowed the passing of legislation that increased military spending and decreased any oversight.1
To further the anti-communist movement, in 1947 the Texas State Legislature passed their first anti-communist legislation in six years, starting the Second Red Scare. Before passing those laws, two anti-union laws were passed. One of these was the Right to Work law, which still plagues our attempts at organizing. So, why can’t Communists openly run for public office in Texas?
During this wave of anti-communist legislation in the Texas House, the Elected Offices-Eligibility act was passed. This changed a number of rules on the subject, but most important to our work was the expansion of restrictions on those “who advocate[ed] [for] the overthrow” of the government of the United States or Texas. Communists were now effectively excluded from participating in the democratic process. This archaic legislation predated Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s wild communist hunt by three years.
Texas, trailblazer she is, introduced and passed in short order the Communist Control Law in 1951. Three years later, in 1954, the United States Congress swept a bill through their halls and quickly passed the Communist Control Act. Meanwhile, these Texas laws defined various forms of communism and associated organizations existing in Texas. Anyone who identified as a communist or is a dues paying member of a local chapter was forced to register with DPS.
The most surprising discovery in my research is that as recently as 2019 CHAPTER 557. SEDITION, SABOTAGE, AND COMMUNISM. SUBCHAPTER C. COMMUNISM continues to be reinstated without contest. Now that we know the origins of these anti-communist laws, what effect have they had on modern elections and local representation? The far-right has spent the past 6+ years creating anti-communist rhetoric that targets “progressive” Democrats as “the far-left”. This is clearly nonsense.
Take for instance, a story from AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens) which accuses a cadre of Democratic candidates as Communists. This article goes out of its way to quote the law cited earlier, but also quoted Lenin, “When the demonstrations became consolidated, we began to call for their organization and for the arming of the masses and put forward the task of preparing a popular uprising. Without in the least denying violence and terrorism in principle, we demanded work for the preparation of such forms of violence as were calculated to bring about the direct participation of the masses and which guaranteed that participation.”2 What a strong quote to try and twist to scare fragile Americans into voting for their candidates in the coming elections. Whatever truth there is to Communists running as Democrats to circumvent the law, the results seem clear, the people aren’t as afraid of the Communist Boogeyman as the far-right was counting on.
While researching this piece, an important legal decision was made that completely changed my hopeful conclusion, so I apologize for reality’s inconvenience. At the time of researching this, Madison Cawthorn, January 6th rioter and attempted South Carolina congressman, had just scored a huge win against liberals attempting to disqualify him from running for office. His defense used a statute I found very useful to the cause here in Texas.
The 14th amendment states “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” That due process appears to be infringed upon by our Texas sedition laws, and like Cawthorn I think there’s a real case to be made. The way I see it is if this was to go to court, it might not get the attention it deserves from our higher courts.
There is no reason a Communist cannot run for local office legally and I believe it’s high time we combat this electoral malfeasance. Find local offices where you can run as part of a party and run on the Communist Party USA party platform.
“For the proletariat is the only class that is consistently revolutionary, the only class that can unite all the working and exploited people in the struggle against the bourgeoisie, in completely removing it.” - Vladimir I Lenin.
Bonewell, Shaffer Allen. Manipulating Fear: The Texas State Government and the second Red Scare, 1947 - 1954. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of Master of Science. University of North Texas, 2019.
Outside Contributor, “Houston Communists Break the Law by Running as Democrats”. AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens), 22 August 2018 https://amac.us/houston-communists-break-the-law-by-running-as-democrats/