{"id":3907,"date":"2026-07-31T13:12:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=3907"},"modified":"2026-07-31T13:12:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:12:47","slug":"nicole-collier-had-the-right-to-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=3907","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Collier had the right to protest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In August 2025, I stood inside the Texas Capitol amid one of the more unusual political confrontations in recent state history. Democrat State Representative Nicole Collier of Fort Worth had refused to leave the House chamber under the conditions imposed upon her by Republican leadership. The building had become more than the seat of Texas government. For those tense hours, it was a stage upon which questions of political authority, individual dignity, legislative responsibility, and partisan power were being acted out in real time.<\/p>

Read more Channelling the inner child for gun control<\/a><\/p>\n

I went because I wanted to witness the moment for myself.<\/p>\n

I am a black conservative. I did not go to the Capitol as a Democrat activist, nor did I suddenly adopt the Democrat party\u2019s position on redistricting. I did not support every decision Collier or her colleagues had made. More than 50 Democrat representatives had previously left Texas for approximately two weeks to deny the House a quorum and delay consideration of a Republican congressional redistricting plan. They eventually returned, but Republican House leadership required the returning lawmakers to remain under the supervision of Texas Department of Public Safety officers to ensure their attendance at the next session.<\/p>\n

Collier refused to sign what Democrats derisively called a \u201cpermission slip.\u201d Accepting it would have allowed her to leave the chamber, but only while being followed by a state trooper. Rather than submit to that condition, she remained inside the Capitol overnight.<\/p>\n

Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows acknowledged that Collier\u2019s decision not to sign the form was permitted under House rules. Other Democrat lawmakers later joined her on the House floor, turning her individual refusal into a broader demonstration against the surveillance requirement.<\/p>\n

Yes, the hypocrisy is gross\u2014a police state for thee, but not for me\u2014but let\u2019s set all that aside for a moment.<\/p>\n

Standing there, I understood something that our increasingly tribal political culture seems determined to make us forget: I do not have to agree with Nicole Collier to recognize that she possessed both dignity and agency.<\/p>\n

I can believe that legislators have a duty to appear for work and participate in the democratic process. I can criticize the tactic of breaking quorum. I can support Republican legislative priorities. I can even acknowledge that the Democrat party has often used accusations of racism carelessly and opportunistically.<\/p>\n

Yet I can simultaneously question whether placing elected representatives under continuous police supervision was the wisest or most conservative response.<\/p>\n

That is not contradiction. It is intellectual consistency.<\/p>\n

Conservatism, properly understood, is not merely obedience to Republican officials. It is not the belief that government power becomes harmless whenever someone with an \u201cR\u201d after his name exercises it. Conservatism is rooted in limited government, ordered liberty, due process, personal responsibility, constitutional restraint, and a healthy suspicion of concentrated authority.<\/p>\n

Those principles do not disappear when the person challenging authority is a Democrat.<\/p>\n

Too many Americans now treat constitutional values as partisan property. The Left champions dissent when Democrat causes are involved, but often becomes comfortable with coercion when its own institutions exercise power. The Right condemns governmental overreach when federal agencies target conservatives, but can become strangely tolerant of it when Republican officials are directing the machinery.<\/p>\n

That is not principle. It is team loyalty wearing a powdered wig and quoting the Founders.<\/p>\n

A political philosophy proves its seriousness when it protects people outside its coalition.<\/p>

Read more Cynicism toward the intellectual class<\/a><\/p>\n

Freedom of speech means little if we defend only the speech we enjoy. Religious liberty means little if it applies only to our denomination. Due process means little if it is reserved for people we consider innocent. Limited government means little if we oppose excessive authority only when Democrats are in charge.<\/p>\n

And the right to protest means little if we respect it only when protesters are wearing MAGA hats.<\/p>\n

Collier\u2019s protest was peaceful. She did not riot, burn property, assault police officers, or threaten the public. She remained in the chamber and refused to accept a condition she believed degraded her office and restricted her movements. One may regard that decision as courageous, theatrical, politically calculated, or some combination of the three. Politics has never been free of theater. The Texas Capitol itself was built to accommodate political spectacle.<\/p>\n

But peaceful resistance occupies a legitimate place in the American tradition.<\/p>\n

My presence there was not an endorsement of Collier\u2019s entire political agenda. It was an acknowledgment that conservatism should be capacious enough to recognize courage, dignity, and legitimate dissent wherever they appear.<\/p>\n

I do not believe every conflict involving a black elected official is automatically evidence of racism. Such reflexive accusations cheapen the term and make honest discussion more difficult.<\/p>\n

Still, as a black conservative, I am not required to become indifferent when a black legislator says she feels her movements are being controlled by police. I can examine the facts without surrendering my political identity. Empathy is not ideological treason. In fact, conservatism desperately needs more of that independence.<\/p>\n

I believe in law and order, but law and order must remain tethered to restraint. I believe elected officials should fulfill their duties, but political discipline should not become public humiliation. I believe Republicans were entitled to oppose the quorum break and use lawful legislative remedies. I also believe Collier was entitled to refuse the escort and peacefully expose the implications of that requirement. Even Speaker Burrows conceded that remaining in the chamber was within her rights.<\/p>\n

That should matter to conservatives.<\/p>\n

The moment we begin treating every exercise of authority by our own side as inherently justified, we have abandoned conservatism for partisanship. Government power does not become less coercive because we approve of its immediate objective. The precedent we cheer today may become the instrument used against us tomorrow.<\/p>\n

That is why I could stand at the Texas Capitol as a black conservative and support Nicole Collier\u2019s right to protest.<\/p>\n

I did not have to become a Democrat. I did not have to endorse the walkout. I did not have to agree with her redistricting arguments.<\/p>\n

I only had to remember what I claimed to believe.<\/p>\n

Liberty is not a partisan reward. Dignity is not reserved for political allies. And conservatism is not worthy of the name unless its principles survive contact with someone who votes differently.<\/p>

Read more Fauci\u2019s 5th<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"ChatGPT\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

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